Biotech News Headlines

File this under unexpectedly cool: organs you don’t harvest, but instead print using an honest-to-goodness printer, just as you might words on paper, except in this case, the “words” are actual stem cells that could save someone’s life.

(Reuters) - U.S. health regulators on Friday approved a drug from Hyperion Therapeutics Inc designed to remove ammonia buildup from the blood of patients with enzyme deficiencies known as urea cycle disorders. The drug, to be sold under the brand name Ravicti, was approved for the chronic management of the serious genetic …

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women carrying BRCA mutations tied to breast and ovarian cancer may hit menopause a few years earlier than other women, according to a new study. Doctors already discuss with those women whether they want immediate surgery to remove their ovaries and breasts, or if they want to start a family …

LONDON (Reuters) - British and Chinese scientists have found a genetic variant which explains why Chinese populations may be more vulnerable to the H1N1 virus, commonly known as swine flu. The discovery of the variant could help doctors find those people at high risk of severe flu and prioritize them for treatment, researchers …

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. (AP) — A misdemeanor driving charge against retired television movie critic Gene Shalit is set to be dismissed in Massachusetts.

LONDON (Reuters) - A new strain of the winter vomiting disease norovirus has spread to France, New Zealand and Japan from Australia and is overtaking all others to become the dominant strain in Britain, health officials said on Wednesday. The norovirus variant, known as Sydney 2012, was identified in a scientific paper …

(Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to review a challenge to federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research brought by two researchers who said the U.S. National Institutes of Health rules on such studies violate federal law. The decision brings an end to a lawsuit that had threatened to hamper stem …

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court won't stop the government's funding of embryonic stem cell research, despite some researchers' complaints that the work relies on destroyed human embryos.

LONDON (Reuters) - The Western world's first drug to fix faulty genes promises to transform the lives of patients with an ultra-rare disease that clogs their blood with fat. The only snag is the price. The gene therapy for lipoprotein lipase deficiency (LPLD), a hereditary disorder that raises the risk of potentially lethal …

Joni Johnson has been named executive director of the South Dakota Biotechnology Association.Johnson most recently served as administrator of Poet's political action committee.Johnson grew the PAC's membership ...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — After four years of futility, the Jacksonville Jaguars are heading in a different direction.

(Reuters) - A controversial genetically engineered salmon has moved a step closer to the consumer's dining table after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Friday the fish didn't appear likely to pose a threat to the environment or to humans who eat it. AquAdvantage salmon eggs would produce fish with the potential …

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut's chief medical examiner says he's seeking genetic clues to help explain why a shooter killed 20 children and six adults in a Newtown elementary school.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Many women who test negative for gene mutations that heighten the risk of ovarian cancer still get their ovaries removed despite a lack of evidence that it reduces the risk of dying, says a new study. "A higher number than expected went through with the surgery, and it probably has to do with …

LONDON/PARIS (Reuters) - France's Vivalis and Austrian vaccine specialist Intercell are linking up in a rare cross-border deal that shows the need for Europe's fledgling biotech companies to grow in scale and produce a stronger pipeline to better compete in the quest for lucrative partnership deals. Vivalis is set to buy …

LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. biotechnology group Amgen Inc has agreed to buy unlisted Decode Genetics, a pioneer in hunting down genes linked to disease, for $415 million in cash to boost its drive to develop better targeted drugs. Founded in 1996, Decode blazed a trail in personal genomics by trawling Iceland's unique genetic …

A new study sets the stage for wider use of gene testing in early pregnancy. Scanning the genes of a fetus reveals far more about potential health risks than current prenatal testing does, say researchers who compared both methods in thousands of pregnancies nationwide.

California has transformed into a major player in stem cell research, but the taxpayer-funded institute responsible has "significant deficiencies" in how research dollars are distributed, experts ...

Mosquito control officials in the Florida Keys are waiting for the federal government to sign off on an experiment that would release hundreds of thousands of genetically modified mosquitoes to reduce the risk of dengue fever in the tourist town of Key West.

California has transformed into a powerhouse player in stem cell research, but the taxpayer-funded institute responsible for that needs an overhaul, a report released Thursday found.

LONDON (Reuters) - Ten international drug companies are to team up with scientists from 11 European countries to create a bank of stem cells for a project aimed at speeding up the development of new medicines. StemBANCC, coordinated by Swiss drugmaker Roche and managed by scientists at Oxford University, aims to use so-called …

LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists have unpicked the brain processes involved in teenage alcohol abuse and say their findings help explain why some young people have more of a tendency to binge drink. A study published in the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) journal found that a gene known as RASGRF-2 plays …

LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists from Britain, Germany and the United States have unlocked key components of the genetic code for wheat, helping to create varieties that are more productive and better able to cope with disease, drought and other crop stresses. The identification of around 96,000 wheat genes, and insights into …