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Tag: dna

  • DNA offers hard evidence of malaria in Roman Empire

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    A DNA analysis of 2,000-year-old teeth unearthed from an Italian graveyard has offered hard evidence that malaria existed during the Roman Empire, researchers said Monday. The findings are based on mitochondrial DNA — genetic material inherited from one's mother — extracted from teeth belonging to 58 adults and 10 children at three imperial-period Italian cemeteries,…

  • Astellas, Vical herpes vaccine fails mid-stage study

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    (Reuters) – Japan’s Astellas Pharma Inc and San Diego-based Vical Inc said their experimental herpes vaccine failed a mid-stage study involving certain kidney transplant patients. Vical’s shares was down about 18 percent in light premarket trading on Monday. The DNA vaccine, ASP0113, is designed to prevent cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease in patients receiving a renal transplant…

  • AstraZeneca taps gene pioneer Venter for huge drug-hunting sweep

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    By Ben Hirschler CAMBRIDGE, England (Reuters) – AstraZeneca, working with genome pioneer Craig Venter, is launching a massive gene hunt in the most comprehensive bet yet by a pharmaceutical firm on the potential of genetic variations to unlock routes to new medicines. The initiative, announced on Friday, involves sequencing up to 2 million human genomes…

  • UK agency backs cancer drug after Sanofi cuts price

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    LONDON (Reuters) – Britain's healthcare cost watchdog NICE said on Friday it had changed its mind and decided to recommend Sanofi's prostate cancer drug Jevtana after the French company agreed to a further discount. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) said the improved discount was “an excellent example of how pharma companies…

  • Study of Neanderthal Y chromosome hints at fertility problems

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    The first examination of a long-extinct Neanderthal's Y chromosome suggests that fertility problems may have prevented Neanderthal men from successfully mating with modern human females, researchers said Thursday. The study in the American Journal of Human Genetics is based on a male Neanderthal whose 49,000-year-old remains were found in El Sidron, Spain. Until now, researchers…

  • U.S. clears genetically modified salmon for human consumption

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    By Julie Steenhuysen and Tom Polansek CHICAGO (Reuters) – U.S. health regulators on Thursday cleared the way for a type of genetically engineered Atlantic salmon to be farmed for human consumption – the first such approval for an animal whose DNA has been scientifically modified. Five years ago, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration first…

  • How CDC Is Using DNA Technology in Suspected Chipotle E. Coli Outbreak Investigation

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    As the E. coli outbreak believed to be linked to West Coast Chipotle restaurants grows, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced it is using cutting-edge DNA technology to assist with the investigation. At least 40 people in Washington and Oregon have been sickened with an E. coli infection, according to health officials,…