Archive for the ‘Gene Therapy Research’ Category

29-06-2012 19:52 Clip 5. GENETIC CHILE The International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAAKSTD) compiled a 600 page comprehensive study titled "Agriculture at a Crossroads" which directly addresses and recommends solutions to world hunger. *** GENETIC CHILE, An eye-opening look at the world of genetically modified foods through the lens of New Mexico's iconic chile pepper. The chile pepper defines New Mexican cuisine and is considered a sacred plant by many cultures. Despite overwhelming evidence of gene flow, persistent safety questions, predatory multinational agribusiness corporations and potential economic damage, the State of New Mexico funded research to produce a GMO chile, which is the first time a US state has done so. Because the funding is public, filmmaker Chris Dudley, was able to force a rare interview with a genetic researcher at NMSU. This film is packed with information about the harmful use of GMO technology and the ignorance shown by the proponents of GMO crops. Documentary, by Chris Dudley. In English | 60 minutes. |

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Genetic Chile Clip 5 - Video

June 29, 2012

Connie K. Ho for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

The common cold, otherwise known as the flu, can creep up on unsuspecting people. It can leave people with fevers, sore throat, cough, runny nose, chills, fatigue, nausea, among other symptoms. Researchers have been looking into the flu to better understand the bodys responses to viruses. Scientists recently found how a new gene in the influenza virus could control the virus to manage the bodys actions against an infection.

The research was completed by a collaborative team of researchers from the University of Cambridge, University College Cork, the University of Edinburgh, the University of Utah, the Institute of Systems Biology, and the United States National Institutes of Health. The findings are published online in the journal Science.

Even though the virus manages the bodys response, it decreases the influence of the infection. In particular, when mice were infected with the active virus gene PA-X, they often recovered from having the flu. Researchers believe that the findings will help in terms of understanding how the flu can initiate severe infections. They believe that the new research will assist in the development of new treatments.

Just finding this gene in the first place is important, but the find is even more significant because of the role it seems to play in the bodys response to flu, noted Paul Digard, a member of The Roslin Institute at the University of Edinburgh, in a prepared statement.

The study focused on the how the gene affected the response of the Spanish flu, which is a virulent strain of influenza that initiated a pandemic that occurred in 1918. The researchers discovered the gene by studying the genetic information for patterns of changes. They analyzed thousands of different flu strains.

The flu virus has a very, very small genome just 12 genes. Finding a new gene makes a pretty significant change to our understanding of this virus, commented Dr. Andrew Firth, a researcher at the University of Cambridge, in the statement.

In particular, each of the influenza viruses has a shell that contains eight strains of RNA. RNA is a genetic molecule that is connected to DNA. While some of the strands can encode many different genes, each of the strains creates a different protein. Before the research, scientists thought that there were only eight strains that had 12 different genes. However, the new study shows that there may possibly be 13 different genes. As such, the influenza genome is thought to have overlapping instructions for protein production.

According to Discover Magazine, the new gene discovered by the researchers is also found in the virus third RNA strand that was thought to only have the PA gene. The PA gene assists the virus to make a copy of its genome. When the gene PA allowed the virus to make a copy of the genome, it gave PA-X a different task in cutting up bits of RNA from the viruss host and stopped the host from activating genes. As a result, the host-cell turned off and the host wasnt able to create a defense against the virus. Furthermore, the host ended up producing proteins based off the genetic instructions from the virus rather than eliminating the RNA.

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Gene Study Shows Flu Connection With Severe Infections

Public release date: 29-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Mary Guiden mary.guiden@seattlechildrens.org 206-987-7334 Seattle Children's

SEATTLE June 28, 2012 A research team led by Seattle Children's Research Institute has discovered new gene mutations associated with markedly enlarged brain size, or megalencephaly. Mutations in three genes, AKT3, PIK3R2 and PIK3CA, were also found to be associated with a constellation of disorders including cancer, hydrocephalus, epilepsy, autism, vascular anomalies and skin growth disorders. The study, "De novo germline and postzygotic mutations in AKT3, PIK3R2 and PIK3CA cause a spectrum of related megalencephaly syndromes," was published online June 24 in Nature Genetics.

The discovery offers several important lessons and hope for the future in medicine. First, the research team discovered additional proof that the genetic make-up of a person is not completely determined at the moment of conception. Researchers previously recognized that genetic changes may occur after conception, but this was believed to be quite rare. Second, discovery of the genetic causes of these human diseases, including developmental disorders, may also lead directly to new possibilities for treatment.

AKT3, PIK3R2 and PIK3CA are present in all humans, but mutations in the genes are what lead to conditions including megalencephaly, cancer and other disorders. PIK3CA is a known cancer-related gene, and appears able to make cancer more aggressive. Scientists at Boston Children's Hospital recently published similar findings related to PIK3CA and a rare condition known as CLOVES syndrome in the American Journal of Human Genetics.

Physician researcher James Olson, MD, PhD, a pediatric cancer expert at Seattle Children's and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center who was not affiliated with the study, acknowledged the two decades-worth of work that led to the findings. "This study represents ideal integration of clinical medicine and cutting-edge genomics," he said. "I hope and believe that the research will establish a foundation for successfully using drugs that were originally developed to treat cancer in a way that helps normalize intellectual and physical development of affected children. The team 'knocked it out of the park' by deep sequencing exceptionally rare familial cases and unrelated cases to identify the culprit pathway." The genes AKT3, PIK3R2 and PIK3CAall encode core components of the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (P13K)/AKT pathway, the "culprit pathway" referenced by Olson.

The research provides a first, critical step in solving the mystery behind chronic childhood conditions and diseases. At the bedside, children with these conditions could see new treatments in the next decade. "This is a huge finding that provides not only new insight for certain brain malformations, but also, and more importantly, provides clues for what to look for in less severe cases and in conditions that affect many children," said William Dobyns, MD, a geneticist at Seattle Children's Research Institute. "Kids with cancer, for example, do not have a brain malformation, but they may have subtle growth features that haven't yet been identified. Physicians and researchers can now take an additional look at these genes in the search for underlying causes and answers."

Researchers at Seattle Children's Research Institute will now delve more deeply into the findings, with an aim to uncover even more about the potential medical implications for children. "Based on what we've found, we believe that we can eventually reduce the burden of and need for surgery for kids with hydrocephalus and change the way we treat other conditions, including cancer, autism and epilepsy," said Jean-Baptiste Rivire, PhD, at Seattle Children's Research Institute. "This research truly helps advance the concept of personalized medicine."

Drs. Dobyns, Rivire and team made this discovery through exome sequencing, a strategy used to selectively sequence the coding regions of the genome as an inexpensive but effective alternative to whole genome sequencing. An exome is the most functionally relevant part of a genome, and is most likely to contribute to the phenotype, or observed traits and characteristics, of an organism.

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Study finds new gene mutations that lead to enlarged brain size, cancer, autism, epilepsy

28-06-2012 04:23 I also posted a text version of my article on sacns! The Daily Telegraph is reporting on an amazing achievement... a vaccine, which causes nicotine to have no effect whatsoever... on mice. Nicotine calms a person, and causes a slowing in heartbeat. These positive effects of smoking, are something the scientists, think... need to end. So... How does it work? Genetic Engineering... yes, I said it... Genetically Modified (GM) antibody... as a cure. The anti-body filters nicotine out of the blood, and after it appears once, the bodies... of the mice, mimic it. Such means: no more pleasure from smoking. It is suggested that, soon they may graduate from Mice to Men. But if you are a mouse or a man... the best laid schemes and plans of either... to quit, might determine if one is a mouse or a man... There is still the emotional addiction to deal with, if the process works, and any side affects, as yet unspoken. For more on what professor of Genetic Medicine, Dr Ronald Crystal, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, has to say to the Daily Telegraph: A jab that 'vaccinates' people against smoking for life being developed - Telegraph » Scientists have invented a jab that takes the pleasure out of smoking, it has emerged. 'A jab that 'vaccinates' people against smoking for life being developed; Scientists have invented a jab that takes the pleasure out of smoking, it has emerged.' by Richard Alleyne at 7:51AM BST 28 Jun 2012 www ...

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Scientists invent cure to smoking... - Video

Public release date: 29-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Dana Mortensen mortensen@email.chop.edu 267-426-6067 Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Douglas C. Wallace, Ph.D., director of the Center for Mitochondrial and Epigenomic Medicine at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, will receive the 2012 Genetics Prize of The Gruber Foundation. This prestigious international awarda $500,000 prizerecognizes Wallace's pioneering scientific investigations of the wide-ranging role of mitochondria in the development of disease and as markers of human evolution. Mitochondria are the tiny power plants within the cytoplasm of animal and plant cells.

Wallace will receive the award on November 9 at the annual meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics in San Francisco. The Gruber Foundation, now based at Yale University, announced the Genetics Prize on June 28. The Foundation's Genetics Prize annually honors leading scientists for groundbreaking contributions to genetics research.

Philip R. Johnson, MD, chief scientific officer at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, acknowledged Wallace's achievements, saying, "The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute is privileged to number Douglas Wallace among our research leaders. His commitment to the field of mitochondrial genetics and his pioneering nature embody the mission of research at CHOP, and his research and leadership are shaping the way we approach therapies for genetic disorders previously considered beyond treatment."

"Douglas Wallace's contributions to our understanding of mitochondrial genetics have changed the way human and medical geneticists think about the role of mitochondria in human health and disease," said Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn, chair of the Selection Advisory Board to the Prize. Blackburn, who shared the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, also received the Gruber Genetics Prize in 2006.

Wallace, who came to The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in 2010 to launch the Center for Mitochondrial and Epigenomic Medicine, first achieved prominence in the 1970s as the leader of a research team at Stanford University that defined the genetics of mitochondrial DNA. This DNA resides within each mitochondrion, as distinct from the more familiar nuclear DNA inside chromosomes. His group showed that human mitochondrial DNA is inherited exclusively from the mother.

This discovery, coupled with other findings, allowed the researchers to reconstruct ancient human migration patterns over hundreds of millennia, a major contribution that bridges genetics and anthropology. Wallace and colleagues also have linked mutations in mitochondrial DNA to a broad range of human diseases, including types of blindness, deafness, metabolic disorders such as diabetes, neuropsychiatric conditions, and age-related diseases such as heart disease and cancer.

The Center for Mitochondrial and Epigenomic Medicine at Children's Hospital researches mitochondrial dysfunction in many clinical problems, and also focuses on preclinical studies relevant to developing therapies for mitochondrial diseases, for which few effective clinical treatments currently exist.

Wallace holds the Michael and Charles Barnett Endowed Chair in Pediatric Mitochondrial Medicine at Children's Hospital and also is a professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the nation's premier organization of leading researchers, as well as the Academy's Institute of Medicine, and is also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

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Dr. Douglas Wallace to receive Gruber Foundation 2012 Genetics Prize

Cant kick cigarettes? A vaccine may one day help by preventing nicotine from reaching its target in the brain, according to research published this week.

Most smoking therapies do a poor job of stopping the habit 70% to 80% of smokers who use an approved drug therapy to quit relapse. Scientists say this is because the targets of existing therapies are imperfect, only slightly weakening nicotines ability to find its target in the brain.

So some scientists have been trying a different approach creation of a vaccine. It would work like this: People would inject the vaccine like a shot, and the vaccine would create nicotine antibodies, molecules that can snatch up nicotine from the bloodstream before it reaches the brain. The vaccine could be used by smokers who want to quit or people who are worried about getting addicted to cigarettes in the future.

Researchers have tried to create vaccines in the past, but the ones theyve come up with have not been particularly effective. The authors of the new study say this may be because previous vaccines just didnt create enough antibodies to get rid of all the nicotine.

The new report, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, attempts to solve this problem via gene therapy, in which a new gene is inserted into the body to do a particular job.

First the scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City put a gene that produces a nicotine antibody into mice. The gene was taken into the mices livers, and the liver started producing the antibody. Once produced, the antibody connected with nicotine, trapping it and preventing it from making its way to the brain, where it would otherwise have caused the pleasurable, addictive effects it is so known for.

Because of this trick, the researchers say that the new vaccine should only have to be injected once, and it will work for life, continuing to produce new antibodies in the liver.

The vaccine was effective: When mice were given nicotine intravenously, ones with the vaccine had a 47-fold drop in levels of nicotine in the blood compared with ones that hadnt received the vaccine. The antibody had successfully captured the nicotine in the bloodstream before it could reach the brain.

The work is still preliminary, and the authors admit the technology is far from ready for human use; it has only been used in rodents so far. But given the results, and the continued public health effect of smoking, it may not be too long before all those boxes of Nicorette are replaced with a single trip to the doctors office.

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New gene therapy for smoking kills the pleasure of nicotine

27-06-2012 18:19 Here are the steps I take when using Ovation Cell Therapy 🙂 Feel free to ask anymore questions!

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How to Use Ovation Cell Therapy on Curly Hair - Video

28-06-2012 09:19 Stem Cell Therapy More Info: Stem Cell Therapy -- Reduce Wrinkles,Promote Younger, Healthier Looking Skin * Increase production of new skin cells by 57% * Re-activate stem cells to stimulate fresh, new skin cell production * Increase natural collagen production by 80% * Decrease wrinkle appearance 56% in 30 days * Increase elastin synthesis by 61% Stem Cell Therapy, Stem Cell Skin Cream, Stem Cell Therapy BioLogic Solutions, Wrinkle Reducer, Decrease Wrinkles,Vanish Wrinkles Feel Younger, Aging Cream, Younger Looking Skin, No More Botox,antiaging,antiaging cream,botox alternative,

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Stem Cell Therapy - Healthier Looking Skin ,Promote Younger, Reduce Wrinkles - Video

SAN DIEGO CA--(Marketwire -06/29/12)- Medistem Inc. (MEDS) announced today notice of allowance from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for a patent covering the use of fat stem cells, and cells associated with fat stem cells for treatment of diseases related to a dysfunctional immune system. Such diseases include multiple sclerosis, Type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. The allowed patent, entitled "Stem Cell Mediated Treg Activation/Expansion for Therapeutic Immune Modulation" has the earliest priority date of December 2006.

"We have previously published that giving multiple sclerosis patients cells extracted from their own fat tissue, which contains stem cells, appears to confer clinical benefit in a pilot study," said Thomas Ichim, CEO of Medistem. "The current patent that has been allowed, in the broadest interpretation of the claims, gives us exclusive rights to the use of specific types of fat stem cell therapy for autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis."

Subsequent to the filing of the patent application, Medistem together with collaborators at the Lawson Health Sciences Research Institute, Canada, reported data that fat tissue contains high numbers of T regulatory cells, a type of immune cell that is capable of controlling autoimmunity.

This finding was independently confirmed by Dr. Diane Mathis' laboratory at Harvard University, who published a paper in the prestigious journal, Nature Medicine, in which detailed experimental evidence was provided supporting the initial finding that adipose tissue contains high numbers of T regulatory cells. A video describing the paper can be accessed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEJfGu29Rg8.

The current patent discloses the use of T regulatory cells from fat, combinations with stem cells, and use of fat-derived mononuclear cells. Given that there are currently several groups utilizing this technology in the USA in treating patients, Medistem believes revenue can be generated through enforcement of patent rights.

"Our corporate philosophy has been to remain highly focused on our ongoing clinical stage programs using Medistem's universal donor stem cell, the Endometrial Regenerative Cell (ERC), in the treatment of critical limb ischemia and congestive heart failure," said Dr. Vladimir Bogin, Chairman and President of Medistem. "However, due to the ease of implementation of our fat stem cell technology, combined with the major burden that autoimmune diseases have on our health care system, we are highly incentivized to explore partnering, co-development and licensing opportunities."

Autoimmune conditions occur as a result of the body's immune system "turning on itself" and attacking its own organs or cells. Current treatments for autoimmune conditions are based on "globally" suppressing the immune system by administration of immunosuppressive drugs. This is associated with an increased predisposition to infections and significant side effects. The utilization of stem cells and T regulatory cells offers the potential to selectively suppress pathological immunity while preserving the ability of the body to fight bacteria and viruses. According to the NIH there are approximately 23 million victims of autoimmune conditions.

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Link to peer-reviewed publication: http://www.translational-medicine.com/content/pdf/1479-5876-7-29.pdf

Link: http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/medistem-files-patent-application-on-therapeutic-cell-population-found-in-fat-tissue-frankfurt-s2u-812298.htm

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Medistem Receives Notice of Patent Allowance Covering Fat Stem Cell Therapy of Autoimmune Diseases

There's a reason people crowd the tomato stands at the farmers market. Its diverse and vibrant tomatoes seem to taste better than the perfectly red ones at the supermarket, even if parts of the fruit aren't as ripe as others.

A study in today's issue of Science lends credence to what your taste buds have been telling you.

Researchers from UC Davis, Cornell University and other institutions have pinpointed the genetic change that makes many commercial tomatoes ripen uniformly. But they also discovered that the same genetic change makes a tomato produce less sugar so it is less sweet and flavorful.

"What this paper shows is that a pretty tomato comes at a cost in flavor," said Harry Klee, a University of Florida horticulturalist not involved in the study.

Some tomato varieties, when unripe, have dark green "shoulders" topping an otherwise light green tomato. This makes the top of the tomato redden more slowly than the rest as it ripens.

For some consumers, a partially red tomato is less appealing. Salsa companies, for example, don't want green chunks of tomato in their glass jars. And uneven ripening makes commercial and mechanical harvesting of tomatoes more difficult.

So for 70 years, since breeders discovered a naturally occurring variety of tomato that ripened uniformly, lots of tomatoes have been bred that way. These tomatoes are some of the most flawlessly red supermarket ones, and are in nearly all pizza sauces, tomato soups and ketchups.

Breeders knew they were selecting tomatoes to have a particular version of some gene. But they didn't know which one, or what it did. James Giovannoni, an author of the study at the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research at Cornell, likened it to having a Google map zoomed in only as far as California. Now, he said, "we're at your house in Sacramento."

The researchers discovered the gene, GLK2, and the version of it with a DNA difference that makes a tomato ripen uniformly.

By turning other genes on and off, it controls a tomato's chloroplasts, the factories that convert the sun's energy into sugar and make plants green.

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Study: Gene change that ripens tomatoes uniformly also makes them less flavorful

Public release date: 28-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Tara Womersley tara.womersley@ed.ac.uk 44-131-650-9836 University of Edinburgh

Scientists have discovered a new gene in the influenza virus that helps the virus control the body's response to infection.

Although this control is exerted by the virus, surprisingly it reduces the impact of the infection.

The findings will help researchers better understand how flu can cause severe infections, as well as inform research into new treatments.

Researchers found when the virus gene called PA-X was active, mice infected with flu subsequently recovered.

When the PA-X gene did not work properly, the immune system was found to overreact. This made the infection worse, and did not help destroy the virus any quicker.

The study looked at how the gene affected the behaviour of "Spanish flu", a virulent strain of influenza that caused a pandemic in 1918.

It was carried out by the Universities of Cambridge, Cork, Edinburgh and Utah, the Institute of Systems Biology in Seattle and the United States National Institutes of Health.

Scientists discovered the PA-X gene some 30 years after flu genome was first decoded.

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Gene discovery helps explain how flu can cause severe infections

Photographs by Mark Ostow

George Church is an imposing figureover six feet tall, with a large, rectangular face bordered by a brown and silver nest of beard and topped by a thick mop of hair. Since the mid-1980s Church has played a pioneering role in the development of DNA sequencing, helpingamong his other achievementsto organize the Human Genome Project. To reach his office at Harvard Medical School, one enters a laboratory humming with many of the more than 50 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows over whom Church rules as director of the school's Center for Computational Genetics. Passing through an anteroom of assistants, I find Church at his desk, his back to me, hunched over a notebook computer that makes him look even larger than he is.

Church looms especially large these days because of his role as one of the most influential figures in synthetic biology, an ambitious and radical approach to genetic engineering that attempts to create novel biological entitieseverything from enzymes to cells and microbesby combining the expertise of biology and engineering. He and his lab are credited with many of the advances in harnessing and synthesizing DNA that now help other researchers modify microrganisms to create new fuels and medical treatments. When I ask Church to describe what tangible impact synthetic biology will have on everyday life, he leans back in his chair, clasps his hands behind his head, and says, "It will change everything. People are going to live healthier a lot longer because of synthetic biology. You can count on it."

Such grandiosity is not uncommon among the practitioners of synthetic biology. Ever since Church and a few other researchers began to combine biology and engineering a dozen years ago, they have promised it would "change everything." And no wonder. The very idea of synthetic biology is to purposefully engineer the DNA of living things so that they can accomplish tasks they don't carry out in nature. Although genetic engineering has been going on since the 1970s, a rapid drop in the cost of decoding and synthesizing DNA, combined with a vast increase in computer power and an influx into biology labs of engineers and computer scientists, has led to a fundamental change in how thoroughly and swiftly an organism's genetics can be modified. Church says the technology will eventually lead to all manner of breakthroughs: we will be able to replace diseased tissues and organs by reprogramming cells to make new ones, create novel microbes that efficiently secrete fuels and other chemicals, and fashion DNA switches that turn on the right genes inside a patient's cells to prevent arteries from getting clogged.

Even though some of these applications are years from reality, Church has a way of tossing off such predictions matter-of-factly. And it's easy to see why he's optimistic. The cost of both decoding DNA and synthesizing new DNA strands, he has calculated, is falling about five times as fast as computing power is increasing under Moore's Law, which has accurately predicted that chip performance will double roughly every two years. Those involved in synthetic biology, who often favor computer analogies, might say it's becoming exponentially easier to read from, and write into, the source code of life. These underlying technology trends, says Church, are leading to an explosion in experimentation of a sort that would have been inconceivable only a few years ago.

Up to now, it's proved stubbornly difficult to turn synthetic biology into a practical technology that can create products like cheap biofuels. Scientists have found that the "code of life" is far more complex and difficult to crack than anyone might have imagined a decade ago. What's more, while rewriting the code is easier than ever, getting it right isn't. Researchers and entrepreneurs have found ways to coax bacteria or yeast to make many useful compounds, but it has been difficult to optimize such processes so that the microbes produce significant quantities efficiently enough to compete with existing commercial products.

Church is characteristically undeterred. At 57, he has survived cancer and a heart attack, and he suffers from both dyslexia and narcolepsy; before I visited him, one of his colleagues warned that I shouldn't be surprised if he fell asleep on me. But he has founded or taken an advisory role in more than 50 startup companiesand he stayed awake throughout our time together, apparently excited to describe how his lab has found ways to take advantage of ultrafast sequencing and other tools to greatly speed up synthetic biology. Among its many projects, Church's lab has invented a technique for rapidly synthesizing multiple novel strings of DNA and introducing them simultaneously into a bacterial genome. In one experiment, researchers created four billion variants of E. coli in a single day. After three days, they found variants of the bacteria in which production of a desired chemical was increased fivefold.

The idea, Church explains, is to sort through the variations to find "an occasional hopeful monster, just as evolution has done for millions of years." By mimicking in lab experiments what takes eons in nature, he says, he is radically improving the odds of finding ways to make microbes not just do new things but do them efficiently.

A DNA Turn-On

In some ways, the difficulties researchers have faced making new, more useful life forms shouldn't come as a surprise. Indeed, a lesson of genome research over the last few decades is that no matter how elegantly compact the DNA code is, the biology it gives rise to is consistently more complex than anyone anticipated. When I began reporting the early days of gene discovery 30 years ago, biologists, as they often do, thought reductively. When they found a gene involved in disease, the discovery made headlines. Scientists said they believed that potent new medicines could soon deactivate malfunctioning versions of genes, or that gene therapy could be used to replace them with healthy versions in the body.

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Biology's Master Programmers

Public release date: 28-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Vicki Cohn vcohn@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 x2156 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, NY, June 28, 2012Games that promote health can improve the well-being of employees, saving employers direct and indirect health care costs. Employers can more readily reap these benefits by offering game-based services that educate their employees about health and wellness and improve physical and psychological fitness, according to an Editorial in Games for Health Journal a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. The Editorial is available free on the Games for Health Journal website.

"Wellness programs using health games have the potential to significantly impact human well-being and the costs, pain, and suffering of preventable illnesses and conditions," says Games for Health Journal Editor-in-Chief Bill Ferguson, PhD, in the Editorial entitled "Games for WellnessImpacting the Lives of Employees and the Profits of Employers."

Dr. Ferguson highlights the key factors that will drive increased market acceptance of health games and wellness initiatives among employers. The Editorial describes the characteristics of health games for improving wellness and how videogaming can help engage people in their own health, supplement traditional forms of exercise, promote healthy living, and improve patient care.

"The most successful wellness programs incorporate videogames that present themselves as in the service of the player," states Dr. Ferguson. "These activities enable individuals to engage in things they have personally desired, but were unable to prioritize and accomplish before wellness games. The result is healthier, happier, and more productive employees - a win-win for employers and their people"

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About the Journal

Games for Health Journal breaks new ground as the first journal to address this emerging and increasingly important area of health care. The Journal provides a bimonthly forum in print and online for academic and clinical researchers, game designers and developers, health care providers, insurers, and information technology leaders. Articles explore the use of game technology in a variety of clinical applications. These include disease prevention and monitoring, nutrition, weight management, and medication adherence. Gaming can play an important role in the care of patients with diabetes, post-traumatic stress disorder, Alzheimer's disease, and cognitive, mental, emotional, and behavioral health disorders.

About the Publisher

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Games improve employee health and well-being, may reduce health insurance premiums for employers

28-06-2012 02:51 Luke is an eighteen-year-old medical marijuana patient in California. He has been suffering from a rare genetic skin disorder his whole life that causes his skin can to blister and tear with just slight contact. He is required to have hand and throat surgery every few years in order to live more comfortably. At age sixteen, Luke first tried medical marijuana to help aid his symptoms. These symptoms include pain, night terrors, loss of appetite, insomnia, and isolation. Since then, Luke has seen improvements in all areas. Because of their higher potency, Luke has found that medical marijuana concentrates help him sleep better. He discovered the G-Pen personal vaporizer for it's ease of use compared to traditional methods of ingestion. Luke has now taken his crusade for the legalization of medical marijuana to new heights as he visits with the WeedMaps team to get the message out. Please take a moment and listen to Luke tell you his story of bravery and achievement over all odds. His story will inspire you. The G Pen - Vaporizer Pen

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My Life. My Medicine. - Luke's Story - Video

SAN DIEGO, June 28, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Millennium Laboratories, the leading research-based clinical diagnostic company dedicated to improving the lives of people suffering from pain, announced today the introduction of Millennium Pharmacogenetic Testing (PGT). Millennium PGT is saliva-based testing to detect genetic variations in enzymes associated with the metabolism of medications commonly prescribed to patients suffering from debilitating chronic pain and pain-related effects. This testing will help clinicians identify patients who may benefit from modifying the drug selection or dosing of certain prescribed opioids including methadone, benzodiazepines, tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), and serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs).

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120516/LA07836LOGO)

"This novel testing provides insight into whether or not a patient will experience the anticipated effect of a prescribed medication or be at increased risk for additional side effects," said Howard Appel, President of Millennium Laboratories.

Medication metabolism differs greatly among individuals and may partly be the result of genetic variations in metabolizing enzymes. These genetic variations can result in clinically significant differences in response to prescribed medications. By identifying genetic variations in drug-metabolizing enzymes, clinicians can more effectively personalize each patient's treatment. Incorporating pharmacogenetic testing into clinical practice has significant potential to improve the efficacy of drug treatment and reduce adverse effects by providing information that allows clinicians to better predict and understand patient responses to medications(1-3).

"Millennium's proprietary pharmacogenetic testing is an objective tool to individualize therapy and potentially improve patient outcomes," said Appel. "Identifying genetic characteristicsthat affect how commonly prescribed medications are metabolized is an example of how personalized medicine may improve the lives of those suffering from pain. Millennium is proud to introduce this best-in-classpharmacogenetic testing to the market."

"Pharmacogenetics is an emerging technology across many areas of clinical medicine that has already started to affect certain clinical decisions and likely will play an increasingly important role in pain medicine, especially in the area of safe prescribing," said Michael Brennan, M.D., a nationally recognized pain specialist practicing in Fairfield, Connecticut. "In select chronic pain patients, the combineduse ofurine drug testing and pharmacogenetic testing can help answer important clinical questions."

Appel called today's announcement "a major milestone" for people suffering from pain. "Since our founding in 2007, Millennium has quickly become the leader in the field of medication monitoring and drug detection," he said. "As that leader, it is incumbent upon us to continue to advance the science of pain management by introducing the newest technologies and advanced clinical tools. Today's announcement represents the culmination of a more than two-year effort."

All testing and analysis are performed at Millennium's state-of-the-art pharmacogenetics laboratory in San Diego. Millennium PGT is currently available upon request to healthcare professionals in select regions across the United States. The company anticipates nationwide availability later this year.

About Millennium Laboratories

Millennium Laboratories (http://millenniumlabs.com/) is the leading research-based, clinical diagnostic company dedicated to improving the lives of people with chronic pain. The company provides healthcare professionals with medication monitoring, drug detection and pharmacogenetic testing services to personalize treatment plans to improve clinical outcomes and patient safety.

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Millennium Laboratories Launches Innovative Pharmacogenetic Test, Paving the Way for Personalized Medicine in the ...

Latest Prevention & Wellness News

Doctors May One Day Harness the Immune System to Help People Quit Smoking

By Brenda Goodman, MA WebMD Health News

Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

June 27, 2012 -- Scientists say they've developed a vaccine that may one day protect people against the addictive effects of nicotine -- but for now they have to settle for some success in mice.

The vaccine uses the shell of a harmless virus that, much like the Trojan horse, carries into cells genetic instructions for making an antibody against nicotine. When cells are "infected" by the virus, they get tricked into churning out a protein that blocks nicotine's biological effects.

"It's sort of like having Pac-Man floating around in the blood. [The antibodies] bind to the nicotine and prevent it from reaching its receptors in the brain," says Ronald G. Crystal, MD, chairman and professor of genetic medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City.

Researchers have tried to vaccinate people against nicotine before -- by directly injecting antibodies into the blood. The problem is that the antibodies disappear after only a few weeks, and the studies ultimately had disappointing results.

This time, researchers say they may have found a way to get the body to keep making more.

In a study published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, Crystal and colleagues at Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif., described how they were able to successfully vaccinate mice against nicotine.

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Vaccine May Block the Effect of Nicotine

Public release date: 28-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Sara Hrera media@gruberprizes.org 203-432-6231 Yale University

Douglas C. Wallace, PhD, a pioneering genetics researcher who founded the field of mitochondrial genetics in humans, will receive the 2012 Genetics Prize of The Gruber Foundation. Wallace is being honored with this prestigious international award for his groundbreaking achievements in helping science understand the role of mitochondriathe "power plants" of cellsin the development of disease and as markers for human evolution.

He will receive the award November 9 in San Francisco at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics, where he will also deliver a lecture titled "A Bioenergetic Perspective on Origins, Health, and Disease".

"Douglas Wallace's contributions to our understanding of mitochondrial genetics have changed the way human and medical geneticists think about the role of mitochondria in human health and disease," said Elizabeth Blackburn, chair of the Selection Advisory Board to the Prize. Blackburn is the 2006 Gruber Genetics Prize laureate and shared the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine.

Wallace began his research on mitochondrial biology 40 years ago, at a time when few people thought the study of mitochondria and its DNA (mtDNA) would have any significant applications for clinical medicine. In the early 1970s, Wallace and associates demonstrated that the mtDNA coded for heritable traits by developing the cybrid transfer technique and showing that chloramphenicol resistance was cytoplasmically inherited. This system permitted them to delineate the characteristics of cytoplasmic genetics. Then in the late 1970s, Wallace demonstrated that the human mtDNA is inherited solely through the mother. Using maternal inheritance as a guide, Wallace identified the first inherited mtDNA disease, Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON), and subsequently linked mtDNA mutations to a wide range of clinical symptoms, including deafness, neuropsychiatric disorders, cardiac and muscle problems, and metabolic diseases such as diabetes. Wallace also showed that mtDNA mutations accumulate in human tissue with age, and thus may play a role in age-related diseases, such as heart disease and cancer. In addition, he found that the levels of these age-related mtDNA mutations are higher in the brains of people with certain neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer disease, Parkinson disease and Huntington disease.

Wallace's research has also made a major contribution to the field of molecular anthropology. Using mtDNA variation, he has reconstructed the origins and ancient migrations of women, tracing all mtDNA lineages back some 200,000 years to a single African originthe so-called mitochondrial Eve.

"The impact of Doug Wallace's visionary research has been remarkable," said Huda Zoghbi, a member of Selection Advisory Board and the 2011 laureate of the Gruber Neuroscience Prize. "His discovery of the first mtDNA mutations in humans opened up the field of mitochondrial genetics and demonstrated the role of mitochondria in many human diseases. It's an extraordinary legacyand he is richly deserving of this award."

###

By agreement made in the spring of 2011 The Gruber Foundation has now been established at Yale University.

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$500,000 Gruber Foundation Genetics Prize goes to Philadelphia scientist

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Response Genetics, Inc. (RGDX), a company focused on the development and sale of molecular diagnostic tests for cancer, today announced a new anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) testing program aimed to provide clinicians a more complete picture of the ALK rearrangement status of their non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. The company will include its PCR-based EML4-ALK test results for patients testing negative for the ALK Break Apart fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) test at minimal cost.

Approximately 3 to 5 percent of NSCLC tumors have a rearrangement of the ALK gene. In addition to providing the ALK Break Apart FISH assay, which has been clinically validated to predict response to the targeted therapy XALKORI (crizotinib), Response Genetics has a proprietary EML4-ALK RT-PCR-based assay that detects rearrangements of the ALK gene. The Response Genetics PCR test has identified ALK variants in a subpopulation of cases that are negative by FISH, and that may respond to XALKORI treatment. Samples that test negative for ALK FISH at Response Genetics will be further tested with the Companys proprietary ALK PCR test.

The number of additional patients that may be identified by further testing could be small, yet the value a positive test result can bring to even one more patient is immeasurable. We are pleased to make our proprietary ALK PCR test available, at minimal cost, to pathologists and oncologists. Our goal is to provide them with actionable information they need to give every potential patient the chance to respond to effective treatment for non-small-cell lung cancer, said Thomas Bologna, chairman and CEO of Response Genetics. By providing both ALK FISH and ALK RT PCR testing services cost-effectively, we believe we are enabling clinicians to make more informed treatment decisions for their patients.

About Response Genetics, Inc.

Response Genetics, Inc. (RGI) is a CLIA-certified clinical laboratory focused on the development and sale of molecular diagnostic tests for cancer, located in Los Angeles, California. RGIs principal customers include oncologists, pathologists and hospitals. In addition to diagnostic testing services, RGI generates revenue from the sales of its analytical testing services of clinical-trial specimens to the pharmaceutical industry. For additional information, please visit http://www.responsegenetics.com.

Forward-Looking Statement Notice

Except for the historical information contained herein, this press release and the statements of representatives of RGI related thereto contain or may contain, among other things, certain forward-looking statements, within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

Such forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties. Such statements may include, without limitation, statements with respect to RGIs plans, objectives, projections, expectations and intentions, such as the ability of RGI to continue to provide clinical testing services to the medical community, to continue to expand its sales force, to continue to build its digital pathology initiative, to attract and retain qualified management, to implement operational enhancements, to strengthen marketing capabilities, to expand the suite of ResponseDX products, to continue to provide clinical trial support to pharmaceutical clients, to enter into new collaborations with pharmaceutical clients, to enter into new areas such as companion diagnostics, and to continue to execute on its business strategy and operations, to continue to analyze cancer samples, the potential for using the results of this research to develop diagnostic tests for cancer, the usefulness of genetic information to tailor treatment to patients, and other statements identified by words such as projects, may, could, would, should, believes, expects, anticipates, estimates, intends, plans or similar expressions.

These statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of RGIs management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, including those detailed in RGIs filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results, including, without limitation, actual sales results, if any, or the application of funds, may differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that are subject to change based on various factors (many of which are beyond RGIs control). RGI undertakes no obligation to publicly update forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

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Response Genetics, Inc. to Offer Enhanced ALK Testing Program for Metastatic Lung Cancer Patients

SILVER SPRING, Md., June 28, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nuvilex, Inc. (NVLX), a biotechnology provider of cell and gene therapy solutions, announced today that the final Asset Purchase Agreement, as amended, has been executed and the transfer of the assets of SG Austria Pte. Ltd. to Nuvilex has begun.

Austrianova Singapore Private Limited (ASPL) and Bio Blue Bird AG (BBB) are now functioning as wholly-owned subsidiaries of Nuvilex, Inc. subject to the terms of the Asset Purchase Agreement between the companies. By acquiring the shares of ASPL and BBB, NVLX has acquired the former SG Austria assets which include, but are not limited to all licenses, IP, patents, personnel, capabilities, and facilities associated with the cell encapsulation technology for cancer treatment and all other applications. Completing this acquisition allows Nuvilex to move forward toward conducting the pancreatic cancer treatment trial and advancing its use for diabetes therapy and stem cells.

The Executive Chairman for SG Austria and ASPL, Professor Dr. Walter Gunzburg commented, "We are pleased to inform our combined shareholders and investors that activities we aimed to complete prior to this point have been accomplished. As a result, our management teams decided the timing was right to complete the transfer of assets."

SG Austria and ASPL's Chief Executive, Dr. Brian Salmons stated, "Together, we see this as an important step that increases our ability to move ahead with our collective operational goals. We anticipate announcing additional information about plans for the live cell encapsulation technology in the near future."

Dr. Robert F. Ryan, Nuvilex's Chief Executive added, "The management teams of both Nuvilex and ASPL have been working closely together and are very pleased to be able to make this transfer of assets happen. We will continue our effort to develop treatments for cancer and other diseases, and we hope to play a substantial role in the future of biotechnology and cell and gene therapy."

About Nuvilex

Nuvilex, Inc. (NVLX) is an international biotechnology provider of live therapeutically valuable, encapsulated cells and services for research and medicine. Our company's clinical offerings will include cancer, diabetes and other treatments using the company's cell and gene therapy expertise and live-cell encapsulation technology.

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

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements described within the 1995 Private Securities Litigation Reform Act involving risks and uncertainties including product demand, market competition, and meeting current or future plans which may cause actual results, events, and performances, expressed or implied, to vary and/or differ from those contemplated or predicted. Investors should study and understand all risks before making an investment decision. Readers are recommended not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. Nuvilex is not obliged to publicly release revisions to any forward-looking statement, reflect events or circumstances afterward, or disclose unanticipated occurrences, except as required under applicable laws.

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Nuvilex Finalizes Asset Purchase Agreement and Completes Acquisition of SG Austria Assets

Featured Article Academic Journal Main Category: Smoking / Quit Smoking Also Included In: Immune System / Vaccines Article Date: 28 Jun 2012 - 2:00 PDT

Current ratings for: New Smoking Vaccine Using Gene Therapy Being Developed

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In a study reported in the journal Science Translational Medicine this week, Researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City show how a single dose of the vaccine protected mice, over their lifetime, against nicotine addiction.

The addictive properties of the nicotine in tobacco smoke is a huge barrier to success with current smoking cessation approaches, say the authors in their paper.

Previous work using gene therapy vaccination in mice to treat certain eye disorders and tumors, gave them the idea a similar approach might work against nicotine.

The new anti-nicotine vaccine is based on an adeno-associated virus (AAV) engineered to be harmless. The virus carries two pieces of genetic information: one that causes anti-nicotine monoclonal antibodies to be created, and the other that targets its insertion into the nucleus of specific cells in the liver, the hepatocytes.

The result is the animal's liver becomes a factory continuously producing antibodies that gobble up the nicotine as soon as it enters the bloodstream, denying it the opportunity to enter the brain.

The researchers write:

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New Smoking Vaccine Using Gene Therapy Being Developed

ScienceDaily (June 27, 2012) An international team including scientists from the University of Saskatchewan-Saskatoon Health Region and University of British Columbia, with the help of Saskatchewan Mennonite families, has identified an abnormal gene which leads to Parkinson's disease.

"This discovery paves the way for further research to determine the nature of brain abnormalities which this gene defect produces," says Dr. Ali Rajput, a world expert in Parkinson's disease who has been studying the disease for 45 years and working with the main family in the study since 1983.

"It also promises to help us find ways to detect Parkinson's disease early, and to develop drugs which will one day halt the progression of the disease."

The abnormal gene is a mutated version of a gene called DNAJC13, identified by UBC medical genetics professor Matthew Farrer, who led the study.

Thirteen of 57 members of one extended Saskatchewan family in the study had been previously diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. Three other single cases from Saskatchewan and one family from British Columbia were also found to have the same mutation. All were of Mennonite background, a Christian group who share Dutch-German-Russian ancestry.

The findings were presented last week to the more than 5,000 delegates at the 16th International Congress of Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders in Dublin, Ireland.

Rajput and his son, fellow neurologist and researcher Alex Rajput, are long-time collaborators of Farrer. The research drew on the Rajputs' work over the past four decades. The research team also includes scientists from McGill University, the Mayo Clinic in Florida, and St. Olav's Hospital in Norway.

A key contribution is the Rajputs' collection of more than 500 brains and nearly 2,200 blood samples from Parkinson's patients. Farrer explains that confirmation of the gene's linkage with Parkinson's disease required DNA samples from thousands of patients with the disease and healthy individuals. He adds that the contributions of the Saskatchewan Mennonite family, who have asked to remain anonymous, were critical.

"A breakthrough like this would not be possible without their involvement and support. They gave up considerable time, contributed clinical information, donated blood samples, participated in PET imaging studies and -- on more than one occasion following the death of a family member -- donated brain samples," says Farrer, who holds the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Neurogenetics and Translational Neuroscience.

"The whole-hearted and unselfish commitment of this family is remarkable," Rajput says. "They went out of their way in every conceivable manner to help solve this mystery. We, on behalf of all the Parkinson's disease patients in this province, Canada, and around the world, are grateful to them for making this discovery possible."

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Parkinson’s disease gene identified with help of Saskatchewan Mennonite families

The iGEM team that I helped advise a couple years ago recently published a short paper about their project in the Journal of Biological Engineering (open access!). We were inspired to think about plant engineering in the context of iGEM and standardized genetic parts, in part thanks to an interesting passage in Stewart Brands book Whole Earth Discipline. In his chapter on genetic engineering, Brand writes:

One can imagine organic crops biotically engineered as Rachel Carson might do it. They would be designed in detail to protect and improve the soil they grow in, to foil the specific pets and weeds that threaten them, to blend well with other organic crops and with beneficial insects, to increase carbon fixation in the soil and reduce the release of methane and nitrous oxide, to be as nutritious and delicious as science can make them, and to invite further refinement by the growers.

Along with genetic BioBricks, let there be AgriBricks to finesse crop genomes for local ecological and economic fitness. (If Monsanto throws a fit, tell them that if theyre polite, you might license back to them the locally attuned tweaks youve made to their patented gene array. Pretty soon theyor some company that replaces themwill be providing you with lab equipment.)

Our project and the final paper were obviously of much much smaller scope, but we hope that other iGEM teams will be inspired to work with plants and to use our BioBricks to build something great. Heres the abstract:

Background Plant biotechnology can be leveraged to produce food, fuel, medicine, and materials. Standardized methods advocated by the synthetic biology community can accelerate the plant design cycle, ultimately making plant engineering more widely accessible to bioengineers who can contribute diverse creative input to the design process.

Results This paper presents work done largely by undergraduate students participating in the 2010 International Genetically Engineered Machines (iGEM) competition. Described here is a framework for engineering the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana with standardized, BioBrick compatible vectors and parts available through the Registry of Standard Biological Parts (www.partsregistry.org). This system was used to engineer a proof-of-concept plant that exogenously expresses the taste-inverting protein miraculin.

Conclusions Our work is intended to encourage future iGEM teams and other synthetic biologists to use plants as a genetic chassis. Our workflow simplifies the use of standardized parts in plant systems, allowing the construction and expression of heterologous genes in plants within the timeframe allotted for typical iGEM projects.

And you can download the paper (currently only a provisional PDF) from the Journal:

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PlantBricks

Life Technologies Corporation (LIFE) has entered into several collaborations to expand the scope of sequencing. The latest in a line of alliances is with Boston Children's Hospital. The tie-up is meant to develop an end-to-end genetic sequencing lab workflow based on the companys Ion Proton sequencer. This collaboration will facilitate treatment decisions for patients with complicated conditions.

The tie-up with Boston Children's Hospital comes on the heels of collaboration with the University of North Texas Health Science Centers Institute of Applied Genetics. Both parties would utilize the company's Ion Personal Genome Machine (PGM) system for implementation of best technologies in forensics DNA analyses. Training forensic analysts on the application of next generation sequencing will be a key output of the collaboration.

In another development, Life Technologies partnered with the Hospital for Sick Children to advance pediatric genomic research on the Ion Proton sequencer. Under the agreement, numerous clinical research samples will be mapped daily using the sequencing platform in the hospital's newly launched Centre for Genetic Medicine. The Ion Proton sequencer, which relies on semiconductor chips, is designed to sequence an entire human genome in a day for $1,000. This is much faster and less expensive than traditional next generation systems.

Life Technologies Genetic Analysis business received a strong boost from the Ion Torrent franchise. This franchise was inducted into the companys portfolio with the acquisition of Ion Torrent, a DNA sequencing company, in October 2010. The company realized robust growth from its Ion PGM in the last few quarters. Launched in December 2010, shipment placements of the Ion PGM numbered 700 at the end of 2011.

Maintaining the upbeat trend, sales of the PGM rose during the last reported quarter. The company is satisfied with the progress made so far with Ion Torrent technologies and expects the growth momentum to continue. This growth will be supported by more PGM placements and the scheduled launch of the Ion Proton Benchtop sequencer in the second half of 2012.

The sequencing market has become competitive with the presence of Illumina (ILMN). Moreover, another player, Qiagen (QGEN) is also entering the next generation sequencing market.

We have a Neutral recommendation on Life Technologies. The stock retains a Zacks #3 Rank (hold) in the short term.

Read the Full Research Report on ILMN

Read the Full Research Report on QGEN

Zacks Investment Research

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LIFE's Ion Suite Thrives on Tie-Ups

Researchers have developed a vaccine that successfully treated nicotine addiction in mice, according to a study published Wednesday in Science Translational Medicine.

With just a single dose, the vaccine protected mice against nicotine addiction for the rest of their lives, the researchers said. The vaccine works by prompting the animals liver to act as a factory that continually produces antibodies. The antibodies then absorb the nicotine as soon as it hits the bloodstream, preventing it from reaching the brain or the heart.

According to the studys lead investigator, Dr. Ronald Crystal, chairman and professor of Genetic Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College, it normally takes nicotine about six to 10 seconds to cross the bloodstream, reach the brain and bind to receptors. This is what produces the calm or relaxed feelings that drive nicotine addiction. By blocking nicotine from reaching the brain, the antibodies prevent those pleasurable feelings from occurring.

"As far as we can see, the best way to treat chronic nicotine addiction from smoking is to have these Pacman-like antibodies on patrol, clearing the blood as needed before nicotine can have any biological effect," Crystal said in a released statement.

Importantly, the vaccine allows the body to build up its own immunity against nicotine, making it more effective and consistent than vaccines developed in the past.

Crystal said previous nicotine vaccines likely failed because they directly injected nicotine antibodies into the body, rather than prompting the body to build its own antibodies. This meant these passive vaccines had to be injected multiple times, because they only lasted for three to four weeks, and the dosage level required may have varied from person to personparticularly if the person started smoking again.

On the other hand, the researchers knew the second main type of vaccines, known as active vaccines, wouldnt protect against nicotine addiction either. Active vaccinesused to protect people against viruses such as polio or the mumpswork by introducing a piece of a virus into the body, which in turn prompts the body to develop a lifelong immune response against the invading agent. However, nicotine molecules are too small for the immune system to recognize.

As a result, the researchers had to develop a third kind of vaccine: a genetic vaccine, which works by binding the genetic sequence of a nicotine antibody to a non-harmful virus. The virus is directed to go to the liver cells, and the genetic sequence of the antibody then inserts itself into those cells, causing the cells to produce a stream of the antibodies along with the other molecules they make.

We can target almost any organ [with this type of vaccine], but the reason for using the liver is that it is a very good secretory organ, Crystal told FoxNews.com. The liver is very good at making and secreting many proteins, so we just genetically modified the liver cells to also make antibodies against nicotine.

Crystal said he first thought of the concept behind the vaccine a few years ago while passing by a newsstand. I saw a magazine cover that said something along the lines of Addiction: We Need Vaccines and got this idea to use gene therapy.

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Researchers develop vaccine to treat nicotine addiction

(CBS News) Trying to quit smoking? It's tough - studies suggest 70 to 80 percent of people who try to quit smoke within six months.

That's because nicotine is so addictive, says Dr. Ronald G. Crystal, chairman and professor of Genetic Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City. Crystal's team has announced they've successfully tested a new vaccine that may treat nicotine addiction.

Crystal told HealthPop that many stop-smoking campaigns try to attack the source of smoking, cigarettes, but what his team wanted to do was find a way to block the sensation nicotine provides in the brain that makes smoking so addictive.

"Smoking is a terrible problem in society," Crystal told HealthPop. "It's enormously costly to our society, not only the pain and suffering, but the amount of health care costs. In that sense, it's important for us to develop strategies that in fact will be effective."

His team's vaccine is described in the June 27 issue of Science Translational Medicine. How does it work?

Much like vaccines for diseases that create antibodies to fight infection, the vaccine creates antibodies against nicotine. However, previous attempts at similar vaccines have failed because within a few weeks the antibodies are gone, which won't exactly help people stay smoke-free.

Crystal's team developed a vaccine that contains a virus consisting of a genetic sequence they engineered from a nicotine antibody, and injected it into the liver of mice. The injection genetically modifies the liver to churn out nicotine antibodies, along with other cells it typically makes, thus providing a nicotine antibody "factory" in the body. That suggests the effect won't diminish over time like that of other antibodies. The antibodies then work by targeting the nicotine cells within seconds of exposure and preventing them from reaching receptors in the brain that provide the "chill out" feeling, as Crystal called it.

"The antibodies are little Pac-men that like nicotine and just gobble it up," Crystal said.

When mice are given nicotine, they experience reduced blood pressure and heart activity and appear "chilled out," which suggests the nicotine reached their brains. But mice tested with the new vaccine appeared just as active as they were before, as measured by infrared beams in their cages.

"It's like giving them water - nothing happens," Crystal said. However he added that there was a caveat to his study: "Mice aren't small humans."

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Vaccine stops nicotine from reaching the brain, may prevent addiction