15-Feb-2005 3:20 PM EST
Enzyme Shown to Help Protect Genomic Stability
Wistar Institute

Genomic instability, particularly in the regions at the ends of the chromosomes known as telomeres, has been linked to aging and cancer. Now, researchers have shown that an enzyme known as Ubp10 plays a vital role in protecting the telomeric regions of the genome from potential destabilizing molecular events.

11-Apr-2005 12:05 PM EDT
Unchecked DNA Replication Drives Earliest Steps Toward Cancer
Wistar Institute

This study reports on how mutations in p53 lead to DNA replication stress. This stress leads to random errors in the DNA duplication process. Unless halted, this error-generating process leads to an accumulation of mutant genes in the cell and, eventually, cancer.

Released: 1-Jul-2005 11:20 AM EDT
Building Better Therapeutic Vaccines for Chronic Infections
Wistar Institute

Familiar preventive vaccines protect an individual from infections. Therapeutic vaccines, however, are designed for patients who have acquired chronic infections, such as HIV or hepatitis, or even cancers. Thus far, such vaccines have fallen short of expectations.

3-Aug-2005 11:05 AM EDT
Molecular Partners Required for Appropriate Neuronal Gene Repression
Wistar Institute

A new study offers insights into the intricate biochemistry governing gene regulation, while simultaneously pointing to the importance of investigating the complex biology of life at different levels of organization.

8-Sep-2005 2:45 PM EDT
Cancer Gene MYC Shown to Activate Gene Involved in Metastasis
Wistar Institute

The cancer gene MYC is among the most commonly overexpressed oncogenes in human cancers. Scientists at The Wistar Institute have now shown that MYC activates a gene called MTA1, which has been demonstrated by other researchers to regulate metastasis in a variety of cancers.

Released: 23-Dec-2005 2:25 PM EST
Study Expands Understanding of the Role of RNA Editing in Gene Control
Wistar Institute

A team of scientists has detailed the convergence of RNA editing and microRNAs. MicroRNAs are involved in embryonic development, cell and tissue formation, and cancer formation. The study expands understanding of the role of RNA editing in gene control.

Released: 5-Jan-2006 3:25 PM EST
Wistar Licenses Rubella Vaccine Seed Stock to Microgen of Russia
Wistar Institute

The Wistar Institute has licensed the seed stock for its rubella vaccine to Microgen of Russia for a modest fee in the interest of promoting global public health. The agreement was encouraged by the Vishnevskaya- Rostropovich Foundation, headed by Maestro Mstislav Rostropovich.

Released: 3-Feb-2006 3:30 PM EST
The Long Research Road to a New Vaccine
Wistar Institute

The FDA today announced the licensing of a new vaccine against rotavirus, a disease responsible for thousands of deaths around the world each year. The early research that underpins the new vaccine was conducted at The Wistar Institute and The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

21-Mar-2006 5:00 PM EST
Evolutionary Biology Research Techniques Predict Cancer
Wistar Institute

In diverse ecosystems, packed with wildly different species, evolution whizzes along. As different species accumulate mutations, some adapt particularly well to their environment and prosper. It happens in marine sediments, mountain forests "“ and, as a new study illustrates, in precancerous tumors, too.

Released: 27-Mar-2006 1:45 PM EST
Melanoma Vaccine Strategy Shows Promise in Laboratory Experiments
Wistar Institute

A novel approach to creating a vaccine to treat melanoma has demonstrated promising effectiveness in a new laboratory study led by researchers at The Wistar Institute. About a third of melanoma patients might benefit from such a vaccine.

Released: 14-Apr-2006 5:50 PM EDT
New Mechanism for Essential Genome-Wide Gene Silencing Identified
Wistar Institute

Only about 10 percent of the roughly 25,000 genes in the human genome are activated, or "on," at any given time in a particular cell "“ the default setting for most genes is "off," or repressed. Reliable gene silencing is vital to the health of an organism. In a new study, researchers have identified an important new global mechanism for this essential gene silencing.

Released: 25-Apr-2006 4:35 PM EDT
2006 Wistar Institute Science Journalism Award Winner Announced
Wistar Institute

The winner of the 2006 Wistar Institute Science Journalism Award is freelance science writer Bijal Trivedi. She won for her October 1, 2005, article in New Scientist magazine, "Slimming for Slackers," which explored a new area of science investigating the complex bacterial ecology of the gut.

Released: 25-Jun-2006 1:00 PM EDT
Gene-Regulating Enzyme Is Also a Target for Anti-Depressive Drugs
Wistar Institute

A new study shows that an enzyme involved in appropriately repressing sets of neuronal genes in non-neuronal cells is also a target for certain monoamine oxidase inhibitors used to treat depression. The findings suggest that these anti-depressive drugs may have additional applications in other medically relevant areas. Specifically, the anti-cancer possibilities of these drugs are currently being explored.

Released: 17-Jul-2006 2:15 PM EDT
DNA-bound p53 Tumor Suppressor Protein Structure Determined
Wistar Institute

More than half of human cancers involve mutations in the p53 tumor-suppressor gene, specifically in its DNA-binding core domain, pointing to this region of the p53 protein as being pivotal to its anti-cancer activity. Clearly, a detailed view of the p53 protein in direct contact with DNA could provide important insights into preventing and treating an array of human cancers. Now, a new study by researchers provides this view.

Released: 1-Aug-2006 12:00 AM EDT
Innovative Method for Creating a Human Cytomegalovirus Vaccine Outlined
Wistar Institute

Each year, about 40,000 children are born infected with human cytomegalovirus, or CMV, and about 8,000 of these children suffer permanent disabilities due to the virus. Now, researchers at The Wistar Institute outline an innovative approach that could be used to create such a vaccine.

Released: 15-Sep-2006 4:25 PM EDT
Single Molecular “Mark” Seen as Pivotal for Genome Compaction in Spores and Sperm
Wistar Institute

In animals, genes are passed from parents to offspring via sperm or eggs. In some single-celled organisms, such as yeast, genes can be passed on in spores. In both strategies, the genomic material becomes dramatically compacted during the process, reduced in volume to as little as five percent of its original volume. A new study identifies a single molecule required for genome compaction and speculates that compaction may be vital to sperm fertility and function.

Released: 17-Sep-2006 1:25 PM EDT
Structure Determined for Key Molecular Complex Involved in Long-Term Gene Storage
Wistar Institute

The human genome keeps selected genes readily available for use while other genes are kept securely stored away for long periods of time, sometimes forever. Candidate genes for such long-term storage include those required only for early development and proliferation. Researchers have successfully determined the structure of a key two-molecule complex involved in long-term gene storage.

Released: 2-Nov-2006 8:40 AM EST
Promising Target for New Atherosclerosis Therapies Linked to Leukemia
Wistar Institute

In recent years, scientists studying inflammation and atherosclerosis have seen their respective fields converging, with research findings showing chronic inflammation as a driver of the atherosclerotic process. Now, in a new study, scientists at The Wistar Institute pursuing a promising new immune-system target for anti-atherosclerosis therapies have discovered another convergence: An unwanted potential side effect of any such therapies is a dangerous blood cancer called chronic myelogenous leukemia, or CML.

13-Nov-2006 4:40 PM EST
Novel Regulatory Mechanism Identified for Key Tumor Suppressor p53
Wistar Institute

Collaborating scientists from The Wistar Institute in Philadelphia and The Vienna Biocenter in Austria have identified a novel mechanism involved in normal repression of the p53 protein, perhaps the single most important molecule for the control of cancer in humans. The new molecular pathway described in the study suggests intriguing approaches to diagnosing or intervening in the progression of many types of cancer.

Released: 17-Nov-2006 11:15 AM EST
Does Natural Selection Drive the Evolution of Cancer?
Wistar Institute

The dynamics of evolution are fully in play within the environment of a tumor, just as they are in forests and meadows, oceans and streams. This is the view of researchers in an emerging cross-disciplinary field that brings the thinking of ecologists and evolutionary biologists to bear on cancer biology. Insights from their work may have profound implications for understanding why current cancer therapies often fail and how radically new therapies might be devised.

Released: 20-Nov-2006 5:25 PM EST
Innovative Movies Show Real-Time Immune-Cell Activity within Tumors
Wistar Institute

Using advanced new microscopy techniques in concert with sophisticated transgenic technologies, scientists have for the first time created three-dimensional, time-lapse movies showing immune cells targeting cancer cells in live tumor tissues. Immune cells called T cells can be seen actively migrating though tissues, making direct contact with tumor cells, and killing them.

Released: 4-Dec-2006 3:30 PM EST
Peering into the Shadow World of RNA
Wistar Institute

The popular view is that DNA and genes control everything of importance in biology. The genome rules all of life, it is thought. Increasingly, however, scientists are realizing that among the diverse forms of RNA, a kind of mirror molecule derived from DNA, many interact with each other and with genes directly to manage the genome from behind the scenes.

4-Feb-2007 9:05 PM EST
Does a Component of Niacin Point the Way to Anti-Aging Drugs?
Wistar Institute

In recent years, scientists have discovered that a family of enzymes called sirtuins can dramatically extend life in organisms as diverse as yeast, worms, and flies. A number of scientific groups and biotechnology companies are eagerly searching for drug candidates able to boost sirtuin activity, hoping to develop an "anti-aging" drug. Now, a new study points to another strategy for activating sirtuins to unleash their anti-aging powers.

20-Feb-2007 6:40 PM EST
Small Gene-Silencing Molecules Subject to Redirection by Editing
Wistar Institute

Tiny molecules called microRNAs are able to effectively silence large sets of genes. They do this by specifically binding to and neutralizing another form of RNA called messenger RNA. Now, a new study shows that microRNAs can undergo a kind of molecular editing, and a single substitution in their sequence can redirect them to silence entirely different sets of genes from their unedited counterparts. Further, errors in the editing can lead to serious health problems.

Released: 22-Feb-2007 5:00 PM EST
Opening and Closing the Genome: Newly Identified Enzyme Orchestrates Access to Genes for Transcription
Wistar Institute

A dynamic cast of gatekeeper enzymes controls access to the DNA for gene transcription, adding and removing particular molecules to open or close the genome as needed. Researchers have identified an important new player in this gene-control system, an enzyme responsible for removing certain molecules, or marks, involved in opening or closing chromatin, the material that makes up chromosomes.

6-Apr-2007 4:45 PM EDT
How Do the Rules of Immunity Change During Chronic Infections?
Wistar Institute

After an acute viral infection, some T cells generated to kill virus-infected cells remain on guard to establish long-term immunity. These so-called memory T cells, which derive from CD8 T cells, engage in a self-renewal process essential to their persistence. Now, a new study shows that the CD8 T cells produced to fight a chronic infection operate under an entirely different maintenance scheme than do the CD8 T cells that become memory T cells.

9-Apr-2007 3:50 PM EDT
Novel Antigen-Cloning Technique May Boost Efforts to Develop a Melanoma Vaccine
Wistar Institute

Experimental vaccines to help the immune system fight tumors have rarely been designed to directly stimulate helper T cells, one of the body's most critical immune responders, because of the difficult process required to isolate and clone antigens for vaccine development. Now, a new technique may allow scientists to create a melanoma vaccine able to stimulate helper T cells.

Released: 2-May-2007 3:50 PM EDT
“Insulator” Helps Silence Genes in Dormant Herpes Virus
Wistar Institute

By adulthood, most people have suffered at least one bout of painful cold sores brought on by Herpes simplex virus 1. After the initial infection, the virus usually remains in the body, hiding out in nearby nerve cells where the victim's immune defenses cannot reach it, activating periodically to cause symptoms. Now, scientists have discovered a molecular mechanism that allows the virus to escape detection by the body's immune system for months or even years.

Released: 10-May-2007 4:15 PM EDT
2007 Wistar Institute Science Journalism Award Winner Announced
Wistar Institute

The winner of the 2007 Wistar Institute Science Journalism Award is Peter Aldhous, San Francisco bureau chief for New Scientist magazine. He won for a set of articles that investigated important questions in key areas of current biomedical research, including stem cell and bioterror research.

14-May-2007 8:45 AM EDT
Newly Identified Mechanism for Silencing Genes Points to Possible Anti-Cancer Strategies
Wistar Institute

Scientists are only beginning to appreciate the extraordinary degree of control exercised over every step of the gene-to-protein production process. Only about 10 percent of human genes, for example, are active in a given cell at a given time, with the remaining 90 percent silenced by a various mechanisms. In a just-published study in Nature, scientists report an important new gene-silencing mechanism that points to promising potential targets for anti-cancer interventions.

Released: 24-May-2007 9:00 AM EDT
Wistar Institute Launches New Vaccine Center
Wistar Institute

The Wistar Institute will announce the establishment of the Wistar Institute Vaccine Center. Extending Wistar's history of accomplishment in vaccine development, the new center will focus the Institute's scientific strengths in immunology, virology, and other research disciplines on creating new or improved vaccines against some of the most dangerous and widespread diseases in the world: HIV, influenza, rabies, hepatitis C, malaria, and others.

Released: 25-Jul-2007 6:45 PM EDT
Gene-Transcription Machinery Seen Poised for Action, Held in Check Until Needed
Wistar Institute

For some time, scientists have been tracking down the sequence of biochemical steps required to attract and assemble at the head end of a gene the molecular machinery needed to transcribe that gene to put to work the information it encodes. New findings suggest that the gene-transcription machinery, once in place, can remain poised for action but held in check until a triggering signal sends it on its way down the linear DNA molecule.

Released: 31-Aug-2007 12:20 PM EDT
Novel HIV Vaccine Created at The Wistar Institute Funded for Clinical Development
Wistar Institute

A promising new HIV vaccine created at The Wistar Institute has received funding for clinical development aimed at moving the vaccine into human clinical trials as soon as possible. With $13.3 million in funding over five years starting September 1, the planned trials will be conducted under the auspices of the Integrated Preclinical/Clinical AIDS Vaccine Development Program of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Released: 5-Sep-2007 1:00 PM EDT
Study Details Regulation of Vital Tumor Suppressor Gene p53
Wistar Institute

So vital is the p53 tumor suppressor gene in controlling cancer that its dysfunction is linked to more than half of human cancers. Now, a just-published study reveals new levels of subtlety in the body's management of this all-important tumor suppressor gene and the protein it produces. The findings, published in Nature, also outline an important new cycle of gene-regulating modifications that may be widespread in the genome.

18-Oct-2007 8:50 AM EDT
Immune Cells Fighting Chronic Infections Become Progressively ‘Exhausted,’ Ineffective
Wistar Institute

A new study of immune cells battling a chronic viral infection shows that the cells, called T cells, become exhausted by the fight in specific ways, undergoing profound changes that make them progressively less effective over time. The findings also point to interventions that would reverse the changes, suggesting that novel therapies could be developed to reinvigorate T cells that become depleted in their struggle against a virus.

25-Oct-2007 11:00 AM EDT
How One Virus Uses Mimicry to Replicate Successfully
Wistar Institute

Both viruses and cancers subvert the growth-control machinery in a cell to serve their own needs. According to a new study, at least one virus uses mimicry to gain access to that machinery.

7-Nov-2007 1:15 PM EST
Telomerase Enzyme Structure Provides Significant New Target for Anti-Cancer Therapies
Wistar Institute

Inappropriate activation of a single enzyme, telomerase, is associated with the uncontrollable proliferation of cells seen in as many as 90 percent of all of human cancers. Scientists have long eyed the enzyme as an ideal target for developing broadly effective anti-cancer drugs. Now, researchers have brought this goal closer by deciphering the three-dimensional structure of a domain, or region, of the telomerase molecule essential for the enzyme's activity.

12-Nov-2007 6:00 AM EST
Virus Used to Create Experimental HIV Vaccines Directly Impairs the Immune Response
Wistar Institute

Leading efforts to create an HIV vaccine have hinged on the use of viruses as carriers for selected elements of the HIV virus. Recently, however, evidence has emerged that some of these so-called viral vector systems may undermine the immune system and should not be used for vaccine development. Now, a new study from scientists at The Wistar Institute provides strong support for the idea that some viral-vector vaccines may cause more harm than good.

Released: 28-Jan-2008 12:15 PM EST
Two MicroRNAs Promote Spread of Tumor Cells; MiR-373 Could Be Indicator of Breast Cancer Metastasis
Wistar Institute

Scientists at The Wistar Institute and their colleagues have identified two microRNAs (miRNAs) that promote tumors' deadly spread, or metastasis. One of the miRNAs may provide an early warning of metastatic breast cancer and the need for aggressive treatment. In a study in Nature Cell Biology, the researchers describe how two miRNAs transformed non-invasive human breast cancer cells into cells that rapidly metastasized in cell cultures and laboratory mice.

Released: 31-Jan-2008 11:00 AM EST
Novel Vaccine Concept Developed: Protein from Herpes Virus Serves as Potent Vaccine Enhancer
Wistar Institute

A new vaccine design strategy developed by scientists at The Wistar Institute could help to develop vaccines against diseases like AIDS and cervical cancer. The secret is using a herpes simplex protein called glycoprotein D to block a receptor molecule on antigen-presenting cells.

7-Feb-2008 12:40 PM EST
Scientists Solve Structure of Gene Regulator that Plays Key Role in Cancer
Wistar Institute

Wistar Institute scientists have collaborated on a major advance in understanding a gene regulator that contributes to some of the deadliest cancers in humans. Their research paves the way for the development of new cancer therapies. They have elucidated the structure of a segment of the enzyme p300/CBP, which contributes to pancreatic, colon, and lung cancer and also can suppress tumors.

Released: 25-Mar-2008 8:30 AM EDT
Research Institutes Collaborate to Distribute Cell Lines
Wistar Institute

Cell lines developed by Wistar Institute scientists have been made available to researchers worldwide through the Coriell Institute for Medical Research. Researchers can now access the biological materials for use in the development of vaccines and treatments for melanoma, influenza, and other deadly diseases.

Released: 21-Apr-2008 12:50 PM EDT
Los Angeles Times Writer Wins Wistar Institute Science Journalism Award
Wistar Institute

The winner of the 2008 Wistar Institute Science Journalism Award is Terry McDermott, a Los Angeles Times staff writer. McDermott's winning entry, a four-part investigative study of research on memory, is titled "Chasing Memory: One Man's Epic Quest for Understanding." For his work, he will receive a cash prize of $5,000. For the first time, the judges also awarded an honorable mention"”to Chip Rowe, senior editor at Playboy magazine, for his articles on male sexuality.

15-May-2008 11:55 AM EDT
Novel Enzyme Inhibitor Paves Way for New Cancer Drug
Wistar Institute

Wistar Institute scientists have developed a new type of enzyme inhibitor capable of blocking a biochemical pathway that plays a key role in cancer development. Based on studies in human melanoma cells, the research paves the way for developing new ways to treat cancer by dampening the overactive enzyme activity that leads to uncontrolled tumor growth.

26-Aug-2008 11:30 AM EDT
Landmark Study Opens Door to New Cancer, Aging Treatments
Wistar Institute

Researchers at The Wistar Institute have deciphered the structure of the active region of telomerase, an enzyme that plays a major role in the development of nearly all human cancers. The landmark achievement opens the door to the creation of new, broadly effective cancer drugs, as well as anti-aging therapies.

15-Sep-2008 1:00 PM EDT
Researchers Invigorate “Exhausted” Immune Cells: Findings Support New Therapies for HIV, Hepatitis, Cancer
Wistar Institute

In battles against chronic infections, the body's key immune cells often become exhausted and ineffective. Researchers at The Wistar Institute have found a way to restore vigor to these killer T cells by blocking a key receptor on their surface, findings that may advance the development of new therapies for diseases such as HIV, hepatitis B and C, and cancer.

Released: 22-Sep-2008 1:30 PM EDT
Wistar Institute Researcher Receives ‘New Innovator’ Award from NIH
Wistar Institute

A Wistar Institute researcher's novel approach to understanding genetic causes of human disease has earned him an NIH Director's New Innovator Award and grant from the National Institutes of Health.

Released: 25-Sep-2008 12:35 PM EDT
Scientists Identify Novel Inhibitor of Human microRNA: Discovery Points to New Avenue for Cancer Treatment
Wistar Institute

Scientists at The Wistar Institute and their colleagues have identified, for the first time, a molecule that can regulate microRNAs "“ short strands of RNA that play a vital role in gene expression and are closely associated with cancer. The discovery points the way to the development of a new generation of cancer drugs.

Released: 17-Oct-2008 1:15 PM EDT
Russel E. Kaufman, M.D., Receives American Cancer Society Cancer Control Award
Wistar Institute

Russel E. Kaufman, M.D., President and CEO of The Wistar Institute, today received the Cancer Control Award from the American Cancer Society, Southeast Region in honor of his exemplary individual achievements in the field of cancer control.

Released: 3-Nov-2008 2:40 PM EST
Wistar Institute Named One of the “Best Places to Work” in Academia
Wistar Institute

The Scientist magazine named The Wistar Institute No. 11 on a list of "Best Places to Work in Academia," citing strengths in categories "management and policy" and "peers." The rankings, derived from surveys of scientists employed by the nation's research institutes and academic medical centers, appear in the November 1 issue.


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