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H7 strain of the bird flu outbreak in North Korea contained

The recent outbreak of avian influenza in North Korea (DPRK) has been successfully contained, FAO said today, urging the country to continue surveillance on the affected farms and elsewhere to ensure that no residual infection remains.

25 Apr 2005

One step closer to personalized medical treatment

A new study by 64 renowned scientists may bring us one step closer to personalized medical treatment--that is, medical treatment tailored to each person's unique genetic make-up and medical condition.

22 Apr 2005

New prostate cancer test

Tessera, Inc., a Seattle-based biomedical company, has released its first product, ProstaMark EPCA (Early Prostate Cancer Antigen), as an Analyte Specific Reagent (ASR) for commercial use in pathology laboratories to assist pathologists in their efforts to determine if cancer is present in the prostate.

28 Mar 2005

Ultrafast laser detection of cancer cells also may improve understanding of stem cells

To investigate tumors, pathologists currently rely on labor-intensive microscopic examination, using century-old cell-staining methods that can take days to complete and may give false readings.

23 Mar 2005

Gene linked to bone mineral density

Sequenom has announced the discovery of a genetic variation in the gene encoding phosphodiesterase 4D (PDE4D) that is believed to affect osteoporosis risk. Fragility fractures caused by osteoporosis are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the aging population.

23 Mar 2005

Nano-enabled drug discovery solutions will generate revenues of $1.3 billion in 2009

According to a new report by NanoMarkets, an industry consultancy based here, nano-enabled drug discovery solutions will generate revenues of $1.3 billion in 2009 and grow to $2.5 billion in 2012.

8 Mar 2005

Priming embryonic stem cells to fulfill their promise

Bioengineering researchers at the University of California, San Diego have invented a process to help turn embryonic stem cells into the types of specialized cells being sought as possible treatments for dozens of human diseases and health conditions.

24 Jan 2005

Screening tests find colorectal cancer in its earliest stages when it can be treated more successfully

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is second only to lung cancer as the leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States. In 2004, it’s estimated that CRC caused nearly 57,000 deaths.

18 Jan 2005

New approach to genomic testing identifies women with low risk of breast cancer recurrence

An initial validation study presented by Exagen Diagnostics at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium suggests it may soon be possible to distinguish good prognosis from poor prognosis in any newly diagnosed breast cancer patient based on DNA changes in the patient's tumor.

13 Dec 2004

Pharmaceutical, biotechnology and drug discovery companies are increasingly turning their attention to cell-based assays

Pharmaceutical, biotechnology and drug discovery companies are increasingly turning their attention to cell-based assays, as these assays offer a more accurate representation of the real-life cell model than the traditional enzyme- or antibody-based assays.

13 Dec 2004

Nanogen announces clinical diagnostic to simultaneously detect multiple respiratory viruses

Nanogen announced today that it is developing new analyte specific reagents (ASRs) for clinical reference laboratories to develop and validate a single test to detect six of the most common respiratory viruses.

10 Nov 2004

First home-testing device for phenylketonuria (PKU) patients

Home-testing kits have made it easier for diabetics and hypertension patients to track their conditions, but such self-monitoring hasn’t been possible for people with phenylketonuria (PKU).

1 Nov 2004

Great breakthrough in cancer diagnostics

An amazingly sensitive method for selective analysis of amino acids, sugars, fatty acids, and other vital compounds has been developed by Russian scientists.

16 Oct 2004

Bionanotechnology that combines the strengths of nanotechnology and biochemistry to generate a new type of bionanomaterial

A team of University of Florida researchers has created tiny hybrid particles that can speedily root out even one isolated E. coli bacterium lurking in ground beef or provide a crucial early warning alarm for bacteria used as agents of bioterrorism and for early disease diagnosis.

11 Oct 2004

Microfluidics help lab-on-a-chip development skyrocket

Lab-on-a-chip (LOC) development has skyrocketed in the last couple of years due to constant efforts in harnessing microfluidics and µTAS to improve the LOC design and function. The distinct advantages that they bestow on applications are pushing the commercial potential of LOCs.

28 Sep 2004

Researchers find way to clean up the drugs market

Researchers from the University of Cambridge and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have made a breakthrough by using supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) as a reaction medium for the preparation of molecules of interest to the pharmaceutical industry.

13 Sep 2004

University of Utah gets patent approval relating to methods of rapid nucleic acid amplification

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued the University of Utah U.S. patent No. U.S. 6,787,338 (the '338 patent) relating to methods of rapid nucleic acid amplification.

8 Sep 2004

Chiron acquires a variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease research company

Chiron Corporation has announced that it had acquired Prion Solutions Inc., a privately held company based in La Jolla, Calif., focused on research into variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) and other prion-related diseases. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

1 Sep 2004

Call for increased political and financial commitment to the development of preventive and therapeutic AIDS vaccines

At the opening ceremony of the Lausanne, Switzerland, AIDS VACCINE '04 conference, leaders in the field of AIDS vaccine research called for increased political and financial commitment to facilitate the development of preventive and therapeutic AIDS vaccines as a public health imperative in fighting HIV/AIDS.

30 Aug 2004

Antibodies produced by shark immune systems could be used to detect human pathogens

A recent discovery shows that antibodies produced by shark immune systems could be used to detect a range of human pathogens some of which have the potential to be used as biological warfare agents.

20 Aug 2004