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Democratic Vice Presidential Nominee Biden discusses health care proposal of GOP Presidential Nominee McCain

Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Joseph Biden (Del.) on Tuesday during a campaign event in Mehlville, Mo., said that Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) as president would place employer-sponsored health insurance at risk, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

11 Sep 2008

Protein opens hope of treatment for cystic fibrosis patients

Scientists have finally identified a direct role for the missing protein that leaves cystic fibrosis patients open to attack from lung-damaging bacteria, the main reason most of them die before their 35th birthday, scientists heard today (Thursday 11 September 2008) at the Society for General Microbiology's Autumn meeting being held this week at Trinity College, Dublin.

10 Sep 2008

Herpes virus changes anti-herpes drug acyclovir to form that hinders AIDS virus

The drug acyclovir has long been used to suppress outbreaks of oral and genital herpes. Herpes viruses change acyclovir to a form that prevents them from reproducing.

10 Sep 2008

Personal DNA scanning service 23andMe drops price to $399

Personal DNA scanning service 23andMe on Tuesday is scheduled to announce that it is lowering the price of its gene-mapping service from $999 to $399 in order to attract more customers and expand its database of individual genetic profiles to bolster medical research, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

10 Sep 2008

New drug hope for cystic fibrosis patients

A science conference in the UK has heard some good news which offers hope to cystic fibrosis (CF) patients worldwide.

10 Sep 2008

New drug hope for cystic fibrosis patients

A new drug therapy may represent a tremendous step forward in the treatment of some 70,000 cystic fibrosis (CF) patients worldwide, Dr David Sheppard from the University of Bristol told an audience at the BA Festival of Science in Liverpool today [9 September].

9 Sep 2008

Study identifies proteins that help provide immunity against HIV among commercial sex workers in Kenya

In a study published Wednesday in the Journal of Proteome Research, researchers from the University of Manitoba, along with participants from Canada's National Microbiology Laboratory and the University of Nairobi, indentified more than 15 proteins in a group of Kenyan commercial sex workers thought to have a natural immunity to HIV, the Winnipeg Free Press reports (Tremain, Winnipeg Free Press, 9/4).

9 Sep 2008

Physical activity can blunt the effect of obesity genes

People who are concerned that they may have a genetic susceptibility for obesity will find some relief from new research conducted in the U.S.

9 Sep 2008

New hope for Burkitt's lymphoma

Scientists have discovered a better way to identify and treat a commonly misdiagnosed cancer affecting young adults and teenagers, a study published in Blood reveals.

9 Sep 2008

Egg secretions from a worm may be useful in gene therapy

Egg secretions from a worm that causes a deadly human disease may prove useful in gene therapy, according to research presented at the British Pharmaceutical Conference (BPC) in Manchester.

8 Sep 2008

Seattle department finds OraSure HIV test to be less accurate than label claims

A report by Public Health -- Seattle and King County in Washington state has found that testing with OraSure Technologies' OraQuick test provides less accurate results than the label claims, Bloomberg reports.

7 Sep 2008

Link found between Apobec3 gene and neutralizing antibody response to retrovirus

Scientists have uncovered new evidence that strengthens the link between a host-cell gene called Apobec3 and the production of neutralizing antibodies to retroviruses. Published in the Sept. 5 issue of Science, the finding adds a new dimension to the set of possible explanations for why most people who are infected with HIV do not make neutralizing antibodies that effectively fight the virus.

4 Sep 2008

New research settles measles vaccine/autism controversy

New research from the United States will hopefully settle once and for all the controversial debate about a link between the measles vaccine and autism.

4 Sep 2008

Invitrogen launches patent licensing program for random prime amplification of nucleic acids

Invitrogen Corporation today announced that it has signed non-exclusive agreements with New England Biolabs, Inc., QIAGEN GmbH, and Kirkegaard & Perry Laboratories, Inc. (KPL), whereby the companies have licensed Invitrogen's patented technology covering the random prime amplification of nucleic acids. Financial terms of the agreements were not disclosed.

4 Sep 2008

Oxidative stress: mechanism of cell death clarified

Dr. Marcus Conrad of the Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology and Tumor Genetics at the Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen has decrypted the molecular mechanism through which the death of cells is caused by oxidative stress.

3 Sep 2008

New hope for treating common form of inherited neuromuscular disease

Treatments that ramp up production of the tiny "motors" that power cells may have promise for treating one of the most common forms of inherited neuromuscular disease, according to a report in the September Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication. Neuromuscular disorders caused by defects in those mitochondrial motors affect a large number of children and adults worldwide, but today remain without treatment, the researchers said.

3 Sep 2008

Researchers find genetic proof on how osteoarthritis destroys cartilage

A team of orthopaedic researchers has found definitive, genetic proof of how the most common form of arthritis destroys joint cartilage in nearly 21 million aging Americans, according to a study published online Sept. 2 in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research. The findings serve as an important foundation for the design of new treatments for osteoarthritis (OA), researchers said.

2 Sep 2008

Discovery of novel candidate gene for inflammatory bowel diseases

A study of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis in children has identified a gene that influences whether children get these diseases early in life, and points to a potential new target for treatment.

2 Sep 2008

Nature inspires new highly specific drugs and organic products

The best place to seek novel compounds for pharmaceutical drugs, alternative energy sources, and a host of industrial applications, is within natural systems that have evolved over millions of years.

2 Sep 2008

Hopkins researchers piece together gene "network" linked to schizophrenia

Reporting this week in the Archives of General Psychiatry, researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have uncovered for the first time molecular circuitry associated with schizophrenia that links three previously known, yet unrelated proteins.

2 Sep 2008