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Adult bone marrow stem cells may help cure certain genetic eye diseases

Scientists have completed a study using mice which showed that bone marrow stem cells can switch roles and produce keratocan, a natural protein involved in the growth of the cornea, the transparent, outer layer of the eyeball.

11 May 2007

New understanding of ubiquitylation

It turns out there's more than one way to skin a gene. New research from Rockefeller University suggests that two closely related DNA unpackaging mechanisms may not work the way scientists thought.

10 May 2007

New understanding of infectious prion

Researchers have known for decades that certain neurodegenerative diseases, such as mad cow disease or its human equivalent, Cruetzfeldt-Jakob disease, result from a kind of infectious protein called a prion.

10 May 2007

One-third to nearly one-half of all children and adolescents should be tested for cholesterol levels

According to the AHA, the physicians who care for these at-risk youth face an unexpected obstacle -- their parents. The AHA finds "low levels of parental compliance with both cholesterol screening and intervention."

10 May 2007

FluForecast trial predicted high human H5N1 mortality in Indonesia

When H5N1 was thought to be quiescent in 2006, in a prospective open trial, FluForecast, a software program which measures virus gene proteins, predicted high human mortality H5N1 outbreaks to come.

10 May 2007

Health early warning system through satellite telecoms

When emergency teams are well informed and governments can coordinate their efforts, lives and property can be saved.

10 May 2007

Researchers watch repair proteins arrive around DNA breaks

Investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital had a molecule's eye view of the human cell's DNA repair kit as it assembled on a double-strand break to link together the broken ends.

10 May 2007

Cornell University establishes Center for Reproductive Genomics

Cornell University has established the Center for Reproductive Genomics, which will combine basic research in reproductive sciences on Cornell's Ithaca campus with one of the country's leading fertility clinics at Weill Cornell Medical College (WCMC) in New York City.

10 May 2007

Sigma-Aldrich acquires Molecular Medicine BioServices

Sigma-Aldrich Corporation has announced that it has acquired Molecular Medicine BioServices Inc. (MMB), a biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing organization (CMO) located in Carlsbad, California, to further enhance the biologics capabilities within its SAFC Pharma business segment.

9 May 2007

Rosuvastatin well tolerated by a broad range of patients with dyslipidemia

The safety and tolerability of rosuvastatin were assessed using data from 16,876 patients who received rosuvastatin 5-40 mg in a multinational phase II/III/IIIb/IV program, representing 25,670 patient-years of continuous exposure to rosuvastatin. An integrated database, consisting of 33 trials whose databases were locked up to and including September 16, 2005, was used to examine adverse events and laboratory data.

9 May 2007

Researchers develop first antibody that detects gene mutations that cause amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Researchers at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Medicine have developed the first antibody that detects the only known cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also called Lou Gehrig's disease.

9 May 2007

Research sheds light on memory by erasing it

For years, scientists have studied the molecular basis of memory storage, trying to find the molecules that store memory, just as DNA stores genetic memory.

9 May 2007

Attention training is worth examining for disorders with attentional components, like ADHD

Everyday experience and psychology research both indicate that paying close attention to one thing can keep you from noticing something else.

9 May 2007

Adult stem cells play no role in insulin production

Diabetes researchers, investigating how the body supplies itself with insulin, discovered to their surprise that adult stem cells, which they expected to play a crucial role in the process, were nowhere to be found.

8 May 2007

Study looks at interest level of healthy, young adults in receiving genetic testing for common conditions

The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), parts of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), have teamed with Group Health Cooperative in Seattle and Henry Ford Health System in Detroit to launch a study to investigate the interest level of healthy, young adults in receiving genetic testing for eight common conditions.

8 May 2007

Discovery may lead to new treatments for lung cancer and blood cancer

The research team uses a genetically modified mouse that produces a muted and constantly active CAAX protein. This is a new model for an extremely aggressive lung cancer and a mild form of blood cancer. In these mice, the production of an enzyme called GGTas1 can also be stopped.

8 May 2007

Diabetes drug rosiglitazone boosts power of platinum chemotherapy

A widely used diabetes drug dramatically boosted the potency of platinum-based cancer drugs when administered together to a variety of cancer cell lines and to mice with tumors, scientists from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute report.

8 May 2007

Simple blood test for BNP levels predictive of higher in-hospital mortality rates for heart failure patients

A simple blood test, beyond standard lab tests, taken at hospital admission strongly predicted in-hospital mortality risk for heart failure patients and may be useful in helping doctors decide which patients need higher-level monitoring and more intensive treatment.

8 May 2007

Health officials say low risk to humans from food containing melamine

There is very low risk to human health from consuming meat from hogs and chickens known to have been fed animal feed supplemented with pet food scraps that contained melamine and melamine-related compounds, according to an assessment conducted by scientists from five federal agencies.

7 May 2007