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New research shows honey fights drug-resistant germs

Herbal ingredients and natural nutrients are often capable of supporting different functions within the body, and current research is showing that a certain kind of honey may be useful in fighting drug-resistant germs.

2 May 2011

Animal studies reveal new route to treating heart disease

Scientists at Johns Hopkins have shown in laboratory experiments in mice that blocking the action of a signaling protein deep inside the heart’s muscle cells blunts the most serious ill effects of high blood pressure on the heart. These include heart muscle enlargement, scar tissue formation and loss of blood vessel growth.

2 May 2011

New method helps scientists to determine specific protein molecular structure

The structures of many protein molecules remain unsolved even after experts apply an extensive array of approaches. An international collaboration has led to a new, high-performance method that rapidly determined the structure of protein molecules in several cases where previous methods had failed.

2 May 2011

Researchers discover two mutations responsible for neurological condition

Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered two mutations responsible for a devastating neurological condition they first identified 15 years ago. The researchers say their study -- appearing in Nature Genetics -- has revealed a new neural pathway that may help understand a variety of similar conditions.

2 May 2011

UCLA study findings hold promise to cure diabetes

Simply put, people develop diabetes because they don't have enough pancreatic beta cells to produce the insulin necessary to regulate their blood sugar levels.

30 Apr 2011

Neither vitamin E nor metformin reduces liver enzymes in children with fatty liver disease: Study

The largest study of its type has found that neither vitamin E, which is an antioxidant, nor the diabetes drug metformin, successfully reduced liver enzymes in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in children or teens, according to a paper published in the April 27, 2011 issue of Journal of the American Medical Association.

30 Apr 2011

Scientists discover how immune cells recognize invading pathogens in the body

Scientists at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center have discovered how a molecular receptor on the surface of white blood cells identifies when invading fungi have established direct contact with the cell surface and pose an infectious threat.

30 Apr 2011

Researchers unravel mechanism behind sickle hemoglobin protection against malaria

The latest issue of the journal Cell carries an article that is likely to help solve one of the long-standing mysteries of biomedicine. In a study that challenges currently held views, researchers at the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ci-ncia, in Portugal, unravel the molecular mechanism whereby sickle cell hemoglobin confers a survival advantage against malaria, the disease caused by Plasmodium infection.

29 Apr 2011

Ramipril can effectively reduce risk of ESRD in obese patients

The angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor drug, ramipril, is particularly effective in lowering the risk of end-stage renal disease in obese patients, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

29 Apr 2011

UIC receives federal contract to develop antibiotics against three bacterial infections

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago's Center for Pharmaceutical Biotechnology have been awarded a federal contract for up to $13.8 million to develop antibiotics to treat anthrax, tularemia and plague.

28 Apr 2011

AquaStar granted U.S. Patent for Portable Capillary Sensor technology used in Capwave ELISA platform

AquaStar Holdings, Inc. is pleased to announce that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued patent number 7,708,944 for the Ultra-Sensitive, Portable Capillary Sensor technology utilized by the Capwave Enzyme-Linked Immuno-Sorbent Assay (ELISA) platform.

28 Apr 2011

Heart attacks in the morning are more serious

People who have a heart attack are likely to be more seriously affected if the attack happens in the morning, reveals research published ahead of print in Heart journal.

28 Apr 2011

Vitamin E effective against severe fatty liver disease in some children

A specific form of vitamin E improved the most severe form of fatty liver disease in some children, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. Results appear in the April 27 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. A previous study found vitamin E effective in some adults with the disease.

28 Apr 2011

New control point for suppressing cancer cell growth

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists have discovered new details of how cancer cells escape from tumor suppression mechanisms that normally prevent these damaged cells from multiplying. They also demonstrated a potential link between this cell proliferation control mechanism and the cognitive deficits caused by Down syndrome.

28 Apr 2011

Heart attacks more severe in the morning: Study

Heart attacks are more dangerous in the morning than at any other time of day, research has shown. The study has shown that compared with other times, patients who had an attack between 6am and noon suffered around 20% more damage to their hearts. Researchers say this pattern is thought to be linked to circadian rhythms, the 24-hour “body clock” processes that influence many biological functions including blood pressure.

28 Apr 2011

The Lancet publishes phase 3 clinical study data on VIVITROL for treatment of opioid dependence

Alkermes, Inc. today announced that results from the phase 3 clinical study of VIVITROL® (naltrexone for extended-release injectable suspension) in opioid dependence have been published by The Lancet. The six-month, phase 3 trial met its primary endpoint and showed significantly greater opioid-free weeks among patients treated with VIVITROL, compared to placebo.

28 Apr 2011

Proteostasis acquires Harvard University's two novel protein target licenses

Proteostasis Therapeutics announced today that it has acquired two exclusive licenses from Harvard University to technologies for enhancing the activity of a key cellular protein clearance mechanism, the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway.

27 Apr 2011

Children, adolescents with liver disease may not benefit from vitamin E or metformin

In contrast to previous preliminary data, use of vitamin E or the diabetes drug metformin was not superior to placebo on a measured outcome for treating nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in children and adolescents, according to a study in the April 27 issue of JAMA.

27 Apr 2011

Heparan sulfate may have a key role in tumor-spurred lymphatic vessel growth

Cancer has a mighty big bag of tricks that it uses to evade the body's natural defense mechanisms and proliferate. Among those tricks is one that allows tumor cells to turn the intricate and extensive system of lymphatic vessels into something of a highway to metastasis. Yet research unveiled this week may aid in the development of therapeutics that will put the brakes on such cancer spread, and the researchers who completed the study say the findings may extend to other lymphatic disorders.

27 Apr 2011

FDA supports new Hepatitis C drug from Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex pharmaceuticals jumped 10 percent in value on the Nasdaq after U.S. regulators FDA said the company’s experimental hepatitis C drug cures more patients than current therapies.

26 Apr 2011