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Death stench is a warning sign to prevent diseases

The smell of recent death or injury that repels living relatives of insects has been identified as a truly ancient signal that functions to avoid disease or predators, biologists have discovered.

14 Sep 2009

New study reveals that actual sex ratios can sway from the ideal

In a perfect world, for every boy there would of course be a girl, but a new study shows that actual sex ratios can sometimes sway very far from that ideal. In fact, the male-to-female ratio of one tropical butterfly has shifted rapidly over time and space, driven by a parasite that specifically kills males of the species, reveals a report published online on September 10th in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication.

11 Sep 2009

Scientist awarded grant to study the role of VENs in quick decision making

A scientist at Barrow Neurological Institute at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center has been awarded a $400,000 grant from the James S. McDonnell Foundation to help study a rare cell type that is believed to play a role in quick decision making and intuition. Abnormalities in this cell type have been seen in people suffering from autism and dementia.

10 Sep 2009

Lack of awareness in aged men reagarding prostate cancer treatment options

Prostate cancer remains one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in the United States. In fact, one in six men will develop prostate cancer. It is also the second-leading cause of cancer death in the United States. But a recent survey suggests that many men at risk for the cancer still aren't aware of all available treatment options.

10 Sep 2009

Research reveals genetic conversation between X and Y chromosomes

In the week that the University of Leicester celebrates the 25th anniversary of the discovery of DNA fingerprinting (Thursday September 10) new findings from the world-renowned University of Leicester Department of Genetics reveal for the first time that the male and female do truly communicate -at least at the fundamental genetic level.

10 Sep 2009

Miracles of the immune system discussed at the 2nd European Congress of Immunology

"I think it will not surprise you if I say that the immune system is one of our most important organ systems. Its relevance is obvious if only for the fact that it has been reinvented several times throughout the evolution of life," says Professor Andreas Radbruch, President of the German Society of Immunology and Director of the Deutsches Rheuma-Forschungszentrum, Berlin. He lectured about the miracle of our immune system at the Opening Press Conference of the 2nd European Congress of Immunology.

10 Sep 2009

University of California receives $3.5 million grant from NIDA for AIDS vaccine research

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has awarded a $3.5 million grant for AIDS vaccine research to Phillip Berman, professor and chair of biomolecular engineering at the Jack Baskin School of Engineering at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

9 Sep 2009

Tel Aviv University biologist discusses about human fertility

About 10% of all couples hoping for a baby have fertility problems. Environmentalists say pollution is to blame and psychiatrists point to our stressful lifestyles, but evolutionary biologist Dr. Oren Hasson of Tel Aviv University's Department of Zoology offers a different take. The reproductive organs of men and women are currently involved in an evolutionary arms race, he reports in a new study. And the fight isn't over yet.

8 Sep 2009

BioTrove partners with FDA to investigate the utility of SNAP system

BioTrove announced a collaboration with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research to investigate the utility of the company’s Standardized NanoArray PCR (SNAP) gene expression profiling system for the rapid and specific detection of pathogens in the nation’s blood supply.

8 Sep 2009

Elsevier to launch new Health Sciences eBooks

Elsevier, the world's leading publisher of scientific, technical, and medical information products and services, announced today that nearly 250 health sciences titles published and/or publishing in 2009 and 2010 will be launched in October. These new eBook collections cover clinical content in clinical medicine, veterinary medicine, and health professions, furthering Elsevier's commitment to making health sciences content available electronically through ScienceDirect, its online scientific research platform.

8 Sep 2009

Exhibition on history of immunology to be presented at 2nd European Congress of Immunology

An exhibition entitled "The Birth of Immunology" during the 2nd European Congress of Immunology from13th to 16th September 2009 at the main foyer of the ICC in Berlin will offer insights into the fast-paced history of immunology. Immunology has promoted medical progress since the end of the 19th century like almost no other discipline.

8 Sep 2009

Oxidative DNA damage: Primary cause of mutation

A study that tracked genetic mutations through the human equivalent of about 5,000 years has demonstrated for the first time that oxidative DNA damage is a primary cause of the process of mutation - the fuel for evolution but also a leading cause of aging, cancer and other diseases.

8 Sep 2009

Insects can be used to test the efficiency of new drugs

Insects, such as some moths and fruit flies, react to microbial infection in the same way as mammals and so can be used to test the efficiency of new drugs, thereby reducing the need for animal testing. Dr Kevin Kavanagh from the National University of Ireland - Maynooth, presented his research findings at the Society for General Microbiology's meeting at Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh, today (8 September).

7 Sep 2009

Harmless shard from childhood virus shell may halt biological process

A harmless shard from the shell of a common childhood virus may halt a biological process that kills a significant percentage of battlefield casualties, heart attack victims and oxygen-deprived newborns, according to research presented Sunday, September 6, 2009, at the 12th European meeting on complement in human disease in Budapest, Hungary.

7 Sep 2009

Unilife Medical Solutions of Australia to merge with Unilife USA

Unilife Medical Solutions Limited (Unilife Australia or the Company) (ASX: UNI) (PINKSHEETS: UNIFF) today announced that it entered into a Merger Implementation Agreement with Unilife Corporation (Unilife USA), a wholly owned subsidiary of Unilife Australia. The purpose of the Merger Implementation Agreement is to facilitate the proposed redomiciliation of the Unilife group to the United States of America (Proposed Transaction).

5 Sep 2009

nSR100 protein plays a key role in neuron development

Researchers at the University of Toronto have identified a protein which plays a key role in the development of neurons, which could enhance our understanding of how the brain works, and how diseases such as Alzheimer's occur.

5 Sep 2009

Communal nesting may provide evolutionary advantage for reptiles

Reptiles are not known to be the most social of creatures. But when it comes to laying eggs, female reptiles can be remarkably communal, often laying their eggs in the nests of other females. New research in the September issue of The Quarterly Review of Biology suggests that this curiously out-of-character behavior is far more common in reptiles than was previously thought.

4 Sep 2009

New study shows striking similarity in the evolution of cities and human brains

Cities are organized like brains, and the evolution of cities mirrors the evolution of human and animal brains, according to a new study by researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

3 Sep 2009

Nucletron announces financial results for the first half year of 2009

Nucletron, a global leader in radiation oncology, today announced strong financial results over the first half year of 2009. Despite challenging global economic conditions, Nucletron surpassed projections for the first half year.

3 Sep 2009

Biogen Idec's MS franchise to present at the 25th Congress of ECTRIMS

Biogen Idec today announced more than 70 platform and poster presentations from the company’s multiple sclerosis (MS) franchise being presented during the 25th Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) in Düsseldorf, Germany.

3 Sep 2009