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Brown University researchers develop new biochip sensor to measure glucose levels in saliva

Researchers from Brown University have developed a new biochip sensor that can selectively measure concentrations of glucose in a complex solution similar to human saliva. The advance is an important step toward a device that would enable people with diabetes to test their glucose levels without drawing blood.

4 Jun 2014

State highlights: NYC plan for treating mentally ill; Kan. town gets abortion services again; Iowa medical marijuana

Mayor Bill de Blasio has asked several of his commissioners and aides to provide him with a plan by September to reduce the rate of incarceration among New Yorkers with mental illness. The effort, which City Hall will announce on Monday, is the administration's first major criminal justice initiative. Named the Task Force on Behavioral Health and the Criminal Justice System, it will include recommendations from the police and correction commissioners, the Manhattan district attorney, hospital administrators and judges (Goldstein, 6/1).

3 Jun 2014

Variations in BRCA2 and CHEK2 genes can increase lung cancer risk, study finds

New research confirms a vulnerability to lung cancer can be inherited and implicates the BRCA2 gene as harboring one of the involved genetic mutations.

3 Jun 2014

Compound in saliva may protect from toxins in tea, coffee and liquid smoke flavoring

A compound in saliva, along with common proteins in blood and muscle, may protect human cells from powerful toxins in tea, coffee and liquid smoke flavoring, according to results of a new study led by investigators at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center.

2 Jun 2014

Compound in saliva and proteins in blood may protect human cells from powerful toxins in tea, coffee

31 May 2014

Researchers show how bacteria responsible for strep throat can be used to fight colon cancer

Researchers at Western University (London, Canada) have shown how the bacteria primarily responsible for causing strep throat can be used to fight colon cancer. By engineering a streptococcal bacterial toxin to attach itself to tumour cells, they are forcing the immune system to recognize and attack the cancer.

21 May 2014

Sanofi presents Phase II trial results for investigational vaccine for prevention of CDI

Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of Sanofi, presented Phase II (H-030-012) trial results for an investigational vaccine for the prevention of Clostridium difficile infection at the 114th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology.

20 May 2014

Higher BMI linked with reduced mortality risk in patients with pulmonary hypertension

In patients with congestive heart failure, obesity and a larger waist size have paradoxically been associated with a better prognosis in the prior investigations. This effect, known as the obesity paradox phenomenon, is now being demonstrated in patients with severe pulmonary hypertension.

20 May 2014

Research: Single episode of binge drinking can have negative health effects

It only takes one time. That's the message of a new study by scientists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School on binge drinking. Their research found that a single episode of binge drinking can have significant negative health effects resulting in bacteria leaking from the gut, leading to increased levels of toxins in the blood.

16 May 2014

Fetal membranes exposed to oxidative stress can trigger premature aging of placenta

A new study by researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston is the first to show that premature aging of the placenta due to oxidative stress is the cause of many preterm births. The study appears today in the American Journal of Pathology.

14 May 2014

Environmental researchers call for ban on cigarette filters

Ban cigarette filters. Start a deposit-return scheme for used butts. Hold manufacturers responsible for clean-ups. Place warnings on packets about the impact of simply flicking one's used cigarettes away.

7 May 2014

UH biomedical engineer receives ALR grant to study cause of lupus nephritis

In the U.S. alone, more than 1.5 million people have lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease in which the immune system turns against itself, attacking a person's healthy tissue, cells and organs. The symptoms can range from debilitating pain and fatigue to organ failure.

6 May 2014

Scientists develop bone marrow-on-a-chip to test effects of new drugs, toxic agents on bone marrow

The latest organ-on-a-chip from Harvard's Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering reproduces the structure, functions and cellular make-up of bone marrow, a complex tissue that until now could only be studied intact in living animals, Institute researchers report in the May 4, 2014, online issue of Nature Methods.

6 May 2014

Tel Aviv University pinpoints mechanism that causes rare and severe congenital syndrome

In the 1950s and 1960s, pregnant women with morning sickness were often prescribed the new drug thalidomide. Shortly after the medicine was released on the market, a reported 10,000 infants were born with an extreme form of the rare congenital phocomelia syndrome, which caused death in 50 percent of cases and severe physical and mental disabilities in others.

2 May 2014

Life stressors may activate neurological disorders

When mothers are exposed to trauma, illness, alcohol or other drug abuse, these stressors may activate a single molecular trigger in brain cells that can go awry and activate conditions such as schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder and some forms of autism.

26 Apr 2014

NovaBay introduces new eye care product to help patients with eyelids irritation

NovaBay Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing topical non-antibiotic antimicrobial products, today announced that it is introducing a new eye care product, i-Lid Cleanser.

23 Apr 2014

Blog explains why NeutroPhase can play important role in treating 'flesh-eating' infections

NovaBay Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, today announced that WoundSource™ has highlighted NovaBay's NeutroPhase wound cleanser in a recent blog posting. The blog explains why NeutroPhase can play an important role in treating life-threatening necrotizing fasciitis, or 'flesh-eating' infections.

21 Apr 2014

Stanford researchers identify normal cell type that gives rise to most invasive bladder cancers

A single type of cell in the lining of the bladder is responsible for most cases of invasive bladder cancer, according to researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

21 Apr 2014

Freiburg researchers discover molecule that smuggles toxins from intestinal pathogens into human cells

Prof. Dr. Dr. Klaus Aktories and Dr. Panagiotis Papatheodorou from the Institute of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology of the University of Freiburg have discovered the receptor responsible for smuggling the toxin of the bacterium Clostridium perfringens into the cell.

17 Apr 2014

NEPHRON+ project improves lives of kidney failure patients by developing wearable artificial kidney device

End stage kidney disease is a global public health problem with an estimated 2.4 million patients on dialysis. The number of new cases is rising (7-8% annually) due to population ageing and increased diabetes prevalence.

15 Apr 2014