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CHEO researchers identify protein that inhibits insulin production

One of the biggest mysteries about diabetes is why specialized cells in the pancreas stop secreting insulin, which the body needs in order to store glucose from food. A team from the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) Research Institute has identified a protein that inhibits insulin production in mice - work that offers a new way of understanding, and perhaps of one day treating, both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.

8 Oct 2009

Antioxidants can contribute to early onset of Type 2 diabetes

An international team of scientists, led by Monash University researchers, has found that anti-oxidants commonly touted for their health-promoting benefits, could contribute to the early onset of Type 2 diabetes.

8 Oct 2009

Study reveals large structural differences between natural prions and man-made synthetic analogs

A collaboration between scientists at Vanderbilt University and the University of California, San Francisco has led to the first direct information about the molecular structure of prions. In addition, the study has revealed surprisingly large structural differences between natural prions and the closest synthetic analogs that scientists have created in the lab.

7 Oct 2009

Guidelines for implementing spirituality for improved healthcare

Guidelines derived from a recent Consensus Conference, including recommendations on the role of healthcare providers in the assurance of quality spiritual care to patients in a palliative care setting, are published in a comprehensive report in Journal of Palliative Medicine, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. (www.liebertpub.com).

7 Oct 2009

Study reveals information about molecular structure of prions

6 Oct 2009

Study shows that GSK-3 gene determines the total number of neurons required for brain

In populating the growing brain, neural stem cells must strike a delicate balance between two key processes - proliferation, in which the cells multiply to provide plenty of starting materials - and differentiation, in which those materials evolve into functioning neurons.

5 Oct 2009

Researchers discover that Merkel cells originate in the skin

Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine assistant professor of pediatrics, neurosciences and otolaryngology, Stephen M. Maricich, M.D., Ph.D., and his team found that Merkel cells originate in the skin, not the neural crest lineage, as previously speculated.

3 Oct 2009

Emergent BioSolutions receives NIAID funding support for dmPA7909 anthrax vaccine candidate

Emergent BioSolutions Inc. announced today that it was awarded a cooperative agreement from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, to further the development of one of Emergent’s advanced anthrax vaccine candidates known as dmPA7909.

30 Sep 2009

Parathyroid gland transplants may prevent untreatable form of bone loss

An early laboratory success is taking University of Michigan researchers a step closer to parathyroid gland transplants that could one day prevent a currently untreatable form of bone loss associated with thyroid surgery.

30 Sep 2009

Therapeutic target for acute respiratory distress syndrome identified

Research led by Dr. Jay Kolls, Professor and Chairman of Genetics at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, has identified a therapeutic target for acute lung injury resulting in acute respiratory distress syndrome, a highly fatal complication of influenza infection.

30 Sep 2009

Most Danes support use of GM plants for pharmaceutical purposes

An international survey shows that most Danes support using GM plants for production of pharmaceuticals. In this respect Danes are in line with citizens from the U.S., Israel, Spain, Poland and the Czech Republic.

29 Sep 2009

U.S. PTO to reexamine the patents in Cellectis-Precision BioSciences litigation

Precision BioSciences, Inc. today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) has granted Precision’s requests for inter partes reexamination of U.S. Patent Nos. 6,610,545 (the ‘545 patent) and 7,309,605 (the ‘605 patent), which Cellectis SA (Alternext: ALCLS) has asserted against Precision in litigation.

29 Sep 2009

Plant gene regulating oil accumulation in plant seed licensed to BASF Plant Science

Technology that could enhance plants' seed oil content for food and animal feed applications has been licensed to BASF Plant Science under an exclusive commercial agreement with Michigan State University.

28 Sep 2009

Researchers study about abnormal gene functioning in mitochondria

Researchers are delving into abnormal gene function in mitochondria, structures within cells that power our lives. Mitochondria are the place where energy is generated from the most basic molecules of food. Because this function is essential to life, defects in mitochondria may affect a wide range of organ systems in humans and animals.

25 Sep 2009

Chronic sleep deprivation linked to early incidence of Alzheimer's brain plaques

Chronic sleep deprivation in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease makes Alzheimer's brain plaques appear earlier and more often, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report online this week in Science Express.

25 Sep 2009

Study on mitochondria function

For such crucial biological actors, much remains unknown about exactly how mitochondria function. A new study, published Aug. 12 in the online journal PLoS One, sheds light on mitochondrial biology. Using genetic engineering, researchers interrupted the activity of individual genes directly involved in the production of energy within mitochondria. "If we knock down the function of specific system components, what happens?" said study leader Marni J. Falk, M.D., who directs the Mitochondrial-Genetics Disease Clinic at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "Our ultimate goal is to translate the knowledge into targeted therapies, that is, effective ways to intervene. But first we need to understand the underlying disease mechanisms."

25 Sep 2009

NIH awards three UNC Scientists for high risk and innovative research

Three scientists from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine and the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center have received prestigious awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) aimed at encouraging "high risk" and innovative research.

24 Sep 2009

Study reveals that AIR Inhaled Insulin is inferior to SC insulin

The commercial failure of Exubera- (Pfizer, New York, NY), the first inhaled insulin product to come to market, led other companies such as Eli Lilly-Alkermes to halt studies of similar drug delivery in development intended to compete for a share of the lucrative diabetes market. Does this signal defeat for efforts to deliver insulin via the lungs? The science and circumstances behind the Lilly-Alkermes decision to discontinue trials of the AIR- inhaled insulin product are explored in a special supplement to Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. (www.liebertpub.com). The supplement is available free online at www.liebertpub.com/dia

24 Sep 2009

Magnetic nanoworms and nanocrystals deliver siRNA to tumors

Small pieces of nucleic acid known as short interfering RNAs, or siRNAs, can turn off the production of specific proteins, a property that makes them one of the more promising new classes of anticancer drugs in development. Indeed, at least two siRNA-based anticancer therapies, both delivered to tumors in nanoparticles, have begun human clinical trials.

23 Sep 2009

Biotime's new subsidiary to focus on clinical development and marketing therapeutic stem cell products in China

BioTime, Inc. (OTCBB:BTIM) announced today that it will organize a new subsidiary, BioTime Asia, Limited, for the purpose of clinically developing and marketing therapeutic stem cell products in the People’s Republic of China, and marketing stem cell research products in China and other countries in Asia.

23 Sep 2009