Researchers from Loyola University have identified six (6) individual amino acids, located in a little-studied region of the TRIM5a protein, that appear to give the protein the ability to destroy HIV in rhesus monkeys.

The finding could lead to new TRIM5a-based treatments that would knock out HIV in humans, said senior researcher Edward M. Campbell, PhD, of Loyola University Health System.

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In a post we made in early March of this year, we reported on an interview with Dr. J. Craig Venter. In the video Dr. Venter mentioned their team was close to producing cells from an entirely synthetic DNA genome.

Today the research team announced 'success' ... they have designed a genome in the computer, chemically made it in the lab, transplanted it into a recipient cell and now have produced a new self-replicating cell, controlled only by the synthetic genome.

It has taken the team the better part of 15 years to arrive at this important stage. Dr. Daniel Gibson, lead author on the published article, stated, “To produce a synthetic cell, our group had to learn how to sequence, synthesize, and transplant genomes. Many hurdles had to be overcome, but we are now able to combine all of these steps to produce synthetic cells in the laboratory.” He added, “We can now begin working on our ultimate objective of synthesizing a minimal cell containing only the genes necessary to sustain life in its simplest form. This will help us better understand how cells work.”

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Researchers from George Washington University Medical Center have discovered a way to detect a specific autism spectrum disorder by using blood samples. Additionally the researchers discovered that drugs which affect the methylation state of genes may reverse some of autism's effects.

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The man who helped to first sequence the human genome ten years ago, is looking to use biology to tackle the energy problem.

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 Using just four hairs and a few small fragments of bone from an ancient man discovered in the permafrost of western Greenland, a research team from the University of Copenhagen have sequenced about 80% of the ancient man's genome. 

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Researchers from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville are unlocking some of the secrets that allow bacteria to respond and adapt to changes in their environment - and hope their findings may be used to enhance medicines that fight harmful bacteria or even to develop ways to better utilize bacteria in agriculture and other similar applications.

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Biomedical engineers from Boston University have developed a new sequencing technique that eliminates the time-consuming, and often error-prone step of DNA amplification - which will make future genome sequencing both faster and less expensive than any current technologies.

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Even small errors made by cells during protein production can have profound disease effects, and nature has developed ways to uncover these mistakes and correct them. Though in the case of one essential protein building block—the amino acid alanine—nature has been extra careful, developing not one, but two checkpoints in her effort to make sure that this component is used correctly.

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Finding and treating a tumor without disturbing normal tissue presents challenges -- sometimes the most effective therapies can be invasive and harsh.

Researchers at Duke University Medical Center have devised a way they might deliver the right therapy directly to tumors using special molecules, called aptamers, which specifically bind to living tumor tissue.

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A research team at the Sahlgrenska Academy, in the faculty of health sciences at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, have identified the gene that causes a slow-growing but deadly form of glandular cancer known as adenoid cystic carcinoma. Known as a fusion gene - the newly discovered gene is formed when two healthy genes join together as a result of a chromosome change.

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