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Niacin may not be beneficial for type 2 diabetic patients

High-density lipoprotein (HDL), known as "good" cholesterol, isn't as protective for people with type 2 diabetes, according to research reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

22 Dec 2009

Tel Aviv University's new Genome Analyzer fuels research dreams and tomorrow's cures

To identify the hemophilia mutation that affected Queen Victoria and her European relatives, scientific detectives used a cutting-edge "deep sequencing tool." Able to trace rare genetic disease mutations, the tool can turn a single laboratory into a fertile genetic research center.

22 Dec 2009

AdvanDx receives FDA clearance for its 90 minutes PNA FISH protocol

AdvanDx today announced that it has received FDA 510(k) clearance for a fast, 90 minutes protocol for its E. coli/P. aeruginosa PNA FISH® and EK/P. aeruginosa PNA FISH® tests. The faster protocol reduces the PNA FISH turn-around time from the original 2.5 hours to 90 minutes by reducing PNA probe hybridization from 90 minutes to 30 minutes.

22 Dec 2009

Arrayit achieves technological breakthrough in microarray production

Arrayit Corporation, a life sciences and healthcare technology leader, today announced that the Company has made a technological breakthrough in the speed and efficiency by which it manufactures its proprietary microarrays, which are tiny glass substrates that contain rows and columns of printed spots used for scientific research and molecular diagnostics.

22 Dec 2009

ICBS targets U.S.regulatory agencies to sell its TOGS 9000 bio-photonic incubation & detection systems

ICBS Ltd., announced today that it will be targeting U.S. state and municipal regulatory bodies for the sale of the TOGS(TM) 9000 bio-photonic incubation & detection systems.

22 Dec 2009

Scientists identify role of epigenetic changes in SLE

Identical twins look the same and are nearly genetically identical, but environmental factors and the resulting cellular changes could cause disease in one sibling and not the other.

22 Dec 2009

Discovery suggests how toxin-filtering cells go awry

Researchers from Children's Hospital Boston and Brigham and Women's Hospital have identified an important genetic cause of a devastating kidney disease that is the second leading cause of kidney failure in children, according to The NephCure Foundation.

22 Dec 2009

Depressed patients are unable to sustain positive emotions, says study

A new study at the University of Wisconsin-Madison suggests that depressed patients are unable to sustain activity in brain areas related to positive emotion.

22 Dec 2009

Neurocrine to advance its NBI-98854 VMAT2 Inhibitor into a multiple repeated dose Phase 1 study

Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. today announced their highly selective vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2) inhibitor, NBI-98854, will be advanced in clinical development.

21 Dec 2009

Embryo biopsy does not adversely affect health of newborn singleton PGD/PGS children

The largest and longest running study of children born after preimplantation genetic diagnosis and screening has shown that embryo biopsy does not adversely affect the health of babies born as the result of a subsequent singleton pregnancy.

21 Dec 2009

Direct primary care amendment may offer affordable health care options for Americans

The U.S. Senate today made an important step that could expand health care coverage to more Americans while simultaneously reducing costs. The Manager's Amendment, introduced by Senator Harry Reid (D-Nev.) this morning, includes a provision that would allow flat-fee direct primary care practices, in which patients pay a flat fee for primary and preventive care, to compete in the proposed insurance exchange. This will provide Americans more affordable health care options beyond traditional insurance.

21 Dec 2009

Medical physicists converge at ProCure TDC for training in physics of protons and proton therapy

Medical physicists from around the world converged at the ProCure Training and Development Center (TDC) last week for intense training in the physics of protons and proton therapy, an alternative to X-ray radiation for cancer treatment that spares healthy tissue and results in far fewer short- and long-term treatment side effects.

19 Dec 2009

Subitizing vision therapy for improving math skills

"The incidence of individuals with a mathematics learning disability is between 6-7% of the population." Since there are more than 300 million individuals in the United States, up to 21 million men, women, and children may be affected by this disorder. Sidney Groffman OD, MA, FCOVD, Professor Emeritus at SUNY College of Optometry, author of the article published in the December 2009 issue of Optometry & Vision Development, also says, "This is unfortunate because math skills are of prime importance in everyday life enabling us to understand number concepts and do calculations. Math ability is essential for many occupations and professions."

19 Dec 2009

Second wave of H1N1 virus infection in the U.S. comes to an end

Rates of 2009 H1N1 influenza virus testing in the U.S. have declined more than 75 percent since their peak in late October, suggesting that the "second wave" of virus infection that sickened tens of millions of Americans since it began four months ago may be coming to an end, according to a new report by Quest Diagnostics Incorporated, the world's leading provider of diagnostic testing, information and services.

19 Dec 2009

Bourbon causes a worse hangover than vodka

Many alcoholic beverages contain byproducts of the materials used in the fermenting process. These byproducts are called "congeners," complex organic molecules with toxic effects including acetone, acetaldehyde, fusel oil, tannins, and furfural. Bourbon has 37 times the amount of congeners that vodka has. A new study has found that while drinking a lot of bourbon can cause a worse hangover than drinking a lot of vodka, impairment in people's next-day task performance is about the same for both beverages.

19 Dec 2009

KVCI completes acquisition of former AAIPharma bioanalytical division

Kansas Venture Capital, Inc. (KVCI) has acquired the former AAIPharma bioanalytical division from ZeeCRO Inc. With its 30-year track record of developing entrepreneurial companies, KVCI will grow the bioanalytical business through organic and acquisition strategies to provide best-in-class analytical services for both the pharmaceutical and life sciences sectors.

18 Dec 2009

UAB professors honored for scientific contributions and outstanding mentorship

Three University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) professors have been elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

18 Dec 2009

Statistics show China may surpass U.S. in academic output by next decade

Data from a recent Thomson Reuters study show that Chinese research output has increased from just over 20,000 papers in 1998 to nearly 112,000 in 2008.

18 Dec 2009

Regulus Therapeutics wins exclusive rights to modulate microRNAs

Regulus Therapeutics Inc., founded by Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., announced today that it has obtained exclusive rights from the California Institute of Technology to inventions made in the laboratory of David Baltimore, Ph.D. covering methods and compositions for modulating microRNA-146 and microRNA-155.

18 Dec 2009

Calorie-intake restriction can benefit longevity and help prevent cancer

Researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) have discovered that restricting consumption of glucose, the most common dietary sugar, can extend the life of healthy human-lung cells and speed the death of precancerous human-lung cells, reducing cancer's spread and growth rate.

18 Dec 2009