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Researchers report injectable gel can help treat arthritis

Some 25 million people in the United States alone suffer from rheumatoid arthritis or its cousin osteoarthritis, diseases characterized by often debilitating pain in the joints. Now researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital report an injectable gel that could spell the future for treating these diseases and others.

15 Apr 2011

Researchers temporarily turn off essential gene using RNAi technology

One way of discovering a gene's function is to switch it off and observe how the loss of its activity affects an organism. If a gene is essential for survival, however, then switching it off permanently will kill the organism before the gene's function can be determined. Researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) have overcome this problem by using RNA interference (RNAi) technology to temporarily turn off any essential gene in adult mice and then turn it back on before the change kills the animals.

15 Apr 2011

NIST's new reference can aid in Huntington's disease diagnosis

A new Standard Reference Material from the National Institute of Standards and Technology will help clinical genetics labs accurately diagnose Huntington's disease, an inherited degenerative brain disorder that usually begins between ages 35 and 50 and progressively leads to physical impairment, dementia and death.

15 Apr 2011

Quest PharmaTech, Hemispherx Biopharma enter clinical development arrangement

Quest PharmaTech Inc., a pharmaceutical company developing and commercializing products for the treatment of cancer, today announced a clinical development arrangement with U.S. based Hemispherx Biopharma Inc. to evaluate the clinical utility of combining Quest's antibody immunotherapy technology with Hemispherx's immune activator in a thirty patient clinical trial.

15 Apr 2011

Scientists link increase of calcium influx in brain neurons to long-term memory

Using advanced imaging technology, scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have identified a change in chemical influx into a specific set of neurons in the common fruit fly that is fundamental to long-term memory.

15 Apr 2011

SQI enters clinical validation agreement with University North Carolina Kidney Center for Vasculitis Assay

SQI Diagnostics Inc., a medical systems automation company focused on evolving laboratory-based autoimmune biomarker testing, today announced it entered into a clinical validation agreement with University North Carolina Kidney Center, Chapel Hill, to evaluate SQI's new multiplexed, automated approach for biomarker detection in vasculitis.

15 Apr 2011

Study: Simple illusion can reduce arthritic pain

A serendipitous discovery by academics at The University of Nottingham has shown that a simple illusion can significantly reduce — and in some cases even temporarily eradicate — arthritic pain in the hand.

15 Apr 2011

Elsevier introduces new online research tool

Elsevier, the leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, today announced the launch of Methods Navigator. This online research tool enables life scientists to search, access and apply the right method for their research, saving time and producing high-quality results.

15 Apr 2011

Major pharmaceutical company, Access sign deal for RNAi therapeutics

ACCESS PHARMACEUTICALS, INC., a biopharmaceutical company leveraging its proprietary drug-delivery platforms to develop treatments in areas of oncology, cancer supportive care and diabetes, announced it has entered into an agreement with a major pharmaceutical company to exploit its CobaCyte and CobOral technology for the targeted delivery of RNAi therapeutics.

15 Apr 2011

The Wistar Institute, Advaxis enter research collaboration

Advaxis, Inc., the live, attenuated Listeria monocytogenes vaccine company, has entered into a research collaboration with the laboratory of Ellen Puré, Ph.D., professor/associate vice president for Academic Affairs at The Wistar Institute.

15 Apr 2011

Medicinal applications of fullerenes, filled with radioactive material

Fullerenes have attracted considerable attention in different fields of science since their discovery in 1985. Investigations of physical, chemical and biological properties of fullerenes have yielded promising information. It is inferred that size, hydrophobicity, three-dimensionality and electronic configurations make them an appealing subject in medicinal chemistry. Their unique carbon cage structure coupled with immense scope for derivatization make them a potential therapeutic agent.

13 Apr 2011

Robotic prostatectomy speeds recovery

Robotic cancer surgery is being introduced into the public hospital system for the first time in Victoria. The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne has been trialing the robotic key-hole surgery technology for the past six months.

12 Apr 2011

Simulations Plus announces release of MedChem Studio 2.0

Simulations Plus, Inc., a leading provider of simulation and modeling software for pharmaceutical discovery and development, announced today the release of MedChem Studio™ version 2.0 with an impressive set of expanded and powerful capabilities for data mining and de novo molecule design.

12 Apr 2011

SXC enters definitive agreement to acquire MedMetrics

SXC Health Solutions Corp., announced today it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire substantially all of the assets of MedMetrics Health Partners, Inc., the full-service PBM subsidiary of Public Sector Partners, Inc. which is affiliated with a major medical school.

12 Apr 2011

Yissum announces successful Docetaxel pre-clinical data in cancer

Yissum Research Development Company Ltd., the technology transfer company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, announced today successful pre-clinical data of oral delivery of Docetaxel, an anti-cancer drug, utilizing a novel nanotechnology platform.

12 Apr 2011

USPTO issues new patent to Onset Medical's SoloPath Catheter Sheath

Onset Medical Corporation announced today that the United States Patent Office has notified the Company a new patent has issued entitled "Expandable Transluminal Sheath." This new patent provides 24 claims surrounding Onset's fundamental Controlled Deployment Technology platform.

12 Apr 2011

Cerapedics announces i-FACTOR biologic bone graft study results in PLIF spine surgery

Cerapedics, Inc., a medical device company focused on developing and commercializing novel osteobiologic products, announced the results of a prospective, randomized, controlled trial of its i-FACTOR biologic bone graft for patients undergoing posterior lumbar interbody fusion spine procedures.

12 Apr 2011

Eagle and Cognizant partner with Pistoia Alliance for sequence services

Cognizant, a leading provider of consulting, technology, and business process outsourcing services, and Eagle Genomics Ltd., a bioinformatics software company specializing in genomic data management and integration, today announced they are working with the Pistoia Alliance, Inc., a nonprofit, precompetitive alliance of life science companies and vendors, as one of the groups engaged to develop a conceptual cloud-based platform to facilitate access to public and proprietary sources of gene sequence data.

12 Apr 2011

KCDC, KT, Gyeonggi Province and Qualcomm sign MOU for Self Quality Care project

Qualcomm Incorporated, as part of its Wireless Reach initiative, Gyeonggi Province, Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Korea Telecom today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding for a project that will benefit patients suffering from chronic disease.

12 Apr 2011

IncP-1 plasmids can transport antibiotic resistance genes between bacterial species

The part of bacterial DNA that often carries antibiotic resistance is a master at moving between different types of bacteria and adapting to widely differing bacterial species, shows a study made by a research team at the University of Gothenburg in cooperation with Chalmers University of Technology. The results are published in an article in the scientific journal Nature Communications.

12 Apr 2011