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Tennessee Gov. declares February as 'St. Jude Month'

In 1962, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital opened its doors amid an emotionally charged debate regarding how to treat childhood cancer. At that time, few children with the most common form of childhood cancer survived, and many physicians believed treatment was futile. St. Jude physicians and researchers took a radically different approach, and these efforts proved pivotal in changing the way the world treats childhood cancer.

6 Feb 2012

Skin cells converted to brain cells without intermediate stem cell stage

Researchers from California have successfully converted mouse skin cells into cells which develop into the main components of the brain. The experiment, reported in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is notable because it skipped the middle “stem cell” stage in the process.

2 Feb 2012

Genentech receives FDA approval for Vismodegib to treat skin cancer

A new skin cancer drug tested for the first time in the world five years ago at the Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center at Scottsdale Healthcare just received expedited approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, a remarkable accomplishment in new drug development.

2 Feb 2012

New light on how superbugs become resistant to antibiotics

Scientists have shed new light on the way superbugs such as MRSA are able to become resistant to treatment with antibiotics

1 Feb 2012

Researchers use liquid laser to diagnose genetic mutations linked with cancer

Using a liquid laser, University of Michigan researchers have developed a better way to detect the slight genetic mutations that might predispose a person to a particular type of cancer or other diseases.

1 Feb 2012

Researchers identify two genetic mutations responsible for brain cancer in children

An international research team led by the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI MUHC) has made a major genetic breakthrough that could change the way pediatric cancers are treated in the future.

30 Jan 2012

Researchers study new strategies to treat patients with influenza

Influenza virus can rapidly evolve from one form to another, complicating the effectiveness of vaccines and anti-viral drugs used to treat it. By first understanding the complex host cell pathways that the flu uses for replication, University of Georgia researchers are finding new strategies for therapies and vaccines, according to a study published in the January issue of the Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.

30 Jan 2012

Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues to hold public meeting in San Francisco

The Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues will hold a public meeting February 2-3 in San Francisco, CA.

21 Jan 2012

HOXB13 gene mutation linked to familial prostate cancer risk

The quest for genetic information in the fight against prostate cancer is nearly two decades long. While researchers and doctors have long accepted the hereditary nature of the disease, in that closer relatives are at a two-fold increased risk of developing prostate cancer, the genetic explanation remained a mystery. Last week geneticists shared news of a novel gene mutation linked to familial prostate cancer risk.

19 Jan 2012

Book outlines digital future of medicine

The inventions of cell phones, personal computers, and the Internet ushered in the digital revolution and altered our existence in ways that were unimaginable just a few decades ago. But the most precious part of our existence-our health-has so far been largely unaffected and insulated from these innovations.

19 Jan 2012

Study confirms condom use reduces risk of HIV infection by 78%

The level of HIV-1 in the blood of an HIV-infected partner is the single most important factor influencing risk of sexual transmission to an uninfected partner, according to a multinational study of heterosexual couples in sub-Saharan Africa.

12 Jan 2012

St. Jude introduces 'Explore' website for pediatric genome project

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital has launched a freely available website for published research results from the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital - Washington University Pediatric Cancer Genome Project (PCGP). The PCGP is the largest effort to date aimed at sequencing the entire genomes of both normal and cancer cells from pediatric cancer patients, comparing differences in the DNA to identify genetic mistakes that lead to childhood cancers.

12 Jan 2012

DNA decoder – cheaper and faster

Life Technologies Corp. – a biotechnology company announced Tuesday that it has developed a machine to decode an individual's DNA in a day for just $1,000. The company said it was taking orders for the technology, which it expects to deliver in about a year. The Carlsbad, California, company said three major research institutions had already signed up for the $149,000 machine: the Baylor College of Medicine, the Yale School of Medicine and the Broad Institute of Cambridge, Massachusetts.

11 Jan 2012

Life Technologies takes orders for new benchtop Ion Proton Sequencer

Life Technologies Corporation today announced it is taking orders for the new benchtop Ion Proton Sequencer that is designed to sequence the entire human genome in a day for $1,000.

10 Jan 2012

Soon therapies may be guided by genetic blueprints

In a futuristic bid the doctors have drawn up plans to sequence the full genetic code of thousands of people in a landmark project to personalize their medical care. Each person will have all 6 billion letters of their genome read, stored and linked to their medical records to help doctors prescribe more effective drugs and other therapies.

1 Jan 2012

Researchers successfully treat severe congenital disorder in mouse model

Using a mouse model, Heidelberg University Hospital researchers have for the first time successfully treated a severe congenital disorder in which sugar metabolism is disturbed.

23 Dec 2011

NIH, Autism Speaks announce addition of AGRE as data federation site for NDAR

Autism Speaks - North America's largest autism science and advocacy organization - joins the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in announcing the addition of Autism Speaks Autism Genetic Resource Exchange (AGRE) as a data federation site for the National Database for Autism Research (NDAR). The addition of AGRE data will help create the largest multidisciplinary source of autism research data to date.

13 Dec 2011

Ect2 protein plays a crucial role in cell division

Cancer Research UK scientists have discovered how cells 'pinch in' at the middle in order to split into two new cells.

13 Dec 2011

Rare genetic condition provides insight into how pancreas develops

A rare genetic disorder has given researchers at the University of Exeter a surprising insight into how the pancreas develops. The finding provides a clue to how it may be possible to 'programme' stem cells - master cells in the body that can develop into specialised cells - to become pancreatic cells.

12 Dec 2011