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Secret behind viruses making covert attacks unravelled: Study

Some viruses use a form of disguise to avoid being detected by the body’s immune system. Now researchers from Melbourne have found out the secret behind the Trojan-horse like phenomenon. Gabrielle Belz and her colleagues at Parkville’s Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in collaboration with researchers from the University of Cambridge found the key viral gene that was responsible for the phenomenon called K3. The study appeared in the current issue of the Journal of Immunology.

9 Jan 2011

Urine tests could detect Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Australian researchers have found a novel and easy way to detect a common and debilitating anxiety disorder called the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or OCD. Scientists at the Centenary Institute in Sydney discovered a gene responsible for a rare kidney disorder is also behind OCD. This may make detecting OCD easier through a simple urine test. This test could also identify babies with risk of early-onset OCD. OCD affects up to 3 per cent of all Australians and in its worst cases can be completely debilitating, causing people to have to stay at home. OCD sufferers feel intense anxiety and are compelled to practice rituals - such as hand washing or arranging objects.

6 Jan 2011

Positive topline results from ZGN-433 Phase 1b study in obesity patients

Zafgen, a pharmaceutical company pioneering novel obesity therapeutics to help the body regain and sustain a lean, healthy state by targeting imbalances in fat metabolism, today announced positive topline results from its Phase 1b study of ZGN-433, a methionine aminopeptidase 2 inhibitor, for the treatment of severe obesity.

6 Jan 2011

Researchers investigate umbilical cord blood stem cells for traumatic brain injury in children

The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston has begun enrollment for the first Phase I safety study approved by the Food and Drug Administration to investigate the use of a child's own umbilical cord blood stem cells for traumatic brain injury in children.

6 Jan 2011

NTU announces $150 million Lee Foundation gift for new medical school

Nanyang Technological University today announced a gift of $150 million by the Lee Foundation towards the new medical school with half of the sum going directly to needy students. Together with the enhanced Singapore Government matching, NTU will receive a gift amounting to $400 million.

5 Jan 2011

Trial to eliminate deadly Dengue begins

The 12 week programme costing $18 million named ‘Eliminate Dengue’ has commenced. Mosquitoes bearing a special bacteria would be released into the wild around Cairns as part of a trial to rid the area of the insects that carry Dengue fever.

4 Jan 2011

New technology can help implement safe driving strategies in electric wheelchairs

Thick gravel, mud, snow, steep ramps or hills . . . They might get a pedestrian a little dirty or out of breath, but to someone in an electric wheelchair, they could mean terrain that's simply too difficult to cross alone. To address this problem, researchers at the Florida A&M University-Florida State University College of Engineering are working on technology that will enable electric-powered wheelchairs to detect hazardous terrain and automatically adjust their control settings to maneuver more safely.

4 Jan 2011

Looking ahead: What health system changes to expect in 2011

[M]illions of Americans [are] already exploring realities of the health-care overhaul, provisions likely to remain in place even as lawmakers threaten to repeal or defund it. Several key measures began taking effect for insurance plans written or renewed starting in September. More are scheduled for 2011, some benefiting consumers directly, others affecting insurance companies in various ways (Conaboy/Avril, 1/2).

3 Jan 2011

Florida Hospital, Sanford-Burnham and Takeda enter obesity research collaboration

Florida Hospital, Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham), and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (Takeda)(TSE: 4502), announced today that they have signed a research agreement to form a collaboration to discover and evaluate new therapeutic approaches to obesity, a growing worldwide health problem. The partnership aligns complementary strengths in biomedical research, clinical research and drug development to identify and validate obesity- related biomarkers and new peripheral molecular targets of mutual interest.

29 Dec 2010

AMPK activates autophagy by activating ATG1 enzyme

Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have discovered how AMPK, a metabolic master switch that springs into gear when cells run low on energy, revs up a cellular recycling program to free up essential molecular building blocks in times of need.

24 Dec 2010

Researchers study relationship between MITF, ATF2 in melanoma development

Melanoma is one of the least common types of skin cancer, but it is also the most deadly. Melanocytes (pigment-producing skin cells) lose the genetic regulatory mechanisms that normally limit their number, allowing them to divide and proliferate out of control. One such regulator, called MITF, controls an array of genes that influence melanocyte development, function and survival.

24 Dec 2010

Most Australians don't approve of IVF or abortion for sex-selection

Most Australians do not approve of IVF or abortion for sex-selection purposes, and most do not think a hypothetical blue or pink pill to select the sex of a child should be legal, a new study has found.

23 Dec 2010

2010 'a watershed year' for lung cancer

Today, Lung Cancer Alliance (LCA) called 2010 "a watershed year" for lung cancer that included increased research funding, additional Congressional support, a new national coalition of key policy organizations, and the validation of CT screening - a convergence of forces that can reverse the historic underfunding and neglect of lung cancer.

23 Dec 2010

Male mice created without Y chromosome

University of Adelaide researchers are a step closer to unraveling the mysteries of human sexual development, following genetic studies that show male mice can be created without a Y chromosome - through the activation of an ancient brain gene.

23 Dec 2010

New era for anticoagulant therapy

In a Guest Editorial published in the new publication Clinical Investigation, Dr Jeffrey Weitz and Dr John Eikelboom of McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada highlight the importance of the approval in October by the FDA of dabigatran etexilate (Pradaxa®; Boehringer Ingelheim). This new oral thrombin inhibitor provides an alternative to warfarin for long-term stroke prevention in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation.

22 Dec 2010

Molecular breakdown of Bicoid protein vital for normal patterning of fruit fly's offspring

Using fruit flies as a model to study embryo formation, scientists report in Nature Cell Biology that molecular breakdown of a protein called Bicoid is vital to normal head-to-tail patterning of the insect's offspring.

22 Dec 2010

Top ten advances in cardiovascular, stroke research in 2010

Research on reducing risks, improving medical treatment and improving lifestyle behaviors to fight the battle against heart disease and stroke are among the key scientific findings that make up this year's top cardiovascular and stroke research recognized by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.

22 Dec 2010

Researchers receive $100,000 NFL grant to study tissue engineering for spinal injuries

Researchers from Cornell University and Weill Cornell Medical College have been awarded $100,000 by NFL Charities, the charitable foundation of the National Football League owners, to research tissue engineering for spinal injuries.

22 Dec 2010

Majority of nurses are unaware of simple diagnostic test for sepsis

bioMerieux, a world leader in the field of in vitro diagnostics, announced the results of a survey demonstrating that most critical care nurses are unaware of a simple diagnostic test that may dramatically improve outcomes for sepsis patients.

22 Dec 2010

Alion awarded $1.4M Army contract to develop affordable robotic prosthetic device

Since 2003, 1,145 soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan have had a limb amputated. In response, Alion Science and Technology, an employee-owned technology solutions company, is leading a modeling and simulation research effort that could help enhance the field of prosthetic limbs. Alion was awarded an 18-month, $1.4 million contract from the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity to explore affordable and improved approaches in bringing robotic control technology to the field of prosthetic limbs.

21 Dec 2010