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NIH awards $14.6M for Eukaryotic Pathogen Genome Database Resource expansion

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Georgia have been awarded a five-year, $14.6 million contract from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the US National Institutes of Health, to expand and extend work on the Eukaryotic Pathogen Genome Database Resource, http://EuPathDB.org.

11 Dec 2009

Tips for storing and cleaning medication storage areas

As Americans look forward to the coming year and begin considering their New Year's resolutions, the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) is encouraging the public to resolve to clean out their medicine cabinets -- a task that pharmacists recommend be conducted at least once a year.

11 Dec 2009

Stroke drug kills cancer cells and leaves normal cells intact, report researchers

A never-approved drug developed to prevent the death of nerve cells after a stroke can efficiently kill cancer cells while keeping normal cells healthy and intact, an international team led by a Tel Aviv University researcher is reporting in the journal Breast Cancer Research.

11 Dec 2009

Nobel Prize discovery opens new perspectives for detection and prevention of age-related diseases

This year's Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to three American scientists Elizabeth Blackburn, Carol Greider and Jack Szostak for the discovery of "how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase”. The research contributed to the understanding of how telomeres protect chromosomes from degradation and identified telomerase, the enzyme that preserves telomere length and integrity.

11 Dec 2009

Humidifiers may help in reducing flu virus

A newly-released scientific white paper suggests humidifiers may play an important role in reducing the survival of the flu virus on both surfaces and in the air.

11 Dec 2009

CIGNA unveils new program to predict short-term disability

The average disability absence costs $35,000 in lost productivity per employee, according to the Integrated Benefits Institute. CIGNA today unveils a glimpse into the future– a new program that uses data analysis to predict the likelihood of a short-term disability.

11 Dec 2009

Winners of the 2010 ASBMB-Merck Award

James A. Wells, professor and chairman of the department pharmaceutical chemistry at the University of California, San Francisco, and director of UCSF's small molecule discovery center, has been named the winner of the 2010 American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology-Merck Award for his pioneering studies in the field of protein engineering.

11 Dec 2009

Researchers find weakness in H1N1's method for evading detection by immune system

Researchers at Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) have found what they believe is a weakness in H1N1's method for evading detection by the immune system.

11 Dec 2009

Combination of MRI and mammography screenings detects early-stage breast cancer

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) coupled with mammography detects almost all cancers at an early stage, thereby reducing the incidence of advanced stage breast cancer in high-risk women.

11 Dec 2009

Positive results from Genomic Health's Oncotype DX study in breast cancer patients with node-positive disease

Genomic Health, Inc. today announced that The Lancet Oncology published positive results from a study of Oncotype DX(®) in postmenopausal women with node-positive, estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer conducted by the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG), a National Cancer Institute-supported clinical trials cooperative group.

11 Dec 2009

Asymmetrical arm swings while walking can be an early sign of Parkinson's disease

Irregular arm swings while walking could be an early sign of Parkinson's disease, according to neurologists who believe early detection may help physicians apply treatments to slow further brain cell damage until strategies to slow disease progression are available.

11 Dec 2009

Scientists develop new model of skin cancer based on Src kinases

Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have developed a new model of skin cancer based on the knowledge that a common cancer-related molecule called Src kinase is activated in human skin-cancer samples.

11 Dec 2009

Ethics guidelines for hand surgeons

The American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH) Corporate Advisory Council recently gathered in Chicago to create the first ever, ethics guidelines, to be followed by hand surgeons.

11 Dec 2009

BioWorld highlights the development of 97 drugs and vaccines to treat HIV/AIDS

BioWorld Today recently highlighted a new report published by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) that identifies 97 new drugs and vaccines in development to treat or prevent HIV/AIDS and related conditions.

11 Dec 2009

Soyfood consumption linked to decreased risk of breast cancer, finds study

A major new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) finds that women with breast cancer would be well-served by including soyfoods in their daily diet. Soyfood consumption was significantly linked to a decreased risk of death and cancer recurrence among the breast cancer patients in this study.

11 Dec 2009

Cequent Pharmaceuticals' IND application for CEQ508 approved for clinical trial

Cequent Pharmaceuticals, a pioneer in the development of novel products to deliver RNAi-based treatments to prevent and treat human disease, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) approved Cequent's first IND (investigational new drug) application yesterday.

10 Dec 2009

Flu vaccine shortages in developing countries could destabilize global security, says former WHO deputy head

"Flu vaccine shortages in developing nations may destabilize global security should the H1N1 [swine flu] virus become more deadly … David Heymann, a former deputy head of the World Health Organization" said Monday, Bloomberg reports.

10 Dec 2009

Moderate consumption of alcoholic beverages increases the risk of breast cancer recurrence

Moderate consumption of alcoholic beverages (at least three to four drinks per week, no matter the type of alcohol) is associated with a 30 percent increased risk of breast cancer recurrence, according to a new Kaiser Permanente study. Post-menopausal or overweight women may be most susceptible to the effects of alcohol on recurrence, according to the researchers.

10 Dec 2009

Michigan goes smoke-free

The Michigan Legislature today delivered a historic victory for health and the public's right to breathe clean air by passing legislation to make almost all workplaces, including all restaurants and bars, smoke-free. Gov. Jennifer Granholm has said she will sign the bill, which will make Michigan the 27th state to pass a strong smoke-free law that includes all restaurants and bars.

10 Dec 2009

Abbott submits SIMCOR sNDA for two new dosage strengths

Abbott has submitted a supplemental new drug application (sNDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for two new dosage strengths of SIMCOR®, a cholesterol medication. SIMCOR is a fixed-dose combination of niacin extended-release and simvastatin.

10 Dec 2009