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New test from Biomarker Technologies assists in early detection for Breast Cancer

Phoenix-based Biomarker Technologies announced the launch of a clinical study for its revolutionary blood test that detects breast cancer. Previous clinical studies have shown the test to significantly exceed the accuracy of mammograms.

6 Mar 2006

Measuring levels of NT-proBNP protein predicts long-term risk in patients with shortness of breath

Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have shown that a blood test previously found useful for diagnosing heart failure and determining prognosis in several cardiovascular conditions can also predict the risk of death among patients coming to hospital emergency departments with shortness of breath.

14 Feb 2006

Control interventions crucial for stopping the spread of bird flu in Africa

The outbreak of the deadly Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza virus (H5N1) in Nigeria confirms the fears expressed by FAO for quite some time that African countries are facing a high risk of becoming infected by the virus.

13 Feb 2006

Drop in total number of cancer deaths

The American Cancer Society's annual estimate of cancer deaths says 2006 will see a slight decline in the projected number of cancer deaths compared to estimates made for 2005.

13 Feb 2006

New real-time test for Chlamydia and Gonorrhea

Abbott today announced that a highly sensitive new test for the simultaneous detection of the sexually transmitted pathogens Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) and Neissera gonorrhoeae (NG) has received CE Mark certification, allowing it to be marketed in the European Union.

23 Jan 2006

Lab-on-chip can detect bird flu in humans

European microchip maker STMicroelectronics is planning to market a disposable laboratory microchip that can confirm within about an hour a human case of bird flu.

18 Jan 2006

Clinton's deal with drug companies will save millions of lives and millions of dollars

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton has struck a deal with nine drug companies to reduce the cost of the second-line AIDS drugs.

16 Jan 2006

HHS awards $56.9 million to tackle health disparities

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt has announced the awarding of $56.9 million by the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD).

10 Jan 2006

Targeted cancer therapies: Another step forward

While it is clear that the treatment of cancer has already begun to undergo a paradigm shift with the inclusion of innovative targeted therapies into current regimens, it would be wrong to assume these products will entirely replace traditional chemotherapy as the standard treatment for cancer sufferers.

22 Dec 2005

Targeted cancer therapies: Another step forward

22 Dec 2005

Microfluidics chips for simplifying medical imaging biomarkers of disease

A collaboration between scientists at UCLA, Caltech, Stanford, Siemens and Fluidigm have developed a new technology using integrated microfluidics chips for simplifying, lowering the cost and diversifying the types of molecules used to image the biology of disease with the medical imaging technology, Positron Emission Tomography (PET).

15 Dec 2005

DNA strands for biologically based electronics and medical devices

Ohio State University researchers have invented a process for uncoiling long strands of DNA and forming them into precise patterns.

15 Dec 2005

AMN107 drug shows promise in leukemia resistance to Gleevec

The targeted agent AMN107 can produce dramatic benefits in patients with some forms of leukemia that are resistant to Gleevec, the standard therapy for these cancers, say researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

13 Dec 2005

Analysis of the regulatory hurdles in European Diagnostics

In a move aimed at harmonising diagnostics regulations, the European parliament amended the medical devices directive (MDD) of 1993 to bring in the IVD directive (98/79/EC) in 1998.

6 Dec 2005

Diagnostics test for monitoring anti-HIV drugs hits European market

The test has been acquired by Delphic Europe - a diagnostics products provider - which will develop it in conjunction with viral resistance testing for market on the continent. The service was created by Professor David Back, Dr Saye Khoo and a team in the School of Biomedical Science and is currently used to analyse blood samples from patients with HIV across the UK in order to identify the correct dosage of medicine for individual patients.

7 Nov 2005

New device to detect early signs of heart conditions

A Yorkshire heart-monitor company is one of five technology businesses hoping to raise finance at the White Rose Bioscience Forum, Yorkshire’s flagship bioscience event - in York today (01 November 2005).

1 Nov 2005

Dead human tissue illegally used in surgery

London Health Sciences Centre is investigating if its surgeons used human tissue products that were recalled because they might have been taken illegally from corpses at funeral homes in the United States.

31 Oct 2005

New strategies to help developing countries address neglected diseases

For the health challenges facing developing countries, the numbers alone are staggering. Every day, 40,000 people - enough to fill a sports stadium - die from preventable infectious diseases and malnutrition. Entire generations of human potential are perishing.

25 Oct 2005

Lack of gene expression associated with ovarian cancer

The expression of two specific genes is almost completely downregulated in ovarian cancer tumours. An extensive analysis of gene expression in ovarian cancer tumour cells has revealed this important finding, which should be an aid to early diagnosis.

24 Oct 2005

Natural selection has played an important role in patterning the human genome

The most detailed analysis to date of how humans differ from one another at the DNA level shows strong evidence that natural selection has shaped the recent evolution of our species, according to researchers from Cornell University, Celera Genomics and Celera Diagnostics.

23 Oct 2005