Archive for the ‘Gene Therapy Research’ Category

19 - Direction of Current Research - Interview with Dr. Veena Rao
For additional information visit http://www.cancerquest.org In this video, Dr. Veena Rao talks about the ultimate goal and direction of her research with gene therapy and BRACO1. To learn more about cancer and watch additional interviews, please visit the CancerQuest website at http://www.cancerquest.org

By: CancerQuest

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19 - Direction of Current Research - Interview with Dr. Veena Rao - Video

18 - Gene Therapy and Cancer Prevention - Interview with Dr. Veena Rao
For additional information visit http://www.cancerquest.org In this video, Dr. Veena Rao discusses how gene therapy can lead to better cancer prevention. To learn more about cancer and watch additional interviews, please visit the CancerQuest website at http://www.cancerquest.org

By: CancerQuest

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18 - Gene Therapy and Cancer Prevention - Interview with Dr. Veena Rao - Video

17 - Gene Therapy - Interview with Dr. Veena Rao
For additional information visit http://www.cancerquest.org In this video, Dr. Veena Rao explains what gene therapy is, the different types of gene therapy, and how it is relevant with her research with the BRACO1 gene. To learn more about cancer and watch additional interviews, please visit the CancerQuest website at http://www.cancerquest.org

By: CancerQuest

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17 - Gene Therapy - Interview with Dr. Veena Rao - Video

Public release date: 28-Feb-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Karen Richardson krchrdsn@wakehealth.edu 336-716-4453 Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. Feb. 28, 2013 Researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and colleagues have identified a special population of adult stem cells in bone marrow that have the natural ability to migrate to the intestine and produce intestinal cells, suggesting their potential to restore healthy tissue in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Up to 1 million Americans have IBD, which is characterized by frequent diarrhea and abdominal pain. IBD actually refers to two conditions ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease in which the intestines become red and swollen and develop ulcers, probably as the result of the body having an immune response to its own tissue.

While there is currently no cure for IBD, there are drug therapies aimed at reducing inflammation and preventing the immune response. Because these therapies aren't always effective, scientists hope to use stem cells to develop an injectable cell therapy to treat IBD.

The research findings are reported online in the FASEB Journal (the journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology) by senior researcher Graca Almeida-Porada, M.D., Ph.D., professor of regenerative medicine at Wake Forest Baptist's Institute for Regenerative Medicine, and colleagues.

The new research complements a 2012 report by Almeida-Porada's team that identified stem cells in cord blood that are involved in blood vessel formation and also have the ability to migrate to the intestine.

"We've identified two populations of human cells that migrate to the intestine one involved in blood vessel formation and the other that can replenish intestinal cells and modulates inflammation," said Almeida-Porada. "Our hope is that a mixture of these cells could be used as an injectable therapy to treat IBD."

The cells would theoretically induce tissue recovery by contributing to a pool of cells within the intestine. The lining of the intestine has one of the highest cellular turnover rates in the body, with all cell types being renewed weekly from this pool of cells, located in an area of the intestine known as the crypt.

In the current study, the team used cell markers to identify a population of stem cells in human bone marrow with the highest potential to migrate to the intestine and thrive. The cells express high levels of a receptor (ephrin type B) that is involved in tissue repair and wound closure.

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Research supports promise of cell therapy for bowel disease

Durham, N.C. People with heart disease have more treatment options than ever. However, sometimes nothing gets rid of continued chest pain known as angina. Researchers say they are looking at a special stem cell therapy to help those patients.

Danny Darden, 49, has heart disease and frequent chest pain despite two years worth of every treatment, surgery and medication available to stop it.

If I walk around the block, I give out and have chest pains, he said.

Duke cardiologist Dr. Tom Povsic included Darden in a phase 3 trial looking for benefits of a special stem cell therapy to stimulate the growth of new vessels feeding blood to the heart.

In certain patients, the arteries can no longer be fixed, or bypass surgery can't be used to fix the arteries. And in those patients, novel therapies are sorely needed, Povsic said. So, the stem cells in this particular case are obtained from the patient themselves.

The cells, originating in the bone marrow, are stimulated and released into the blood stream, extracted and then administered directly into the heart through a special catheter.

Last week, I was injected with the stem cells, Darden said. I'm excited to be in it, because I feel it's going to work, and even if it (doesnt) work for me, it's going to work for other people.

The study is blind, meaning Darden may have received a fake infusion. Participants are followed for two years. A smaller previous study showed promising results.

The benefit that was seen in the early study far exceeds what was seen with many medicines that are approved for angina relief, Povsic said.

Researchers say if the stem cell therapy benefits are confirmed in patients with angina, it could also be studied in patients dealing with stroke, heart attack or heart failure.

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Duke doctor: Stem cell therapy might help heart disease patients

Making Natural Product Research Work: Bubpha Techapattaraporn
The experience of BIOTEC in natural product research and the collaboration with Novartis Bubpha Techapattaraporn -- Head of Biotechnology Research section (BIOTEC, Thailand) Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Thailand

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Making Natural Product Research Work: Bubpha Techapattaraporn - Video

More colleges and universities are offering courses that incorporate personal genetic testing, the Associated Press reports. Harvard Medical School and the Stanford University School of Medicine have offered such courses as electives for a few years, but the course the AP highlights is aimed at undergraduates.

The University of Iowa is offering an honors seminar on personal genomics that includes the option to be tested through 23andMe. The AP adds that Duke University, Stanford University, the University of Illinois, and the University of Texas also offer personal genomics courses that take advantage of a 23andMe testing discount.

Jeff Murray, the professor teaching the class, "talked through the pros and cons of testing with students, and spent two class periods examining 23andMe's consent form," the AP says. He also told them to discuss the test with their families. A few students decided not to be tested.

Iowa freshman Bakir Hajdarevic tells the AP that he was nervous that he might find out about something deleterious in his DNA, but that he was also curious to learn more and that his curiosity won out. Hajdarevic learned that he's at increased risk for being lactose intolerant and a carrier for Alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency.

"I was kind of scared going in, like, 'Oh my God, I might have a high risk factor for some kind of cancer'," he tells the AP. "But knock on wood, according to the test, I don't really have much to worry about."

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Campus Genetics

Public release date: 27-Feb-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: George Hunka ghunka@aftau.org 212-742-9070 American Friends of Tel Aviv University

Tel Aviv For the estimated 250 million people worldwide who suffer from rare diseases, there is little hope for diagnosis or treatment. Because each individual disease impacts so few people, hardly any funding is allocated to research, leaving many without medical options. The US-based non-profit organization Rare Genomics Institute (RGI) is working to address this problem by "crowd-funding" allowing people to donate on the Internet towards genetic testing for individual children who are struggling with a rare disease.

Now, thanks to Dr. Noam Shomron of Tel Aviv University's Sackler Faculty of Medicine, RGI's vital mission has come to Israel the first international branch of the organization. Its online home is http://raregenomics.org/world_Israel.php, and it has launched its first appeal for two Israeli children at http://raregenomics.org/donors.php.

Based at the TAU-affiliated Sourasky Medical Center and Rabin Medical Center, RGI-Israel will help families with children impacted by rare genetic diseases find support and care through advanced genetic testing. The Israeli branch is run in collaboration with three of Israel's top geneticists, Drs. Lina Basel, Shay Ben-Shachar, and Hagit Baris.

The services that the organization provides are sorely needed in Israel, says Dr. Shomron, who is the director of Israel's RGI. Both Jewish and Arabic populations in Israel are plagued by a unique pool of genetic diseases. "There are decades of genetic puzzles in the Israeli population, and we are hoping to solve a few of them," he says, hoping that RGI-Israel will help provide the funding to support these families in need.

A community effort

A decade ago, the human genome was sequenced for the first time. The process cost over a billion dollars and took more than ten years to complete. But now a more advanced technology, deep sequencing, can sequence the entire human genome in a matter of days and at a less prohibitive cost. Dr. Shomron's TAU lab is a world leader in this field of research.

RGI's approach is straight-forward. It maintains online donation pages with pictures and personal stories of children in need of genetic testing for mutations as the first step toward treatment or a cure. Donors can then contribute to the cost of DNA testing for each individual child. "Deep sequencing costs around $1,500 per person now, and the fundraising goal for each child is less than $8,000, which is used for sequencing and confirmation of the genomes of the affected child and their relatives, depending on the family's genetic history and the genetics of the disease," says Dr. Shomron, who notes that Israeli families are already reaching out to RGI Israel for help. This allows families to avoid the difficult and expensive process of testing for mutations gene by gene.

One family, for example, has been plagued for generations by what appears to be mental retardation but the medical cause of this condition remains a mystery. "They have been living for many years without knowing what causes this problem in their family. They don't know whether their DNA is the cause and if it is, what mutation causes it," he says.

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Crowd-sourced funding provides missing help for rare genetic diseases

Biblioteca Ambrosiana via LGPN

This codex of Homer's "Iliad" was produced in the late fifth century or early sixth century.

By Joel N. Shurkin Inside Science News Service

Scientists who decode the genetic history of humans by tracking how genes mutate have applied the same technique to one of the Western world's most ancient and celebrated texts to uncover the date it was first written.

The text is Homer's "Iliad," and Homer if there was such a person probably wrote it in 762 B.C., give or take 50 years, the researchers found. The "Iliad" tells the story of the Trojan War if there was such a war with Greeks battling Trojans.

The researchers accept the received orthodoxy that a war happened and someone named Homer wrote about it, said Mark Pagel, an evolutionary theorist at the University of Reading in England. His collaborators include Eric Altschuler, a geneticist at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, in Newark, and Andreea S. Calude, a linguist also at Reading and the Santa Fe Institute in New Mexico. They worked from the standard text of the epic poem.

The date they came up with fits the time most scholars think the "Iliad" was compiled, so the paper,published in the journal Bioessays,won't have classicists in a snit. The study mostly affirms what they have been saying, that it was written around the eighth century B.C.

That geneticists got into such a project should be no surprise, Pagel said.

"Languages behave just extraordinarily like genes," Pagel said. "It is directly analogous. We tried to document the regularities in linguistic evolution and study Homer's vocabulary as a way of seeing if language evolves the way we think it does. If so, then we should be able to find a date for Homer."

Who was Homer? It is unlikely there ever was one individual man named Homer who wrote the "Iliad." Brian Rose, professor of classical studies and curator of the Mediterranean section at the University of Pennsylvania Museum, said it is clear the "Iliad" is a compilation of oral tradition going back to the 13th century B.C.

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Genetic tricks put a date on Homer's 'Iliad'

Biology Project- Gene Therapy

By: Jamie Lancaster

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Biology Project- Gene Therapy - Video

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Raymond F. Schinazi, Ph.D., DSc, a world leader in nucleoside chemistry and biology as well as the founder of five biotechnology companies, joins the Board of Directors of the Vaccine & Gene Therapy Institute of Florida (VGTI Florida), a leading nonprofit immunological research institute. Dr. Schinazi, a Professor of Pediatrics and Director of the Laboratory of Biochemical Pharmacology and of the Scientific Working Eradication Group at Emorys Center for AIDS Research, brings a wealth of expertise to assist VGTI Florida on its mission of Translating Research into Health.

Selected as a 2012 Charter Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, a prestigious distinction awarded to academic inventors whose discoveries have made a tangible impact on the quality of life and welfare of society, Dr. Schinazi will inspire the VGTI Florida community and serve as an example of effective translational research. His experience in running biotech companies and obtaining patents will help the research institute navigate the licensing and commercialization challenges associated with bringing novel technologies to the market place.

As an influential scientist, inventor, educator, and entrepreneur, were extremely pleased that Dr. Schinazi is bringing his impressive array of experience to VGTI Florida, said Jay Nelson, Ph.D., Founder and Executive Director of the institute. His remarkable accomplishments include commercialized inventions that have revenues of over $2 billion per year; in fact, more than 94% of HIV-infected individuals take at least one of the medicines he invented, saving millions of lives, Dr. Nelson added.

Dr. Schinazi is a Senior Research Career Scientist at the Atlanta VA and also an adjunct professor at Georgia State University and the University of Miami. He serves as an advisor for the Schiff Center for Liver Diseases at the University of Miami, and is a Governing Trustee for the Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR). He has served on the Presidential Commission on AIDS and has won many awards including the Georgia Biomedical Industry Growth Award and the Distinguished Scientist Award from the Hepatitis B Foundation. Dr. Schinazi was inducted into the Technology Hall of Fame of Georgia in March 2012, and he received the Intellectual Property Legends Award in October 2012.

He has co-authored more than 470 peer-reviewed papers and 7 books; and has secured more than 90 U.S. patents. Dr. Schinazi has served on the editorial board of several peer-reviewed journals, including Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, Antiviral Chemistry and Chemotherapy, Antiviral Research and Antiviral Therapy. His current research focuses on HIV, HBV and HCV eradication strategies.

He holds a Bachelor of Science, a Ph.D. and Doctor of Science degree in Chemistry from the University of Bath, England. Dr. Schinazi completed postdoctoral training in Pharmacology at Yale University and in Virology/Immunology from Emory University.

VGTI Florida

VGTI Florida is a leading immunological research institute that is on an urgent mission to transform scientific discoveries into novel treatments and cures for devastating chronic illnesses such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, influenza and infectious diseases. VGTI Florida is an independent non-profit 501(c)(3) organization located in the Tradition Center for Innovation in Port St. Lucie, Florida. For more information, please visit http://www.VGTIFL.org.

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Raymond F. Schinazi, Ph.D., D.Sc., Joins the Vaccine & Gene Therapy Institute of Florida Board of Directors

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

The Vaccine & Gene Therapy Institute of Florida (VGTI Florida), a leading nonprofit immunological research institute, is pleased to announce the appointment of Robert L. Lord, Jr., J.D., B.C.S., F.A.C.H.E., to the Board of Directors. Mr. Lord is Senior Vice President, Legal Services and Chief Legal Officer of Martin Health System, which serves the residents of Floridas Treasure Coast. He is currently overseeing the construction and development of the new Martin Health System Campus located adjacent to VGTI Florida in the Tradition Center for Innovation in Port St. Lucie, Florida.

Many opportunities exist for collaboration between the lifesaving research of VGTI Florida researchers and the clinical trials conducted by doctors at Martin Health System. Both organizations are helping to improve the lives of people locally and around the world.

A board certified health law expert and healthcare executive, Mr. Lord is an administrator in Martin Health overseeing matters ranging from operations, corporate compliance, risk management and planning to litigation and governmental relations. He has been a resident of the Treasure Coast since 1969.

We welcome Roberts wide ranging health law background and his wealth of experience to the VGTI Florida Board of Directors, said Jay Nelson, Ph.D., founder and Executive Director of the institute. He has his finger on the pulse of the local community and will contribute greatly to the progress of VGTI Floridas research translation into the clinical environments.

Prior to joining Martin Health System, Mr. Lord was Shareholder in the law firm of Crary, Buchanan, Bowdish, Bovie, Lord & Roby, Chartered. His practice focused on both health and media law. Prior to specializing in media and health law, he had many years of experience as a civil trial attorney.

Mr. Lord holds a Bachelor of Science from Florida State University and he received his Juris Doctorate degree from Stetson University College of Law. He is board certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law and is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.

His professional affiliations include The Florida Bar, American Health Lawyers Association, American College of Healthcare Executives, the bars of the Florida Supreme Court and the United States Supreme Court.

VGTI Florida

VGTI Florida is a leading immunological research institute that is on an urgent mission to transform scientific discoveries into novel treatments and cures for devastating chronic illnesses such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, influenza and infectious diseases. VGTI Florida is an independent non-profit 501(c)(3) organization located in the Tradition Center for Innovation in Port St. Lucie, Florida. For more information, please visit: http://www.VGTIFL.org

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Attorney Robert L. Lord, Jr. Joins the Vaccine & Gene Therapy Institute of Florida Board of Directors

One week of poor sleep can disrupt hundreds of genes linked to stress, immunity and inflammation, research has shown.

Scientists think the discovery could explain why lack of sleep can have a devastating impact on health.

For the new study, researchers examined gene activity in 26 sleep-deprived volunteers.

They found that insufficient sleep had an impact on more than 700 genes. Some had their activity dampened, while others became extra-active.

Those affected included genes associated with the "body clock" cycle, metabolism, and immune and stress responses.

Poor sleep also altered chromatin - the DNA and protein "packaging" that plays an important role in gene regulation.

The researchers believe their findings may be particularly relevant to people working long hours in industrialised societies.

The scientists, led by University of Surrey sleep expert Professor Derk-Jan Dijk, analysed RNA - the messenger chemical that delivers coded "instructions" from the genes to cells - in the blood of volunteers.

Participants were exposed to a week of poor sleep during which they slept no more than six hours a night. At the end of this time, they had to stay awake for around 40 hours while samples were collected at three-hourly intervals.

The results were compared with the effect on the same volunteers of sleeping up to 10 hours a night for a week. Again, samples were taken when volunteers stayed awake for a long period at the end of the study.

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Lack Of Sleep Impacts On Gene Activity

February 26, 2013 - 18:15 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - A run of poor sleep can have a potentially profound effect on the internal workings of the human body, say UK researchers, according to BBC News.

The activity of hundreds of genes was altered when people's sleep was cut to less than six hours a day for a week.

Writing in the journal PNAS, the researchers said the results helped explain how poor sleep damaged health.

Heart disease, diabetes, obesity and poor brain function have all been linked to substandard sleep. What missing hours in bed actually does to alter health, however, is unknown.

So researchers at the University of Surrey analysed the blood of 26 people after they had had plenty of sleep, up to 10 hours each night for a week, and compared the results with samples after a week of fewer than six hours a night.

More than 700 genes were altered by the shift. Each contains the instructions for building a protein, so those that became more active produced more proteins - changing the chemistry of the body.

Meanwhile the natural body clock was disturbed - some genes naturally wax and wane in activity through the day, but this effect was dulled by sleep deprivation.

Prof Colin Smith, from the University of Surrey, told the BBC: "There was quite a dramatic change in activity in many different kinds of genes."

Areas such as the immune system and how the body responds to damage and stress were affected.

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Poor sleep dramatically affects gene activity, research suggests

Public release date: 26-Feb-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Bill Ferguson bferguson@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, NY, February 26, 2013Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers (http://www.liebertpub.com) announces the launch of MOOCs Forum (http://www.liebertpub.com/mooc) to serve as the host and chronicle for discussions, debates, announcements, and advancements for all issues and constituents in the Massive Open Online Courses community. The Journal will be published in print and online with Open Access options.

Multidisciplinary in scope, MOOCs Forum will be the public venue for examining key issues paramount to the success of MOOCs such as increasing course completion rates, course content and examination security, student identification, successful business models, and all evolving topics related to the field.

The Editor-in-Chief of MOOCs Forum is Jack M. Wilson, PhD, President Emeritus, the University of Massachusetts and Distinguished Professor of Higher Education, Emerging Technologies, and Innovation. Widely considered a thought leader, and sometimes critic, for MOOCs, Wilson was recently the keynote speaker at the University of Pennsylvania Higher Education Leadership Conference: Innovation in an Era of Disruptive Change, as well as delivering two keynotes on MOOCs at the recent annual meeting of the Association of American Colleges and Universities. Wilson states, "The sudden attention garnered by MOOCs is evidence of the rapidly changing environment for higher education. Over the last 10 years online learning and other technology driven innovations have begun a transformation of post-secondary education. Online enrollments passed 6 million in 2010 and were nearing 7 million by the end of 2011. MOOCs have attracted audiences of over 100,000 in a single course, but face challenges in retaining students to completion."

Key members of the Editorial Board include: Eren Bali, Udemy; Tom Do, Coursera; John Flores, United States Distance Learning Association; Nish Sonwalkar, MIT; Phil DiSalvio, University of Massachusetts, Boston; and Peter Lange, Duke University.

Company founder and CEO Mary Ann Liebert comments, "MOOCs are an important and growing resource with great promise to improve the education and consequently the quality of life for people everywhere. This Forum will accelerate the development, acceptance, and use of MOOCs by universities and their students, employers and employees, as well people committed to continuous learning around the world."

###

About the Publisher

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers (http://www.liebertpub.com) is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science, technology, and medicine including Big Data and Disruptive Science and Technology. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's more than 70 journals, newsmagazines, and books is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers (http://www.liebertpub.com) website.

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MOOCs Forum: The public venue for sharing and shaping developments in massive open online courses

ABC News recently reported on the societal implications of a pre-implantation genetic diagnosis procedure now being allowed in Germany. This procedure is also available at the IVF New Jersey Fertility Center, which offers insight as to its benefits.

(PRWEB) February 26, 2013

While pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is not practiced in many countries, it is a fairly common and frequently successful procedure in the United States. Its a type of prenatal genetic testing that is nonetheless innovative, providing valuable information for parents-to-be. By screening embryos for genetic abnormalities prior to the embryo attaching to the uterus, couples are increasing the chance of a successful pregnancy and decrease the risk of passing certain genetic diseases to their children.

The list of more than 30 diseases that preimplantation genetic diagnosis/genetic testing can detect at IVF New Jersey is continually evolving, and includes the following: Adenosine deaminase deficiency, Alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency, Alpers Syndrome, Cystic fibrosis, Gauchers disease, Hemophilia A and B, Huntingtons disease, Muscular dystrophy (Duchenne and Becker), Sickle cell disease, Spinal muscular atrophy, Tay Sachs disease.

At IVF New Jersey Fertility Center, the PGD procedure begins with in vitro fertilization (IVF), using hormones to stimulate the growth and recovery of multiple eggs from the ovaries in order to form several embryos for evaluation by PGD, thus increasing the chances of finding normal or unaffected embryos for transferring back to the uterus. From that point, the process of evaluation of these embryos by PGD takes place in a laboratory and requires a biopsy at one of the two developmental stages (cleaved embryo, three days after fertilization or blastocyst, five to six days after fertilization). The stage of the embryo is determined on a case-by-case basis.

The embryo biopsy is performed under microscopic guidance using a pipette to gently aspirate the embryonic cells and an opening is made in the shell surrounding the embryo allowing access to the dividing cells. The goal is to obtain enough cellular material to carry on the PGD analysis without harming the embryo and only embryos with normal biopsy results are used for transfer/implantation.

PGD was developed to check for genetic and chromosomal abnormalities that would cause miscarriages, birth defects or fatal illnesses, and the list of diseases that pre-implantation genetic testing can detect is consistently growing at IVF New Jersey. While PGD increases couples chances of having a healthy offspring, experts at IVF New Jersey recommend that patients get confirmatory genetic testing during pregnancy like CVS or amniocentesis to ensure their child is free of other conditions.

Women and couples are encouraged to visit http://www.ivfnj.com to learn more about PGD and the fertility center.

About IVF New Jersey Fertility Center:

IVF New Jersey Fertility Center was founded in 1990 with the goal of creating a fertility practice that combines the best of big-city medicine with the personalized care of a private setting. For the past 22 years, IVF NJ has helped bring thousands of babies to couples in the metropolitan region and throughout the world. IVF NJs unique cutting-edge facilities allow the physicians to perform all standard (delete) fertility diagnostic and treatment procedures under one roof, all in a comfortable, private, non-hospital setting. IVF NJ is one of the largest fertility centers in the nation with some of the highest success rates in the U.S. according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC). For more information visit http://www.ivfnj.com.

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IVF New Jersey Fertility Center Offering Sought-After Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis Tests

CBC New Gene Therapy for Leukemia

By: jie jiu

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CBC New Gene Therapy for Leukemia - Video

"Immunology", Bone Marrow Transplantation or Gene Therapy Can Be Useful to Correct Genetic Defects

By: MyCyberCollege

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"Immunology", Bone Marrow Transplantation or Gene Therapy Can Be Useful to Correct Genetic Defects - Video

Intracerebral gene therapy for lysosomal storage diseases
Animation movie of intracerebral gene therapy approach for the treatment of lysosomal storage diseases. This film was produced by LYSOGENE in collaboration with the students from the first year of scientific illustration design at the Estienne school.

By: LYSOGENEchannel

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Intracerebral gene therapy for lysosomal storage diseases - Video

Stem Cell Therapy Boston - New England Center for Hair Restoration
At New England Center for Hair Restoration, our Boston area specialists are working with stem cell therapy in a research environment to discover the many ways it can assist in treating hair loss. We expect to see phenomenal results, as we have already discovered many reasons as to why stem cells can be effective as a hair loss solution. If you are interested in learning more about stem cell therapy, or any other hair loss treatments available at our Boston hair restoration center, please visit http://www.nehair.com. You may contact our hair loss center at 465 S. Washington Street North Attleborough, MA 02760 (855) 563-4247, (855) 5 NE HAIR http://www.nehair.com

By: Ryan Welter

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Stem Cell Therapy Boston - New England Center for Hair Restoration - Video

SILVER SPRING, Md., Feb. 25, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nuvilex, Inc. (NVLX), an international biotechnology and clinical stage provider of natural products and cell and gene therapy solutions for the treatment of diseases, discussed today additional reasons for its subsidiary, Medical Marijuana Sciences, Inc., to develop treatments for brain and pancreatic cancer that are based on cannabinoids from Cannabis sativa.

Plants have been the source of many well-known drugs for the treatment of a myriad of diseases, and cancer is no exception. For several years, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in the U.S. has conducted a program that searches worldwide for new anticancer drugs from various natural sources, including plants. By using cannabinoids from Cannabis, such as cannabidiol, as the basis for developing treatments for deadly forms of cancer, Medical Marijuana Sciences, Inc. is, in fact, embracing the NCI's efforts.

There are many examples of cancer drugs from plants that are in widespread use throughout the world for a variety of cancers. Prominent among these are paclitaxel (Taxol(R)) from the bark of the Pacific yew tree (Taxus brevifolia), vincristine (Oncovin(R)) and vinblastine (Velban(R)) from the periwinkle plant and their synthetic derivatives vindesine (Eldisine(R)) and vinorelbine (Navelbine(R)), and Camptothecin(TM) from the bark and stem of the small Camptotheca acuminata tree native to China and Tibet. Derivatives of Camptothecin(TM) that are used in cancer treatment include topotecan (Hycantin(R)) and irinotecan (Camptosar(R)).

Typically, plant-derived drugs are used alone or with other drugs in combination chemotherapy treatment regimens. Some of these drugs are targeted to the treatment of one or two forms of cancer, while others are used to treat several forms of the disease. Furthermore, these naturally-occurring drugs have inspired the production of derivatives that are also used for cancer treatment.

Nuvilex's COO, Dr. Gerald Crabtree stated "By using cannabinoids for the development of treatments for some of the deadliest forms of cancer, Medical Marijuana Sciences, Inc. is building upon the strong foundation of very important cancer drugs that have come from plants. Given the knowledge that has accumulated in the scientific literature over the past few years, we feel that cannabinoids represent an excellent opportunity for the development of such treatments."

Dr. Robert Ryan, President and CEO of Nuvilex commented, "We are excited by the prospect that Nuvilex, through its new subsidiary Medical Marijuana Sciences, can contribute to the already strong arsenal of plant-derived anticancer agents."

About Nuvilex

Nuvilex, Inc. (NVLX) has been a provider of all-natural products for many years. The company has been expanded to increase its natural product-based footprint through medical marijuana studies. We are an international biotechnology provider of live, therapeutically valuable, encapsulated cells and services for research and medicine. New developments by our company and subsidiaries will be substantial as we have been working on many fronts to move us forward. Our company's offerings will ultimately include cancer, diabetes and other treatments using the Company's natural product knowledge, product base, cell and gene therapy expertise, and live-cell encapsulation technology in addition to other new products currently under development.

The Nuvilex, Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=13494

Safe Harbor Statement

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Nuvilex's Subsidiary, Medical Marijuana Sciences, Inc., Presents Further Rationale for Use of Cannabinoids in ...

Feb. 25, 2013 Environmental exposure to bisphenol A (BPA), a widespread chemical found in plastics and resins, may suppress a gene vital to nerve cell function and to the development of the central nervous system, according to a study led by researchers at Duke Medicine.

The researchers published their findings -- which were observed in cortical neurons of mice, rats and humans -- in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Feb. 25, 2013.

"Our study found that BPA may impair the development of the central nervous system, and raises the question as to whether exposure could predispose animals and humans to neurodevelopmental disorders," said lead author Wolfgang Liedtke, M.D., PhD, associate professor of medicine/neurology and neurobiology at Duke.

BPA, a molecule that mimics estrogen and interferes with the body's endocrine system, can be found in a wide variety of manufactured products, including thermal printer paper, some plastic water bottles and the lining of metal cans. The chemical can be ingested if it seeps into the contents of food and beverage containers.

Research in animals has raised concerns that exposure to BPA may cause health problems such as behavioral issues, endocrine and reproductive disorders, obesity, cancer and immune system disorders. Some studies suggest that infants and young children may be the most vulnerable to the effects of BPA, which led the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to ban the use of the chemical in baby bottles and cups in July 2012.

While BPA has been shown to affect the developing nervous system, little is understood as to how this occurs. The research team developed a series of experiments in rodent and human nerve cells to learn how BPA induces changes that disrupt gene regulation.

During early development of neurons, high levels of chloride are present in the cells. These levels drop as neurons mature, thanks to a chloride transporter protein called KCC2, which churns chloride ions out of the cells. If the level of chloride within neurons remains elevated, it can damage neural circuits and compromise a developing nerve cell's ability to migrate to its proper position in the brain.

Exposing neurons to minute amounts of BPA alters the chloride levels inside the cells by somehow shutting down the Kcc2 gene, which makes the KCC2 protein, thereby delaying the removal of chloride from neurons.

MECP2, another protein important for normal brain function, was found to be a possible culprit behind this change. When exposed to BPA, MECP2 is more abundant and binds to the Kcc2 gene at a higher rate, which might help to shut it down. This could contribute to problems in the developing brain due to a delay in chloride being removed.

These findings raise the question of whether BPA could contribute to neurodevelopmental disorders such as Rett syndrome, a severe autism spectrum disorder that is only found in girls and is characterized by mutations in the gene that produces MECP2.

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BPA may affect the developing brain by disrupting gene regulation

One week of poor sleep can disrupt hundreds of genes linked to stress, immunity and inflammation, research has shown.

Sleep deficiency is associated with a host of conditions including obesity, heart disease and mental impairment. But scientists are still trying to understand the molecular mechanisms involved.

For the new study, researchers examined gene activity in 26 sleep-deprived volunteers. They found that insufficient sleep had an impact on more than 700 genes - some had their activity dampened, while others became extra-active.

Those affected included genes associated with the circadian night and day "body clock" cycle, metabolism, and immune and stress responses.

Poor sleep also altered chromatin - the DNA and protein "packaging" that plays an important role in gene regulation.

The scientists, led by Professor Derk-Jan Dijk from the University of Surrey, wrote in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: "Biological processes affected included chromatin modification, gene-expression (activity) regulation, macro-molecular metabolism, and inflammatory, immune and stress responses. The identified biological processes may be involved with the negative effects of sleep loss on health, and highlight the inter-relatedness of sleep homeostasis (stability), circadian rhythmicity, and metabolism."

Prof Dijk's team analysed RNA - the messenger chemical that delivers coded "instructions" from the genes to cells - in the blood of volunteers. RNA can be used as a tool to measure gene activity.

Participants were exposed to a week of poor sleep during which they slept no more than six hours a night. At the end of this time, they had to stay awake for around 40 hours while RNA samples were collected at three hourly intervals. The results were compared with the effect on the same volunteers of sleeping up to 10 hours a night for a week.

The scientists noted: "Sleep obtained in the sleep-restriction condition was not sufficient to maintain alertness or performance."

The findings may be relevant to many people living in industrialised societies, they said. In the US, 30% of adults reported getting six hours sleep or less a night on average.

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Lack of sleep affects gene activity

By Duke Medicine News and Communications

DURHAM, N.C. -- Environmental exposure to bisphenol A (BPA), a widespread chemical found in plastics and resins, may suppress a gene vital to nerve cell function and to the development of the central nervous system, according to a study led by researchers at Duke Medicine.

The researchers published their findings - which were observed in cortical neurons of mice, rats and humans - in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Feb. 25, 2013.

"Our study found that BPA may impair the development of the central nervous system, and raises the question as to whether exposure could predispose animals and humans to neurodevelopmental disorders," said lead author Wolfgang Liedtke, M.D., PhD, associate professor of medicine/neurology and neurobiology at Duke.

BPA, a molecule that mimics estrogen and interferes with the body's endocrine system, can be found in a wide variety of manufactured products, including thermal printer paper, some plastic water bottles and the lining of metal cans. The chemical can be ingested if it seeps into the contents of food and beverage containers.

Research in animals has raised concerns that exposure to BPA may cause health problems such as behavioral issues, endocrine and reproductive disorders, obesity, cancer and immune system disorders. Some studies suggest that infants and young children may be the most vulnerable to the effects of BPA, which led the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to ban the use of the chemical in baby bottles and cups in July 2012.

While BPA has been shown to affect the developing nervous system, little is understood as to how this occurs. The research team developed a series of experiments in rodent and human nerve cells to learn how BPA induces changes that disrupt gene regulation.

During early development of neurons, high levels of chloride are present in the cells. These levels drop as neurons mature, thanks to a chloride transporter protein called KCC2, which churns chloride ions out of the cells. If the level of chloride within neurons remains elevated, it can damage neural circuits and compromise a developing nerve cell's ability to migrate to its proper position in the brain.

Exposing neurons to minute amounts of BPA alters the chloride levels inside the cells by somehow shutting down the Kcc2 gene, which makes the KCC2 protein, thereby delaying the removal of chloride from neurons.

MECP2, another protein important for normal brain function, was found to be a possible culprit behind this change. When exposed to BPA, MECP2 is more abundant and binds to the Kcc2 gene at a higher rate, which might help to shut it down. This could contribute to problems in the developing brain due to a delay in chloride being removed.

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Health Research: BPA May Affect the Developing Brain by Disrupting Gene Regulation

Agricultural Experiment Station at the University of Arizona
Randy Ryan of the Agricultural Experiment Station at the University of Arizona explains the benefits of genetic engineering to Arizona #39;s cotton crop. Read more about cotton today in Arizona, arizonaexperience.org

By: Arizona Experience

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Agricultural Experiment Station at the University of Arizona - Video