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DARPA grant supports research toward realizing tissue regeneration

While U.S. soldiers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan are surviving injuries that in previous conflicts likely would have been fatal, the number of wounded with major tissue loss has never before been so high.

3 May 2006

DNA taxi

Despite few successes to date, gene therapy is a highly promising approach for medical therapy in the future.

1 May 2006

A contraceptive pill for men!

According to a Sydney scientist a hormone-based contraceptive for men has the ability to reverse its effect just four months after stopping its use.

1 May 2006

New method could predict individual patient responses to drug treatments

Scientists from Imperial College London and Pfizer have developed a new method that could predict individual patient responses to drug treatments. The authors anticipate that the development will advance biomedical research further towards development of personalised medicines.

28 Apr 2006

Potential vaccine for visceral leishmaniasis developed

Development of a fundamentally new "candidate," or potential, vaccine for visceral leishmaniasis (LEASH-ma-NIGH-a-sis), a parasitic disease that kills about 60,000 people annually, is reported in the current issue of ACS Chemical Biology. Spread by the bite of infected female sand flies, visceral leishmaniasis infects about 500,000 people annually, with the majority of cases occurring in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sudan and Brazil.

26 Apr 2006

Prefrontal cortex in the brain damaged by both alcoholism and chronic smoking

Alcoholism is commonly associated with chronic smoking, and both alcohol and nicotine are believed to act on the same brain region. Research builds upon previous research that identified four potential alcohol-sensitive genes in the prefrontal cortex, finding that smoking also influences the expression of these genes.

26 Apr 2006

Protein mutated in cancer found to be linked to diabetes

A study published by Nature has defined the function of p110 alpha, the flag-ship molecule of the eight member PI3K family, which is one of the most frequently activated pathways in cancer. The function of p110 alpha in the body has eluded researchers for over a decade but a new approach to generating mouse models, has allowed investigators to solve the mystery and yield important information for planned clinical trials with PI3K inhibitors.

25 Apr 2006

Enzyme research points to better drugs and improved industrial processes

Groundbreaking enzyme research could revolutionise the way drugs are made and have major implications for the industrial sector, including brewing, food processing, domestic cleaning and paper manufacturing.

From The University of Manchester 25 Apr 2006

How much advice on mental illness treatment is influenced by drug companies?

According to new research in the U.S. most of the experts giving advice on the diagnosis and management of mental illness have had financial links to drug makers such as research funding or stock holdings.

23 Apr 2006

Surgical robot makes prostate removal safe for obese men

The use of a robotic system could make surgery for prostate cancer an option for thousands of obese men who might otherwise be turned down, report researchers from the University of Chicago in the April 2006 issue of the journal Urology.

20 Apr 2006

Convictions in $45 million illegal blood diversion scheme

Florida pharmaceutical wholesale distributor, convicted on March 29, 2006, of more than two hundred and forty-seven criminal counts as the result of an extensive OCI investigation of an illegal medical products diversion scheme which defrauded the Medicaid and Medicare programs of more than $45,000,000.

19 Apr 2006

New London based centre for clinical genetic research

The London Genetics Centre will provide access to knowledge and expertise in clinical genetics across London's biomedical institutions, and help position London as the leading European centre for genetic medicine.

19 Apr 2006

Primagen awarded U.S. patent for using mitochondrial DNA quantification as biomarker

Primagen Holding BV has announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted a patent for its Mitox mitochondrial DNA quantification technology as biomarkers for efficacy and adverse events of treatment.

19 Apr 2006

Short acting insulin analogues versus regular human insulin in patients with diabetes mellitus

Fast-acting artificial insulin drugs work just as well as regular human insulin, but it's unclear how they could affect the health of people with diabetes over the long run, according to a new review of recent studies.

18 Apr 2006

Researchers clarify the mechanism by which drugs like Celebrex and Vioxx cause heart problems

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have clarified the mechanism by which drugs like Celebrex and Vioxx cause heart problems, in multiple animal models.

18 Apr 2006

Sticky proteins for neuro-chip chat

EU-funded researchers have taken the firsts steps towards future technologies combining silicon circuits and the nervous systems of mammals. Applications could include advanced drug screening and, perhaps one day, implants to help combat neurological disorders.

18 Apr 2006

Osteoporosis drug Raloxifene shown to be as effective as Tamoxifen in preventing invasive breast cancer

Initial results of the Study of Tamoxifen and Raloxifene, or STAR, show that the drug raloxifene, currently used to prevent and treat osteoporosis in postmenopausal women, works as well as tamoxifen in reducing breast cancer risk for postmenopausal women at increased risk of the disease.

18 Apr 2006

First gene therapy human trial in the United States for a form of muscular dystrophy under way

The clinical trial for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) tests the safety and effectiveness of a therapy that was developed over two decades by scientists at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill's School of Medicine and the University of Pittsburgh.

16 Apr 2006

Simple screening process opens door to treating rare metabolic diseases such as Tay-Sachs, Fabry and Gaucher syndromes

Rare metabolic diseases such as Tay-Sachs, Fabry and Gaucher syndromes are caused by enzyme deficiencies and typically have crippling, even fatal, consequences starting at very early ages.

13 Apr 2006

Research provides clues to obesity's cause

Hot fudge sundaes and french fries aside, new research suggests obesity is due at least in part to an attraction between leptin, the hormone that signals the brain when to stop eating, and a protein more recently associated with heart disease.

13 Apr 2006