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Odyssey Thera granted U.S. patents for protein-fragment complementation assays

Odyssey Thera announced today that on January 9, 2007, the United States Patent and Trademark Office granted U.S. Patent No. 7,160,691. On January 23, 2007, the USPTO also granted U.S. Patent No. 7,166,424.

5 Feb 2007

Novel approach to synthesizing nanowires

A novel approach to synthesizing nanowires (NWs) allows their direct integration with microelectronic systems for the first time, as well as their ability to act as highly sensitive biomolecule detectors that could revolutionize biological diagnostic applications, according to a report in Nature.

31 Jan 2007

Cruelty-free ELISA for human insulin

In the January issue of Clinical Biochemistry, scientists and physicians with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) outline the method used to develop a cruelty-free ELISA for human insulin that uses monoclonal antibodies produced by cells cultured in an animal-serum-free medium.

30 Jan 2007

A fully integrated microfluidic genetic analysis system with sample-in-answer-out capability

In an accomplishment that represents a significant step toward an era of rapid, inexpensive, bedside testing for cancer, researchers at the University of Virginia have developed a microfluidic device that can process human blood samples and yield diagnostic results within an hour.

8 Jan 2007

Yeast model system may provide a means for treating the earliest stage of Alzheimer's

A century ago this month, German psychiatrist Alois Alzheimer formally described characteristics of the neurodegenerative disease which ultimately came to bear his name. While international efforts to learn about Alzheimer's disease and develop treatments have progressed significantly in recent years, a cure remains an elusive goal.

19 Nov 2006

Modified silicon-based surfaces provide good home to proteins

Silicon, whether in its elemental form as silicon wafers or in its oxidized form, known as silicon dioxide or silica, is proving to be a valuable material for biomedical nanotechnology, in large part because of the biocompatibility and chemical inertness of these substances.

13 Nov 2006

Botswana launches infant HIV testing program

Botswana in a ceremony in Francistown -- attended by Mark Dybul, who serves as the U.S. global AIDS coordinator and administers the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief -- launched a program to test six-month-old infants for HIV, according a U.S. embassy statement released on Wednesday, SAPA/SABC News reports.

30 Oct 2006

Detecting rare microRNAs with gold nanoparticles

Over the past three years, numerous studies have shown that short pieces of single-stranded RNA, known as microRNAs, play a central role in the development of at least some cancers.

30 Oct 2006

Yellow fever and Poliomyelitis outbreaks in Africa

Yellow fever in Ivory Coast - On 5 October 2006, the Ministry of Health reported 2 cases of yellow fever in the towns of Korhogo and Ouaragahio in Ivory Coast.

19 Oct 2006

FDA approves test to help diagnose HIV

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the APTIMA HIV-1 RNA Qualitative Assay, manufactured by Gen-Probe Incorporated (San Diego, Calif.).

5 Oct 2006

Carbon nanotube amplification strategies for highly sensitive immunodetection of cancer biomarkers

In an attempt to increase the sensitivity of cancer biomarker detection and to decrease the need for large samples from which to detect those molecules, a multi-institutional research team has shown that a "forest" of single-walled carbon nanotubes can be used to detect lower levels of the prostate specific antigen (PSA) than is possible using the current commercial assay.

25 Sep 2006

SUMO1 gene implicated in cleft lip and palate defects

Researchers supported by the National Institutes of Health report in the current issue of the journal Science that a much-studied gene called SUMO1, when under expressed, can cause cleft lip and palate, one of the world's most common birth defects.

21 Sep 2006

Detecting cancer with silica nanoparticles

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha is a widely accepted biomarker for cancer, but the minute amounts of this protein circulating in blood makes detecting the molecule and measuring its concentration accurately a technological challenge.

19 Sep 2006

The murine abdominal adipose stromal cell compartment supports the differentiation into endothelial, but not into hematopoietic progenitor cells

World Congress of Cardiology Report - Post-infarct regeneration of the damaged myocardium is critical for treatment of patients with acute coronary syndrome or myocardial infarction.

5 Sep 2006

Circulating tumor cells in the peripheral blood of patients with renal cell carcinoma

Investigations in a variety of tumor types have demonstrated that circulating tumor cells are present in the peripheral blood of patients, even those with what is thought to be otherwise localized disease, and can be prognostic of outcome.

31 Aug 2006

Case definitions for human infections with influenza A (H5N1) virus

Prompt and accurate reporting of H5N1 influenza cases to WHO is the cornerstone for monitoring both the global evolution of this disease and the corresponding risk that a pandemic virus might emerge.

30 Aug 2006

Gene amplification links growth controlling pathway from Drosophila to human cancers

Researchers at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have discovered a new cancer-promoting role for a gene potentially involved in breast, liver, and other kinds of cancers.

8 Aug 2006

FDA approves fully automated screening tests for hepatitis B surface antigen

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced the approval of the first fully automated product that combines both screening and confirmatory tests for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg).

18 Jul 2006

Proteolytic activity monitored by fluorescence resonance energy transfer through quantum-dot-peptide conjugates

Using a synthetic peptide modeled after the protein that the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) uses to enter cells, a multi-institutional research team has created quantum dots that can penetrate the cell membrane and image internal structures in a cell.

10 Jul 2006

Statins stop the replication of the hepatitis C virus

A new study shows that statins, which are typically used as anti-cholesterol medications, can inhibit the replication of the hepatitis C virus (HCV).

9 Jul 2006