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Researchers explore cellular networks that regulate cell morphology

Cellular imaging offers a wealth of data about how cells respond to stimuli, but harnessing this technique to study biological systems is a daunting challenge.

9 Feb 2010

Targacept receives grant for developing alpha6*-selective NNR Imaging Agent as Parkinson’s disease biomarker

Targacept, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel NNR Therapeutics (TM), today announced that it has been awarded a grant of $304,000 from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF). The grant is to fund a project entitled: “Development of an alpha6*-selective Neuronal Nicotinic Receptor (NNR) Imaging Agent as a Parkinson’s Disease Biomarker” and is the second awarded to Targacept by MJFF in the last six months.

9 Feb 2010

Italian researchers identify a new therapeutic approach for Ewing sarcoma

Ewing sarcoma (EWS) is a bone tumor of unknown cellular origin that affects children and young adults. The protein CD99 is highly expressed in most cases of EWS, but its function in the disease is unknown.

9 Feb 2010

Synta Pharmaceuticals' STA-9090 inhibits WT1 protein in AML

Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp. today announced that preclinical results presented at the “Bridging the Gap 2010” Hematologic Conference, held in Singapore City, Singapore, February 5-7, 2010, shows that STA-9090, a potent inhibitor of heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90), inhibits the Wilms’ tumor 1 (WT1) protein, a key transcription factor that drives disease progression in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) as well as certain other leukemias. STA-9090 is currently enrolling patients in two clinical trials in AML and other hematologic cancers.

9 Feb 2010

Findings point towards new therapeutic approach for breast and prostate cancer

In a new approach to developing treatments for breast cancer, prostate cancer and enlarged hearts, Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine researchers are zeroing in on a workhorse protein called RSK.

9 Feb 2010

Scientists identify enzyme mutations in AML patients

A study published online on February 8 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine (www.jem.org) reports that several distinct mutations found in a subset of patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) result in excess production of the same metabolite.

9 Feb 2010

Butter leads to lower blood fat levels compared to olive oil

High blood fat levels normally raise the cholesterol values in the blood, which in turn elevates the risk of atherosclerosis and heart attack. Now a new study from Lund University in Sweden shows that butter leads to considerably less elevation of blood fats after a meal compared with olive oil and a new type of canola and flaxseed oil.

9 Feb 2010

Finding provides new insight into economic behavior of human beings

Neuroscientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and their colleagues have tied the human aversion to losing money to a specific structure in the brain-the amygdala.

9 Feb 2010

ebrary introduces new subscription database in Medical Technology

Health care companies that design and manufacture medical devices, equipment, and instruments can now help their technologists, engineers, and other employees conduct research more efficiently and effectively, resulting in greater cost savings and faster development times for new products.

9 Feb 2010

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute sign license agreement with Genentech

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute have signed a license agreement with Genentech, a wholly owned member of the Roche group, and Roche, that grants the companies exclusive rights to manufacture, develop and market human monoclonal antibodies to treat and protect against group 1 influenza viruses. These viruses include the strains for the current seasonal and H1N1 influenzas. Genentech and Roche also have a non-exclusive right to manufacture, develop and market diagnostic tests for group 1 influenza.

9 Feb 2010

Boston researchers identify new mechanism that inhibit tumor growth in mice

A team of researchers, led by Pier Paolo Pandolfi, at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, has identified a new type of cellular senescence (i.e., irreversible arrest of cell growth) and determined a way to enhance it to suppress prostate tumor development and growth in mice.

9 Feb 2010

Biocell Center participates in ‘Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine’ meeting

Biocell Center announced today its further commitment to working with maternal-fetal-medicine doctors by attending the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's (SMFM) annual meeting.

9 Feb 2010

Plant-produced antibodies can help prevent infection

The first head-to-head comparison of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies produced from plants versus the same antibodies produced from mammalian cells has shown that plant-produced antibodies can fight infection equally well.

9 Feb 2010

Study reveals people with anorexia nervosa have increased fat content in their bone marrow

People with anorexia nervosa, paradoxically, have strikingly high levels of fat within their bone marrow, report researchers at Children's Hospital Boston. Their findings, based on MRI imaging of the knees of 20 girls with anorexia and 20 healthy girls of the same age, appear in the February issue of the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research.

9 Feb 2010

Combination of blueberries and probiotics protects against intestinal disorders

It is already known that blueberries are rich in antioxidants and vitamins. New research from the Lund University Faculty of Engineering in Sweden shows that blueberry fibre are important and can alleviate and protect against intestinal inflammations, such as ulcerative colitis.

9 Feb 2010

QIAGEN acquires global licence for PI3K gene to develop real-time-PCR and endpoint PCR assays

QIAGEN today announced that its wholly owned subsidiary DxS has acquired the global and exclusive licence for biomarker PI3K from Johns Hopkins University to develop real-time-PCR and endpoint PCR assays.

From QIAGEN Manchester Limited 8 Feb 2010

Hand amputation distorts visuospatial perception of the action space

We know exactly where an object is when we say it is "within the reach of our hand." But if we don't have a hand, can we still see the object just where it is?

8 Feb 2010

Compulsive food seeking despite painful consequences

Ever get a buzz from eating chocolate? A study published in the open access journal BMC Neuroscience has shown that chocolate-craving mice are ready to tolerate electric shocks to get their fix.

8 Feb 2010

Memory complaints: Effectiveness of Non-pharmacological interventions

A meta-analysis published in the current issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics by Swiss investigators B. Metternich and associates indicates the effectiveness of non pharmacological interventions on memory complaints.

8 Feb 2010

Cord Blood America finalizes agreement to process and store cord blood specimens for BioCells

Cord Blood America, Inc., the umbilical cord blood stem cell preservation company focused on bringing the life saving potential of stem cells, a biological insurance policy, to families nationwide and internationally, said today that it has finalized an agreement to process and store cord blood specimens for BioCells, Inc., headquartered in Argentina, and its affiliates in Peru, Colombia, Bolivia, Panama and Puerto Rico.

8 Feb 2010