Akonni Biosystems, a molecular diagnostics (MDx) company that develops, manufactures, and intends to market advanced MDx systems, today announced it was chosen as a recipient for a challenge grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The grant highlights the current unmet need for affordable, effective nucleic acid testing technologies that meet the requirements of […]

Genomics England is linking with leading life sciences companies Inivata and Thermo Fisher Scientific in a collaboration that strives to improve understanding of cancer. The pilot project will assess the quality of blood plasma samples and explore the potential of liquid biopsy testing in order to boost disease management and patient outcomes. The industry partnership […]

Immunomic Therapeutics, Inc. (ITI), a privately held, Maryland-based biotechnology company is proud to announce a travel fund for patients enrolled in a Phase II clinical study that employs their investigational LAMP-Vax™ technology to treat glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). Although the study, “Vaccine Therapy for the Treatment of Newly Diagnosed Glioblastoma Multiforme (ATTAC-II),” is not formally sponsored […]

Canadian researchers have pinpointed a new gene associated with peanut allergy, offering further evidence that genes play a role in the development of food allergies and opening the door to future research, improved diagnostics and new treatment options. The gene, called c11orf30/EMSY (EMSY), is already known to play a role in other allergy-related conditions, such […]

Robots have just gotten much, much smaller. Scientists from Caltech have created an autonomous molecular machine at the nanoscale—made of a single strand of DNA— that can autonomously ‘walk’ around a surface, pick up certain molecules and drop them off in designated locations. “Just like electromechanical robots are sent off to faraway places, like Mars, […]

According to the World Health Organization, more than 36.7 million people around the world are infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Although there is not yet a cure for HIV, some treatments are able to slow the spread of the virus. Researchers around the world study the virus with the hope of one day creating […]

A new study released Tuesday from one of the foremost neuroscience researchers in the world suggests children exposed to tackle football before the age of 12 are two to three times more likely to develop emotional and/or behavioral issues later in life, compared with individuals who began playing the sport at 12 years or older. […]

An inexpensive biomaterial that can be used to sustainably replace plastic barrier coatings in packaging and many other applications has been developed by Penn State researchers, who predict its adoption would greatly reduce pollution. Completely compostable, the material — a polysaccharide polyelectrolyte complex — is comprised of nearly equal parts of treated cellulose pulp from […]

An existing drug may one day protect premenopausal women from life-altering infertility that commonly follows cancer treatments, according to a new study. Women who are treated for cancer with radiation or certain chemotherapy drugs are commonly rendered sterile. According to a 2006 study from Weill Cornell Medicine, nearly 40 percent of all female breast cancer […]

While Zika virus causes devastating damage to the brains of developing fetuses, it one day may be an effective treatment for glioblastoma, a deadly form of brain cancer. New research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of California San Diego School of Medicine shows that the virus kills brain […]

A research team at the George Washington University (GW) School of Medicine and Health Sciences will study the body’s natural defenses against HIV and look for ways to eliminate the infectious HIV reservoirs in the white blood cells of people taking antiretroviral therapy. Millions of people, including children, live with HIV worldwide. The virus is […]

For life science researchers, having easy access to data and information is essential. They can use this data to research diseases and further personal research, benefiting other researchers and patients. Oregon Health and Science University in Portland recently received a five-year grant of $15 million from the National Institutes of Health to establish a first-of-its-kind […]

A phenomenon occurring in photosynthesis could help engineers create a new type of artificial solar cell. Researchers from Georgia State University explored a concept called “inverted-region electron transfer,” which could lead to new cells that could harness energy, such as hydrogen gas. The team analyzed the photosynthetic reaction centers found in the freshwater cyanobacterium species […]

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved tisagenlecleucel (Kymriah) for certain pediatric and young adult patients with a form of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The historic action makes Novartis Pharmaceutical’s CAR-T cell treatment the first gene therapy available in the United States. (Gilead just negotiated to buy Kite Pharma, which also has a […]

A team of scientists from the University of Chicago designed a way to use microscopic capsules made out of DNA to deliver a payload of tiny molecules directly into a cell. The technique, detailed Aug. 21 in Nature Nanotechnology, gives scientists an opportunity to understand certain interactions among cells that have previously been hard to […]

Panic disorder is a syndrome characterized by spontaneous and recurrent episodes of incapacitating anxiety. It typically emerges during adolescence or early adulthood and can take an exhausting emotional and physical toll on the body. Physical symptoms can include heart palpitations, sweating and/or chills, trouble breathing and dizziness, nausea and even chest pain. While significant progress […]

As cannabis use becomes legal in more and more states in the US, both for recreational and medical purposes, it is becoming necessary for more research into the drug. Currently in the US, 20% of the population have access to legal recreational marijuana use and 60% have access to legal medical marijuana. Unfortunately, even with […]

Last year, the University of Alabama at Birmingham Comprehensive Cancer Center was awarded a five-year, $29 million grant for the National Cancer Institute. The Cancer Center now receives nearly $6M a year in NCI core funding and will continue to do so through 2021. In addition to this core grant, UAB CCC has received over […]

Based on its recent analysis of microarrays in molecular diagnostics (MDx), Frost & Sullivan recognizes Akonni Biosystems, Inc. with the 2017 North America Frost & Sullivan Award for New Product Innovation. Akonni’s integrated MDx system, TruDiagnosis®, is revolutionizing the point-of-care molecular testing market by enabling target detection from a variety of sample types. TruDiagnosis® is […]

Akonni Biosystems said today that it has received a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop molecular diagnostic tests for lower respiratory diseases in children. The award, worth $225,000 and administered by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is specifically intended to support the development […]