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Yeast protein in vaccines for more efficient immune response

To enhance the efficiency of vaccines, researchers at the division of chemical technology, Luleå University of Technolgy (LTU) have in co-operation with Karolinska Institute and Recopharma AB developed a strategy with the aim of directing vaccine components to critical parts of the immune system so that a more efficient immune response can be generated. The researchers have used a special type of protein produced in yeast.

21 Nov 2011

Retina Implant scientific advisory board approves multi-center phase of second human clinical trial

Retina Implant AG, the leading developer of subretinal implants for retinitis pigmentosa patients, today announced that its scientific advisory board is in full support of beginning the multi-center phase of the Company's second human clinical trial. The trial, which began in Tuebingen, Germany in 2010, will be expanded across Europe in five new sites, including two additional locations in Germany, Oxford, London and Budapest.

21 Nov 2011

American high school students earn top honors for liver disease and brain injury research

The shortlist of contenders for the highest science honor awarded to American high school students narrowed tonight as the winners of the Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology Region 3 Finals were announced.

21 Nov 2011

GOP, Democrats seeking SCOTUS recusals on health law

News outlets are following up developments in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision to take on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act.

21 Nov 2011

Link between sex and happiness among older married individuals

The more often older married individuals engage in sexual activity, the more likely they are to be happy with both their lives and marriages, according to new research presented in Boston at The Gerontological Society of America's (GSA) 64th Annual Scientific Meeting.

21 Nov 2011

Super committee stuck: Dems spurn latest GOP deficit deal

News outlets covered the latest tension in super committee negotiations. The Republicans offered a much-smaller deal which they say would not cut Medicare or Medicaid.

21 Nov 2011

Study examines how mice with genetic bone defects respond to infusions of BMMSC

A new study in Nature Medicine describes how different types of immune system T-cells alternately discourage and encourage stem cells to regrow bone and tissue, bringing into sharp focus the importance of the transplant recipient's immune system in stem cell regeneration.

21 Nov 2011

Promising results from dexpramipexole phase 2 trial on ALS

Treatment with dexpramipexole - a novel drug believed to prevent dysfunction of mitochondria, the subcellular structures that provide most of a cell's energy - appears to slow symptom progression in the neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Promising results of a phase 2 trial of dexpramipexole are receiving advance online publication in Nature Medicine.

20 Nov 2011

Scientists show that the sense of smell can be improved

In a new study scientists at NYU Langone Medical Center have shown that the sense of smell can be improved. The new findings, published online November 20, 2011, in Nature Neuroscience, suggest possible ways to reverse the loss of smell due to aging or disease.

20 Nov 2011

Two genetic rearrangements may trigger 5 to 7% of breast cancers

Researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center have discovered two cancer-spurring gene rearrangements that may trigger 5 to 7 percent of all breast cancers.

20 Nov 2011

Scientists isolate and analyze antibody that neutralizes Sudan virus

Scientists from The Scripps Research Institute and the US Army's Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases have isolated and analyzed an antibody that neutralizes Sudan virus, a major species of ebolavirus and one of the most dangerous human pathogens.

20 Nov 2011

Super committee members trade barbs as deadline approaches

A full-scale blame game erupted into public view Sunday after nearly three months of secretive negotiations on the supercommittee that failed to resolve an impasse to cut at least $1.2 trillion in deficits over the next decade. Fanning out across the Sunday talk shows just hours before the supercommittee's deadline, Republicans insisted that Democrats wanted to institute a $1 trillion tax hike, while Democrats argued that the GOP wanted to gut popular entitlements and protect the rich.

20 Nov 2011

Researchers discover more about function of muscle stem cells

An international team of researchers from Leeds, London and Berlin has discovered more about the function of muscle stem cells, thanks to next-generation DNA sequencing techniques.

20 Nov 2011

PEPFAR Scientific Advisory Board report offers six recommended research priorities

This post in the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog examines a report by the PEPFAR Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) that offers six recommended treatment and prevention research priorities to U.S. Global AIDS Ambassador Eric Goosby and the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator (OGAC) to guide future PEPFAR programs.

19 Nov 2011

Switching or adding antidepressants does not exacerbate side effects

Patients with major depression who fail to see improvement after taking an antidepressant often have their initial medication switched or combined with a second drug. Many clinicians weigh the possibility of adverse side effects when deciding between strategies. New research in the latest issue of General Hospital Psychiatry now suggests one strategy may not be any more likely to be harmful than the other.

19 Nov 2011

Three 'critical issues' for Global Fund to consider to ensure 'further success'

While the recent report from a High-Level Independent Review Panel of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, "and the corresponding decisions of the Board, mark an important step towards the necessary improvements the Global Fund must make to fulfill its vital mandate in the coming decade and beyond," "the report does not provide direction or solutions on certain critical issues that will define the further success and impact of the Global Fund," Richard Feachem, founding executive director of the Global Fund, writes in a Lancet commentary.

19 Nov 2011

Omega-3 linked with reduced joint pain and cognitive side effects of breast cancer therapy

"I know I need this medicine to help lower my chance of cancer recurrence, but it makes my joints ache and stiff. It makes me feel old and I am not sure I can take this medication much longer."

19 Nov 2011

Cuts to U.S. global health spending would mean 'stark future' for millions

Disregarding advances "that have the potential to significantly reduce the death toll from HIV/AIDS, malaria, malnutrition, and other insidious killers, ... both the House and the Senate are pushing significant cuts to the 2012 Obama request for global health funding," Matthew Spitzer, president of the U.S. section of Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres, writes in an opinion piece on the Huffington Post's "Impact" blog.

19 Nov 2011

Insurers charging companies more if workers have unhealthy lifestyles

A Towers Watson survey found that the percentage of employer-sponsored policies that impose lifestyle-related financial penalities have doubled in the last two years.

19 Nov 2011

Super committee still at loggerheads on deficit, agreement still elusive

With just days remaining to overcome the impasse, deficit panel members appear to be making no progress toward an agreement to reach the 10-year savings target. Still, meetings and discussions continued regarding possible tax increases and cuts in the growth of programs like Medicare and Medicaid.

19 Nov 2011