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Stem cells recovered from cloned human embryos

Wed, 15 May 2013 12:40:05 -0400

NEW YORK (AP) — Scientists have finally recovered stem cells from cloned human embryos, a longstanding goal that could lead to new treatments for such illnesses as Parkinson's disease and diabetes.

Scientists Report First Success in Cloning Human Stem Cells

Wed, 15 May 2013 12:00:11 -0400

It’s been 17 years since Dolly the sheep was cloned from a mammary cell. And now scientists applied the same technique to make the first embryonic-stem-cell lines from human skin cells.

Idaho spud giant bets on biotech potatoes

Tue, 14 May 2013 14:27:21 -0400

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A dozen years after a customer revolt forced Monsanto to ditch its genetically engineered potato, an Idaho company aims to resurrect high-tech spuds.

Scientists create human stem cells through cloning

Wed, 15 May 2013 12:09:18 -0400

By Sharon Begley NEW YORK (Reuters) - After more than 15 years of failures by scientists around the world and one outright fraud, biologists have finally created human stem cells by the same technique that produced Dolly the cloned sheep in 1996: They transplanted genetic material from an adult cell into an egg whose own DNA had been removed. The result is a harvest of human embryonic stem cells, the seemingly magic cells capable of morphing into any of the 200-plus kinds that make up a person. ...

FDA approves genetic test for lung cancer drug

Tue, 14 May 2013 17:19:56 -0400

The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved a genetic test from Roche to help doctors identify patients who can benefit from a lung cancer drug made by the company's Genentech unit. The diagnostic ...

FDA approves Roche diagnostic for gene mutation in lung cancer

Tue, 14 May 2013 17:13:00 -0400

(Reuters) - U.S. health regulators on Tuesday approved a test developed by Roche for a specific gene mutation present in about 10 percent of non-small cell lung cancers, and said the company's drug Tarceva could be used as an initial treatment in patients with the mutation whose cancer has spread beyond the lungs. This marks the first companion diagnostic that detects epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene mutations to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the agency said. The diagnostic is called the Cobas EGFR Mutation Test. ...

Gene test may help guide prostate cancer treatment

Wed, 08 May 2013 09:57:52 -0400

A new genetic test to gauge the aggressiveness of prostate cancer may help tens of thousands of men each year decide whether they need to treat their cancer right away or can safely monitor it.

News Summary: Gene test may help cancer treatment

Wed, 08 May 2013 12:11:10 -0400

BREAKTHROUGH: A new genetic test to gauge the aggressiveness of prostate cancer may help men decide whether they need to treat their cancer right away or can safely monitor it. PROVIDING ANSWERS: Doctors ...

WADA to hold meeting in China on gene doping

Fri, 03 May 2013 06:34:26 -0400

LONDON (AP) — Olympic officials and scientific experts will meet in China next month to review the progress in developing a test for gene doping, the potential future of cheating in sports.

NY biotech financier gets prison for stock scheme

Thu, 02 May 2013 20:35:31 -0400

A federal judge displayed anger as she handed down a four-year prison sentence Thursday to a biotechnology financier who was once among the nation's wealthiest people. U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon ...

Judge gives onetime 'King of Biotech' 4 years in prison

Thu, 02 May 2013 17:59:15 -0400

By Nate Raymond NEW YORK (Reuters) - A once prominent biotechnology investor was handed four years in prison on Thursday after pleading guilty to stock manipulation, the second time he has run afoul of U.S. securities laws. David Blech, 57, pleaded guilty in May 2012 to securities fraud charges stemming from improper trades in biopharmaceutical companies Pluristem Therapeutics Inc and Intellect Neurosciences Inc. Blech pleaded guilty in 1998 to similar charges of illegal trading, getting five years of probation rather than jail time. On Thursday, U.S. ...

Good Reads: Mars mission, gene patents, cellphone tracking, 'absurd' start-ups, Netflix streamlines

Wed, 01 May 2013 10:02:00 -0400

Dutch entrepreneur Bas Lansdorp says he will establish a human colony on Mars within 10 years. The technology already exists, he says, but current missions have the wrong business model. Don’t copy space agencies, he says. Copy the Olympics.

2-year-old girl gets windpipe made from stem cells

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 12:47:19 -0400

CHICAGO (AP) — A 2-year-old girl born without a windpipe now has a new one grown from her own stem cells, the youngest patient in the world to benefit from the experimental treatment.

New gene therapy trials aim to mend broken hearts

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 19:08:37 -0400

By Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) - British scientists are stepping up clinical tests of gene therapy in a bid to help people with advanced heart failure pump blood more efficiently. Researchers said on Tuesday they planned to enroll patients into two new clinical trials using Mydicar, a gene therapy treatment made by privately held U.S. biotech company Celladon. After more than 20 years of research, the ground-breaking method for fixing faulty genes is starting to deliver, with European authorities approving the first gene therapy for an rare metabolic disease last November. ...

Cowen upbeat on Nanosphere; shares rise

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 16:42:47 -0400

Shares of genetic testing products maker Nanosphere Inc. climbed Monday after a Cowen & Co. analyst rated its stock "Outperform." THE SPARK: Analyst Shaun Rodriguez is optimistic about the company's ...

Gene data show China bird flu mutated "under the radar"

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 11:19:23 -0400

By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) - The new strain of bird flu that has killed 17 people in China has been circulating widely "under the radar" and has acquired significant genetic diversity that makes it more of a threat, scientists said on Friday. Dutch and Chinese researchers who analyzed genetic data from seven samples of the new H7N9 strain say it has already acquired similar levels of genetic diversity as much larger outbreaks of other H7 strains of flu seen previously in birds. ...

Minn. floats $15.4M in subsidies for biotech firm

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 09:56:36 -0400

State leaders stand ready to commit up to $15.4 million in taxpayer subsidies to a Fortune 500 pharmaceutical company they hope will put an outpost in Minnesota, according to a document made public Wednesday. ...

Minn. may aid biotech firm after covert courtship

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 10:25:12 -0400

Following a hush-hush courtship, top Minnesota lawmakers acknowledged Tuesday that they are compiling a multi-million dollar package of public subsidies and tax breaks to encourage an Illinois-based pharmaceutical ...

Justices wary of wide human gene patent ruling

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 20:59:08 -0400

By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Supreme Court justices on Monday signaled reluctance to issue too broad a ruling about patents on human genes, and some indicated they might seek a compromise distinguishing between types of genetic material. The biotechnology industry has warned that an expansive ruling against Myriad Genetics Inc could threaten billions of dollars of investment. ...

Thermo Fisher to buy Life Tech for $13.6 billion

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 15:49:34 -0400

By Bill Berkrot and Susan Kelly NEW YORK (Reuters) - Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc on Monday agreed to buy Life Technologies Corp for $13.6 billion in a deal that would make it one of the top two companies in the hot field of genetic testing. The pact values Life Tech at $76 per share, a 12 percent premium, and is one of the year's biggest corporate takeovers. ...

Analysis: Gene swapping makes new China bird flu a moving target

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 05:47:01 -0400

By Kate Kelland, Health and Science Correspondent LONDON (Reuters) - A new bird flu virus that has killed 13 people in China is still evolving, making it hard for scientists to predict how dangerous it might become. Influenza experts say the H7N9 strain is probably still swapping genes with other strains, seeking to select ones that might make it fitter. If it succeeds, the world could be facing the threat of a deadly flu pandemic. But it may also fail and just fizzle out. ...

Thermo Fisher reportedly nears deal for Life Tech

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 16:26:04 -0400

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is reportedly nearing a deal to buy Life Technologies Corp., a maker of genetic testing equipment, for almost $12 billion. Thermo Fisher's bid for Life Technologies topped ...

Study finds gene that may raise Alzheimer's risk in blacks

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 16:28:39 -0400

By Julie Steenhuysen CHICAGO (Reuters) - The largest study to date looking for genetic causes of Alzheimer's in African Americans may offer new clues about why blacks in the United States are twice as likely as whites to develop the deadly, brain-wasting disease. The findings, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association on Tuesday, show that mutations in two genes that play a role in whites also contribute to Alzheimer's risk in blacks. One of those, known as ABCA7, may double the risk in blacks who have the mutation versus those who don't. ...

Exclusive: Thermo bids for Life Technologies as buyout firms circle - source

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 19:55:07 -0400

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc made a binding offer for Life Technologies Corp on Tuesday as private equity firms raced to finalize a consortium to take the genetic testing equipment maker private, several people familiar with the matter said. Thermo Fisher met a bid deadline on Tuesday but private equity firms working on a joint bid missed it and were working late into the evening to secure the equity required to support an offer, the people said. ...

Exclusive: Thermo Fisher nears $13 billion Life Tech deal

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 19:16:18 -0400

By Soyoung Kim and Greg Roumeliotis NEW YORK (Reuters) - Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc is nearing a deal to buy genetic testing equipment maker Life Technologies Corp for close to $13 billion, according to four people familiar with the matter, in what would be one of the year's biggest corporate takeovers. The acquisition would catapult Thermo Fisher into the hot field of genetic sequencing, where researchers, drugmakers and doctors are uncovering the genetic factors underpinning diseases to better tailor treatments to the patients. ...