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Lack of mLin41 gene regulator can cause neural tube defects

Researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine have found that lack of a specific gene interrupts neural tube closure, a condition that can cause death or paralysis.

17 Apr 2012

Air pollution can contribute to obesity in children

Overall, 17% of children in the United States are obese, and in inner-city neighborhoods, the prevalence is as high as 25%. While poor diets and physical inactivity are the main culprits, there is new evidence that air pollution can play a role.

17 Apr 2012

Hydrophilic carbon cluster HADES can selectively kill brain cancer cells

Nanomedicine researchers at the Methodist Neurological Institute and Rice University have developed a way to selectively kill brain cancer cells by using a tiny syringe to deliver a combination of chemotherapy drugs directly into the cells. These findings will be published in the April 24 issue of the American Chemical Society journal ACS Nano.

17 Apr 2012

Two related enzymes play a key role in development of T-ALL

Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) scientists have demonstrated that two related enzymes - phosphoinositide-3 kinase (PI3K) gamma and delta - play a key role in the development of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL), a highly aggressive childhood leukemia that is difficult to treat.

17 Apr 2012

UTHealth researcher studies novel cell therapy to prevent GVHD

A researcher at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) is studying a novel cell therapy that could help avoid autoimmune problems after stem cell transplantation, as well as potentially treat other autoimmune diseases.

17 Apr 2012

States roundup: Calif. mental health system grapples with controversy, shortage; Texas issues new stem cell rules

In 2006, the U.S. Department of Justice sued the state, alleging that it was violating patients' rights by heavily drugging and improperly restraining them and failing to provide appropriate treatment. The state settled, agreeing to an extensive court-supervised improvement plan at four hospitals with more than 4,000 patients. But a Times investigation found that the plan has failed to achieve the Justice Department's main objective: to raise the level of care so patients could control their violent tendencies and would not be institutionalized any longer than necessary.

17 Apr 2012

Simple two-question test more effective in identifying anxiety disorders in children

A University of British Columbia researcher has developed a simple two-question test to screen kindergarten-aged children for future anxiety disorders - the most commonly reported mental health concern among children.

17 Apr 2012

Morphotek commences MORAb-004 Phase II study in metastatic colorectal cancer

Morphotek, Inc., a subsidiary of Eisai Inc., announced today that it has commenced a multi-center, Phase II study evaluating the safety and efficacy of MORAb-004 in the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer that is refractory to all standard therapy.

17 Apr 2012

Study pinpoints compounds that repress cancer gene’s activity

A research team pursuing one of the most commonly altered genes in cancer has laid a critical foundation for understanding this gene that could point the way toward developing drugs against it. A recent study of cancer genetics pointed to the gene MCL1, which encodes a protein that helps keep cells alive

17 Apr 2012

Osprey Medical closes IPO raising of A$20 million

Osprey Medical Inc, has today announced that its Initial Public Offer (IPO) raising of A$20 million has closed. Osprey Medical’s Offer was well supported by institutional and retail investors in Australia, including founding investors CM Capital and Brandon Capital. The Initial Public Offer was underwritten by Shaw Corporate Finance.

17 Apr 2012

Novasep’s outstanding results in scale-up and biomanufacturing of Apo-A1 acknowledged by Cerenis at BioProcess International Conference

Novasep, a provider of purification-based manufacturing solutions for lifescience molecules, has announced that Cerenis Therapeutics has been invited by BioProcess International to present its major project CER – 001 ApoA1 - HDL mimetic drug candidate, and describe how Novasep played a critical role in the project by successfully achieving the transfer and scale up of Apo-A1 production.

16 Apr 2012

Merck, Endocyte enter vintafolide development and commercialization agreement

Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, and Endocyte Inc., today announced that they have entered into an agreement to develop and commercialize Endocyte's novel investigational therapeutic candidate vintafolide (EC145).

16 Apr 2012

Immunotherapy may also help elderly cancer patients

Cancer is much more likely in the elderly than the young, and their bodies often are less prepared to fight the disease and the often-toxic side effects of treatment.

16 Apr 2012

Fluidigm begins direct service to customers in China

Fluidigm Corporation has begun direct service to customers in China. Through the establishment of a wholly-owned Fluidigm subsidiary in China in late January 2012, officially known as Fluidigm (Shanghai) Instrument Technology Co., Ltd..

16 Apr 2012

Rotavirus infects certain blood types

Whether you become infected by some strains of rotavirus may depend on your blood type.

16 Apr 2012

Gene function preserved despite structural differences in the DNA

Chloroplasts, the plant cell's green solar power generators, were once living beings in their own right. This changed about one billion years ago, when they were swallowed up but not digested by larger cells. Since then, they have lost much of their autonomy.

16 Apr 2012

UM hosts symposium on next generation characterization tools for therapeutic proteins

In a concerted effort to boost regional collaboration on developing new protein drug and diagnostics, the University of Maryland (UM) School of Pharmacy has hosted the first Interdisciplinary Symposium on Next Generation Characterization Tools for Therapeutic Proteins.

16 Apr 2012

Study examines cellular and molecular organization of human and mouse brain

Scientists at the Allen Institute for Brain Science have identified similarities and differences among regions of the human brain, among the brains of human individuals, and between humans and mice by analyzing the expression of approximately 1,000 genes in the brain.

16 Apr 2012

Disruption of key cellular functions produces physiologic and behavioral responses

Two Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)-based research teams, along with a group from the University of California at San Diego, have discovered that animals have a previously unknown system for detecting and responding to pathogens and toxins. In three papers published in the journals Cell and Cell Host & Microbe, the investigators describe finding evidence that disruptions to the core functions of animal cells trigger immune and detoxification responses, along with behavioral changes.

16 Apr 2012

Biologists decipher novel functions of metal-binding molecule nicotianamine

In order to survive, plants should take up neither too many nor too few minerals from the soil. New insights into how they operate this critical balance have now been published by biologists at the Ruhr-Universit-t in a series of three papers in the journal The Plant Cell. The researchers discovered novel functions of the metal-binding molecule nicotianamine.

16 Apr 2012