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Discovery of novel rearrangements and fusions supports role for NGS in treatment of cancer

Foundation Medicine, Inc., a molecular information company that brings comprehensive cancer gene analysis to routine clinical care, and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute today announced the Nature Medicine publication of results from their collaborative next-generation sequencing (NGS) study to assay cancer-relevant genes in 24 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and 40 colorectal cancer (CRC) cases.

13 Feb 2012

EU-funded 4DCellFate project to kick off today

Today European scientists are meeting to kick off the 4DCellFate project, funded by the European Commission under the FP7 program.

13 Feb 2012

Elevated levels of cell-free fetal DNA early in pregnancy do not predict preeclampsia

In a study to be presented today at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting -, in Dallas, Texas, researchers will report findings that indicate that elevated levels of cell-free DNA in the first trimester do not predict the subsequent development of preeclampsia.

13 Feb 2012

Risk of obstetric intervention lower for women who intended home births

In a study to be presented today at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting -, in Dallas, Texas, researchers will report findings that indicate that the risk of obstetric intervention is lower for women who deliver or intend to deliver outside of hospitals, but there are some higher risks for newborns intended for home births compared to hospital births.

13 Feb 2012

Early MSC transplantation can help repair neonatal brain damage

In a study to be presented today at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting -, in Dallas, Texas, researchers will report that early transplantation of human placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells into the lateral ventricles of neonatal rats with birth-related brain damage is possible, and that the donor cells can survive and migrate in the recipient's brain.

13 Feb 2012

OncoSec to commence OMS ElectroImmunotherapy Phase II trial in MCC

OncoSec Medical Incorporated, which is developing its advanced-stage OncoSec Medical System (OMS) ElectroOncology therapies to treat solid tumor cancers, today announced that physicians at the University of Washington and Seattle Cancer Care Alliance in conjunction with the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, have treated several patients in an open-label Phase II clinical trial evaluating OncoSec's OMS ElectroImmunotherapy for the treatment of Merkel cell carcinoma.

13 Feb 2012

SAMHD1 protein cuts off raw material that HIV needs to create DNA and replicate

A protein that protects some of our immune cells from the most common and virulent form of HIV works by starving the virus of the molecular building blocks that it needs to replicate, according to research published online in Nature Immunology.

13 Feb 2012

PORT may not prolong life in older people with NSCLC

Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine have found that post-operative radiation therapy (PORT), a controversial yet frequently administered treatment for lung cancer, may not prolong life in older people with locally advanced disease.

13 Feb 2012

State roundup: Fraud crackdowns, searching for more doctors, immigrant health care

Illinois Democrats running state government have waited more than a year to win federal approval for a new plan to fight fraud in the health program for 2.7 million of the state's poorest residents. Facing increasing Republican pressure to put reforms in place, this week Quinn's team told the Obama administration that Illinois will wait no longer.

13 Feb 2012

SFU cell biologist to talk at AJAS conference on Feb. 16

Lynne Quarmby, a Simon Fraser University scientist with a passion for promoting the importance of science to life's sustenance, will have a captive audience during the world's largest science fair in Vancouver.

13 Feb 2012

Preterm birth interventions should be tailored for underlying risk factors and pathways

13 Feb 2012

Researchers discover a connection of peroxisomal protein import and receptor export

The group of Prof. Dr. Ralf Erdmann at the Ruhr-Universit-t Bochum discovered a connection of peroxisomal protein import and receptor export. In the Journal of Biological Chemistry, they disclosed that enzymes only get imported into certain cell organelles (peroxisomes) upon coupling of their import to the recycling of their transport protein.

13 Feb 2012

Researchers discover a startling feature of early brain development

Researchers at the Salk Institute have discovered a startling feature of early brain development that helps to explain how complex neuron wiring patterns are programmed using just a handful of critical genes. The findings, published February 3 in Cell, may help scientists develop new therapies for neurological disorders, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and provide insight into certain cancers.

13 Feb 2012

Massively parallel sequencing effective in diagnosing fetal aneuploidies

In a study to be presented today at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting -, in Dallas, Texas, researchers will report findings that indicate that massively parallel sequencing can be used to diagnose fetal aneuploidies, including Down syndrome, Edwards syndrome, Patau syndrome and Turner syndrome.

13 Feb 2012

Bexarotene appears to help clear out excess plaque in Alzheimer's

"In the last eight days, scientists have delivered a powerful one-two punch in the fight to defeat Alzheimer's disease," said Stacy Pagos Haller, President and CEO of the American Health Assistance Foundation (AHAF), a nonprofit that identifies and funds exceptionally high-impact research worldwide through its Alzheimer's Disease Research program.

13 Feb 2012

Pioglitazone can prevent long term effects of maternal obesity on offspring

In a study to be presented today at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting -, in Dallas, Texas, researchers will report findings that show that short therapy with the anti-diabetic medication Pioglitazone can prevent the long term effects of maternal obesity on offspring.

13 Feb 2012

RBC transfusion improves physical fatigue in postpartum anemic women

In a study to be presented today at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting -, in Dallas, Texas, researchers will report findings that show that in women with acute postpartum anemia, due to excessive blood loss during delivery, red blood cell transfusion led to a statistically significant decrease in physical fatigue.

13 Feb 2012

Molecular secrets behind halofuginone's power

For roughly two thousand years, Chinese herbalists have treated Malaria using a root extract, commonly known as Chang Shan, from a type of hydrangea that grows in Tibet and Nepal. More recent studies suggest that halofuginone, a compound derived from this extract's bioactive ingredient, could be used to treat many autoimmune disorders as well. Now, researchers from the Harvard School of Dental Medicine have discovered the molecular secrets behind this herbal extract's power.

13 Feb 2012

Researchers explore how cognitive performance can decline after natural disasters

Not surprisingly, victims of a natural disaster can experience stress and anxiety, but a new study indicates that it might also cause them to make more errors - some serious - in their daily lives. In their upcoming Human Factors article, "Earthquakes on the Mind: Implications of Disasters for Human Performance," researchers William S. Helton and James Head from the University of Canterbury explore how cognitive performance can decline after earthquakes and other natural disasters.

13 Feb 2012

Curcumin may block growth of castrate-resistant prostate tumors

Curcumin, an active component of the Indian curry spice turmeric, may help slow down tumor growth in castration-resistant prostate cancer patients on androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), a study from researchers at Jefferson's Kimmel Cancer Center suggests.

13 Feb 2012