June should be national cancer month. Each year around this time, oncology groups and Wall Street brokerages hold a rash of conferences where researchers reveal the latest, greatest potential cancer cures. This year has been no exception. Above all, we learned about remarkable advances in two exciting cancer therapies and three great companies that will benefit. Heres more detail. (Ive kept the technical language to a minimum.) Tumors are smart. They know how to trick the immune system into missing them. But scientists are wising up to their tricks. In one evasive strategy, tumors release an enzyme that renders them invisible. If you block the enzyme, your immune system can find tumors and destroy them with the help from cancer drugs. This is the key to an early-stage cancer weapon you should invest in, known as IDO inhibitors. IDO stands for Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase, an enzyme released by tumors to blind the bodys immune system. IDO is a strange drug target, because IDO inhibition by itself has no noticeable anti-cancer effect, says Tanguy Seiwert, a cancer-therapy researcher and medical doctor who teaches at the University of Chicago. Suppressing IDO, however, makes tumors vulnerable. The best pure play in IDO inhibitors is … Continue reading →

Sifelani Tsiko recently in Lilongwe, Malawi An industrial development strategy could be built on the back of Africas agricultural sector underpinned by the adoption of new and emerging technologies such as biotechnology to support improved yields, value addition and services that feed into the whole agro-processing value chain, a top Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) official says. Getachew Belay, a senior biotechnology policy advisor told Zimpapers Syndication recently on the sidelines of a communication training workshop for journalists on biotechnology and biosafety, that the adoption of genetically modified cotton developed using a bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) which naturally produces a chemical harmful only to a small fraction of insects such as the bollworm, could increase yields and enhance competitiveness. He says cotton farmers in Africa suffer huge losses due to pest problems. The most destructive of pests is the African bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera), which can cause severe losses of up to 100 percent like we saw on some cotton fields in Salima here in Malawi, the Comesa biotech policy advisor says. In unprotected fields pest damage can be very severe and when you look at Bt cotton crop on trial you can see hope that its possible … Continue reading →

On eve of biotech's big convention, Biotechnology Innovation ... San Francisco Business Times Ahead of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization's annual convention in San Diego, we talk to Jim Greenwood, the president and CEO of the industry trade ... The BIO International Convention Kicks Off Four Days of ...Business Wire (press release) all 3 news articles » More: On eve of biotech's big convention, Biotechnology Innovation ... - San Francisco Business Times … Continue reading →

Dustin Rhoads of Trumann is participating in Biotechnology Research Internship at Arkansas Biosciences Institute. (Photo provided) Five Arkansas State University students are pursuing their interest in science this summer through the Biotechnology Research Internship Program at the Arkansas Biosciences Institute (ABI) facility on campus. One of those students, Dustin Rhoads, is from Trumann. The program provides basic support for A-State undergraduate science majors who want research experience in life sciences or applications of life sciences during the summer of their sophomore or junior years. Each student is matched with a faculty mentor who is conducting research related to biotechnology or biology from one of several departments and colleges, based largely on the student's interests. Selection also is based on academic credentials. The students, along with their future plans and comments from their applications are: Dustin Rhoads plans to go to dental school after completing his degree at A-State. His faculty mentor also is Dr. Malathi Srivatsan. "I chose to apply for this internship mostly because of my interest in the field," Rhoads said. "Neurology has always been and interest of mine. Furthermore, the research we are doing at Dr. Srivatsan's Lab could be used to help so many people. Neuroregeneration … Continue reading →