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Proteins are complex molecules that are made up of amino acids. They can be found in every cell in the body, and carry out vital processes that keep human beings alive. Mutations in proteins can lead to a multitude of diseases, the most common being cancer.

Rember revamped for Phase 3 testing in behavioral-variant frontotemporal dementia

Rember—the blue dye that created a stir in 2008 when Phase 2 clinical trial data claimed that it slowed decline in people with Alzheimer's disease—has now been revamped for Phase 3 testing in another disease, behavioral-variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD).

6 Oct 2012

Skin's outmost layer is the first line of defense against UV radiation

Reinhold Dauskardt, PhD, of Stanford's Department of Materials Science and Engineering has been studying skin for years. But when he sent his students to look for data on the mechanical properties of skin, they came back empty-handed. A lot was known about skin structure and disease, but few papers actually talked about its mechanical function - its ability to stretch and resist tension without tearing.

6 Oct 2012

Progress toward preventing initial and recurrent episodes of C. diff infection

Surgeons are making progress toward preventing initial and recurrent episodes of clostridium difficile colitis (C. difficile or C. diff), a vicious bacterial infection that is estimated to affect about 336,000 people each year, typically patients on antibiotics.

6 Oct 2012

Researchers identify genetic risk allele for uterine fibroids

Uterine fibroids are the most common type of pelvic tumors in women and are the leading cause of hysterectomy in the United States. Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) are the first to discover a genetic risk allele (an alternative form of a gene) for uterine fibroids in white women using an unbiased, genome-wide approach.

5 Oct 2012

Contract Manufacturing Offering introduced to the biopharmaceutical market by Olympus Biotech

Olympus Biotech, an Olympus Corporation company, today announced its new Contract Manufacturing Offering (CMO) at its state-of-the-art facility in Lebanon, New Hampshire.

From Evident Corporation - Life Sciences 5 Oct 2012

New gene test can detect pre-cancerous cells in patients with mouth lesions

Researchers from Queen Mary, University of London have developed a new gene test that can detect pre-cancerous cells in patients with benign-looking mouth lesions. The test could potentially allow at-risk patients to receive earlier treatment, significantly improving their chance of survival.

5 Oct 2012

Study reveals atomic-level structure of the human peptidase enzyme meprin β

An international research team led by the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and researchers from Kiel University revealed the atomic-level structure of the human peptidase enzyme meprin β (beta).

5 Oct 2012

Top-line data from Pfizer’s Prevenar 13 Phase 3 trial on pneumococcal disease

Pfizer Inc. today announced top-line data assessing immunogenicity, tolerability and safety of Prevenar 13 (Pneumococcal polysaccharide conjugate vaccine [13-valent, absorbed]) in adults 18 to 49 years of age.

5 Oct 2012

InsuPad device may improve insulin therapy

A novel device is currently under development for aiding insulin analog therapy in diabetes patients, report researchers.

4 Oct 2012

Age impacts salivary markers of oxidative stress, oral pathology

Age has a significant impact on the variance of salivary markers of oxidative stress, and could shed light on the pathogenesis of oral diseases, report Slovakian researchers.

4 Oct 2012

Chronic kidney disease independently increases mortality risk

Findings from two meta-analyses published in The Lancet show that patients with chronic kidney disease are at high risk for death and end-stage renal disease even if they do not have comorbid hypertension or diabetes.

4 Oct 2012

Hormone therapy offsets adverse metabolic effects of menopause

Long-term hormone therapy helps prevent the adverse metabolic effects that occur following menopause, research shows.

4 Oct 2012

New type of drug for drug-resistant cancer

New drug may be an effective alternative for patients whose cancer is resistant to currently available drugs.

4 Oct 2012

Novel technology can identify potential biomarkers of ulcerative colitis

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have developed a novel technology that can identify, in animal models, potential biomarkers of ulcerative colitis, a type of inflammatory bowel disease that affects the lining of the colon.

4 Oct 2012

Assisted reproduction technology may increase risk of MS activity among women

Researchers in Argentina report that women with multiple sclerosis (MS) who undergo assisted reproduction technology (ART) infertility treatment are at risk for increased disease activity.

4 Oct 2012

Cellectis, Medicago complete first step in therapeutic protein research collaboration

Medicago Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing highly effective and competitive vaccines based on proprietary manufacturing technologies and Virus Like Particles, and Cellectis plant sciences, a US-based subsidiary of Cellectis Group, the specialist in genome engineering, today announced the successful completion of the first step in their research collaboration to improve therapeutic proteins produced in tobacco plants.

4 Oct 2012

Treatment with Lfcin4-14 reduces DNA damage in colon cancer cells exposed to UV light

Milk consumption has been linked to improved health, with decreased risks of diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and colon cancer. A group of scientists in Sweden found that lactoferricin4-14 (Lfcin4-14), a milk protein with known health effects, significantly reduces the growth rate of colon cancer cells over time by prolonging the period of the cell cycle before chromosomes are replicated. In a new study, investigators report that treatment with Lfcin4-14 reduced DNA damage in colon cancer cells exposed to ultraviolet (UV) light.

4 Oct 2012

New mathematical formulas can evaluate kidney function with age

Within the framework of a Berlin cohort study, scientists from Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin have succeeded in developing new mathematical formulas that dependently assess kidney function with age.

4 Oct 2012

Complement dysregulation underpins pre-eclampsia

Pre-eclampsia is associated with increased classical pathway activation and altered complement regulation, suggest Dutch results indicating that the extent of complement dysregulation may be related to the severity of pre-eclampsia.

3 Oct 2012

NF1 gene mutations cause noninheritable or spontaneous breast cancers

Cancerous tumors contain hundreds of mutations, and finding these mutations that result in uncontrollable cell growth is like finding the proverbial needle in a haystack. As difficult as this task is, it's exactly what a team of scientists from Cornell University, the University of North Carolina, and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York have done for one type of breast cancer.

3 Oct 2012