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American Society of Hematology 2012 Scholar Awards announced

The American Society of Hematology (ASH) announces the recipients of its 2012 Scholar Awards. The ASH Scholar Awards provide monetary support for fellows and junior faculty pursuing research careers to assist them during the critical period in which they must complete their training and achieve status as an independent investigator.

3 Dec 2011

World Cell Race pulls 70 entries for title of world's fastest cell

A "team" of fast-moving, bone marrow stem cells from a research laboratory in Singapore has run away with the first World Cell Race, finishing first with a cellular speed record of 5.2 microns per minute (or 0.000204 inches per minute) in results announced today at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB).

3 Dec 2011

New technique allows production of medically useful amounts of endoderm cells from human PSCs

Scientists in Canada have overcome a key research hurdle to developing regenerative treatments for diabetes and liver disease with a technique to produce medically useful amounts of endoderm cells from human pluripotent stem cells. The research, published in Biotechnology and Bioengineering, can be transferred to other areas of stem cell research helping scientists to navigate the route to clinical use known as the 'valley of death'.

3 Dec 2011

Brazil's ANVISA grants registration for child-adapted formulation of benznidazole for Chagas disease

Today, at the occasion of the 4th DNDi Partners' Meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Dr Carlos Gadelha, Secretary of Science, Technology and Strategic Products, Brazilian Ministry of Health, announced that Brazil's National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA) granted registration of a new paediatric dosage form of benznidazole, developed through a partnership between the Pernambuco State Pharmaceutical Laboratory (LAFEPE) of Brazil and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi).

3 Dec 2011

Dye derived from Canary Island lichens may help treat Alzheimer's disease

A red dye derived from lichens that has been used for centuries to color fabrics and food appears to reduce the abundance of small toxic protein aggregates in Alzheimer's disease. The dye, a compound called orcein, and a related substance, called O4, bind preferentially to small amyloid aggregates that are considered to be toxic and cause neuronal dysfunction and memory impairment in Alzheimer's disease.

3 Dec 2011

Promising new agent against sarcomas affecting children

MK 1775, a small, selective inhibitor molecule, has been found to be active against many sarcomas when tested by researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla. Their findings, recently appearing in Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, published by the American Association for Cancer Research, suggest that a badly needed new agent against sarcomas - especially sarcomas affecting children - may be at hand.

3 Dec 2011

MK 1775 shows promise against sarcomas

MK 1775, a small, selective inhibitor molecule, has been found to be active against many sarcomas when tested by researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla.

3 Dec 2011

Blocking telomerase increases cancer cells' sensitivity to radiation treatment

Shortening end caps on chromosomes in human cervical cancer cells disrupts DNA repair signaling, increases the cells' sensitivity to radiation treatment and kills them more quickly, according to a study in Cancer Prevention Research.

2 Dec 2011

Corning acquires Mediatech

Great Point Partners today announced that Great Point Partners I portfolio company, Mediatech, Inc., was acquired by Corning Incorporated in an all-cash transaction. Mediatech is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Corning and will be integrated into Corning's Life Science segment.

2 Dec 2011

White tea, witch hazel and rose have potential health and beauty properties

Age-old remedies could hold the key to treating a wide range of serious medical problems, as well as keeping skin firmer and less wrinkled, according to scientists from London's Kingston University.

2 Dec 2011

ASCP honors BMC resident for clinical and anatomic pathology

Stephen Hammond, MD, a fourth-year resident in clinical and anatomic pathology at Boston Medical Center (BMC), recently received the highly coveted Resident Leadership Representative Award from the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) for demonstrating leadership and promoting ASCP membership and resident activities.

2 Dec 2011

New method reveals complete set of aberrant signaling pathways that give rise to cancers

One major obstacle in the fight against cancer is that anticancer drugs often affect normal cells in addition to tumor cells, resulting in significant side effects. Yet research into development of less harmful treatments geared toward the targeting of specific cancer-causing mechanisms is hampered by lack of knowledge of the molecular pathways that drive cancers in individual patients.

2 Dec 2011

Specific electromagnetic fields can block cancer cell growth

New evidence by University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers that specific electromagnetic fields can safely block the proliferation of cancer cells and tumor growth may help refine a new, targeted therapy without any collateral damage.

2 Dec 2011

Adding a dip can induce bitter sensitive children to eat more vegetables

There's an existential crisis that often happens at dinner tables across the country: why won't kids eat their vegetables? Research has found that one reason could be a sensitivity to bitterness, fairly common among children - about 70 percent have it.

2 Dec 2011

Cheaper test as effective as a more sophisticated test in guiding anti-retroviral drug treatment

A cheaper laboratory test that helps guide anti-retroviral drug treatment for people with HIV/AIDS may be just as effective as a more sophisticated test, a group of international researchers has found - a discovery that could be particularly important in rural Africa.

2 Dec 2011

State roundup: Florida's growing Medicaid costs; Missouri insurance rates; Maryland's unspent disabilities money

Florida Governor Rick Scott said he has whittled down a corporate tax-relief plan compared with what he sought last year because of a ballooning deficit driven by health-care spending. "Medicaid is growing way faster than we thought," the former hospital executive said yesterday. ... Florida, which closed a $3.8 billion budget gap for fiscal 2012, is facing another of as much as $2.3 billion next year.

2 Dec 2011

Corning completes acquisition of Mediatech

Corning Incorporated announced today that it has completed the acquisition of Mediatech, Inc., a Virginia-based corporation, including Mediatech's subsidiary, KD Medical, Inc., a Maryland-based corporation.

1 Dec 2011

Yale researchers monitor growth of laboratory-engineered blood vessels after implantation

Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and nanoparticle technology, researchers from Yale have devised a way to monitor the growth of laboratory-engineered blood vessels after they have been implanted in patients. This advance represents an important step toward ensuring that blood vessels, and possibly other tissues engineered from a patient's own biological material, are taking hold and working as expected.

1 Dec 2011

Study presents high-resolution genome-wide p53-binding map for normal human cells

Scientists investigating the interactions, or binding patterns, of a major tumor-suppressor protein known as p53 with the entire genome in normal human cells have turned up key differences from those observed in cancer cells. The distinct binding patterns reflect differences in the chromatin (the way DNA is packed with proteins), which may be important for understanding the function of the tumor suppressor protein in cancer cells.

1 Dec 2011

Botulism toxins could be re-engineered for treating RA, asthma, psoriasis

The most poisonous substance on Earth - already used medically in small doses to treat certain nerve disorders and facial wrinkles - could be re-engineered for an expanded role in helping millions of people with rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, psoriasis and other diseases, scientists are reporting. Their study appears in ACS' journal Biochemistry.

1 Dec 2011