Cancer’s DNA Repair Deficiency Origins Become Clearer The link between cancer mutations and DNA repair mechanisms has been well established. However, the specific origins of the mutation in these essential pathways have remained enigmatic. Now, researchers at the European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), the University of Dundee, and the Wellcome Sanger Institute have utilized human and worm data to explore the …

Senti launches to improve cell therapies with synthetic gene circuits Building circuits isn’t common in biotech labs, particularly labs developing cell-based therapies for cancer. Tim Lu, who studied computer science and electrical engineering as an undergraduate before going to medical school, wants to change that. But rather than build electronic circuits out of silicon, Lu, now a professor at MIT, …

Kite, Sangamo Launch Up-to-$3B+ Cancer Cell Therapy Partnership Kite, a Gilead Company, will use Sangamo Therapeutics’ zinc finger nuclease (ZFN) gene-editing technology platform in a global oncology cell therapy collaboration that could generate up to $3.16 billion-plus for Sangamo, the companies said today. Kite plans to modify genes through Sangamo’s ZFN technology in order to develop autologous and allogeneic next-generation …

New cancer cell screening is improving childhood leukaemia treatment A study has shown that current methods used to determine the correct level of chemotherapy required for each young patient may be improved by looking at the genetic make-up of the child’s cancer cells. Findings have already led to changes to treatment tailoring for newly diagnosed children, with around half of youngsters with …