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Researchers discover tolerance mechanism in chronic morphine treatment

Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine have discovered a major mechanism underlying the development of tolerance to chronic morphine treatment. The discovery may help researchers find new therapies to treat chronic pain, and reduce tolerance and side effects associated with morphine use. The findings are published in the July 20th issue of Science Signaling.

8 Sep 2010

Quick increase of calcium concentration in cells rapidly trigger Aurora-A kinase enzyme activity

Aurora-A kinase (AurA) is an enzyme that is hyperactive in many cancers and drives tumor cell proliferation. Several AurA inhibitors are currently being tested in clinical trials to see if they slow tumor growth. Now, researchers in the Developmental Therapeutics Program at Fox Chase Cancer Center have identified an activation signal for AurA. They report in the September 7 issue of Nature Communications that a quick increase in the calcium concentration in a cell rapidly triggers AurA kinase activity.

8 Sep 2010

Study finds increase in bone morphogenetic protein usage for Off-Label procedures

Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) is increasingly used as an alternative to the patient's own bone for spinal fusion surgery. Yet at least 85 percent of these procedures are operations for which BMP use has not been formally approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), suggests a study in the September 1 issue of Spine.

8 Sep 2010

Bristol-Myers Squibb signs definitive agreement to acquire ZymoGenetics

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and ZymoGenetics, Inc. announced today that the companies have signed a definitive agreement providing for the acquisition of ZymoGenetics by Bristol-Myers Squibb, for $9.75 per share in cash.

8 Sep 2010

Researchers develop new RNA molecule approach to kill cancer cells

Researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have engineered a fundamentally new approach to killing cancer cells. The process developed by Niles Pierce, associate professor of applied and computational mathematics and bioengineering at Caltech, and his colleagues uses small RNA molecules that can be programmed to attack only specific cancer cells then, by changing shape, those molecules cause the cancer cells to self destruct.

8 Sep 2010

Yeast can be simple model to study molecular basis of Parkinson’s disease

Yeast could be a powerful ally in the discovery of new therapeutic drugs to treat Parkinson's disease says a scientist presenting his work at the Society for General Microbiology's autumn meeting in Nottingham today.

8 Sep 2010

CytRx commences PROACT Phase 2 clinical trial of bafetinib for advanced prostate cancer

CytRx Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company specializing in oncology, today announced initiation of the PROstate Advanced Cancer Treatment (PROACT) Phase 2 proof-of-concept clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of bafetinib in patients with advanced prostate cancer.

7 Sep 2010

Promedior initiates PRM-151 Phase 2a clinical study in prevention of scarring post glaucoma filtration surgery

Promedior, Inc., a clinical stage biotechnology company developing novel therapies to treat fibrotic and inflammatory diseases, announced today that it has initiated a Phase 2a clinical study of PRM-151 to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of PRM-151 in preventing post-surgical scarring in glaucoma patients following glaucoma filtration surgery. There currently are no approved drugs for preventing post-surgical scarring in glaucoma, and there are no approved anti-fibrotic drug therapies in the U.S. or Europe for any fibrotic disease.

7 Sep 2010

University of Maryland School of Medicine orders AVANCE III 950 US2 NMR spectrometer from Bruker

Bruker Corporation announces a major order from the University of Maryland School of Medicine for its ultra-high field AVANCE III 950 US2 NMR spectrometer. The 950 MHz Nuclear Magnetic Resonance magnet and spectrometer will help University of Maryland researchers to unravel the mysteries of molecules and develop new agents to treat cancer, AIDS and other diseases.

7 Sep 2010

Bruker announces NIST order for AVANCE III 900 NMR spectrometer

Bruker Corporation, the leader in analytical magnetic resonance instrumentation, today announces a major order from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for its ultra-high field AVANCE™ III 900 US2 NMR spectrometer.

7 Sep 2010

IBM announces computing projects to produce clean, safe water

IBM's World Community Grid, a worldwide network of PC owners helping scientists solve humanitarian challenges, today announced several computing projects aimed at developing techniques to produce cleaner and safer water, an increasingly scarce commodity eluding at least 1.2 billion people worldwide.

7 Sep 2010

DSM, PolyTherics enter agreement for HiPEG IFN alpha-2a product development

DSM BioSolutions, DSM's microbial fermentation CMO business unit and PolyTherics Limited an innovator in precision engineering of proteins, today announced that they have entered into an agreement for the process development and manufacture of PolyTherics' lead biobetter product, HiPEG IFN alpha-2a.

7 Sep 2010

Research suggests blocking HMGB1 protein can benefit cancer patients

Like some people, cells eat when they are under pressure-but they consume parts of themselves. A multi-function protein helps control this form of cannibalism, according to a study in the September 6 issue of the Journal of Cell Biology.

7 Sep 2010

Protagen AG announces € 10.0 Million for second round of finance totaling

Protagen AG, a specialist for in-vitro diagnostics and GMP-compliant protein analysis announced today a second round of finance totalling a volume of € 10.0 Million.

7 Sep 2010

An overview on low-carbohydrate diets

Headlines make news, but don't read too much into current headlines about a recent study titled "Low-Carbohydrate Diets and All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality," published in the September 7, 2010, issue of Annals of Internal Medicine. Although the headlines may say the study suggests that long-term adherence to a low-carb diet based heavily on animal protein may reduce lifespan, Dr. Funga, who was the lead author of the study, says that her research "is not representative of popular low-carb eating plans

7 Sep 2010

Study on bacteria may help to develop treatment method for osteomyelitis

A surface molecule on bacteria that instructs bone cells to die could be the target for new treatments for bone disease, says a scientist speaking at the Society for General Microbiology's autumn meeting today.

7 Sep 2010

Plaque-causing bacteria increases risk of heart attack

Plaque-causing bacteria can jailbreak from the mouth into the bloodstream and increase your risk of heart attack says a scientist at the Society for General Microbiology's autumn meeting in Nottingham.

6 Sep 2010

Gene containing 'minisatellite' plays key role in driving human DNA diversity

One of the key drivers of human evolution and diversity, accounting for changes that occur between different generations of people, is explained by new research published today (Sept 5) by world-renowned scientist Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys, who discovered DNA fingerprinting at the University of Leicester.

6 Sep 2010

New insight into abnormalities in cancer cells

A basic requirement for growth and life of a multicellular organism is the ability of its cells to divide. Chromosomes in the cells duplicate and are then distributed among the daughter cells. This distribution is organized by a protein complex made up of several hundred different proteins, called the centrosome. In cancer cells, the centrosome often assumes an unnatural shape or is present in uncontrolled numbers. The reasons for this were previously largely unknown.

4 Sep 2010

Researchers to study protein fragments released into bloodstream after heart attack

A blood test to diagnose which heart attack survivors will suffer heart failure is the goal of a new five-year, $11.6 million contract to the UT Health Science Center San Antonio from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).

4 Sep 2010