Biotechnology News Archive 11/00 - 12/01
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12/10/01
Open-Heart Sealant for Children Approved
The government has approved the first alternative to open-heart surgery for children born with a hole in the heart: tiny patches that can be threaded through a vein to more easily repair the defect, the Associated Press reported. The Food and Drug Administration today approved the CardioSeal and Amplatzer patches, which will easier therapy for some children and the only option for others too ill to survive grueling open-heart surgery. The patches treat septal defects, the medical term for a hole between heart chambers that short-circuits how the heart pumps oxygen-rich blood into the body. The sealants could help hundreds of patients a year, said FDA medical reviewer Dr. Stuart Portnoy.

11/15/01
Genetic Link to Adult-Onset Parkinson's Found
Researchers say they now have convincing evidence that genetic flaws are involved in the most common form of Parkinson's disease that develops relatively late in life, HealthScout News reports.
While specific genes previously have been linked to the relatively rare form of Parkinson's disease that strikes young people, the prevailing belief has been that the adult-onset form, which affects about 1 million Americans, is caused by as yet unidentified environmental factors.
Now researchers at Duke University Medical Center say a study of 174 families across the United States has established a link between several genes and a susceptibility to late-onset Parkinson's. "What we have shown is that there is an underlying genetic susceptibility, but it's not that there is no environmental component. You have to have both," says lead study author Margaret A. Pericak-Vance, co-director of the Duke Center for Human Genetics. Findings appear in the Nov. 14 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

10/08/01
Scientists Find Gene Linked to Blood Fat Levels
A gene that influences blood levels of triglycerides has been discovered, according to a new report. Triglycerides are the chemical form in which most fat exists in food, as well as in the body. They are also present in blood plasma and, along with cholesterol, form the plasma lipids. High levels of triglycerides in plasma are a major risk factor for heart disease.

10/08/01
Cash Hoard Puts Biotech Companies in Strong Position
Oct 5, 2001, (Wall Street Journal /FT Information via COMTEX) -- Ernst & Young, the consulting giant, last week revealed findings of its review into the U.S biotechnology industry, which showed that a record $33bn was raised by biotech companies during 2000. This cash haul is a welcome boost to biotech companies, many of which have struggled to win over the technology-skeptical financial markets. The report found that biotech public companies' revenues rose to $22bn in 2000, a 17% jump from year 1999. Analysts expect this cash to bolster the position of biotech firms for years to come, enabling them to weather the current economic slowdown. Rockville, Maryland-based Human Genome Sciences Inc., and Celera Genomics Corp., are two prominent biotech firms known to have healthy cash stockpiles in excess of $1bn each.

08/31/01
Florida Scientists Discover Two Genes That Cause Colon Cancer
Inside one of the oldest buildings at Florida Atlantic University, scientists have cracked the genetic code in cancer cells, a discovery that could save lives and generate millions of dollars to fuel FAU's hope of becoming a player in biotech research.

07/30/01
Scientists: Biotech corn still not safe
WASHINGTON (AP) - Scientists advising the government said Friday that genetically altered StarLink corn has not been proven safe for food. The panel of scientists urged mandatory testing of grain and a wider search for people who may have had allergic reactions to the biotech corn. Discovery of the corn in taco shells last fall spawned nationwide recalls of food products. Developer Aventis CropScience withdrew the corn from the market but has asked the Environmental Protection Agency to allow trace amounts in food in order to avoid further recalls. The scientists advising EPA said they believe there is a medium chance that the corn is an allergen, although there is a low risk that consumers would eat enough corn to develop an allergy to it.

07/30/01
Experts: FluMist needs more tests
GAITHERSBURG, Md. (AP) - A panel of health experts says FluMist, a painless flu vaccine, can protect against the illness and will probably one day prove safe enough for use. However advisers to the FDA said Friday that too many safety questions remain for the long-awaited nasal vaccine developed by Aviron Inc. to be sold yet. Unlike today's flu shots, FluMist is made with live influenza virus, so more proof is needed that squirting live virus into people's noses - especially the toddlers who would be prime targets - is safe, panelists concluded after two days of debate. The FDA is not bound by its advisers' recommendations but typically follows them.

07/27/01
Stem cells may help in brain repair
WASHINGTON (AP) - Injecting stem cells into a fetus may correct organic problems in a developing brain, researchers say in the latest study showing promise for stem cell science as President Bush weighs federal policy on funding the controversial work. The pioneering work explored the possibility of repairing a damaged brain during gestation. Researchers injected human neural stem cells into the skulls of three unborn monkeys and then showed that the cells were incorporated into the developing brains of the animals. The study means it may be possible to use stem cells to repair a damaged brain before a child is born, said Dr. Curt R. Freed, a researcher at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. "The clinical implications are potentially profound," said Freed, a co-author of the research appearing Friday in the journal Science. "This suggests we could repair the developing human brain in utero and have a child born normally that would otherwise have a defect that could lead to failure of the brain in the first few years of life."

07/25/01
Biotech corn safe for monarchs
ARLINGTON, Va., (AP) - Corn that is genetically engineered to make its own pesticide poses little risk to monarch butterflies, the EPA said Tuesday after lab tests raised concerns. While there is a small chance that one in 100,000 monarch caterpillars could be affected by toxic corn pollen, research suggests even those larvae will mature into healthy butterflies, the agency reported. One possible exception is the karner blue butterfly, an endangered species that feeds on lupine plants that could show up near corn crops in northern Wisconsin. Agency officials said they don't know how significant the issue is but were consulting with the Fish and Wildlife Service on whether to take action to protect the butterflies. The biotech corn, known as Bt corn for a bacterium gene that makes it toxic to the European corn borer, grabbed worldwide attention in 1999 after a laboratory study at Cornell University showed that pollen from the corn would poison monarch larvae.

07/13/01
New experimental fertility technique
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) - Australian researchers say they have pioneered in mice a potentially revolutionary technique that fertilizes female eggs without the need for male sperm. Developed by Dr. Orly Lacham-Kaplan at the Institute of Reproduction and Development at Monash University in Melbourne, the procedure uses half the genetic material from any cell in the body, either male or female, to fertilize an egg. Lacham-Kaplan stressed that the experiments are in extremely early stages. But Dr. Robert Winston, a London fertility expert, said that if the technique works in humans, "this is actually genuinely revolutionary and potentially very important." The technique is the latest variation of new reproductive technologies to emerge since Dolly the sheep was produced by cloning in 1996.

07/10/01
Staph bacteria easily swap genes
WASHINGTON (AP) - The bacteria that cause serious and sometimes fatal staph infections are able to swap genes with relatives in order to adapt to new environments and cause even greater medical mischief, a study shows. Researchers using a new technology to analyze the gene structure of bacteria found that Staphylococcus aureus can easily exchange genes with other bacteria strains and can acquire resistance to antibiotics within a very short time. Staphylococcus aureus, or staph, is an extremely troublesome bacterium that causes a variety of illnesses. It is a major cause of hospital-acquired infection. Staph causes such things as the scalded skin disease that strikes infants, toxic shock syndrome and systemic blood poisoning called sepsis. Antibiotics once controlled the bacteria, but strains of staph are now resistant to the drugs.

07/09/01
Report: Progress needs technology
MEXICO CITY (AP) - Governments will have to take advantage of genetically engineered food, cutting-edge medicine and technology to combat poverty in a world that comes far from meeting basic development goals, a United Nations report has concluded. The 11th annual Human Development Report, scheduled to be released in Mexico City on Tuesday, found that the world's richest countries are holding back scientific breakthroughs key to eradicating hunger and stamping out poverty. "The current debate in Europe and the United States over genetically modified crops mostly ignores the concerns of the developing world," the report says, adding that crops altered to produce higher yields could revolutionize farming in Africa, Latin America and across the underdeveloped world.

07/06/01
Study: Stem cell cloning flawed
WASHINGTON (AP) - Researchers have found serious abnormalities in cloned mice, a finding that strengthens the belief of many scientists that the technique used to clone Dolly the sheep should not be used on humans. The findings are based on the use of embryonic stem cells in cloning and come as the Bush administration considers whether to allow federal funds for non-cloning stem cell research. David Humpherys, first author of the study, said that many of the mice cloned in the experiment appeared to be normal, including having normal genes, but there was evidence that during embryonic and fetal development the genes did not work properly.

07/05/01
FDA recalls white biocorn
WASHINGTON (AP) - Food Lion and Kash n' Karry grocery chains pulled their store brand white corn tortilla chips from shelves in response to concerns raised by the Food and Drug Administration about StarLink genetically modified corn used in the chips. The recall marks the first time the FDA has identified a white corn product as containing StarLink. Detection of the yellow variety of the corn prompted widespread recalls last fall of tortillas, taco shells and other products that contained it. Aventis CropSciences genetically engineered StarLink to contain a pesticide protein. The corn has been approved for animal feed but not for human consumption due to concern that the protein might cause allergic reactions. Wise Chips, the manufacturer of the chips, has also been contacted by the FDA.

06/26/01
Food cos. seek bacteria killers
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Prunes can kill E. coli bacteria in ground beef. Cinnamon will do the same thing in juice. Salt helps destroy a pathogen that contaminates chicken. Prodded by lawsuits and government regulations, the food industry is looking everywhere from kitchen cupboards to university laboratories for weapons against dangerous bacteria. One of the most sophisticated weapons being pitched to food scientists at their annual convention this week is a system that uses high pressure to destroy microbes. High-tech packaging that kills bacteria also is under development. At the University of California-Davis, lasers are under study as an antimicrobial treatment. Food companies are "trying to get as much information as possible" on new antimicrobial treatments, said Alice Johnson, director of food safety programs for the National Food Processors Association.

06/25/01
Peaceful protests mark biotech show
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Up to 1,000 demonstrators, some dressed as ears of corn or genetically engineered tomatoes, staged a colorful but largely peaceful protest Sunday on the opening day of a biotechnology trade show. Many demonstrators said they are concerned that businesses are introducing genetically modified crops and seeds into the food supply without knowing the long-term consequences. "The biotech industry is conducting a real-time experiment with our biosphere," said 26-year-old Shannon Service of Boulder, Colo., who was dressed as a monarch butterfly. "They don't know the results, they can't possibly know the results. The monarch butterfly represents that well." Research has suggested pollen from genetically engineered corn can be toxic to the butterflies, whose favorite food, milkweed, grows in and around corn fields. The altered corn produces its own pesticide to kill an insect pest.

06/22/01
Study traces human genetic resistance
WASHINGTON (AP) - Malaria, still the most lethal infection in humans, would be even more devastating except for a dramatic millennia-old genetic change that protects many people against the worst of the disease. A study appearing Friday in the journal Science traces the natural evolution of a human gene mutation that gives millions of people some protection from the most serious ravages of malaria in Africa, Asia and around the Mediterranean. Malaria annually infects about 500 million people and kills about 2 million, making it globally a more deadly disease than HIV/AIDS or tuberculosis. But without the mutation, it could be even worse. The gene mutation "is really evolution in action," says Sarah A. Tishkoff of the University of Maryland.

06/15/01
New algae grows in darkness
WASHINGTON (AP) - Inserting a single new gene into the DNA of a type of algae allowed the microscopic plant to thrive in darkness, growing vigorously without the need for sunlight, scientists say. In a study appearing Friday in the journal Science, researchers from Martek Biosciences Corp. in Columbia, Md., and the Carnegie Institution of Washington department of biology in Palo Alto, Calif., report that a microalgae was engineered to use glucose as its primary energy source instead of sunlight. The algae, as do most plants, normally gets its energy through a photosynthesis process that requires sunlight.

06/14/01
Biotech corn didn't cause reactions
WASHINGTON (AP) - Biotech corn that spawned nationwide food recalls last fall didn't cause the allergic reactions that people reported after finding out about the grain, the government said Wednesday. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said its investigation of the complaints "did not find any evidence that hypersensitivity" to a special protein in StarLink corn caused the reactions. Blood samples were taken from 17 people and tested for sensitivity to the protein, known as Cry9C. StarLink corn was never approved for human consumption because of questions about whether it was an allergen.

06/13/01
Gene variant probed in breast cancer
CHICAGO (AP) - Older white women with a genetic variation in a protein that helps regulate cell growth are 60% less likely to get breast cancer, preliminary research suggests. The research bolsters scientists' understanding of the protein and its variations, some of which have been linked to colon cancer in humans and tumors in mice. The inherited variation, found in about 15% of the U.S. population, involves the gene for a naturally occurring protein called transforming growth factor beta-1, said Dr. Elad Ziv, a researcher at the University of California-San Francisco. Ziv led the study involving data on 3,075 white women aged 65 and older.

06/13/01
FDA: Thumbs down on cancer drug
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) - Amgen Inc. has received a letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration indicating its application for a prostate cancer drug doesn't contain enough information for approval, the biotech giant said Tuesday. The injection, called Abarelix, reduces the level of testosterone in a patient's body. Testosterone is a hormone considered a fuel for prostate cancer. Amgen and development partner Praecis Pharmaceuticals said in a statement they expect to meet soon with the FDA to clarify what else needs to be done to get approval. A company spokeswoman declined further comment. Amgen officials had expected such approval by year's end. It was unclear whether the FDA letter would delay the expected timing of the drug's U.S. release.

06/8/01
New system may find some genes fast
WASHINGTON (AP) - Researchers have developed a new computation system that may shorten the time needed to find disease-causing genes from months to mere seconds. In a study appearing Friday in the journal Science, scientists at the Roche Group in Switzerland report that they have created a database that contains single gene differences among 15 different subspecies of laboratory mice. A combination of these gene differences, called single nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs, are believed to be responsible for diseases that have genetic links. A new computational system allows the researchers to swiftly identify the SNPs that may, in combination, cause disease.

06/11/01
Lawmakers want human cloning ban
Following the recent announcement that it would partner with Emory University and an Atlanta biotech firm to research the genetic origins of cancer, IBM last week announced that it is allying with MDS Proteomics, the Genetic Disease Network, the Bioinformatics Institute, and the National Institutes of Health to create Blueprint Worldwide, a nonprofit company that will collect and freely distribute genetic information to scientists. IBM's decision to distribute research information free of charge is unique; Celera Genomics, for example, hopes to generate tens of millions of dollars in revenues by selling subscriptions to its research. "We're really at the beginning of a lot of the discovery that's going to happen in biology, and we believe very much that that's going to require new computer tools," said IBM's Caroline Kovac. "We can't do that by ourselves." (TheStandard.com, 11 June 2001)

04/27/01
Lawmakers want human cloning ban
WASHINGTON (AP) - Members of Congress called for a federal ban on human cloning Thursday. "There is no need for this technology to ever be used with humans," said Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan. He supports legislation in the House and Senate that would make it a federal crime to clone a human, participate in human cloning or import human clones to the United States. Violators could get 10 years in prison and a minimum $1 million fine. A congressional ban may be seen as redundant since federal regulators have never approved such experiments fearing the research could produce deformed babies. Lawmakers want to keep scientists from applying the same technique used to clone Dolly the sheep in 1997 on humans. The White House has indicated that if Congress passes a cloning ban bill, President Bush would sign it.

04/24/01
Update: Seeds contain biotech contamination
WASHINGTON (AP) - More than one quarter of the nation's seed suppliers have found corn seed contaminated with traces of a biotech variety that wasn't approved for human consumption, the government says. The Department of Agriculture agreed to buy the contaminated corn to ensure that it doesn't get planted. So far, 77 of the nation's 281 companies have asked for the purchase contracts, USDA spokesman Kevin Herglotz said Monday. The biotech seed, named StarLink, was approved only for animal consumption because of unanswered questions about whether a special protein, called Cry9C, in the corn can cause allergic reactions in people. Discovery of the corn in the food supply last fall forced nationwide recalls of taco shells and other products and grain shipping was disrupted as processors and handlers started testing for the grain.

04/12/01
Placentas said to offer stem cells
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - A biotech company said Wednesday it has developed technology for extracting large quantities of stem cells from placentas, offering a rich new source of tissue that could be used to treat a variety of diseases. Stem cells are immature cells that can be coaxed in the laboratory into maturing into specific types of tissue, such as bone, cartilage and muscle. Scientists believe stem cells may be used someday to repair injuries and treat diseases. Anthrogenesis Corp. of Cedar Knolls said its method could prove to be a superior source of these cells. Currently, stem cells used in medical research are taken from bone marrow, the umbilical cords of newborn babies, aborted fetuses or discarded test-tube embryos. But umbilical cords contain only a small number of stem cells. Taking stem cells from bone marrow requires a painful needle extraction, and the donor must be very closely matched to the recipient to prevent rejection. And the use of embryos and fetal tissue is extremely controversial.

04/11/01
Study: Fat may be stem cell source
LOS ANGELES (AP) - A team of scientists says it has grown everything from human muscle to bone from stem cells taken from fat - a breakthrough that could eliminate the controversial use of fetal cells in the quest to mend damaged, missing or dead tissue. Researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles and the University of Pittsburgh isolated the stem cells - immature cells that can be coaxed into maturing into specific types of tissue - from ordinary fat removed by liposuction. They then grew the cells into bone, cartilage, muscle and fat. Stem cells have been taken previously from bone marrow, brain tissue and aborted fetuses and frozen embryos - a practice opposed by many anti-abortion groups. The use of fat as a source could end such controversy. Researchers predict the first practical use of laboratory-engineered tissue could come within five years.

04/06/01
Gene related to anorexia found
(AP) - Researchers have found that one form of a gene involved in controlling appetite is more frequent among anorexics, a discovery that suggests disruptions of the brain's system for governing food intake contribute to eating disorders. This is the first time an anorexia-related gene has been identified, though researchers have known for several years that a person's chances of developing an eating disorder depend partly on genetics. The study by researchers from Germany and the Netherlands found that 11% of anorexics had a variant form of the gene for agouti-related protein, a chemical messenger that stimulates appetite. In contrast, only 4.5% of subjects without anorexia had the variant form. The study compared 145 anorexia patients and 244 people without the disorder, and concluded that having the mutation more than doubles a person's chance of developing anorexia. The finding suggests that a drug mimicking agouti-related protein might help some anorexics regain their appetites.

04/03/01
Lilly to develop inhaled insulin
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Eli Lilly and Co. said Monday it signed an agreement with Alkermes Inc. to develop inhaled forms of insulin and other products to treat diabetes. Under the agreement, Lilly will provide Cambridge, Mass.-based Alkermes Inc. with funding for development of the inhaled insulin and will make royalty payments based on product sales. In exchange, Lilly gets exclusive worldwide rights to the collaboration's products. The Indianapolis-based pharmaceutical company, which is one of the world's biggest makers of diabetes medicine, will conduct clinical trials, handle regulatory approval and make and market the products. Alkermes, a maker of drug delivery systems, developed the Alkermes AIR system, in which relatively large drug particles can be efficiently inhaled using simple inhaler devices. Recent studies have shown that inhaled insulins being developed several companies could be an effective alternative to injections.

03/30/01
Study looks at genetics, weight loss
WASHINGTON (AP) - It may be possible someday to gorge yourself with rich food and still lose weight - if a technique performed on laboratory mice also works for humans. Scientists at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston found that if an enzyme called acetyl-CoA carboxylase 2, or ACC2, is blocked in mice, the animals can eat much more food than other mice and still weigh 10% to 15% less. Baylor researchers identified a gene that makes ACC2 and then bred mice that lacked both copies of the gene. Such animals are called "knockout mice" because a gene has been knocked out or muted. Researchers said the knockout mice were permitted to eat as much food as they wanted, for as long as they wanted. A control group of mice with normal genes were fed the same way. Even though they ate about 40% more than the control mice did, the knockout mice lost weight. The Baylor researchers are now testing compounds that could be used in a pill to block the expression, or secretion, of ACC2.

03/27/01
Poll: Consumers unaware of biotech
WASHINGTON (AP) - Nearly 60% of people in a new poll said they didn't want genetically engineered crops introduced into the food supply. But when informed the ingredients were already in at least half the products on store shelves, almost half said they must be safe. Sixty-two percent of those polled said that they had never eaten biotech foods, as far as they knew. Before being told how prevalent biotech food is, 46% of the respondents didn't have an opinion on the products' safety and 25% thought they were unsafe. Some 29% thought they were safe. Fifty-eight percent said they didn't want them allowed into the U.S. food supply. After being told how widespread such food is, 48% of the respondents said they thought biotech products were OK, while 21% thought they were unsafe. The remaining 31% didn't have an opinion. The government doesn't require food makers to label biotech products, so long as the biotech crops are essentially the same as conventionally bred varieties.

03/16/01
Scientists: More biotech research is needed
WASHINGTON (AP) - Scientists advising the government on genetically engineered corn say more research is needed to determine its impact on the environment and assess the health risks of new varieties of the grain. The corn, known as Bt for a bacterium gene it contains, is genetically altered to produce its own pesticide to kill an insect pest. Some research has suggested the corn could be harming an unintended target, Monarch butterflies, in farmers' fields. The Environmental Protection Agency, which released a report Thursday by the scientific advisers, is considering whether to renew registrations for gene-altered varieties of corn and cotton. The biotech industry was put on the defense last fall when a variety of biotech corn that was not approved for human consumption was found in taco shells and other food products. That variety, known as StarLink, has since been withdrawn from the market, and the EPA is not considering renewing its license.

03/9/01
EU to crack down on biotech food
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - The European Union's environment commissioner said Thursday she will put forward proposals this month on the labeling and tracing of genetically modified organisms in an effort to end a moratorium on new GMO foodstuffs in Europe. Margot Wallstroem cautioned the EU head office could face lawsuits from biotech firms if the ban imposed three years ago on the marketing of new genetically modified foods continued. The EU ban was imposed by EU governments arguing genetically altered foodstuffs could pose a risk to health and the environment. Last month, the European Parliament approved new rules on labeling and monitoring genetically modified food, preparing for their entry on the market. But consumer groups, environmental organizations and, significantly, several EU governments say they do not go far enough. They are particularly concerned because the new rules do not include provisions to hold makers of genetically altered food liable for any damages they may cause to public health or the environment.

03/9/01
FDA finds problems at Lilly plant
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - A government inspection found problems at an Eli Lilly and Co. manufacturing plant where the company will turn out a new, injectable form of its top-selling schizophrenia drug Zyprexa. The FDA sent Lilly a warning letter dated March 2 following a four-week inspection that ended Feb. 23 at an injectable products plant in Indianapolis. The FDA released copies of the letter Thursday. The letter said the inspection found a number of problems, including an inadequate quality control unit and an absence of written procedures to prevent contamination of vials in which the company packages injectable forms of its human growth hormone, a cancer drug and other pharmaceuticals. The FDA will not approve any new Lilly drugs or new drug uses until the problems are fixed, but the company said it does not expect any delays in the anticipated summer market launch of the rapid-acting, injectable form of Zyprexa to treat agitation from schizophrenia, dementia and bipolar mania.

03/9/01
Unapproved corn found in veggie dogs
WASHINGTON (AP) - Add veggie corn dogs to the list of food products that anti-biotech activists say contain genetically engineered grain never approved for human consumption. Morningstar Farms corn dogs, a product of the Kellogg Co., were purchased Feb. 24 at a Baltimore Safeway store and later tested positive for StarLink corn, the environmental group Greenpeace said Thursday. The frozen product was made in early October with corn from the 1999 harvest, Kellogg said. The government says there is little, if any, health risk from StarLink corn, which was withdrawn from the market after its discovery in Kraft Foods taco shells and other products last fall. The corn was approved only for animal feed because of unanswered questions about the potential to cause allergic reactions in humans. Kellogg notified the FDA of Greenpeace's finding but has not recalled the corn dogs, Ervin said. Greenpeace's testing was conducted by an Iowa lab, Genetic ID, that identified StarLink in the taco shells, prompting a nationwide recall.

03/8/01
USDA to buy up tainted biotech corn
WASHINGTON (AP) - The government agreed Wednesday to buy as much as $20 million worth of corn seed that was contaminated with a variety of genetically engineered grain that prompted nationwide recalls of food products. In announcing the purchase, the Agriculture Department estimated that "less than 1%" of the 40 million bags of corn seed produced for planting this year contains some trace of the biotech variety, known as StarLink. The department said its estimate was based on a survey by the American Seed Trade Association of its member companies. None of the tainted seed is believed to have been sold to farmers, and it is either being destroyed or diverted to industrial uses, according to the association. The association said in a statement its 250 companies are "doing everything possible to minimize the presence" of StarLink in future crops.

03/02/01
New source of drug compounds found
WASHINGTON (AP) - Genes extracted from soil bacteria and slipped into a laboratory microbe have given pharmaceutical scientists a new source of a group of natural compounds that are used to make several major drugs. The compounds - polyketides - used in drug production are usually made by certain bacteria families. Manipulating the genes in these bacteria to cause them to form particular types of the compounds has led to development of drugs that now account for about $10 billion in annual sales. Many of the drug compounds are difficult to synthesize, so pharmaceutical companies use natural organisms, such as soil bacteria, to make the drugs in huge, industrial-sized vats. But some key polyketide-making bacteria are hard and slow to grow, and they also resist the genetic manipulation necessary to make the drugs. This makes industrial production of drug compounds from these organisms difficult and more expensive.

03/02/01
STD drug could result from peptide
WASHINGTON (AP) - Researchers have found a compound in the reproductive tracts of male rats that attacks and kills some bacteria. A similar compound - a peptide - may exist in humans and could be used to develop drugs against sexually transmitted diseases, scientists said. The study, appearing Friday in the journal Science, reported on test tube studies of a peptide called Bin1B, a member of a group of natural antibiotic compounds called defensins. Researchers said that when Bin1B from rats was exposed in laboratory dishes to E. coli bacteria, it stopped the growth of the E. coli. The scientists suggested that this property might be used to develop a drug based on Bin1B that would block infection from sexually transmitted disease. Bin1B peptide is found in a structure, called epididymis, where sperm is processed and matured in the male rat's reproductive tract. A defensin peptide that appears to be very similar is found in the human tissue, the authors said.

02/22/01
Gene variant cuts heart attack risk
(AP) - Scientists have identified a gene that may help explain why moderate drinking can ward off heart attacks. The researchers found that a variant of the gene makes the body break down alcohol very slowly. That slow breakdown, in turn, appears to raise levels of heart-protecting "good cholesterol" in the blood. Moderate drinkers with the gene variant were found to have a sharply lower risk of heart attack than those whose bodies dispense with alcohol more quickly. The gene produces enzymes called alcohol dehydrogenase that break down alcohol. The gene comes in two forms: One metabolizes alcohol quickly, the other slowly. People inherit one copy of the gene from each parent, so they can end up with two genes that make the fast-working enzymes, two that make the slow enzymes, or one of each.

02/14/01
Vector plans reduced risk cigarettes
(AP) - Vector Tobacco of Durham has developed a technology it says significantly reduces a cancer-causing agent from cigarette smoke. Vector Group Ltd., parent company of Vector Tobacco and discount cigarette maker Liggett Group of Durham, said Tuesday it plans to start marketing the new cigarettes as early as this summer. The new cigarettes taste the same as conventional cigarettes, but they will feature catalytic technology that reduces polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) compounds, from the smoke. PAHs are considered by many in the health community to be the most severe cancer-causing agents in cigarettes, the company said. The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that the process involves treating tobacco with a combination of chemicals, including palladium, a metal most commonly used in catalytic converters, a car's primary pollution control device. Last month, Vector announced plans to introduce a cigarette made from genetically modified tobacco that is virtually nicotine-free and has reduced amounts of cancer-causing nitrosamines (TSNAs). Nicotine makes smoking addictive, and a cigarette without it wouldn't produce the dependency that others do. Cigarettes using the genetically modified tobacco are expected to reach the market early next year after the company completes tests and grows enough genetically altered tobacco to build inventory.

02/13/01
DNA of mice is largely deciphered
WASHINGTON (AP) - Scientists say they have largely deciphered the genetic code of the mouse, a step toward providing a vantage point to better understand the biology and diseases of people. Celera Genomics of Rockville, Md., said Monday that its data covered more than 99% of the roughly 3 billion "letters" in the mouse code, called its genome. That's about the same genome size as people have. While Celera has largely determined the order of the letters, it hasn't yet counted up the genes or defined other features, Celera vice president Mark Adams said in an interview. Scientists have several reasons to want the sequence of the mouse genome in hand. One is to help them use mice in lab experiments to find out about human disease. The mouse code can also help scientists understand the human genome, he said. "Comparison between the two helps to separate out the parts that are functionally important from the parts that are less so," Paigen said. Eric Lander of the Whitehead Institute Center for Genomic Research in Cambridge, Mass., said such comparisons should help scientists find DNA regions that regulate the activity of genes, and figure out the control circuits. It will probably take comparisons across the genomes of three to five species to do that, he said. Adams said the mouse genome should also help scientists understand differences in how diseases behave in mice and people. That might provide insights that lead to treatments targeting the spread of cancer, for example, he said.

02/12/01
Gene map creates new frontier
WASHINGTON (AP) - Mapping the human genome opens a new era for medical science - and a new frontier for potential discrimination. New genetic research may make it possible to identify an individual's lifetime risk of cancer, heart attack and other diseases. Experts worry that this information could be used to discriminate in hiring, promotions or insurance. Employers and insurers could save millions of dollars if they could use predictive genetics to identify in advance, and then reject, workers or policy applicants who are predisposed to develop chronic disease. Thus, genetic discrimination could join the list of other forms of discrimination: racial, ethnic, age and sexual. Genetic discrimination is drawing attention this week because of the first publication of the complete human genome map and sequence. Two versions, virtually identical, were compiled separately by an international public consortium and by a private company. Fear of such discrimination already is affecting how people view the medical revolution promised by mapping the human genome. A Time/CNN poll last summer found that 75% of 1,218 Americans surveyed did not want insurance companies to know their genetic code, and 84% wanted that information withheld from the government. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed its first lawsuit challenging genetic testing last week in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Iowa.

02/7/01
Iowa farmers sue over biotech corn
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - A class-action lawsuit has been filed in Polk County District Court on behalf of Iowa farmers who believe they lost money because of consumer fears caused when an unapproved biotech corn wound up in the nation's food supply. The lawsuit filed Monday seeks compensation for farmers who grew other approved varieties of corn, but believe concern over the StarLink mix-up led to lower corn exports and prices last year. Des Moines attorney Roxanne Conlin said the Iowa court system can provide quicker relief for Iowa farmers than similar lawsuits pending in federal court. Federal class-action lawsuits were filed on behalf of non-StarLink growers nationwide in December against Aventis. One was filed in Cedar Rapids and another in East St. Louis, Ill. StarLink, which was genetically engineered to resist European corn borers, was never was approved for human consumption because of unresolved questions about whether a special protein it contains can cause allergic reactions.

01/31/01
Prostate-risk gene identified
(AP) - For the first time, scientists have apparently tracked down a gene that makes some families prone to developing prostate cancer. In the general population, the gene appears to roughly double the risk of the disease. Overall, it may play a role in 2% to 5% of prostate cancer cases, researchers estimated. Eventually, once scientists have identified more genes that make men susceptible to the disease, they could be combined into a test to identify men at high risk, researchers said. Such men could be followed especially closely for early signs of the disease, so it can be caught when it is still in a more treatable form. One expert called the new finding a breakthrough but cautioned it will take more work to see how big a role the gene plays in the disease. Some 198,100 American men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year, and the disease will kill an estimated 31,500. Most cases appear to come from a genetic vulnerability plus some largely unknown environmental factors.

01/31/01
Stem cell stance alarms scientists
WASHINGTON (AP) - Scientists and universities are increasingly worried because the Bush administration apparently will block federal financing of promising medical research using certain master cells. Stem cells are building blocks for all human tissue, and scientists say research with them could lead to revolutionary therapies for diseases from Alzheimer's to diabetes. They can be derived from aborted fetuses, fertility clinics' discarded embryos or adults. All are under study, but embryonic stem cells generate the most excitement because they appear the most flexible. Anti-abortion groups oppose fetal and embryonic stem cell research. Friday, President Bush said he prefers adult stem cell research, signaling he may move to block the other types. Federally funded scientists can't touch human embryos, but privately funded scientists have multiplied embryonic stem cells in laboratories.

01/16/01
Company maps protein interactions
PRINCETON, N.J. (AP) - Building on discoveries from the Human Genome Project, a fledgling biotechnology company has mapped all of the ways that proteins with the same type of binding structure connect to one another. There are roughly 70 such types of protein binding structures, or domain families, inside the body's cells. AxCell Biosciences plans to map the rest within four years, starting with domain families whose workings are linked to cancer, diabetes, heart disease and other major killers. Because many such diseases result from defective proteins, the company's database could offer pharmaceutical companies an alternative to trial and error when it comes to devising new drugs. AxCell, a subsidiary of Cytogen Corp., a Princeton biopharmaceutical company, says its information will help develop more effective medications with fewer side effects.

01/15/01
Study tests learning, memory in mice
(AP) - In a laboratory study that could help in deciphering Alzheimer's disease, scientists found that genetically engineered mice learned and remembered better if subjected to tricky maze exercises. The research, in which mice were boosted with a neuron-nourishing protein called nerve growth factor, marks the first time a specific molecule has been pinpointed to assist the brain in rewiring itself to tackle new challenges, the University of Rochester said. Alzheimer's is a progressive neurological disease with no known cause or cure that affects more than 4 million Americans. Victims, most of them elderly, suffer gradual memory loss, disorientation and personality changes. Researchers developed a gene-transfer method used in the study in which extra copies of a gene that generates nerve growth factor are delivered to cells in the hippocampus, a part of the brain thought to be a crucial way station in funneling and retrieving information.

01/12/01
Discovery could help insomniacs
(AP) - A study of a Utah family of "morning lark" snoozers has led to discovery of the first human gene that controls the sleep cycle. The finding could lead to new treatments for jet lag, insomnia and other sleep problems. Researchers, in a report to be published in Friday's edition of the Science journal, said they found the gene by studying the genetic pattern of four generations of a Utah family identified in 1999 as having a previously unknown condition called "familial advanced sleep-phase syndrome (FASPS)". Researchers said the family gets normal sleep, as deep and long as most people. The difference is that they start earlier and awaken earlier. Members of the family tend to grow sleepy in late afternoon and usually are slumbering in bed by 7 p.m. They generally awaken spontaneously around 2 a.m. For them, it is a natural pattern. FASPS is caused by a gene on chromosome 2 that changes a single amino acid among the 1,000 that make up a protein called hPer2. This change alters the action of an enzyme that has been linked in animal studies to control of the circadian rhythm, or sleep-wake cycle, he said.

01/12/01
Updated: Gene-altered primate described
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Pushing science to the brink of altering humans, researchers have created the world's first genetically modified primate - a baby rhesus monkey with jellyfish DNA that glows green in the dark. The Oregon Health Science University researchers who created ANDi - for "inserted DNA," spelled backward - said their goal is not to tinker with the human blueprint but to use monkeys in the laboratory to advance medical research and wipe out diseases. The researchers hope to introduce other genes in rhesus monkeys that could trigger diseases like Alzheimer's, diabetes, breast cancer or HIV. Then, those monkeys could be used in experiments aimed at blocking diseases at the genetic level. Mice have been genetically modified in labs and used for medical research for decades, but ANDi proves that scientists can now successfully tinker with the chromosomes of a close genetic cousin to man.

01/12/01
Modified protein may fight AIDS
(AP)- A genetically engineered protein is able in laboratory tests to keep the AIDS virus from infecting cells. Researchers said it has promise of being used as a powerful therapy against the disease. Dr. Peter Kim of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology said the protein, called 5-Helix, is able to disrupt the process that HIV, the AIDS virus, uses to gain entry into cells. In a study appearing Friday in the journal Science, Kim and his co-authors report that in test-tube experiments 5-Helix works by preventing HIV from fusing with the outer membrane of healthy cells. "In order to enter a cell, the virus membrane must fuse with the cell membrane. With this protein, the virus can never get into the cell," Kim said. Experiments show the protein works against all common strains of HIV.

01/11/01
Bayer to test cancer treatment
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) - German drug maker Bayer AG will begin human testing of a new cancer treatment that taps revolutionary research targeting genes linked to the illness. The method has successfully halted tumor growth in animals, said the company, best known for developing aspirin. It added in a statement Wednesday that it will begin testing the experimental drug on humans "as soon as feasible in 2001." Leverkusen-based Bayer developed the new approach as part of a $855 million deal with U.S. biotech company Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Bayer has been working on the treatment for 18 months, but it could take another 7 years of testing before it is put on the market, a spokesman said. Drugmakers combat disease by focusing on so-called targets, chemicals in the body that trigger illness.

01/08/01
Report: Tissue banks lack checkups
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) - Tissue banks are not routinely inspected and donor families rarely hear about the profits being made from donated body parts, according to two reports released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The reports detail how donations of cadaver tissue have helped to fuel an industry with no accountability or federal oversight. The department began an investigation after an Orange County Register report last year revealed that a single dead body can yield more than $220,000 in products for tissue banks and companies and that the families were never told. The newspaper also found that burn victims often are forced to compete with cosmetic surgeons for skin. Scientific advances have helped to create a $500 million industry in the sale of human body parts. In 1999, the health department found, about 750,000 pieces of tissue, other than organs, were implanted into patients from about 20,000 donors nationwide. Nonprofit tissue banks act as middlemen for corporations developing products crafted from donated bone, heart valves, veins and tendons.

12/19/00
Cloned bull may boost beef safety
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) - Scientists at Texas A&M University unveiled a disease-resistant black Angus bull Monday, a feat they said could lead to safer beef and more efficient ranching worldwide. The month-old calf, called Bull 86 Squared, was cloned from genetic material frozen 15 years ago from Bull 86. That animal, which died of old age in 1997, was naturally resistant to brucellosis, tuberculosis and salmonellosis - all of which can be passed on to humans through uncooked beef, unpasteurized milk or contamination. The new animal carries the same traits. More of its genes will be tested for resistance to other diseases over the next few years.

12/19/00
Panel wants tighter biotech control
WASHINGTON (AP) - A committee formed by the U.S. and the European Union recommended tighter controls Monday on genetically engineered foods, including mandatory labeling of products with biotech ingredients. "Consumers should have the right of informed choice regarding the selection of what they want to consume," said the 20-member panel, which included scientists, farmers, consumer advocates and industry officials. The 19-page report said the U.S. and Europe should set "content-based mandatory labeling requirements" for foods that contain "novel genetic material," a term Europeans use for genetically engineered ingredients. The U.S. currently does not require the labeling of products with gene-altered ingredients, based on the premise that they are essentially the same as conventionally bred crops. Some panel members believe the report's language is vague enough to support the U.S. position.

12/15/00
Gene mutation doubles life span
WASHINGTON (AP) - Mutation of a gene whimsically named "I'm not dead yet" can double the life span of fruit flies, a laboratory discovery that researchers said may lead to drugs to help people live longer and, perhaps, even lose weight. Researchers at the University of Connecticut Health Center have found that the life span of fruit flies was extended from an average of 37 days to 70 days when a gene was modified on a single chromosome. Some flies in the study lived 110 days. The same long-life gene exists in humans, said Dr. Stephen L. Helfand, senior author of the study, and "offers a target for future drug therapies aimed at extending life." In human terms, a doubled life span would be about 150 years. Helfand said the gene mutation appears to work by restricting calorie absorption on a cellular level - in effect, putting the cells on a diet. This raises the possibility, he said, of one day developing a pill that would both extend life and control weight.

12/14/00
Genetic map of a plant completed
(AP) - Scientists on three continents have deciphered the entire genetic makeup of a plant, a breakthrough in basic science that not only unlocks the secrets of nature, but may soon help to feed a hungry world, reduce pollution and identify medicines of tomorrow. The new poster plant for the genetics revolution isn't a towering sequoia or a fragrant rose. Instead, it's a spindly weed that grows along roadsides worldwide. Arabidopsis thaliana - gardeners know it as thale cress - joins the fruitfly, the nematode worm, 600 viruses and two dozen bacteria as organisms that have revealed their entire DNA blueprints. A rough draft of the human genetic code was unveiled this summer and a completed version is expected to be published soon. The plant's genetic code is published in this week's issue of the journal Nature based on work in the United States, Great Britain, France, Germany and Japan.

11/14/00
Risk of unapproved corn is low
WASHINGTON (AP) - The chance of consumers eating an unapproved variety of biotech corn is "extremely low," but unresolved questions remain about its potential to cause allergic reactions, the Environmental Protection Agency said Monday. The crop's developer, Aventis CropScience, has asked EPA for temporary approval of the genetically engineered corn for food use to avoid snarling the grain and food industries. The corn, known as StarLink, has been found in taco shells made by three food processors. In a preliminary assessment of the Aventis request, EPA said so little of the corn has intruded in the food supply that the risk of encountering it ranges from "parts per billion to parts per trillion" of food consumed by people most likely to eat it. EPA estimated that 0.14% of the corn harvested this year and sold for use in food probably contains StarLink corn. Federal officials have been unable to locate about 1.5% of this year's StarLink corn, or about 1.2 million bushels.

11/14/00
Fat-storing gene may trigger obesity
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A thrifty gene that helped cavemen survive food shortages appears to be a common underlying trigger of both obesity and diabetes, researchers reported Monday. German researchers said the gene apparently prompts the body to store up fat for later. They said the gene could be an important explanation of an inherited tendency to gain weight, especially among black people. Their work shows that about 90% of blacks, 50% of Asians and 30% of whites carry at least one copy of this gene. "This gene was advantageous in times of food scarcity," said Dr. Achim Gutersohn. "But in times of driving and coach potato-ing, it can cause obesity." The links between genes, living habits and health are of increasing interest to researchers, and this association appears to be especially complex in the way people gain weight.

11/10/00
DNA study traces European ancestors
WASHINGTON (AP) - About 80% of Europeans arose from primitive hunters who arrived about 40,000 years ago, endured the long ice age and then expanded rapidly to dominate the continent, a new study shows. Researchers analyzing the Y chromosome taken from 1,007 men from 25 different locations in Europe found a pattern that suggests four out of five of the men shared a common male ancestor about 40,000 years ago. Peter A. Underhill, a senior researcher at the Stanford Genome Technology Center in Palo Alto, Calif., and co-author of the study, said the research supports conclusions from archaeological, linguistic and other DNA evidence about the settlement of Europe by ancient peoples. "When we can get different lines of evidence that tell the same story, then we feel we are telling the true history of the species," Underhill said. The researchers used the Y chromosome in the study because its rare changes establish a pattern that can be traced back hundreds of generations, thus helping to plot the movement of ancient humans. The Y chromosome is inherited only by sons from their fathers.

11/9/00
Pfizer Viagra patent ruled invalid
LONDON (AP) - A British court ruled Wednesday that one of drugmaker Pfizer Inc.'s patents on the anti-impotence drug Viagra was invalid, paving the way for other pharmaceutical companies in Britain to develop drugs that act in the same way. Patents Court Justice Hugh Laddie upheld a challenge by U.S.-based Lilly Icos which had claimed that Pfizer's monopoly right was stifling the development of competitive products. The case, only applying to Britain, centered on how Viagra works in inhibiting a chemical known as PD5 in the treatment of impotence. Pfizer's patent for the process expires in 2013. The court ruled that the company cannot prevent competitors from developing compounds other than Viagra's active ingredient that also inhibit PD5. Pfizer said it was "disappointed" and was considering an appeal. In the third quarter, Pfizer reported worldwide sales of Viagra were up 36% to $332 million, including a 53% rise in sales outside the United States to $133 million.

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