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Australia leads the way in new screening technology for babies

Australia is one of the first countries in the world to implement new screening technology across all States that will help detect an increased number of diseases in newborns.

21 Dec 2004

Eating more tomatoes and watermelons can reduce prostate cancer

A new study by researchers at Curtin University of Technology shows that eating yellow, orange and red fruits such as tomatoes, watermelon and citrus, and vegetables such as red capsicum or sweet pepper, pumpkin and spinach may reduce the risk of developing prostate cancer by up to 50 per cent.

21 Dec 2004

Confusion over Lasik eye surgery terminology

The Eye Surgery Education Council of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery Foundation today issued a clarification on the use of the terms "wavefront-guided," and "wavefront-optimized" in connection with laser-based procedures (LASIK, PRK, etc.) and implantable lenses used for vision correction purposes.

20 Dec 2004

Study on first new potential drug for tuberculosis in 40 years

454 Life Sciences, a majority-owned subsidiary of CuraGen Corporation, announced today that its proprietary whole genome sequencing technology was used by scientists at Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development L.L.C. (J&JPRD) to help understand the basis of tuberculosis drug resistance.

20 Dec 2004

Blocking gene's activity may control deadly skin cancer without harming normal cells

Researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Children's Hospital Boston have discovered that malignant melanoma, the potentially lethal skin cancer, can't grow without a steady supply of a protein that normal cells can do without.

20 Dec 2004

Health impact of resolving racial disparities

Lives saved by reducing the mortality rate of African-Americans to the rate of whites are five times those that could be saved by improvements in medical technology. So said the authors of "The Health Impact of Resolving Racial Disparities: An Analysis of US Mortality Data," published in the December edition of the American Journal of Public Health.

20 Dec 2004

European market for bone morphogenic proteins in spine fusion

High growth is forecast for novel technologies used either as adjuncts or as alternatives to current surgical procedures for the fusion of spinal vertebrae. Bone morphogenic proteins (BMP) - a new and innovative class of natural growth factors - represent amongst the most exciting of these niches.

20 Dec 2004

Stem cells use inflammatory signals to find injured tissue

A joint effort led by stem cell biologist Evan Y. Snyder, M.D., Ph.D., of The Burnham Institute, and Samia J. Khoury, M.D., of Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, report data suggesting that stem cells use inflammatory signals to “know” where they must home.

20 Dec 2004

Gene expression analysis software

Case Western Reserve University has announced that its BAMarray™ software is now available for download and licensing. The statistical software analyzes gene expression data -- one of the hottest areas of biology research.

20 Dec 2004

Ethical challenges ahead for neuroscience and society

Are we ready for a future where brain scans invade our private thoughts? Will we have to alter our brains chemically to keep competitive at our jobs? Could science determine that "souls" do not exist, and, if so, what does that mean for how we think of ourselves as human beings?

20 Dec 2004

Can the human eye detect an offside position during a football match?

The human eye is unable to detect an offside position during a football match, claims a doctor from Spain in this week's Christmas issue of the BMJ. This may explain why so many offside decisions are controversial.

20 Dec 2004

GlaxoSmithKline acquires full marketing and development rights for BEXXAR worldwide

GlaxoSmithKline announced that it has reached an agreement with Corixa Corporation to acquire worldwide rights and responsibilities related to the manufacturing, development and commercialization of the BEXXAR® therapeutic regimen.

14 Dec 2004

New cancer detection technology from Rubicon Genomics

Rubicon Genomics has invented a more effective technology for the diagnosis and prognosis of cancer compared to what hospitals and reference laboratories use today. MethylPlex™ is the most sensitive method in use to detect the patterns of abnormal DNA methylation arising in the serum and urine of patients during tumor formation and progression.

14 Dec 2004

Ads for full-body scans to detect potential diseases, called into question

A burgeoning industry that sells full-body scans to detect potential diseases - without a doctor's referral - is running advertisements that frequently include unsubstantiated claims about the benefits of getting CT and MRI scans, while rarely providing information about the technology's limitations and risks.

13 Dec 2004

Combined positron emission tomography and computerized tomography can help diagnose hidden recurrent cancer

Combined positron emission tomography and computerized tomography (PET/CT) can help diagnose occult (hidden) recurrent cancer, possibly a cancer patient's greatest post-treatment fear, report a team of Israeli physicians in the December issue of the Society of Nuclear Medicine's "Journal of Nuclear Medicine."

13 Dec 2004

Start today of human tests for a preventive vaccine against the respiratory disease SARS

Powerful research tools that speed up vaccine development have led to the start today of human tests for a preventive vaccine against the respiratory disease SARS. The disease killed hundreds of people around the world before it was brought under control in 2003 with aggressive conventional public health measures.

13 Dec 2004

Compounds in Christmas trees could help treat arthritis and pain

Researchers have identified a group of anti-inflammatory compounds in the bark of the Scotch pine - widely used for Christmas trees - that they say could be developed into food supplements or drugs for treating arthritis and pain.

13 Dec 2004

U.S. patent granted for laser pulse technology

Biolase Technology today announced that it has been granted a new U.S. patent protecting key areas related to its laser pulse technology.

13 Dec 2004

New approach to genomic testing identifies women with low risk of breast cancer recurrence

An initial validation study presented by Exagen Diagnostics at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium suggests it may soon be possible to distinguish good prognosis from poor prognosis in any newly diagnosed breast cancer patient based on DNA changes in the patient's tumor.

13 Dec 2004

Interactive talking books delivered to Afghanistan

The United States Department of Health and Human Services has announced the delivery of thousands of interactive women's health books built with the LeapPad learning system technology to Afghanistan and an additional $6 million in aid to improve the health of the Afghan people.

13 Dec 2004