Research News and Research

RSS

Ambit Biosciences raises $30 million through Series D-2 equity financing

Ambit Biosciences (Ambit), an emerging biopharmaceutical company engaged in the development of kinase inhibitors for the treatment of cancer and other conditions, today announced that it has completed a Series D-2 round of equity financing, raising $30 million in new capital.

10 Jun 2011

Spanish scale measures concern about cancer in healthy people

When a person has a family history of cancer, their worry about developing the disease may lead to them refusing to have preventive tests. Advice from genetic counselling units reduces their anxiety but, until now, nobody knew how much. Now, a scientific team has validated the 'Escala de Preocupaci-n por el C-ncer - EPC' (equivalent of the Cancer Worry Scale), the first of its kind in the Spanish language, in order to evaluate it.

10 Jun 2011

First Edition: June 10, 2011

Today's health policy headlines include reports about health law funding and policy particulars, as well as Dems' push to protect Medicaid.

10 Jun 2011

Adaptation of fat cell membranes to obesity may play a key role in early stages of inflammatory disorders

The mechanisms by which obesity leads towards metabolic co-morbidities, such as diabetes mellitus, are poorly understood and of great public health interest. A study led by Matej Orešič from VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland suggests that adaptation of fat cell membranes to obesity may play a key role in the early stages of inflammatory disorders.

10 Jun 2011

Patheon second quarter revenues decrease 3.1% to $170.0 million

Patheon Inc., a leading provider of contract development and manufacturing services to the global pharmaceutical industry, announced today financial results for the second quarter ended April 30, 2011.

10 Jun 2011

Study links mutations in essential genes with orphan diseases

Mutations in genes essential to survival are behind so-called orphan diseases, explaining in part why these diseases are rare and often deadly, according to a study appearing in The American Journal of Human Genetics.

10 Jun 2011

Obama should show leadership on food security issues

With food security issues at the heart of "hunger emergencies unfolding in Libya, Yemen, Afghanistan, and other countries," President Obama now faces his most critical test when it comes to fighting hunger.

10 Jun 2011

Ambassador Goosby says hope is 'major motivator' in AIDS fight

In a post on State's "DipNote" blog, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Ambassador Eric Goosby looks back at his time working in HIV/AIDS and expresses hope about the future, writing, Thanks to the support of the Obama Administration - which has continued to put forth robust funding for HIV/AIDS - and the bipartisan support from Congress, we are making remarkable achievements and we remain the major contributor to the resource needs this diseases continues to require.

10 Jun 2011

Promising new strategy for treating human type 2 diabetes

In a mouse study, scientists at Mayo Clinic Florida have demonstrated the feasibility of a promising new strategy for treating human type 2 diabetes, which affects more than 200 million people worldwide.

10 Jun 2011

Council on Foreign Relations senior fellow Garrett discusses HIV/AIDS

The Council on Foreign Relations features an interview with CFR Senior Fellow for Global Health Laurie Garrett, who "notes that discovery of HIV/AIDS was the beginning of what we now consider to be global health."

10 Jun 2011

Ban calls for global unity to end AIDS by 2020 at U.N. meeting opening

In his opening address at the U.N. High Level Meeting on AIDS on Wednesday, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon "told presidents, ministers and diplomats from across the globe that if all partners involved in the fight unite 'as never before,'" the goal of "zero new infections, zero stigma and zero AIDS-related deaths" can be achieved, the Associated Press/Kansas City Star reports.

10 Jun 2011

Five senators seek investigation of physician-owned distributorships

Five U.S. senators asked the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services to open an investigation into physician-owned distributorships, middleman entities that allow surgeons to profit from the medical devices they use on their patients, to determine whether they are legal.

10 Jun 2011

Tips for healthy barbecue

Some people may be reconsidering plans to grill hot dogs and steak based on a new report supporting the link between red and processed meats, and increased colorectal cancer risk. But, experts at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center say that small changes to what — and how — you grill can keep cancer off the menu.

10 Jun 2011

U.S. aid to Afghanistan unlikely to produce lasting change, congressional report says

"Much of the $19 billion in foreign aid that the United States has pumped into Afghanistan in the past decade may be fueling development on the ground in the short term, but is unlikely to produce change that will last once U.S. troops depart, according to a new congressional report," the Christian Science Monitor reports.

10 Jun 2011

Research provides better understanding of interplay between genomes of malaria parasites, humans

For tens of thousands of years, the genomes of malaria parasites and humans have been at war with one another. Now, University of Pennsylvania geneticists, in collaboration with an international team of scientists, have developed a new picture of one way that the human genome has fought back.

10 Jun 2011

Sulforaphane-rich foods safe and effective for preventing cancer

Sulforaphane, one of the primary phytochemicals in broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables that helps them prevent cancer, has been shown for the first time to selectively target and kill cancer cells while leaving normal prostate cells healthy and unaffected.

10 Jun 2011

G20 to launch initiative to reduce food price volatility

The G20 plans to launch an initiative aimed at reducing food price volatility when the group's agriculture ministers meet this month in France, the Financial Times reports. According to the newspaper, G20 agriculture ministers will discuss the details of the Agriculture Market Information System (AMIS) initiative during their meeting in Paris, which begins on June 22.

10 Jun 2011

Scientists to develop new tissue engineering technology for patients with osteoarthritis

Medical scientists now have "clear" evidence that the damaged cartilage tissue in osteoarthritis and other painful joint disorders can be encouraged to regrow and regenerate, and are developing tissue engineering technology that could help millions of patients with those disorders.

10 Jun 2011

Experts discuss impact of new vaccines on global health

This Malaria Policy Center blog post describes the event "Spurring health and wealth through medical breakthroughs," during which Washington Post columnist and ONE Fellow Michael Gerson; John Lusingu, principal research scientist at the Tanzania National Institute for Medical Research and co-principal investigator in the RTS,S malaria vaccine trial in Tanzania for the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative; and Margaret McGlynn, board member of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative and former president of Merck Global Vaccines and Anti-Infectives, "brought unique perspectives to the impact of new vaccines on many global health issues, particularly HIV/AIDS and malaria".

10 Jun 2011

AGA honors outstanding high school students with 2011 research fellowship awards

The American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Research Foundation has announced the 2011 Student Research Fellowship Award recipients. Funded by The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, the awards are intended to stimulate interest in research careers in digestive diseases.

10 Jun 2011