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Cancer drug may help combat flu

Ever get a flu shot and still get the flu? If so, there's new hope for flu-free winters in the years to come thanks to a new discovery by researchers who found that a drug called DMXAA, originally developed as anti-tumor agent, enhances the ability of flu vaccines to ward off this deadly virus.

1 Mar 2011

Social networking websites can increase risky sexual behaviors in homeless youth: New study

A new UCLA AIDS Institute study suggests that the use of social networking websites by homeless youth can lead to an increase in risky sexual behaviors. But interestingly, homeless kids who used these sites were also more likely to have been tested for sexually transmitted infections and to be better informed about preventing such infections and HIV.

1 Mar 2011

Nile plans to develop novel therapeutics for ADHF

Nile Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapeutics for cardiovascular disease, announced plans to pursue a new indication in the field of heart failure.

1 Mar 2011

Two genes linked to binge drinking

University of Maryland School of Medicine researchers have identified two genes associated with binge drinking that may open doors to new, more effective treatments for excessive alcohol drinking. The scientists found that manipulating two receptors in the brain, GABA receptors and toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), "caused profound reduction" of binge drinking for two weeks in rodents that had been bred and trained to drink excessively. The study was published online the week of Feb. 28 in the journal the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

1 Mar 2011

Acupressure improves cognitive function in patients with mild traumatic brain injury

A new University of Colorado Boulder study indicates an ancient form of complementary medicine may be effective in helping to treat people with mild traumatic brain injury, a finding that may have implications for some U.S. war veterans returning home.

1 Mar 2011

Aetna grants $1 million funding for five obesity research studies

The Aetna Foundation today announced significant funding in support of five research studies designed to deepen understanding of the root causes of the nation's well-documented obesity epidemic and drive viable solutions to the core problems.

28 Feb 2011

CellSeed, LA BioMed enter two-year research agreement to study core technology in regenerative medicine

Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and CellSeed Inc., a Japanese biotechnology firm, have entered into a two-year research agreement to study CellSeed's proprietary core technology in regenerative medicine, "Cell Sheet Engineering," LA BioMed President and CEO David I. Meyer, PhD, announced today.

28 Feb 2011

Daytime sleep can have cardiovascular benefits: New research

A daytime sleep could have cardiovascular benefits according to new research by Ryan Brindle and Sarah Conklin, PhD, from Allegheny College in Pennsylvania in the US.

28 Feb 2011

Omni Bio to expand Type 1 diabetes Phase I/II trial from 15 to 50 patients

Omni Bio Pharmaceutical, Inc., an emerging biopharmaceutical company formed to acquire, license, and develop existing therapies for indications with substantial commercialization potential, has committed to expand its Phase I/II human clinical trial in recently diagnosed Type 1 diabetes patients from 15 patients to 50.

28 Feb 2011

Daiichi Sankyo enters merger agreement to acquire Plexxikon

Plexxikon Inc. today announced it has entered into a merger agreement with Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited, a Japan-based global pharmaceutical company.

28 Feb 2011

Treat discomfort not fever say the new pediatric guidelines

According to a new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), fevers alone are not a cause for intervention in children. Dr. Janice Sullivan, the lead author of the report says, “The focus should be on comfort and not on absolute temperature.” That’s because fever can be help fight illness, by slowing down the reproduction of bacteria and viruses or stimulating the body’s immune response she explains. “That’s a benefit of fever…and may shorten the time that your child remains ill,” she adds.

28 Feb 2011

BUSM Professor receives funding for research on obesity in African-American women

Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) is one of five institutions receiving funding from the Aetna Foundation to support research designed to deepen understanding of the root causes of the nation’s well-documented obesity epidemic and drive viable solutions to the core problems. More than $1 million in funding will be granted in support of separate studies at BUSM, New York University School of Medicine, the University of Michigan, the University of Pennsylvania and Yale University’s CARE program.

28 Feb 2011

UCSF collaborates with Zcube to develop new ways to deliver drugs

A pill filled with microscopic, drug-laden adhesive squares is at the center of an agreement between UCSF and Zcube srl, the research corporate venture arm of Italian pharmaceutical leader Zambon Co., SpA, to license UCSF-developed microtechnology and support early research into new ways to deliver oral medications directly to a targeted site in the body.

28 Feb 2011

UM CAS awarded Howard Hughes Medical Institute grant

The University of Miami's College of Arts and Sciences and Miller School of Medicine were recently awarded a Howard Hughes Medical Institute grant to design and assess an innovative competency-based premedical curriculum in response to the 2009 American Association of Medical Colleges-Howard Hughes Medical Institute "Scientific Foundations for Future Physicians (SFFP)" report. The grant will be in collaboration with Purdue University, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and University of Maryland at College Park.

28 Feb 2011

Cryo-Cell fiscal 2010 net income increases to $3.4 million

Cryo-Cell International, Inc., one of the world's largest and most established family cord blood banks and an industry leader of innovative stem cell solutions, today announced results for its fiscal year 2010.

28 Feb 2011

Viewpoints: Judge Kessler's decision; Utah is role model; Malpractice system flaws

The Republican strategy is to split the vast middle and working classes -- pitting unionized workers against nonunionized, public-sector workers against nonpublic, older workers within sight of Medicare and Social Security against younger workers who don't believe these programs will be there for them and the poor against the working middle class.

28 Feb 2011

Tenofovir gel may help reduce risk of HIV from anal sex

A gel developed to protect against HIV during vaginal sex produced a strong antiviral effect when used in the rectum, according to an early-phase study presented today at the 18th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI). The results, based on rectal tissue biopsies sampled from HIV-negative men and women who used the product daily for one week, provide the first-ever evidence that tenofovir gel could help reduce the risk of HIV from anal sex, even though the vaginal gel formulation may not be optimal for rectal use.

28 Feb 2011

EPA approves BioNeutral's Ygiene 206 antimicrobial disinfectant

BioNeutral Group, Inc., a specialty life science technology-based company, today announced that it has received approval and registration from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in response to the Company's regulatory application for its Ygiene™ 206.

28 Feb 2011

Alexion joins EURORDIS, NORD and medical communities to observe Rare Disease Day 2011

Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. joins the European Organization for Rare Diseases, the National Organization for Rare Disorders and families, governments, companies and medical communities around the world in observing the fourth annual Rare Disease Day today.

28 Feb 2011

Arsanis closes Series A financing for $10 million

Arsanis, Inc, a recently founded biotechnology company dedicated to the development of anti-infective monoclonal antibody therapeutics, today announced the closing of a Series A financing with a total funding amount of $10 million. Proceeds from the initial financing will be used to advance several programs in the anti-microbial infectious disease area.

28 Feb 2011