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Scientists solve mystery about critical mechanism of gene expression

Although letters representing the three billion pairs of molecules that form the "rungs" of the helical DNA "ladder" are routinely called the human "genetic code," the DNA they comprise transmits traits across generations in a variety of ways, not all of which depend on the sequence of letters in the code.

22 Apr 2008

Mechanism discovered that can send cells on the road to cancer

Using a common virus as a tool for investigating abnormal cell proliferation, a team led by scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) has succeeded in clarifying an intricate series of biochemical steps that shed light on a way that cancer can begin.

22 Apr 2008

Number of HIV-positive state and federal inmates drops

Between 2005 and 2006 the number of state and federal prisoners who were HIV-positive decreased 3.1 percent -- from 22,676 to 21,980 inmates, according to a report by the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). Another BJS report estimated that 44 percent of state inmates and 39 percent of federal inmates reported a current medical problem other than a cold or a virus.

22 Apr 2008

Sperm "on the rocks" - Using semen cryopreservation to protect amphibian species

A current research project funded by the Austrian Science Fund FWF is working to optimise the cryopreservation of amphibian sperm.

21 Apr 2008

Antibiotics for acute maxillary sinusitis

A Cochrane Systematic Review of medical research found that four out of five patients who are seen in primary care with simple sinusitis improved within two weeks even if they had not been given antibiotics.

17 Apr 2008

Purdue's new vaccine under development may provide protection against highly pathogenic bird flu

A new vaccine under development may provide protection against highly pathogenic bird flu and its evolving forms, according to researchers at Purdue University and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who discovered the new preventative drug and have tested it in mice.

17 Apr 2008

Southeast Asia the culprit in flu epidemics

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) each year influenza epidemics are thought to infect between 5 and 15 per cent of the world's population.

17 Apr 2008

Over-the-counter sale of child cough medicine for young children to be banned

As from September this year the over-the-counter sale of cough medicines for children under the age of two years old will be banned in Australia.

9 Apr 2008

New potential approach to treat spinal muscular atrophy

In the neuromuscular disease called spinal muscular atrophy, or SMA, a protein deficiency caused by a single gene mutation leads to serious damage in growing nerve cells and the muscles they control.

7 Apr 2008

Clinical trial to test a novel HIV/AIDS vaccine

This new vaccine aims to overcome the problem of preexisting immunity to common vaccine vectors, which is thought to be a major problem in the developing world.

4 Apr 2008

Dallas area cornea shortages could benefit from national study

Surgeons and patients from UT Southwestern Medical Center and UT Southwestern Transplant Services Center joined in a landmark study showing that corneas from older donors are as successful for transplants after five years as is tissue from younger donors, allowing possible expansion of the donor pool.

2 Apr 2008

Researchers discover how HIV can hide in cells

Researchers have discovered how Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), which causes AIDS, can hide itself in our cells and dodge the attention of our normal defences, scientists heard at the Society for General Microbiology's 162nd meeting being held this week at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre.

1 Apr 2008

Discovery of role of rare gene mutations in schizophrenia

Using an important new method that can be applied in the study of other psychiatric illnesses, scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Washington (UW) and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), have identified multiple, individually rare gene mutations in people with schizophrenia that may help explain how that devastating illness is caused.

31 Mar 2008

The focus on HIV/AIDS has helped forget the threat of tuberculosis

A leading Australian expert has warned that the international attention devoted to HIV/AIDS has dwarfed the threat of tuberculosis (TB).

25 Mar 2008

PharmAthene signs agreement to acquire biodefense vaccines business from Avecia

PharmAthene, Inc., a biodefense company specializing in the development and commercialization of medical countermeasures against biological and chemical threats, and Avecia Biologics Limited, a contract manufacturer of biopharmaceuticals, has announced that the companies have entered into a definitive sale and purchase agreement under which PharmAthene will acquire all of the assets and intellectual property related to Avecia's biodefense vaccines business.

24 Mar 2008

New understanding of Norwalk virus

Using the Canadian Light Source synchrotron, an international team led by University of Calgary researcher Ken Ng has determined the detailed structure of the enzyme the Norwalk virus uses to make copies of its genetic code in order to replicate itself.

20 Mar 2008