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March of Dimes honors Whitehead Institute Director for Developmental Biology work

Whitehead Institute Director David Page has been named a recipient of the 2011 March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology. The prize honors Page's groundbreaking body of research on the human Y chromosome.

22 Apr 2011

UC Berkeley researchers form new Synthetic Biology Institute

An alliance of top researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, has formed the UC Berkeley Synthetic Biology Institute, advancing efforts to engineer cells and biological systems in ways that promise to transform technology in health and medicine, energy, the environment, new materials, and a host of other critical arenas.

22 Apr 2011

GM-SCF therapy can reduce flu symptoms and prevent death

New research on mice has shown that pulmonary administration of granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor significantly reduces flu symptoms and prevents death after a lethal dose influenza virus.

22 Apr 2011

EPO doping drug can reduce cerebral malaria related deaths

Almost 3.3 billion people, half of the world's population, risk being infected with malaria. Despite having effective means against malaria, the WHO reports 250 million cases of malaria each year and more than 700,000 related deaths. Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have now discovered that EPO, the doping drug known from professional cycling, can significantly reduce cerebral malaria related deaths.

22 Apr 2011

Department of VA selects construction contractor for new Pittsburgh research building

The Department of Veterans Affairs has selected the construction contractor to build a research office building at the Pittsburgh VA Medical Center on University Drive.

22 Apr 2011

Two Canadian health researchers earn UBC recognition

Two of Canada's most eminent health researchers - Dr. Jacques Genest at McGill University and Dr. Michael Hayden at the University of British Columbia - have been awarded the inaugural Margolese National Brain and Heart Disorders Prizes, the most lucrative prizes bestowed by UBC.

22 Apr 2011

Discovery of cancer drugs to kill malaria parasite could open up new strategies for treatment

Ahead of World Malaria Day (25 April), EU-funded researchers have discovered that drugs originally designed to inhibit the growth of cancer cells can also kill the parasite that causes malaria. They believe this discovery could open up a new strategy for combating this deadly disease, which, according to World Health Organisation statistics, infected around 225 million and killed nearly 800 000 people worldwide in 2009.

21 Apr 2011

First implantation of blended vitamin E total knee replacement in the U.S

DJO Global, Inc., a leading provider of medical device solutions for musculoskeletal health, vascular health and pain management, today announced the implantation of the first blended vitamin E total knee replacement in the U.S.

21 Apr 2011

Scientists explore the role of microRNA that influences obesity-related traits

Eating more n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, commonly known as omega-3 fatty acids, may help carriers of a genetic variant on the perilipin 4 (PLIN4) gene locus lose weight more efficiently.

21 Apr 2011

Penn researchers explore the role of telomere caps in human aging

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine are delving into the details of the complex structure at the ends of chromosomes.

21 Apr 2011

LabCorp first quarter revenues increase 14.6% to $1,368.4 million

Laboratory Corporation of America® Holdings today announced results for the quarter ended March 31, 2011. These results include the operations of Genzyme Genetics, which the Company acquired in the fourth quarter of 2010.

21 Apr 2011

Biomagnetics signs agreement with LANL to develop validated TB biomarker assay

Biomagnetics Diagnostics Corp., (PINK SHEETS: BMGP) a developer of revolutionary diagnostic systems and related technology for detecting HIV, hepatitis, tuberculosis, cholera and malaria, and other innovative technologies, today announced it has now completed a series of payments to Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) pursuant to the cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) executed in 2010 between the two organizations.

21 Apr 2011

KellBenx secures $2.5 million from initial funding round

KellBenx, a biotechnology company focused on the development of non-invasive prenatal diagnosis (NIPD) of genetic and inherited disorders, announced today that it has secured an initial funding round of $2.5 million from four investors – three biotechnology venture capital groups and one angel investor. The round will finance a clinical trial and laboratory testing of a new, minimally invasive blood test designed to identify risks to pregnancy ranging from pre-term birth to genetic conditions.

21 Apr 2011

Humans have three different gut types, finds study

In the future, when you walk into a doctor's surgery or hospital, you could be asked not just about your allergies and blood group, but also about your gut type. Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, and collaborators in the international MetaHIT consortium, have found that humans have 3 different gut types.

21 Apr 2011

RTCA HT instrument from Roche employs high-throughput real-time cell analysis

The new xCELLigence RTCA HT Instrument from Roche (SWX:RO) (SWX:ROG) (Pink Sheets:RHHBY) rounds out the Diagnostics Applied Science's portfolio in real-time cell analysis with a high-throughput product.

21 Apr 2011

U.S. DOD awards $4.5M to NYU Langone Medical Center for novel breast cancer research

NYU Langone Medical Center announced today the U.S. Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program of the Office of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs has awarded Silvia Formenti, MD, the Sandra and Edward Meyer Professor and Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology a $4.5 million Multi-Team Award to conduct novel breast cancer research.

21 Apr 2011

NIH funds Rice University study of new materials for growing replacement heart valves

A team of bioengineers from Rice University is bringing a promising new strategy for growing replacement heart valves closer to reality, thanks to a four-year, $1.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health. The team hopes to use gel-like materials to generate three-dimensional patterns called scaffolds that can simultaneously mimic the complex structural and physical properties of heart-valve tissues and guide the behavior of tissue-forming cells.

21 Apr 2011

Mindfulness meditation may help make decisions rationally rather than emotionally

If a friend or relative won $100 and then offered you a few dollars, would you accept this windfall? The logical answer would seem to be, sure, why not? "But human decision making does not always appear rational," said Read Montague, professor of physics at Virginia Tech and director of the Human Neuroimaging Laboratory at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute.

21 Apr 2011

Genetically modified mosquitoes tested to prevent spread of malaria: Study

According to the latest study in the journal Nature, researchers from Imperial College London and the University of Washington, Seattle found that after making specific genetic changes to a few mosquitoes and then allowing them to breed could eventually dramatically reduce the spread of the deadly disease malaria.

20 Apr 2011

Intrinsic Bioprobes launches mass spectrometry-based protein assays for in-vitro diagnostic testing

Intrinsic Bioprobes Inc. ("IBI") today announced the launch of its first mass spectrometry-based protein assays for in-vitro diagnostic testing. The assays for beta-2-microglobulin, cystatin C, and retinol binding protein are performed on IBI's MASSAY® platform at the CLIA-certified and College of American Pathology (CAP) accredited diagnostic laboratory of the Institute of Genomics Medicine, UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School.

20 Apr 2011