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Vatican blames the Pill for environmental pollution

According to the Vatican's official newspaper, the contraceptive pill is a major cause of male infertility in the West and is also polluting the environment.

7 Jan 2009

New methods for studying DNA repair and protein modification

This month's issue of Cold Spring Harbor Protocols features two articles detailing experimental methods for the analysis of molecular processes involved in DNA repair and post-translational modification of proteins.

5 Jan 2009

Attitudes towards assisted reproduction and preimplantation genetic diagnosis

According to an international survey by the BBVA Foundation conducted this year, citizens in advanced societies view assisted reproduction techniques in general and in vitro fertilization in particular as firmly acceptable alternatives for people with fertility problems (over 7 points on an acceptance scale from 0 to 10 in twelve of the fifteen survey countries).

17 Dec 2008

Researchers find brain's reward and stress signaling circuits are intertwined in complex ways

Vanderbilt University Medical Center investigators have now discovered a functional link between reward and stress. They found that dopamine - the brain's chief reward signal - works through corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF) - the brain's main stress signal - to increase the activity of a brain region involved in addiction relapse.

16 Dec 2008

Voriconazole effective in combating fungal infections

The effectiveness of voriconazole in combating fungal infections has been confirmed by a new study to be featured in the International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents, published by Elsevier.

16 Dec 2008

How to build muscle mass with four and a half LIM domains 1

Mutations in FHL1 are present in several myopathies, including reducing-body myopathy (RBM), but until now, both the molecular mechanisms causing the disease, and the regular function of FHL1 in healthy tissue, remained unknown.

15 Dec 2008

Lessons from Northwick Park drug-trial disaster

Scientists investigating the 2006 Northwick Park drug-trial disaster that left six healthy volunteers hospitalised say they have developed new pre-clinical tests that could have stopped the trial from ever going ahead.

From The University of Manchester 15 Dec 2008

Tau protein expression predicts breast cancer survival in an unexpected way

Expression of the microtubule-binding protein Tau is not a reliable means of selecting breast cancer patients for adjuvant paclitaxel chemotherapy, according to research led by The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

14 Dec 2008

Good news for young male cancer patients

"Young men undergoing treatment for cancer often want to know how the disease and its treatment affect their chances of fathering healthy children. Our large-scale study shows that there is a slightly higher risk of deformities, but the actual risk of having a child with deformities is nevertheless extremely low. I think this is good news!"

14 Dec 2008

Biologist provides new theory on mechanisms that control molecular motors

Biologists have known for decades that cells use tiny molecular motors to move chromosomes, mitochondria, and many other organelles within the cell, but no one has been able to understand what "steers" these engines to their destinations.

12 Dec 2008

Researchers find tamoxifen's power comes from endoxifen

Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered that a chemical known as endoxifen appears to be the primary metabolite responsible for the effectiveness of tamoxifen in treating breast cancer, and that it works against cancer in an entirely unexpected way.

12 Dec 2008

Serious health problems related to late preterm births

More than half a million babies are born preterm in the United States each year, and preterm births are on the rise.

12 Dec 2008

AEterna Zentari completes recruitment for phase 3 trial with Cetrorelix in benign prostatic hyperplasia

AEterna Zentaris Inc. has reported it has reached its goal of recruiting 500 patients for the safety study of the Phase 3 program in benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) with its flagship product candidate, cetrorelix, a novel investigational luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) antagonist.

11 Dec 2008

Transplanted fat cells restore function after spinal cord injury

A study published in the current issue of Cell Transplantation (Vol.17, No. 8) suggests that mature adipocytes - fat cells - could become a source for cell replacement therapy to treat central nervous system disorders.

10 Dec 2008

Xencor presents data on anti-CD19 and anti-CD40 antibodies

Xencor, Inc. presented results Sunday at the 50th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology from pre-clinical studies evaluating XmAb 5574, a monoclonal antibody engineered using Xencor's XmAb Fc technologies that targets the antigen CD19.

10 Dec 2008

$EntreMed starts trial of ENMD-2076 in refractory multiple myeloma patients$