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Researchers discover important link between sodium and calcium

The scientific community has always wanted to know why people who eat high-salt diets are prone to developing medical problems such as kidney stones and osteoporosis.

25 Jul 2012

Mice have different neural subsystem associated with instinctually important smells

A new study finds that mice have a distinct neural subsystem that links the nose to the brain and is associated with instinctually important smells such as those emitted by predators. That insight, published online this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, prompts the question whether mice and other mammals have specially hardwired neural circuitry to trigger instinctive behavior in response to certain smells.

25 Jul 2012

RhoC gene promotes breast cancer stem cell progression

Researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center have found that a cancer gene linked to aggressive spread of the disease promotes breast cancer stem cells. The finding implies a new way to target the behavior of these lethal cells.

25 Jul 2012

Vanderbilt researchers receives new $2.1M grant to develop microbrain bioreactor

Take a millionth of a human brain and squeeze it into a special chamber the size of a mustard seed. Link it to a second chamber filled with cerebral spinal fluid and thread both of them with artificial blood vessels in order to create a microenvironment that makes the neurons and other brain cells behave as if they were in a living brain. Then surround the chambers with a battery of sensors that monitor how the cells respond when exposed to minute quantities of dietary toxins, disease organisms or new drugs under development.

25 Jul 2012

New investment to fund Chiasma's Octreolin Phase 3 pivotal program for acromegaly

Chiasma, Inc., a privately held biopharma company, announced that it closed a $38.5 million equity financing co-led by new investor Abingworth and current investor MPM Capital that also included investments from existing shareholders 7 Med Health Ventures, ARCH Venture Partners, F3 Ventures and Fredric Price, Chiasma's Chairman & CEO.

23 Jul 2012

Research finds new gene involved in epilepsy

New research conducted by neuroscientists from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) published in Nature Medicine has identified a new gene involved in epilepsy and could potentially provide a new treatment option for patients with epilepsy.

23 Jul 2012

Internal clock of human skin responsible for time-based steering of repair and regeneration

A research team at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin together with scientists at a company in Hamburg has now discovered that human skin has an internal clock responsible for the time-based steering of its repair and regeneration, among other things. The team published its first results from their basic research in the current issue of Proceedings of the Academy of Science (PNAS).

20 Jul 2012

Scientists identify inhibitors of key enzyme involved in survival of malaria parasite

An international team of scientists, led by researchers from the Department of Pediatrics at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, have identified the first reported inhibitors of a key enzyme involved in survival of the parasite responsible for malaria. Their findings, which may provide the basis for anti-malarial drug development, are currently published in the online version of the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.

20 Jul 2012

Scientists to create new drugs with bone formation stimulating activities

A Simon Fraser University researcher is leading a team of scientists working to create new drugs to stimulate bone regeneration - research that will be furthered by a $2.5 million grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

20 Jul 2012

Conatus, University of Alberta initiate islet cell transplant Phase I/II trial of emricasan for diabetes

Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc. and the University of Alberta announced today the treatment of the first patient in an investigator-initiated islet cell transplant Phase I/II trial of emricasan (IDN-6556), a pan-caspase inhibitor.

20 Jul 2012

Bryologs more potent than prostratin in treating HIV

Thanks to antiretrovirals, an AIDS diagnosis hasn't been a death sentence for nearly two decades. But highly active antiretroviral therapy, or HAART, is also not a cure.

19 Jul 2012

Researchers verify role of alpha-synuclein aggregates in vivo

Using a two-photon microscope capable of peering deep within living tissue, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have found new evidence that alpha-synuclein protein build-up inside neurons causes them to not only become "leaky," but also to misfire due to calcium fluxes.

19 Jul 2012

Angion Biomedica initiates BB3 Phase II trial in heart attack

Angion Biomedica Corp. announced today that the first patient was dosed in a Phase II multicenter clinical trial evaluating BB3 for the treatment of heart attack (acute myocardial infarction).

19 Jul 2012

WCMC receives NHLBI grant to study smoking-induced COPD

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College were awarded a $6.5 million grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for a five-year investigation into metabolic changes occurring within airway epithelial cells in the lungs of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients caused by cigarette smoking. In addition, researchers aim to identify which cigarette smokers are at highest risk of developing COPD as well as novel biomarkers to assist in the development of new therapeutic treatments for the disease.

17 Jul 2012

D-ribose effective in improving QOL in energy-depleted patients with FMS/CFS

A new multicenter study published in The Open Pain Journal showed that daily consumption of the pentose carbohydrate D-ribose resulted in an average energy boost of 61 percent among patients diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and fibromyalgia (FMS).

17 Jul 2012

WTG to launch ‘Early Drug Development Summit’ in Berlin

With its 15 years conference production and management experience, WTG introduces a leading pharma event: "Early Drug Development Summit" in December 3rd-4th 2012 in Berlin, Germany.

16 Jul 2012

New NMR spectrometer to benefit researchers from across Texas A&M

Top-notch molecular research swung into gear at Texas A&M University this week - literally. A crane lowered a high-field 800 megahertz Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectrometer through an opening in the roof of a biochemistry and biophysics building Wednesday, putting the university on par with leading U.S. research institutions, according to Dr. Gregory Reinhart, department head.

16 Jul 2012

Researchers discover HVEM’s unknown role in fighting off E. coli infections

Despite ongoing public health efforts, E. coli outbreaks continue to infiltrate the food supply, annually causing significant sickness and death throughout the world. But the research community is gaining ground. In a major finding, published today in the scientific journal Nature, researchers from the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology have discovered a molecule's previously unknown role in fighting off E. coli and other bacterial infections, a discovery that could lead to new ways to protect people from these dangerous microorganisms.

16 Jul 2012

Cleveland Clinic receives NHLBI grant to identify new pathways linked with cardiovascular diseases

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) has awarded a $4.78 million grant to researchers at Cleveland Clinic's Lerner Research Institute to use metabolomics - a new approach that focuses on the small-molecule byproducts of metabolism - for discovery of novel pathways linked to the development of cardiovascular diseases.

14 Jul 2012

Body rids itself of excess copper through urine: New study

Scientists have long known that the body rids itself of excess copper and various other minerals by collecting them in the liver and excreting them through the liver's bile. However, a new study led by Johns Hopkins researchers and published June 22 in PLoS One suggests that when this route is impaired there's another exit route just for copper: A molecule sequesters only that mineral and routes it from the body through urine.

14 Jul 2012