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Enzymes Could Help Fight Drug-Resistant Bacteria

Researchers at Harvard say they have overcome a preliminary, yet critical, hurdle in the push to develop antibiotics against drug-resistant bacterial strains. Most attempts have been plagued by a lack of molecular tools for manipulating–and ultimately improving — the structure of naturally occurring antibiotics. The researchers report that they harnessed two enzymes, which work by adding sugars to a central molecular core, and used them to create new versions of two potent antibiotics, vancomycin and teicoplanin.

Biotechnology researchers denounce Supreme Court decision

The Supreme Court decision that a genetically modified mouse cannot be patented in Canada may have severe consequences for biotechnology researchers in this country, say U of T experts. In a 5-4 ruling Dec. 5, the court determined that the so-called Harvard Mouse could not be patented as an invention according to current Canadian law. The mouse, developed at Harvard University during the 1980s to have a genetic predisposition to cancer, is already patented in several other countries. The majority decision, written by Justice Michel Bastarache, said that the current Patent Act provides no guidance for the patenting of “higher life forms.”

Protein in Eye May Help Fight Autoimmune Diseases

A protein found in the eye and involved in its “immune privilege” has prevented and halted autoimmune eye disease in animal models and promises to aid in preventing and treating other autoimmune diseases, including multiple sclerosis and diabetes, according to scientists at the Schepens Eye Research Institute at Harvard University. Immune privilege is a special property of the eye that allows the eye to protect itself without the inflammation caused by the body’s conventional immune response to injury and infection.