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International Institute of Biomedical Sciences and Technology established for a global research initiative

Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York, the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, Israel, and National Cheng Kung University in Tainan City, Taiwan, have announced the creation of the International Institute of Biomedical Sciences and Technology that will facilitate the collaboration of research across three continents and accelerate the development of novel bioengineering, diagnostic and biomedical products for the treatment and cure of disease, officials said today.

9 Sep 2009

ORT remains underutilized in U.S. prison systems

Almost a quarter of a million individuals addicted to heroin are incarcerated in the United States each year. However, many prison systems across the country still do not offer medical treatment for heroin and opiate addiction, despite the demonstrated social, medical and economic benefits of opiate replacement therapy (ORT).

9 Sep 2009

Butzel Long expands national health care practice in New York

Alan Lambert, M.D., an attorney with a diverse practice representing healthcare providers and institutions, has joined Butzel Long and is Of Counsel in the firm’s Health Care practice. He is based in New York.

9 Sep 2009

Rapid detection and profiling of cancer cells in fine-needle aspirates

Using a new type of paramagnetic nanoparticle and a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) system built into a microfluidic device, a team of investigators at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School has created an assay system capable of detecting as few as two cancer cells in 1 microliter of biological fluid. In addition, the new assay requires little sample processing and produces results in less than 15 minutes.

7 Sep 2009

Harmless shard from childhood virus shell may halt biological process

A harmless shard from the shell of a common childhood virus may halt a biological process that kills a significant percentage of battlefield casualties, heart attack victims and oxygen-deprived newborns, according to research presented Sunday, September 6, 2009, at the 12th European meeting on complement in human disease in Budapest, Hungary.

7 Sep 2009

LSU Professor awarded grant to support a Superfund Research Center

LSU Professor and Patrick F. Taylor Chair of Chemistry Barry Dellinger was recently awarded a grant of $3.6 million by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, or NIEHS, to support a Superfund Research Center focusing on hazardous waste disposal and its impact on public health. It is the only center ever awarded by this program that is not located at a medical school or school of public health.

5 Sep 2009

MRF announces winners of six 2009 research grants

The Migraine Research Foundation (MRF), the only nonprofit organization devoted solely to funding migraine research, today announced the winners of the 2009 research grants. This year's grantees will explore such important areas as pediatric migraine, the genetic association between migraine and cardiovascular events, and why opioids enhance migraine pain.

5 Sep 2009

Study reveals elevated cTnT levels in post-CABG patients

Levels of a biomarker used in the diagnosis of heart attacks are almost universally elevated in patients who have undergone coronary-artery bypass grafting (CABG) and, when markedly elevated, are powerfully prognostic, a team of researchers from the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Heart Center has found.

5 Sep 2009

FOXO3a protein stimulates cancer development

In a biological rendition of fiction's Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, researchers from the Mayo Clinic campus in Florida and Harvard Medical School have found that a protein thought to protect against cancer development can actually spur the spread of tumors.

4 Sep 2009

Low HDL-cholesterol and high triglycerides linked to increased risk of CHD

Low levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and raised triglycerides, affecting millions of patients worldwide, are strongly linked to significantly increased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) even in patients who achieve or surpass current low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) targets.

3 Sep 2009

Umass Medical School implements translational research solution

Recombinant Data Corp., a healthcare data warehousing and clinical intelligence solutions provider, today announced that it has implemented a translational research solution at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

3 Sep 2009

Kane Biotech announces Harvard Medical School's research publication on its DispersinB product

Kane Biotech Inc. (TSX VENTURE:KNE), a biotechnology company engaged in the development of products that prevent and disperse microbial biofilms is pleased to announce a recent research publication by Harvard Medical School on their finding of DispersinB® enzyme specific substrate in Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii).

3 Sep 2009

Strelitz Diabetes Center awarded a two-year grant for 12-LO research

Scientists at Eastern Virginia Medical School's Strelitz Diabetes Center have been awarded a two-year grant totaling $472,683 by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF).

3 Sep 2009

Innovative way for culturing liver cells improves drug toxicity screening

A team led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers has developed an innovative way to culture liver cells for drug toxicity screening. In a report to be published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that has been released online, the investigators describe how liver cells grown in a high-oxygen environment and in a culture medium free of animal-derived serum quickly begin to function as they do within the liver.

2 Sep 2009

Research is active and diverse in U.S. academic medical centers

A survey indicates that research is active and diverse at U.S. academic medical centers and that a substantial proportion of faculty conduct research and publish without sponsorship, according to a study in the September 2 issue of JAMA.

2 Sep 2009

Rapid progression of multiple sclerosis linked to smoking

Patients with multiple sclerosis who smoke appear to experience a more rapid progression of their disease, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

2 Sep 2009

T cells influence aggressive immune cells by regulating the chemical environment between cells

University of Michigan scientists say they have uncovered a fundamentally new mechanism that holds in check aggressive immune cells that can attack the body's own cells. The findings open a new avenue of research for future therapies for conditions ranging from autoimmune diseases to organ transplants to cancer.

2 Sep 2009

New ARRA-funded research on white blood cell functioning

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) has provided funding for new research to learn more about how white blood cells work. Jonathan Reichner, PhD, of the department of surgery at Rhode Island Hospital has received a grant from the National Institutes of Health with funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Reichner's hope is that the research will lead to new immune-enhancing therapies, with potential implications for improvements in both cancer treatment and controlling inflammation accompanying injury and infection.

2 Sep 2009

New method found for the diagnosis of cartilage disease

In its quest to find new strategies to treat osteoarthritis and other diseases, a Boston University-led research team has reported finding a new computer tomography contrast agent for visualizing the special distributions of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) - the anionic sugars that account for the strength of joint cartilage.

2 Sep 2009

GE Healthcare to develop wireless medical monitoring systems for patient care

In what would represent an important step forward in revolutionizing the way patients are monitored in the future, GE announced an initiative aimed to develop wireless medical monitoring systems, or body sensor networks (BSN), which would replace the traditional tangle of bedside cables used to capture a patient’s vital signs. GE’s vision for the systems would enable wireless monitoring from anywhere in the hospital—or even remotely from home.

2 Sep 2009