Disease Modeling News and Research

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Innovative tool for tracking movement of infectious diseases

It may seem like a game of tag, but it's an innovative tool for teaching the fundamentals of epidemiology, the science of how infectious diseases move through a population.

7 Apr 2012

New link between polyamine regulation and ESC biology

A*STAR scientists have for the first time, identified that precise regulation of polyamine levels is critical for embryonic stem cell (ESC) self-renewal - the ability of ESCs to divide indefinitely - and directed differentiation.

2 Mar 2012

International researchers to assess role of pre-clinical animal models in drug discovery

The New York Academy of Sciences and the Global Medical Excellence Cluster (GMEC), in collaboration with Imperial College London and King's College London, will host a two-day scientific conference, "Animal Models and Their Value in Predicting Drug Efficacy and Toxicity," that will provide a forum to critically examine the role of pre-clinical animal models in drug discovery.

7 Sep 2011

SYSU, ASU collaborate to develop early and predictive diagnostics for colorectal cancer

Arizona State University (ASU) and China's Sun Yat-Sen University (SYSU) have formalized a research collaboration aimed at developing early and predictive diagnostics to improve patient outcomes for colorectal cancer.

7 Sep 2011

Human embryonic stem cell, iPS-derived progeny are similar and developmentally immature

Stem cell researchers at UCLA have discovered that three types of cells derived from human embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells are similar to each other, but are much more developmentally immature than previously thought when compared to those same cell types taken directly from human tissue.

18 Aug 2011

Rosa, Profil Institute partner to offer simulation technology for diabetes and obesity clinical trials

Profil Institute for Clinical Research, Inc., a company leading the industry in early phase clinical trials for diabetes and obesity, and Rosa & Co. LLC, a drug development advisory firm with expertise in drug-disease modeling and simulation, jointly announced today a strategic alliance to offer Profil Institute customers use of Rosa's modeling technology to simulate disease physiology, drug action, patient variability, and trial outcomes for their early phase clinical development programs.

8 Jun 2011

Liver cells made in the lab using skin cells: Study

In a medical breakthrough, researchers have been able to convert skin cells into liver cells. This could one day eliminate the need for organ transplants, they say.

12 May 2011

Functional tests are necessary to understand human disease despite genetic sequencing

Despite what you might have heard, genetic sequencing alone is not enough to understand human disease. Researchers at Duke University Medical Center have shown that functional tests are absolutely necessary to understand the biological relevance of the results of sequencing studies as they relate to disease, using a suite of diseases known as the ciliopathies which can cause patients to have many different traits.

24 Jan 2011

New synthetic population can help computational modelers to study infectious diseases

To help computational modelers who study the spread of infectious diseases, including flu, researchers supported by the National Institutes of Health at RTI International in North Carolina created a synthetic population mirroring U.S. demographics. Now they've added another layer of realism: where the virtual citizens live.

25 Oct 2010

New York Stem Cell Foundation names first six NYSCF Investigators

In an expansion of its ongoing effort to promote the next generation of stem cell scientists, The New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) today named the first six NYSCF Investigators. Each of the NYSCF-Robertson and NYSCF-Helmsley Investigators will receive up to $1.5 million over the next five years to expand their own laboratories, train other scientists and foster innovative high-risk/high reward research to explore the therapeutic potential of stem cells derived from humans and model organisms.

13 Oct 2010

McLean Researchers receive award to create first clinic-ready human induced iPS cells

Belmont, MA-Researchers at Harvard Affiliated McLean Hospital have been awarded a $1.9 million National Institutes of Health Director's Opportunity Award to continue their research into creating human induced pluripotent (iPS) stem cells using a method aimed at eliminating the risk of cancer and other problems associated with other options such as genome-integrating viral methods.

30 Sep 2010

Elsevier's new online surgical journal publishes case reports

Elsevier, the world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services together with Surgical Associates Ltd the Owner of the International Journal of Surgery, announced today the launch of the International Journal of Surgery Case Reports (IJSCR) a new author-pays online general surgical journal dedicated to publishing case reports only.

23 Sep 2010

Research on iPS cells can imply potential cell therapy for X-linked disorders

Female induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, reprogrammed from human skin cells into cells that have the embryonic-like potential to become any cell in the body, retain an inactive X chromosome, stem cell researchers at UCLA have found.

4 Sep 2010

Research on motor neuron subtype may provide useful therapy for neuron diseases

Scientists have devised a method for coaxing mouse embryonic stem cells into forming a highly specific motor neuron subtype. The research, published by Cell Press in the September 3rd issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell, provides new insight into motor neuron differentiation and may prove useful for devising and testing future therapies for motor neuron diseases.

3 Sep 2010

Researchers use zebrafish as model to analyze function of every known mutation in BBS

A research team led by scientists from the Duke University Medical Center has developed a way to simultaneously look at the effects of 125 mutations occurring on 14 different genes. They used zebrafish as a model to analyze the function of every known mutation in an inherited syndrome called BBS, Bardet-Biedl Syndrome.

25 May 2010

Electronic primary care records can help identify untreated patients at high risk of cardiovascular disease

Using routine data from electronic patient records to select individuals at high risk of developing heart disease, rather than screening all adults aged between 40 and 74 years of age, is just as effective at saving lives but will be cheaper to run, according to research published on bmj.com today.

26 Apr 2010

StemCells granted UK patent covering true rat stem cells and genetically engineered rats

StemCells, Inc. announced today that the United Kingdom (UK) Intellectual Property Office has granted patent number GB2451523 with broad claims covering true (germline competent) rat stem cells and genetically engineered rats derived from these cells. The patented technology is expected to have significant utility to academic and pharmaceutical industry researchers by enabling them to create novel rat models for the study of human diseases. Both mice and rats are used by scientists to model various human diseases.

18 Mar 2010

Scientists create Pandemic Influenza Planning Tool to model the spread of pandemic influenza

As communities brace for rising wintertime influenza cases, scientists are developing a mathematical and visual analytic toolkit to help health officials quickly analyze pandemics and craft better response strategies.

15 Dec 2009

Touch of MIDAS to prepare the world for contagious outbreaks

To help the nation-and the world-understand and prepare for contagious outbreaks, the National Institutes of Health's Models of Infectious Disease Agent Study (MIDAS) adds new research expertise to increase its capacity to simulate disease spread, evaluate different intervention strategies and help inform public health officials and policymakers.

4 Sep 2009

Intervention strategies to curb spread of pandemic flu

Mathematicians, biostaticians and public health officials from Canada, Mexico and the United States will gather at Arizona State University this week to focus on understanding, possibly mitigating the spread of the H1N1 flu virus. They are planning to take up the challenge of proposing science-based strategies that can slow the spread of pandemic flu.

24 Jun 2009