2010 report posted for filing Conflicts of Interest WHO and the pandemic flu “conspiracies” Deborah Cohen, features editor, BMJ, Philip Carter, journalist, The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, London dcohen@bmj.com Key scientists advising the World Health Organization on planning for an… Read More ›
Virus Engineering ( Unclassified )
Scripps Research Institute scientists describe elusive replication machinery of flu viruses
Contact: Jann Coury jcoury@scripps.edu 858-784-8245 Scripps Research Institute IMAGE:The new Scripps Research Institute study shows flu virus proteins in the act of self-replication. Shown here is the influenza virus, which encapsidates its RNA genome (green) with a viral… Click here… Read More ›
Poultry disease vaccine brings short-term results but long-term problems: live vaccines that protect poultry against Newcastle Disease may be altering the genetic makeup of the wild virus strains
2010 study posted for filing Contact: Amitabh Avasthi axa47@psu.edu 814-865-9481 Penn State Attenuated live vaccines that protect poultry against Newcastle Disease may be altering the genetic makeup of the wild virus strains, which could make future outbreaks unpredictable and difficult… Read More ›
Breakthrough Nanoparticle Halts Multiple Sclerosis in Mice, Offers Hope for Other Immune-Related Diseases
A biodegradable nanoparticle turns out to be the perfect vehicle to stealthily deliver an antigen that tricks the immune system into stopping its attack on myelin and halt a model of relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) in mice, researchers report…. Read More ›
Pig Virus DNA Found in Rotavirus Vaccine : Millions of children worldwide, including 1 million in the U.S. exposed
2010 report posted for filing FDA: No Problems Seen in 1 Million U.S. Kids Who Got Rotarix Vaccine WASHINGTON — U.S. health officials urged pediatricians Monday to temporarily stop using one of two vaccines against a leading cause of diarrhea… Read More ›
UNC, Vanderbilt discover a new live vaccine approach for SARS and novel coronaviruses : By accelerating the rate of mutations
Contact: Carole Bartoo carole.bartoo@vanderbilt.edu 615-322-4747 Vanderbilt University Medical Center UNC, Vanderbilt discover a new live vaccine approach for SARS and novel coronaviruses Rapid mutation has long been considered a key to viral adaptation to environmental change. But in the case… Read More ›
New DNA vaccine technology poised to deliver safe and cost-effective disease protection
Contact: Richard Harth richard.harth@asu.edu Arizona State University New and increasingly sophisticated vaccines are taking aim at a broad range of disease-causing pathogens, targeting them with greater effectiveness at lower cost and with improved measures to ensure safety. To advance… Read More ›
Researchers create laser the size of a virus particle
Contact: Megan Fellman fellman@northwestern.edu 847-491-3115 Northwestern University Miniature laser operates at room temperature and defies the diffraction limit of light A Northwestern University research team has found a way to manufacture single laser devices that are the size of a… Read More ›
H1N1 Pandemic Virus Does Not Mutate Into ‘Superbug’ in UMd. Lab Study
2009 study posted for filing COLLEGE PARK, Md. – A laboratory study by University of Maryland researchers suggests that some of the worst fears about a virulent H1N1 pandemic flu season may not be realized this year, but does… Read More ›
Hacking the President’s DNA : Personalized Bioweapons
The U.S. government is surreptitiously collecting the DNA of world leaders, and is reportedly protecting that of Barack Obama. Decoded, these genetic blueprints could provide compromising information. In the not-too-distant future, they may provide something more as well—the basis for… Read More ›
Merkel cell polyomavirus linked to Skin Cancer : Developed a mutation that causes it to integrate into host-cell DNA
2009 study posted for filing Study Links Virus To Some Cases Of Common Skin Cancer COLUMBUS, Ohio – A virus discovered last year in a rare form of skin cancer has also been found in people with the… Read More ›
Designer baby warning as embryos are made using TWO women and one man by Oregon scientists
Procedure would swap the nucleus of a mother’s egg containing mutated genes into a donor’s The donor’s normal mitochondria replaces the mother’s defective mitochondria containing mutated DNA Donor’s genes would amount to 1 per cent of the embryo’s genes and… Read More ›
TIM and TAM: 2 paths used by the Dengue virus to penetrate cells
Contact: Press presse@inserm.fr INSERM (Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale) By demonstrating that it is possible to inhibit the viral infection in vitro by blocking the bonding between the virus and these receptors, the researchers have… Read More ›
CDC Wants Safety Threat Information on Goose Flu
WASHINGTON (CN) – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention request information and comments to questions on a highly contagious “goose” variant of avian influenza H5N1 viruses. The viruses contain a hemagglutinin from the Goose/Guangdong/1/96 lineage. The CDC, among other… Read More ›
Scientists build ‘mechanically active’ DNA material
Contact: Melissa Van De Werfhorst melissa@engineering.ucsb.edu 805-893-4301 University of California – Santa Barbara Researchers at UC Santa Barbara designed a ‘smart’ material made of DNA that responds with movement when stimulated Artificial muscles and self-propelled goo… Read More ›
Bird flu virus remains infectious up to 600 days in municipal landfills H5N1
2009 study posted for filing Environmental Science & Technology Amid concerns about a pandemic of swine flu, researchers from Nebraska report for the first time that poultry carcasses infected with another threat — the “bird flu” virus —… Read More ›
Synthetic biology raises playing God fears
Nitin Sethi, TNN Oct 19, 2012, 02.08AM IST HYDERABAD: Is it safe to let humans play God and create new organisms – animals and plants – that have never existed in Mother Nature? The ongoing UN Convention on Biodiversity here… Read More ›
First-Of-Its-Kind Self-Assembled Nanoparticle for Targeted and Triggered Thermo-Chemotherapy
ScienceDaily (Oct. 18, 2012) — Excitement around the potential for targeted nanoparticles (NPs) that can be controlled by stimulus outside of the body for cancer therapy has been growing over the past few years. More specifically, there has been considerable… Read More ›
100 reasons to change the way we think about genetics : Epigenetic inheritance passed down through generations not all through DNA
2009 study posted for filing Contact: Kevin Stacey kstacey@press.uchicago.edu 773-834-0386 University of Chicago Press Journals Article reviews evidence for epigenetic inheritance in wide range of species For years, genes have been considered the one and only way biological traits could… Read More ›
Viral alliances overcoming plant defenses: Could lead to new generation of viruses
Contact: Hanu Pappu hrp@wsu.edu 509-335-3752 Washington State University Could lead to new generation of viruses PULLMAN, Wash.— Washington State University researchers have found that viruses will join forces to overcome a plant’s defenses and cause more severe infections. “These findings… Read More ›
Mother Nature, Version 2.0
Welcome to the world of synthetic biology, where micro-organisms can be programmed to invade and destroy cancer cells By SCOTT GOTTLIEB It once seemed that the most profound feats stemming from DNA-based science would spring from our ability to read… Read More ›
Research on enhanced transmissibility in H5N1 influenza: Should the moratorium end?
Public Release: 9-Oct-2012 Contact: Jim Sliwa jsliwa@asmusa.org 202-942-9297 American Society for Microbiology How can scientists safely conduct avian flu research if the results could potentially threaten, as well as save, millions of lives? In a series of commentaries appearing on… Read More ›
Reprogramming of Pericyte-Derived Cells of the Adult Human Brain into Induced Neuronal Cells
Reprogramming of somatic cells into neurons provides a new approach toward cell-based therapy of neurodegenerative diseases (Vierbuchen and Wernig, 2011). Previous studies have shown that postnatal astroglia from the mouse cerebral cortex can be directly converted into functional neuronal cells… Read More ›
LOYOLA TESTING MELANOMA TREATMENT THAT BOOSTS PATIENT’S IMMUNE SYSTEM TO FIGHT DEADLY CANCER
Contact: Jim Ritter Media Relations jritter@lumc.edu (708) 216-2445 Anne Dillon Director, Media Relations adillon@lumc.edu (708) 216-8232 More Sharing ServicesShare MAYWOOD, Ill. – Loyola University Medical Center has launched the first clinical trial in the Midwest of an experimental melanoma… Read More ›
Nanosciences: All Systems Go at the Biofactory: Should furnish a way to develop, construct and utilize designer nanomachines
In order to assemble novel biomolecular machines, individual protein molecules must be installed at their site of operation with nanometer precision. LMU researchers have now found a way to do just that. Green light on protein assembly! (Credit: Image courtesy… Read More ›
“Biohackers” or “DIY Biologists”, Teams have come together to create the world’s first “public BioBrick”
Amateur scientists build Lego-style synthetic BioBricks in public lab By Joel Winston 24 September 12 While some may believe that science is better left to scientists, hundreds of amateur biologists around the world have been setting-up makeshift biology labs in… Read More ›
UCLA/Pitt scientists uncover virus with potential to stop pimples in their tracks
Contact: Elaine Schmidt eschmidt@mednet.ucla.edu 310-794-2272 University of California – Los Angeles Health Sciences Going viral to kill zits Watch out, acne. Doctors soon may have a new weapon against zits: a harmless virus living on our skin that naturally seeks… Read More ›
Viruses Help MU Scientists Battle Pathogenic Bacteria and Improve Water Supply
Newly developed technique can kill antibiotic-resistant germs Sept. 24, 2012 Story Contact(s): Timothy Wall, walltj@missouri.edu, 573-882-3346 COLUMBIA, Mo. — Infectious bacteria received a taste of their own medicine from University of Missouri researchers who used viruses to infect and… Read More ›
Researchers Map Molecular Details That Encourage H1N1 Transmission To Humans
The 2009 H1N1 pandemic influenza virus appears to have required certain mutations in order to be transmitted to humans, according to a paper in the September Journal of Virology. The research could prove extremely valuable for efforts to predict human… Read More ›
Mosquito virus could lead to new vaccines and drugs: Eilat
Contact: Jim Kelly jpkelly@utmb.edu 409-772-8791 University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston Although closely related to deadly pathogens, newly discovered Eilat virus is harmless and potentially valuable A mosquito sample collected three decades ago in Israel’s Negev Desert has yielded… Read More ›
The pandemic potential of H9N2 avian influenza viruses
Re-Post for Filing 2008 Contact: Beth Cavanaugh bcavana@umd.edu Public Library of Science Since their introduction into land-based birds in 1988, H9N2 avian influenza A viruses have caused multiple human infections and become endemic in domestic poultry in Eurasia. This particular… Read More ›
Can we engineer love and morality?
By RICHARD WEIKART The Modesto Bee Published: Sunday, Sep. 16, 2012 – 1:00 am Recently Oxford philosophy professor Julian Savulescu moved his campaign for “moral enhancement” out of the ivory tower and into the mainstream. This month Reader’s Digest… Read More ›
From vitro to vivo: Fully automated design of synthetic RNA circuits in living cells
From vitro to vivo: Fully automated design of synthetic RNA circuits in living cells September 14, 2012 by Stuart Mason Dambrot Schemes of methodology and designs. (A) Thermodynamic scheme of RNA interaction, showing the different free energies at play and… Read More ›
Mutation causes defective Natural Killer cells
Natural Killer (NK) cells defend the body against infectious diseases and cancer by recognizing and killing stressed or infected cells and patients with NK deficiencies are susceptible to severe viral infections. In this issue of the Journal of Clinical… Read More ›
Scores at risk as new breed of mosquito foils malaria prevention methods: There is NO KNOWN DNA match
Published: 16 September, 2012, 21:14 Annual deaths could jump by the hundreds of thousands because of a new species of mosquito, which bites people in the early evening rather than at night, making bed nets useless in the battle against… Read More ›
Study of giant viruses shakes up tree of life: “spreaders of information,” Required for Life
Public release date: 13-Sep-2012 [ Contact: Diana Yates diya@illinois.edu 217-333-5802 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign IMAGE:Giant viruses should be included reconstructions of the tree of life, researchers report in a new study. The mimivirus, shown here (small black hexagons) infecting… Read More ›
Reconstructed 1918 influenza virus has yielded key insights, scientists say
Contact: Nalini Padmanabhan padmanabhannm@niaid.nih.gov 301-402-1663 NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases WHAT: The genetic sequencing and reconstruction of the 1918 influenza virus that killed 50 million people worldwide have advanced scientists’ understanding of influenza biology and yielded important… Read More ›
Childhood virus RSV shows promise against adult cancer: selectively kills cancer cells while leaving healthy cells alone
Posted: Thursday, September 06, 2012 Contact: Will Sansom, (210) 567-2579 School of Medicine discovery is proving effective in overseas trials SAN ANTONIO (Sept. 6, 2012) — RSV, a virus that causes respiratory infections in infants and young… Read More ›
Pneumococcal disease rates down significantly post-vaccine: But One of the non-vaccine strains, 19A showed an increase of 264%
Contact: Jim Sliwa jsliwa@asmusa.org 202-942-9297 American Society for Microbiology Pneumococcal disease rates down significantly post-vaccine Since the approval of a vaccine against pneumococcal bacteria for young children in 2000, rates of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) are down significantly in all… Read More ›
Binding sites for LIN28 protein found in thousands of human genes
Contact: Debra Kain ddkain@ucsd.edu 619-543-6163 University of California – San Diego Protein expression also causes changes in gene splicing IMAGE:This is Gene Yeo, Ph.D. Click here for more information. A study led by researchers at the UC San Diego Stem… Read More ›
Study illuminates how the plague bacteria causes disease
Contact: Heidi Hardman hhardman@cell.com 617-397-2879 Cell Press The bacteria responsible for the plague and some forms of food poisoning “paralyze” the immune system of their hosts in an unexpected way, according to a new study in the September 8, 2006… Read More ›
Viruses for a healthy pregnancy
Contact: Lucy Goodchild l.goodchild@sgm.ac.uk 44-011-898-81843 Society for General Microbiology Sequences of DNA in the human genome that originated from ancient viral infections have some surprising effects on our bodies and are even essential for a healthy pregnancy, according to an… Read More ›
Neuroengineers silence brain cells with multiple colors of light
For Immediate Release:January 6, 2010 * Reposted for Filing contact: Jen Hirsch, MIT News Office email: newsoffice@mit.edu phone: 617-253-2700 New tools show potential for treating brain disorders CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Neuroscientists at MIT have developed a powerful new class of… Read More ›
Live Vaccination against ( German Measles ) Rubella caused Signifigant Depression up to 10 weeks – Vaccines/ Bacteria Can Alter Mood and Behavior
Mood Disorders April 30, 2007 Norman Sussman, MD, DFAPA Editor, Primary Psychiatry and Psychiatry Weekly, Professor of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine There is growing interest in a suspected cause of some cases of depression: infection and inflammatory… Read More ›
Smart bio-weapons are now possible
* Repost for Filing David Hears The Guardian, Tuesday 20 May 2003 10.41 EDT Viruses and bacteria could be genetically engineered to evade the human immune system, to create a more effective biological weapon, a leading researcher into bio-weapons said yesterday…. Read More ›
Computer viruses could take a lesson from showy peacocks ” digital organisms evolve, just like living things”
Contact: Layne Cameron, Media Communications, Office: (517) 353-8819, Cell: (765) 748-4827, Layne.Cameron@cabs.msu.edu; Ian Dworkin, Zoology, Office: 517-432-6733, idworkin@msu.edu Published: Aug. 29, 2012 E-mail Editor ShareThis MSU researchers explore what would happen if computer viruses had to find mates in… Read More ›
Newly discovered virus linked to deadly skin cancer : Merkel cell polyomavirus
Contact: Michele Baum BaumMD@upmc.edu 412-647-3555 University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences Novel sequencing technique used at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute reveals new cancer virus; reported in the journal Science PITTSBURGH, Jan. 17 – A new strategy… Read More ›
Compound discovered that boosts effect of vaccines against HIV and flu: polyethyleneimine (PEI) 100% Letahl Flu Protection
Contact: University of Oxford press.office@admin.ox.ac.uk 44-018-652-80530 University of Oxford Novel vaccine additive to enhance the body’s immune response shows promise in mice Oxford University scientists have discovered a compound that greatly boosts the effect of vaccines against viruses like flu,… Read More ›
Scientists create a virus that reproduces
By Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY It is the stuff of science fiction and bioethical debates: The creation of artificial life. Up until now, it’s largely been just that. But an important technical bridge towards the creation of such life was… Read More ›
Scientists discover one of the ways the influenza virus disarms host cells
Contact: Megan Fellman fellman@northwestern.edu 847-491-3115 Northwestern University Advantage flu virus When you are hit with the flu, you know it immediately — fever, chills, sore throat, aching muscles, fatigue. This is your body mounting an immune response to the invading… Read More ›
Engineering Evil 