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Bacteria adopt defence strategy to promote antibiotic resistance

Genetic resistance to antibiotics is not the only trick bacteria use to resist eradication- they also have a second defence strategy known as persistence that can kick in.

6 Jan 2011

Scientists discover that skin cancer can spread to lungs through cell blocking activity

CANCER RESEARCH UK-funded scientists have discovered that skin cancer can spread to the lungs when a gene in an important cell communication pathway is blocked. The research is published in Cancer Cell.

6 Jan 2011

Odyssey Thera granted U.S. Patent for high-throughput screening of proteins

Odyssey Thera, Inc. announced today that the United States Patent and Trademark Office granted U.S. Patent No. 7,855,167. The invention describes technologies and high-throughput methods for identifying bimolecular interactions in vivo based on protein-fragment complementation assays.

6 Jan 2011

FDA grants marketing clearance to Crospon's EndoFLIP product

Crospon, an Irish medical device developer based in Galway, has announced that the Company has received clearance from the US Food and Drugs Administration to market a new imaging catheter for the measurement of sleeves created during bariatric surgery.

6 Jan 2011

University of Michigan lab takes top honours in worldwide protein prediction competition

The University of Michigan Health System took top honors in the Critical Assessment of Techniques for Protein Structure Prediction, a biennial scientific competition to test protein structure and function prediction methods developed by laboratories all over the world.

5 Jan 2011

Bright light therapy for the aged depressed: Study

A new study shows that exposure to bright light may ease symptoms of depression in elderly people. The researchers tried three weeks of bright light therapy using specially designed light boxes and saw that it improved symptoms of depression by as much as 54% in older adults with depression. The light therapy also improved sleep and optimized levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin. Low levels of serotonin are associated with depression and often targeted by antidepressant drugs. This is the first study of its kind to show a beneficial effect of bright light therapy on treating depression in the elderly with non-seasonal major depressive disorder.

5 Jan 2011

Tablet splitting leads to inaccurate dosages

Medical experts have issued a warning about the common practice of tablet splitting, after a study found that nearly a third of the split fragments deviated from recommended dosages by 15 per cent or more.

5 Jan 2011

Unique vaccine produces long-lasting anti-cocaine immunity in mice

Researchers from The Scripps Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medical College, and Cornell University have produced a long-lasting anti-cocaine immunity in mice by giving them a unique vaccine that combines bits of the common cold virus with a particle that mimics cocaine.

5 Jan 2011

Betulin in birch bark appears to provide metabolic benefits

An ingredient found in abundance in birch bark appears to have an array of metabolic benefits, according to new studies in animals that are reported in the January issue of Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication.

5 Jan 2011

Safe vaccine protects mice against effects of cocaine

Researchers have produced a lasting anti-cocaine immunity in mice by giving them a safe vaccine that combines bits of the common cold virus with a particle that mimics cocaine.

5 Jan 2011

Indian government rejects Abbott's patent application for second-line ARV

India's patent office "has rejected American drug maker Abbott Laboratories' patent application for an HIV combination drug, allowing low-cost local drug makers to make and sell their generic versions in India and other countries where the medicine is not patented," Economic Times reports (1/4).

5 Jan 2011

Researchers create model that predicts drug effects on fetal development

When pregnant women need medications, there is often concern about possible effects on the fetus. Although some drugs are clearly recognized to cause birth defects, and others are generally recognized as safe, surprisingly little is known about most drugs' level of risk. Researchers in the Children's Hospital Boston Informatics Program have created a preclinical model for predicting a drug's teratogenicity based on characterizing the genes that it targets.

5 Jan 2011

Removal of ZIP proteins from hippocampus cell protects them from injury

Researchers in the Blue Bird Circle Developmental Neurogenetics Laboratory in the department of neurology at Baylor College of Medicine have discovered that zinc enters cells through specialized protein gates known as ZIP transporters, and removing these ZIP proteins from cells in the hippocampus significantly protects them from injury.

5 Jan 2011

Researchers develop unique vaccine that produces long-lasting anti-cocaine immunity in mice

5 Jan 2011

Study suggests new experimental drug is better than standard morphine

A little-known morphinelike drug is potentially more potent, longer lasting and less likely to cause constipation than standard morphine, a study led by a Loyola University Health System anesthesiologist has found.

5 Jan 2011

Santaris Pharma, Pfizer expand RNA-targeted medicine collaboration

Santaris Pharma A/S, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the research and development of mRNA and microRNA targeted therapies, and Pfizer Inc., today announced that the companies have expanded their collaboration directed to the development and commercialization of RNA-targeted medicines using Santaris Pharma A/S Locked Nucleic Acid (LNA) Drug Platform.

5 Jan 2011

AMRI, Genentech enter research and licensing collaboration

AMRI announced today a research and licensing agreement with Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, for a family of antibacterial compounds discovered from AMRI's proprietary research of its natural products sample collection.

5 Jan 2011

Senate Dems line up against the effort to undo the health overhaul

In the Senate, Democratic leaders pledge to block any House attempt at repeal and cite the health measure's benefits for seniors as key reason.

5 Jan 2011

Opinions: U.S. International Affairs Budget; Health impacts of climate change; Role of U.N.; Drug development, free trade

Despite challenging economic times, "[t]wo areas we cannot afford to shortchange right now ... are our national security and our economic prosperity, which is why we must continue to have a strong and effective International Affairs Budget," U.S. Global Leadership Coalition Communications Director Richard Parker writes in a FoxNews.com opinion piece.

5 Jan 2011

Vaccine blocks cocaine high in mice - human trials likely

Researchers have produced a lasting anti-cocaine immunity in mice by giving them a safe vaccine that combines bits of the common cold virus with a particle that mimics cocaine.

4 Jan 2011