Exclusive: Can the blood of Ebola survivors create a cure?

Blood samples from patients suspected of having Ebola virus disease are prepared for transportation at the Port Loko District HospitalBy Julie Steenhuysen CHICAGO (Reuters) – For months, Vanderbilt University researcher Dr. James Crowe has been desperately seeking access to the blood of U.S. Ebola survivors, hoping to extract the proteins that helped them overcome the deadly virus for use in new, potent drugs. His efforts finally paid off in mid-November with a donation from Dr. Rick Sacra, a University of Massachusetts physician who contracted Ebola while working in Liberia. …

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UK centres named in cancer-fighting DNA project

Undated illustration released by the US National Institutes of Health in Bethesda in Maryland shows the DNA double helixThe government on Monday named 11 NHS centres that will lead a project to map 100,000 DNA code sequences in the fight against cancer and rare inherited diseases. More than 75,000 patients are expected to participate in the three-year scheme to collect and sequence the human genomes, including some with life-threatening and debilitating conditions. The genomes — complete sets of genes — will be collected and sent for sequencing by US company Illumina at their base in Cambridgeshire using technology invented by scientists at Cambridge University. Illumina will also invest about £162 million in the project over its lifetime.

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Can the blood of Ebola survivors create a cure?

Sierra Leonean doctor practises wearing protective clothing in the Ebola Training Academy in Freetown, Sierra LeoneBy Julie Steenhuysen CHICAGO (Reuters) – For months, Vanderbilt University researcher Dr. James Crowe has been desperately seeking access to the blood of U.S. Ebola survivors, hoping to extract the proteins that helped them overcome the deadly virus for use in new, potent drugs. His efforts finally paid off in mid-November with a donation from Dr. Rick Sacra, a University of Massachusetts physician who contracted Ebola while working in Liberia. …

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Dozens of suspected Kenyan separatists charged with police camp raid

By Joseph Akwiri MOMBASA (Reuters) – Fifty three suspected members of a Kenyan separatist group appeared in court in Mombasa on Monday, charged with raiding a police camp, hacking to death the officer in charge and stealing two rifles. The suspects – brought under armed police escort to the port city from the coastal county of Kilifi, 40 kms (25 miles) away – denied six charges including murder and robbery with violence. Police say more than 20 machete-wielding men attacked the camp on Dec. 11 and blame the Mombasa Republican Council (MRC). …
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Achillion shares soar as potential treatment seen as hep C cure

(Reuters) – Achillion Pharmaceuticals Inc said it would test a combination of two of its experimental hepatitis C drugs after they showed promise against the virus in separate studies. The biotechnology company’s shares shot up about 60 percent to $22.76 in premarket trading on Monday. The first study, testing a combination of 50 mg of Achillion’s ACH-3102 and 400 mg of Gilead Sciences Inc’s Sovaldi, showed the regimen sustained a cure in patients for four weeks following therapy. …
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