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 … Continue reading →

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 … Continue reading →

(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 … Continue reading →

Close up of laboratory microscope (Matthew Jones) "Without question, man's knowledge of man is undergoing the greatest revolution since Leonardo. In many ways personalized medicine is already here." - Dr. Francis Collins That quote, from Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, was used at the beginning of a report on genetic testing by UnitedHealth Group's Center for Health Reform & Modernization. The report, "Personalized Medicine: Trends and prospects for the new science of genetic testing and molecular diagnostics," was released in March. For the paper, the organization surveyed the public on their familiarity with genetic testing. While 71 percent said they were familiar with the concept, only one in two indicated they were knowledgable about genetic science. So the Los Angeles News Group spoke with doctors at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center to shed light on this rapidly evolving field of health care. Genetic testing analyzes a person's genetic material, including genes and biomarkers. While a person's complete DNA can be decoded, a process called whole genome sequencing, researchers don't know how to interpret all of the information quite yet. Currently, tests can be used to detect 2,500 conditions, according to UnitedHealth. "The whole genetic testing story is … Continue reading →

AUGUSTA, Maine (NEWS CENTER) --InMay,we introduced you to Maine Game Warden Major Gregg Sanborn - when the UMaine football team held a stem cell drive in his honor. Major Sanborn was diagnosed with t-cell lymphoma last September and needed to find a match as soon as possible in order to live. Last week, Major Sanborn found out that he did find a match - a 26 year old man. He isn't allowed to know anything else about his donor due to privacy laws. Major Sanborn is already undergoing chemotherapy and will head to Boston on July 9th and will stay there for about six weeks - to begin more aggressive treatments, which will include rebuilding his immune system. He feels he owes it to all the people who have helped him thus far to fight as hard as he can. "An awful lot of people have done an awful lot of work to make this possible. Their efforts haven't gone in vain, they haven't gone unnoticed," he says,"It's very impressive. I've got a lot of people rooting for me, and I'm going to give it my best so that it's a positive outcome." Wednesday was Major Sanborn's last day of … Continue reading →

ScienceDaily (June 27, 2012) University of British Columbia scientists, in collaboration with an industry partner, have successfully reversed diabetes in mice using stem cells, paving the way for a breakthrough treatment for a disease that affects nearly one in four Canadians. The research by Timothy Kieffer, a professor in the Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, and scientists from the New Jersey-based BetaLogics, a division of Janssen Research & Development, LLC, is the first to show that human stem cell transplants can successfully restore insulin production and reverse diabetes in mice. Crucially, they re-created the "feedback loop" that enables insulin levels to automatically rise or fall based on blood glucose levels. The study is published online June 27 in the journal Diabetes. After the stem cell transplant, the diabetic mice were weaned off insulin, a procedure designed to mimic human clinical conditions. Three to four months later, the mice were able to maintain healthy blood sugar levels even when being fed large quantities of sugar. Transplanted cells removed from the mice after several months had all the markings of normal insulin-producing pancreatic cells. "We are very excited by these findings, but additional research is needed before this approach can be … Continue reading →

Featured Article Academic Journal Main Category: Stem Cell Research Also Included In: Eye Health / Blindness;Diabetes;Multiple Sclerosis Article Date: 27 Jun 2012 - 9:00 PDT Current ratings for: Stem Cell Breakthrough Significant For Degenerative Diseases 5 (7 votes) But it is a long journey from showing something works in the research lab to using it safely and ethically in patients, and there are many hurdles. One such hurdle is providing stem cells lines "developed under stringent ethical guidelines, from traceable and tested donors, preferably in an animal-free, GMP-grade culture system," write the researchers in a comprehensive paper published online on 20 June in the open access journal PLoS ONE. Another, is to ensure the hESCs meet safety criteria, and do not have traces of animal components, such as from mice and cows, as these can introduce the risk of animal pathogens running amok in the patient's body. Now after 12 years of painstaking work, researchers at the Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem, have announced they have created three new lines of "xeno-free and GMP-grade human embryonic stem cells". In their paper, lead investigator professor Benjamin Reubinoff, a world-renowned stem-cell pioneer and the new chairman of obstetrics/gynecology at the Ein … Continue reading →