Feature Channels: Biotech

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In a step toward novel weight-loss therapies, Joslin Diabetes Center scientists identify cells in mice that can be triggered to transform into energy-burning brown fat.

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An effort to increase biofuel production has led scientists to discover genes in yeast that improve their tolerance to ethanol, allowing the production of more ethanol from the same amount of nutrients. This study shows how genetically altered yeast cells survive higher ethanol concentrations, addressing a bottleneck in the production of ethanol from cellulosic material (nonfood plant sources) in quantities that could compete economically with fossil fuels.

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The performance of a brain-machine interface designed to help paralyzed subjects move objects with their thoughts is improved with the addition of a robotic arm providing sensory feedback, a new study from the University of Chicago finds.

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Pankaj Karande, a Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering, is among a new generation of scientists and engineers developing exciting and novel new techniques to treat some of the most complex brain illnesses, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, traumatic brain injury, and brain cancer. His research has already attracted the interest of the Goldhirsh Foundation and now has garnered the support of the Alzheimer’s Association with an additional $80,000 in research funding.

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As Rose Pharmaceuticals marks its first anniversary this month, the stockbroker and University at Buffalo researchers who founded the company are celebrating a year of accomplishments.

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The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) and BioHouston, Inc. on Oct. 21 announced a new agreement to boost services to biomedical entrepreneurs and new bio-tech start-ups in Houston.

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The Center for Biotechnology at SBU has organized a summit that will bring some of the world’s top bioscience companies together with entrepreneurs and academic innovators to explore the next generation of biomedical solutions.

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Calgary-based Oncolytics Biotech Inc. recently announced that the Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) intends to conduct a randomized Phase II trial of weekly paclitaxel versus weekly paclitaxel with REOLYSIN® in patients with persistent or recurrent ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancer.

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Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have discovered that a kind of sugar molecule common to chimpanzees, gorillas and other mammals but not found in humans provokes a strong immune response in some people, likely worsening conditions in which chronic inflammation is a major issue.

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A drug designed to target cancerous plasma cells appears promising in treating multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer.

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Cancer uses devious means to evade treatment and survive. One prime example is the way tumors express anti-cell death (anti-apoptotic) proteins to resist chemotherapy and radiation. However, the Pellecchia laboratory at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute has made two recent discoveries that may help curb these anti-apoptotic proteins and make current treatments more effective.

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Some say the world's population will swell to 9 billion people by 2030 and that will present significant challenges for agriculture to provide enough food to meet demand, says University of Idaho animal scientist Rod Hill. Hill and Larry Branen, a University of Idaho food scientist, organized a symposium during the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting Sunday to explore ways biotechnology could provide healthy and plentiful animal-based foods to meet future demands.