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Production of Digitized Stereoscopic Polarizing Images by Inkjet Printing

Summary The Technology The Stereo Imaging Research Group developed methods, materials and applications for stereoscopic hardcopy. The group's StereoJet process forms polarizing images by inkjet printing, using commercial desktop printers without modification. Key inventions include specialized su
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MicroArray Spot LINEar Regression (MASLINER) software

Summary Signal intensities between samples on a microarrary typically vary by as much as three to four orders of magnitude, frustrating efforts at comparative analysis of samples assayed in parallel. At any given laser power or photomultiplier tube gain (PMTG), some signals will be below detection t
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Algorithm for Haplotype Construction of Single Nucleotide Polymorphism

Summary The Haplotyper software program utilizes a novel algorithm called Partition-Ligation to reconstruct individual haplotype phase information from unphased genoptype data. The Partition-Ligation method uses an ingenious Markov chain Monte Carlo approach both to construct the partial haplotypes
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Microcapillary Column Peptide Trap

Summary Protein detection using liquid chromatography (LC) followed by tandem mass spectroscopy has become a valuable tool for large-scale proteome analysis. Many efforts have been made to enhance throughput while maintaining sensitivity, particularly in the realm of low-volume samples. One such eff
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A Versatile Method for Accelerated Chromosome Walking and DNA Fingerprinting

Summary Background: A variety of DNA amplification methods deal with sequence analysis of an uncharacterized region adjacent to a known element. These methods include inverse PCR (iPCR), panhandle PCR, cassette ligation-anchored, and Thermal Asymmetric Interlaced PCR. Despite various degrees of succ
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Next Generation Diagnostics for Breast Cancer, Prostate Cancer, and Melanoma

Summary From the labs of Professor Alun Jones (inventor of CardioliteTM) and Professor Ashfaq Mahmood, comes a series of small molecule imaging probes, capable of conjugation to both SPECT-based and PET-based imaging agents. Lead candidates include sigma-1 and selective sigma-2 receptor probes in th
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Single-Cell Transcriptional Analysis with Microarrays

Summary The enormous tissue and cellular diversity of multicellular organisms poses unique challenges, such as learning the gene expression patterns associated with embryonic or neurological development. One tool scientists use to help address these problems is DNA microarrays, which help provide me
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Use of glycated CD59 levels to assess glycemic control in diabetic patients

Summary The invention enables rapid detection of impaired glucose tolerance (IGT, or “pre-diabetes”) without oral glucose tolerance testing and permits identification of a population at risk of developing the vascular complications associated with diabetes. It also offers a robust tool for monit
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New Nitrate Measurement Method

Summary By employing novel filtration methods, this semi-continuous ambient particulate nitrate monitor measures the concentration of particulate ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) contained in PM2.5. The device consists mainly of an inlet, filter, heater and detector. In 10-minute cycles, nitrates are c
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Valpha24JalphaQ Receptor: Lead Diagnostic and Therapeutic for Type I Diabetes

Summary Background: Autoimmune diseases are the result of a patient's immune system attacking their own cells and tissues. This can result in a wide variety of diseases, including multiple sclerosis, myasthenia gravis, and type 1 diabetes. Researchers at Harvard University have discovered a novel me
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Vaccine Compositions AMPERSAND Methods for Human Papilloma Virus

Summary This invention comprises methods of expressing the Human Papilloma Virus L1 and L2 proteins, and variations thereof, in bacterial host cells; the purification of the expressed proteins; and their use in the development and application of vaccine and diagnostic technologies. Applications F
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A Tool for the Linkage and Presentation of Multiple Protein Functional Domains

Summary Recent molecular biology research is moving beyond genetics to look at protein - protein interactions and how cells interact or communicate. These exciting areas are in need of improved tools that allow these interactions to be identified and studied. Harvard Medical School researchers h
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Surface-Bound Double-Stranded DNA Protein Arrays

Summary Developed at Harvard Medical School, this invention provides nucleic acid arrays specifically designed for the assay of DNA-dependent protein:protein binding and/or physical interactions between proteins and nucleic acid molecules. Intermolecular analyses enabled by this technology are advan
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Production and uses of polymerase colony ("polony") arrays

Summary The invention provides methods for rapid fabrication and use of replicable, high-density nucleic acid arrays. Array features are produced through amplification on a support matrix of nucleic acid templates of interest. A significant advance over conventional DNA array technologies, the so-ca
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Home-Based Monitoring Addressing High-Risk Cardiovascular Conditions and Sleep Apnea

Summary Sleep may trigger a variety of adverse conditions in patients with heart and/or respiratory ailments. While numerous sleep apnea monitors have been developed, a critical unmet need exists for effective nocturnal monitoring of cardiac events in high-risk heart disease patients and severe slee
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Probe of Regional Lung Function

Summary This invention provides a direct means for measuring the dynamic properties of small regions of the lung of a living animal in real time. The parameters of lung function which may be analyzed include: (i) the surface area to volume ration, (ii) the pulmonary capillary blood volume density an
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Use of Cytokine IP-10 as an Anti-Tumor Agent

Summary The invention provides compositions and methods for the diagnosis and treatment of both malignant and benign cell-proliferative diseases. When complexed to its receptor, IP-10 interacts with known cytokines, including FGF and TGFb; this interaction down-regulates cell division and/or results
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A New p53 Cell-Based Assay

Summary Harvard researchers developed a reliable, high-throughput screening assay to identify activators and inhibitors of p53. This cell-based luminescence assay measures the level of a reporter gene product under the control of a promoter containing a p53-binding site. P53 is a transcription fa
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Targeting MEF-2 for the Treatment of Neurodegenerative Disease

Summary Post-synaptic differentiation of dendrites is an essential step in synapse formation and is intrinsic to neural reprogramming following CNS trauma or neurodegenerative disease. Investigators from Harvard Medical School have discovered an important molecular switch of the transcription factor
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Electric Field Mediated Emulsification in a Flow Focusing Microfluidic Device

Summary This invention describes a microfluidic electro-flow focusing device. The essence of the device is the application of an electric field at a flow focusing junction between two immiscible fluids. The electric field creates charged drops and large forces necessary for emulsification, while the
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Magneto-Luminescent Transducer

Summary This invention provides a one step process for reading magnetic data and converting the magnetic digital signal directly into an optical signal. This invention enables an electronic system, which includes a three terminal device having a light emitting portion and a magnetically sensitive po
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Keyboard Having Touch Sensor Keys for Conveying Information Electronically

Summary This invention uses an array of sensors, which enable a human to use his fingers or tongue to convey information electronically. The sensors are arranged to produce signal patterns by responding to the positioning of the finger or tongue within the action area, with finger or tongue pressure
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Using Electro-magnetically Induced Transparency in Photonic Crystal Cavities to

Summary This invention describes a photonic crystal system which uses electro-magnetically induced transparency (EIT) as the non-linear medium in photonic crystal cavities to obtain devices of unprecedent non-linear sensitivity, with operating power requirements many orders of magnitude smaller than
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Microscale Electromagnetic Device

Summary This invention concerns devices and methodology to control the positioning and movement of magnetic and non-magnetic nanoparticles in a fluid with nanometer precision. The devices allow for the independent and simultaneous control of many particles. The devices utilize a grid of current carr
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Method of Creating Self-Assembled, Selectively-Permeable Colloidosome Structures

Summary Colloidosomes are spherical shells of micron-sized particles made by the simple technique of self-assembly onto emulsion droplets. These hollow, elastic capsules are ideal for efficiently encapsulating active agents for selective and timed release because they are highly controllable in stre
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A method for Fabricating Optical waveguides and other Optical Devices in Three D

Summary This invention describes a method to directly write optical elements in three dimensions inside a transparent material using an unamplified femtosecond laser. Ultrashort pulses from a laser oscillator are tightly focused into the material, causing localized heating and subsequently producing
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High-throughput hydrogels for cell culture in realistic tissue stiffness environments

Summary Markets/ Needs Addressed: The physical environment surrounding a living cell influences its ability to proliferate, metabolize, differentiate and survive. In particular, the stiffness of the underlying matrix greatly affects cell fate and behavior. For example, cultured stem cells undergo n
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Microfabricated, Chip-Based, Low-Power Optical Tweezers

Summary Since they were first demonstrated over twenty years ago, optical tweezers have been widely used for the manipulation and measurement of many microscale particles, particularly in the biological sciences. However, many of these systems require large, high-powered laser systems along with bul
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Native Anti-corrosion Coatings for Metals

Summary The need: Corrosion of metals hamper the performance and safety of products ranging from medical implants to large-scale naval vessels, aircraft, bridges, and oil pipeline structures. A 2002 study of the US Federal Highway Administration estimated the cost of corrosion of metallic materials
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Uniform Non-Spherical Colloidal Particles with Tunable Shapes

Summary Background: Non-spherical colloidal particles are useful in advanced applications beyond those that regular spherical colloidal particles exhibit. For example they are useful for modifying optical properties, controlling suspension rheology, and engineering colloidal composites. However c
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Modular Conditional Knockout: Precise Temporal Control of Protein Degradation in Living Cells

Summary Polyubiquitinated proteins in eukaryotes are directed to the proteasome for degradation. It is generally accepted that proteasome-mediated proteolysis depends strictly upon ubiquitination, as disruption of that process has been observed to halt proteolytic activity of the proteasome. Researc
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Bead-based polymerase colony microarrays and nucleic acid sequencing ("Polony-FISSEQ Beads")

Summary Foundational work of Dr. George Church has enabled the production and use of replicable arrays of polymerase-amplified nucleic acid colonies (so-called "polonies") on semisolid support matrices (see Harvard Case No. 1438). The present invention extends the polony technology to provided minia
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Interactive Program for Determining Implicit Attitudes

Summary This interactive web-based software (and its growing database of responses) measures implicit attitudes and knowledge of users, including such unconscious, preformed attitudes about race, age, gender, ethnicity, sexual preference, and obesity.
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Hyperactive mutant of the Himar1 mariner transposase

Summary Mariner-family transposable elements are active in a wide variety of organisms and so are important genetic engineering tools. The Himar1 element, isolated from the horn fly, Haematobia irritans, has been shown to be active in E. coli. Hyperactive variants of the corresponding transposase ha
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Surface-Bound Double-Stranded DNA Protein Arrays

Summary Developed at Harvard Medical School, this invention provides nucleic acid arrays specifically designed for the assay of DNA-dependent protein:protein binding and/or physical interactions between proteins and nucleic acid molecules. Intermolecular analyses enabled by this technology are advan
...

Production and uses of polymerase colony ("polony") arrays

Summary The invention provides methods for rapid fabrication and use of replicable, high-density nucleic acid arrays. Array features are produced through amplification on a support matrix of nucleic acid templates of interest. A significant advance over conventional DNA array technologies, the so-ca
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Surface-Bound, Bimolecular, Double-Stranded DNA Arrays

Summary The invention, developed at Harvard Medical School, achieves high array feature density and accurate feature production through enzymatic second-strand synthesis of immobilized single-stranded DNA on one or more solid- or semi-solid support structures. Efficient, high-fidelity production of
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Methods for Improved Viability of Cells at Low Temperature

Summary Discovery of the linkage between the expression of Trigger Factor, a protein of previously-unknown function, and resistance of living cells to cold-shock has led to development of methods that enable prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells to remain viable at temperatures at- or below which they wo
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Multivalent Vaccine against Marek's Disease and Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Virus

Summary Protective immunity against avian influenza, H5N1 subtype, may be provided economically using a multivalent vaccine against both avian influenza and Marek’s disease, a common vaccination target in birds. Using a recombinant herpesvirus, Marek’s disease and avian influence, H5N1 subtype,
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AIDS vaccine using gamma-2 herpesvirus as a vector to express lentiviral (AIDS virus) genes

Summary A novel vaccine strategy, using recombinant rhesus monkey rhadinovirus, a close relative to human herpesvirus 8, has been developed at the lab of Dr. Desrosiers. Testing in primates demonstrates protective immunity against SIV, with anti-SIV antibodies against the envelope glycoprotein are p
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Prevention of Tularemia Using an Enhanced Live Attenuated Vaccine Strain

Summary Francisella tularensis (F. tularensis) is an intracellular and facultative bacterium that is the etiological agent of tularemia. Government concern over F. tularensis as a biowarfare agent has been raised due to its high virulence when aerosolized. In the laboratory setting, a live attenuate
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Next Generation Pulmonary Malarial Vaccine

Summary Scientists encounter difficult obstacles in attempting to develop vaccines against malaria. For example, malaria parasites of the same species but isolated from different geographic locations may be genetically and immunologically distinct, so vaccines that protect against one geographic iso
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Dual-activity anthrax vaccine

Summary There is a need for improved anthrax vaccines. First, because of the low immunogenicity of the bacterial coat components of Bacillus anthracis, existing vaccines typically are directed at a secreted bacterial protein, the protective antigen ("PA") subunit of anthrax toxin. Vaccines directed
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Manipulating Stem Cells for Repair and Drug Delivery at Various Anatomic Sites

Summary Cellular and gene therapy for chronic drug delivery and tissue repair have been explored in a range of anatomic sites including the heart, brain, bone marrow, and skeletal muscle. Mashimo and colleagues present a new approach using modified embryonic stem (ES) cells to deliver drugs to the g
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Dominant negative inhibitor of anthrax toxin

Summary The invention enables prevention and emergency treatment of anthrax. It provides a dominant negative inhibitor (DNI) of an essential infectivity factor of B. anthracis, a potentially lethal pathogen. Animal testing has been performed, and an IND has been filed for human therapeutic use. T
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Vaccine Compositions AMPERSAND Methods for Human Papilloma Virus

Summary This invention comprises methods of expressing the Human Papilloma Virus L1 and L2 proteins, and variations thereof, in bacterial host cells; the purification of the expressed proteins; and their use in the development and application of vaccine and diagnostic technologies. Applications F
...

Methods for Improved Viability of Cells at Low Temperature

Summary Discovery of the linkage between the expression of Trigger Factor, a protein of previously-unknown function, and resistance of living cells to cold-shock has led to development of methods that enable prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells to remain viable at temperatures at- or below which they wo
...

Creating Nano-Wrinkles of Virtually any Design on the Surface of Polymers

Summary Creating Nano-Wrinkles of Virtually any Design on the Surface of Polymers Elevator pitch: A new method has been developed at Harvard to design and create virtually any type of nano-wrinkle patterns on the surfaces of polymers. Anticipated applications for these hard-skin nano-wrinkled s
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"MoleProbe": a Real-Time Molecular Diagnostic Device

Summary A novel engineering method for generation of freestanding 2-D and 3-D tissue structures. Biopolymers (proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids or combinations thereof) are deposited onto a transitional polymer surface with a patterning technique that allows for nanometer-to-millimeter-
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Novel Surfactants for Stabilizing Emulsions of Water or Hydrocarbon Oil-Based Droplets in a Fluorocarbon Oil Continuous Phase

Summary Emulsions—dispersions of two immiscible fluids—have many applications in industry and everyday life. These range from paints, to crop protection, chemical synthesis, and production of latices. They are also increasingly attractive for analytical applications. Traditional emulsions consis
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Array of Micro Differential Scanning Calorimeters for Combinatorial Studies

Summary Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) is a primary technique for measuring the thermal properties of materials. A typical DSC system requires relatively large amounts of test material, making thermal measurements on nano-scale samples difficult if not impossible. Thus, while traditional DS
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Engineering 3D and Free Standing Tissue Structures

Summary Background: Efforts to build biosynthetic materials or engineered tissues that recapitulate the structure-function relationships of natural processes often fail because of an inability to replicate the proper in vivo conditions. For example, engineering a functional muscle tissue requires th
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Active Optical Antennas

Summary Background Optical antennas are single or coupled metallic nanoparticles in which optical excitation of surface plasmons can produce very high intensities in the optical near field. The field enhancement relative to the incident field is maximum when the wavelength is suitably matched to the
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A microfluidic differential manometer for cellular-scale hydrodynamics

Background: The development and application of microfluidic systems have increased dramatically in recent years. The systems that typically involve controlled fluid flow through a number of microfluidic channels can provide unique platforms useful in both research and production. Flow through a m
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Frictionless Nano-bearing

Summary Micro- and nanofabricated rotation and translation devices usually rely on the possibility to support the moving part on small dimples in order to reduce the contact area with the substrate. Nonetheless, large forces must be applied to overcome the residual friction. Furthermore, results lar
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Treating Diseases Associated with Oxidative Stress through the Metalothioneine System

Summary Since its initial discovery and characterization over 40 years ago by Vallee and colleagues, metallothionein has attracted a remarkable level of scientific attention due to its unique structural characteristics, its ubiquitous expression in eukaryotes, and its impressive metal binding and re
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Hydroxapatite -Antigen Conjugates AMPERSAND Methods for Generating a Poly-IG Immune Resp

Summary Issued patents 5,443,832: SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION We have discovered that hydroxylated calcium phosphate (HCP) particulate is a particularly useful carrier for antigens to be applied to mucosal surfaces. The antigen-HCP conjugate is transported across epithelium where it raises a poly
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Clinical Stage HIV Vaccine Candidate and Other Vaccine Vectors

Summary Replication-defective viruses integrate the safety advantages of a killed virus vaccine and the immunogenicity of a live virus vaccine. Professor David Knipe and his research team present a novel replication-defective HSV-1 virus for the delivery of heterologous immunogens and nucleic acids
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Inhibition of Sirt$ for treatment of obesity and ehancing fat metabolism

Summary A method of screening for compounds that modulate SIRT4 fatty acid oxidation activity. SIRT4 is a mitochondrial protein that plays a central role in regulating amino acid stimulated insulin secretion (AASIS) in pancreatic ?-cells by inhibiting glutamate dehydrogenase and impacting fatty a
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Small molecule regulators of autophagy identified by an image-based high throughput screen

Summary Compounds for the induction of autophagy and screening methods for further identification of autophagy inducing compounds. Autophagy is a lysosome-dependent process whereby proteins or damaged organelles within a cell are degraded. During this process, an autophagosome encloses the compon
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Inhibitors of Cellular Necrosis III (non-thiadiazoles)

Summary A new paradigm in cell death has been discovered, Necroptosis. Necroptosis reflects a distinct mechanistic pattern of programmed cell death that combines elements of passive unregulated necrosis and organized, energy-dependent apoptosis. Activated by the TNF family, sterols, and toll-like re
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Inhibitors of Cellular Necrosis III (thiadiazoles)

Summary A new paradigm in cell death has been discovered, Necroptosis. Necroptosis reflects a distinct mechanistic pattern of programmed cell death that combines elements of passive unregulated necrosis and organized, energy-dependent apoptosis. Activated by the TNF family, sterols, and toll-like re
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Small-molecule inhibitors of Chlamydia cell growth

Summary Small molecule inhibitors of CopN for the treatment of Chlamydia pneumoniae associated pneumonia and vascular disease. See Huang et al. Nature 01 Oct 2008. CopN is a member of a family of proteins common to pathogenic organisms including C. pneumoniae, C. psittaci B577 (C. abortus), C. tr
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A potent antifungal agent from a Streptomycete

Summary Study of a unique Streptomycete has yielded a novel anti-fungal agent. The spectrum of activity of the isolated anti-fungal agent is similar to that of amphotericin but approximately three-times more potent on a weight basis. In addition, the isolated anti-fungal agent is a member of a struc
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Non-ATP competitive Inhibitors of Aurora Kinases: Selective and Potent Cancer Treatment

Summary Markets / Needs Addressed: Aurora kinases are overexpressed in many tumors including breast, cervical, colon, and pancreatic cancers. Aurora kinases are expressed only in actively dividing cells (e.g. tumor cells), hence they are more specific drug targets than microtubules. As many kinases
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Novel and Efficient Algorithm for Analyzing Large Genotypic and Phenotypic Data Sets in Clinical Trials

Summary Background: Recent technologies such as genotype sequencing and gene expression arrays result in datasets that typically have many more variables than data points. As a consequence, these variables have a complex, high-dimensional dependency structure that is most likely unknown. As such, pr
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Novel Urazole Epoxyquinol Inhibitors of Hepatitis C Virus Replication

Summary Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infects about 200 million people worldwide and frequently leads to cirrhosis, liver failure, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Currently, the best therapy for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C is a combination of pegylated interferon (PEG-IFN) and ribavirin
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Identification of Contactins and L1-CAMs as ligands for the Amyloid Precursor Protein

Summary Approximately 24 million people worldwide have dementia of which the majority (~60%) is due to Alzheimer’s; by 2040, it is projected that this figure will have increased to 81 million. The drugs currently on the market, such as cholinesterase inhibitors, reduce the cognitive symptoms of Al
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Structure activity relationship analysis of a novel necroptosis inhibitor, Necrostatin-5

Summary A new paradigm in cell death has been discovered, Necroptosis. Necroptosis reflects a distinct mechanistic pattern of programmed cell death that combines elements of passive unregulated necrosis and organized, energy-dependent apoptosis. Activated by the TNF family, sterols, and toll-like re
...

HIV Small Molecule Fusion Inhibitors

Summary Viral fusion inhibitors represent the newest class of HIV drugs. Fuzeon (enfuvirtide), a synthetic peptide, is the first viral fusion inhibitor to be approved by the FDA, and works by interfering with crucial gp41 conformational changes in the HIV envelope that normally enable viral entry in
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SMERs: Small Molecule Enhancers for Treatment of Cancer and Neurodegenerative Diseases

Summary Background: Autophagy is the process by which cells cannibalize cellular elements such as proteins and organelles to generate intracellular metabolites for cell survival and cell death. For example, a cell undergoes autophagy for architectural remodeling during development or to eliminate da
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Application of streptococcus intermedius intermedilysin (ILY) for obesity treatment and contraception

Summary A bacterial toxin has been shown to enhance immune reactions to adipocytes when injected locally, facilitating antibody-mediated and complement-dependant cytolysis. Applications A peptide therapeutic for localized delivery for the ablation of fat cells. Results from localized injection si
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Dimeric HDAC Inhibitors

Summary Background: Nearly 10 million people throughout the world are diagnosed with cancer each year. The direct and indirect medical costs to treat cancer total more than $180 billion each year, and in the United States alone, cancer takes the lives of 1,500 people on average each day. One key tar
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Treating Diseases Associated with Oxidative Stress through the Metalothioneine System

Summary Since its initial discovery and characterization over 40 years ago by Vallee and colleagues, metallothionein has attracted a remarkable level of scientific attention due to its unique structural characteristics, its ubiquitous expression in eukaryotes, and its impressive metal binding and re
...

Small Molecule Microarrays: a New Forefront in Drug Discovery

Summary Scientists from the laboratory of Professor Stuart Schreiber at Harvard University have developed a novel method of printing small molecule libraries on glass microscope slides. This method represents a next-generation platform for drug discovery. Small molecule arrays can be utilized in all
...

Endowment angiogenesis-related patents

Summary Angiogenin is an extensively validated target involved in tumor angiogenesis. Angiogenin is prominently increased in multiple cancer cell types, including, prostate, colon, bladder, gastric, brain, cervical, pancreatic, ovarian and breast cancers as well as melanoma and leukemias, and its se
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Targeting FtsZ Activity Using Novel Antibacterials: Screening Assays, Small Molecule Hits, and Synthetic Pathways to Potent Natural Products

Summary The emergence of bacterial strains resistant to current drugs has prompted a renewed effort to discover new methods for fighting infectious disease. A promising new target is FtsZ, a key mediator of bacterial cell division that is highly conserved among bacteria. Because FtsZ, much like its
...

Novel Clinical Stage Treatments for Epilepsy and Pain

Summary The principal investigator has discovered that Huperzine A (HupA) is characterized by extremely potent therapeutic activity against epilepsy and chronic pain. HupA was tested in a formalin model of pain, in which it produced complete inhibition of pain behavior in all treated mice, with a do
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Novel Avrainvillamide-like Compounds with Anti-proliferative Properties

Summary Avrainvillamide and stephacidin B, (a dimer of avrainvillamide) have been identified in culture media from various strains of the fungus Aspergillus. Both compounds demonstrate anti-proliferative activity, and avrainvillamide is reported to exhibit antimicrobial activity against multidrug-re
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Tubacin for Myeloma Therapy

Summary Background: Nearly 10 million people throughout the world are diagnosed with cancer each year. The direct and indirect medical costs to treat cancer total more than $180 billion each year, and in the United States alone, cancer takes the lives of 1,500 people on average each day. One key tar
...

A Novel Class of HIV Therapeutics: Monoclonal Antibodies that Neutralize Previously Resistant HIV Primary Isolates

Summary Background: Molecular studies of the genomic organization of HIV-1 show that it encodes a number of genes common to all retroviruses, such as the gag, pol, and env genes. The env gene of HIV-1 produces a cleaved envelope glycoprotein (gp120) that is expressed on the exterior viral envelope s
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Novel Cancer Target Following HDAC Track: First Histone Demethylase offers opportunity in treating resistant cancers

Summary The invention encompasses a novel target representing a potential new avenue in the treatment of cancer and other diseases, based on interference with gene regulation. The target, LSD1 (lysine-sepcific demethylase 1), the first example of histone demethylase, is responsible for trimming meth
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IL-8R and STAT-3 Modulation: Targeting Glioblastoma Multiforme and Other Brain Tumors

Summary There is an unmet need for better therapies against high grade anaplastic astrocytoma and glioblastoma multiforme. Recent results suggest that that inhibiting IL-8 receptor activity and enhancing STAT3 activity may be used as a novel therapy against brain tumors. Cell-based assays validated
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Novel Peptide Therapeutic for Multiple Sclerosis

Summary Background: In Multiple Sclerosis, the host immune system (lead by T cells) attacks and destroys myelin basic protein, the principle component necessary for nerve transmission. Part and parcel of this immune response pathway are the so-called Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) molecules.
...

BACE1 siRNA reduces A-Beta peptides in vivo

Summary BACE1 is a beta-secretase shown to cleave precursor molecules leading to the formation of amyloid proteins and plaques in Alzheimers patients. Dr. Li-huei Tsai and her collaborator Ken Kosik, MD (Brigham) have developed a method that inhibits BACE1 using siRNA. In tissue culture using neuron
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Tome-1, a novel cell-cycle gene required for mitotic entry

Summary This invention, out of Marc Kirschner's research group, concerns the discovery of a novel protein required for mititic entry. Harvard researchers have isolated and identified the protein and the gene encoding the protein. Further work has shown Tome-1's key role in the activation of cdk1/Cyc
...

Manipulating Stem Cells for Repair and Drug Delivery at Various Anatomic Sites

Summary Cellular and gene therapy for chronic drug delivery and tissue repair have been explored in a range of anatomic sites including the heart, brain, bone marrow, and skeletal muscle. Mashimo and colleagues present a new approach using modified embryonic stem (ES) cells to deliver drugs to the g
...

In Vivo Evolution of an RNA-Based Transcriptional Activator

Summary This invention claims a method of evolving potent RNA transcriptional regulators using a combination of directed evolution and site directed mutagenesis. Also described are specifically evolved RNA aptamers and their structures. The potency of the evolved RNA based transcriptional activators
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Mu Opioid Peptidomimetics: Lead Compounds for the Treatment of Pain

Summary Background: Although peptides have shown some promise in clinical trials as therapeutic agents, their success has largely been limited by several factors, including rapid degradation by peptidases, poor cell permeability, and a lack of binding specificity resulting from conformational inflex
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Treatment of alcoholism and substance abuse using selective inhibition of alpha 2 adrenergic receptors and dopamine D2 receptors

Summary To date, most alcohol and substance-abuse drugs have been plagued by moderate efficacy and a lack of specific target mechanisms. A new approach is proposed involving weighted inhibition of the brain’s alpha 2 noradrenergic receptors (A2) and dopamine D2 receptors (D2). Lowered dependency o
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Toxin-Phage Bacteriocide Antibiotic and Uses Thereof

Summary The rise of antibiotic resistant bacterial strains will necessitate the development of new strategies for treating bacterial infections. One potential alternative to conventional antibiotics is phage therapy - the use of bacteriophage viruses to specifically target and destroy disease-causin
...

Techniques for high yield synthesis of macrocyclic compounds

Summary Many useful pharmaceuticals, including natural products, have a macrocyclic structure that can be a challenge when exploring synthesis methods. The Walsh Laboratory has discovered a new process using of a solid-phase resin to synthesize macrocycle compounds, including polyketide synthase (PK
...

TreeDock protein docking software

Summary Predicting protein-protein and protein-ligand docking remains one of the challenging topics of structural biology. The main problems are (i) to reliably estimate the binding free energies of docked states, (ii) to enumerate possible docking orientations at a high resolution, and (iii) to con
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Ephrins as Novel Targets in Neuronal Regeneration

Summary Chemokines play an intrinsic role in immunity and neural trafficking through their interactions with GPCRs. A reverse signaling mechanism of Ephrin B/EphB receptor has been discovered to inhibit GPCR sensitivity to chemokine binding. Reduced GPCR sensitivity is mediated by a novel cytoplasmi
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Targeting FtsZ Activity Using Novel Antibacterials: Screening Assays, Small Molecule Hits, and Synthetic Pathways to Potent Natural Products

Summary Inhibition of bacterial septation machinery represents a promising approach for countering antibiotic-resistant bacteria. One such approach targets FtsZ, an essential protein and key mediator of bacterial cell division, which is highly conserved in prokaryotes, yet absent in the mitochondria
...

Novel Peptide Therapeutic for Multiple Sclerosis

Summary Background: In Multiple Sclerosis, the host’s immune system (lead by T cells) attacks and destroys myelin basic protein, the principle component necessary for nerve transmission. Part and parcel of this immune response pathway are the so-called Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) molecu
...

Aminoglycosides Scaffolding Targeting Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria

Summary This invention encompasses key modifications to the chemistry of aminoglycosides to overcome bacterial resistance. The novel chemistry leverages: (a) the weak stereospecificity of aminoglycoside binding to rRNA, and (b) the stereospecific binding of extrinsic enzymes shown to inactivate amin
...

Method of Creating Self-Assembled, Selectively-Permeable Colloidosome Structures

Summary Colloidosomes are spherical shells of micron-sized particles made by the simple technique of self-assembly onto emulsion droplets. These hollow, elastic capsules are ideal for efficiently encapsulating active agents for selective and timed release because they are highly controllable in stre
...

Techniques for high yield synthesis of macrocyclic compounds

Summary Many useful pharmaceuticals, including natural products, have a macrocyclic structure that can be a challenge when exploring synthesis methods. The Walsh Laboratory has discovered a new process using of a solid-phase resin to synthesize macrocycle compounds, including polyketide synthase (PK
...

Next Generation Diagnostics for Breast Cancer, Prostate Cancer, and Melanoma

Summary From the labs of Professor Alun Jones (inventor of CardioliteTM) and Professor Ashfaq Mahmood, comes a series of small molecule imaging probes, capable of conjugation to both SPECT-based and PET-based imaging agents. Lead candidates include sigma-1 and selective sigma-2 receptor probes in th
...

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