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Prairie dog study holds significant implications for understanding spread of infectious diseases

Prairie dogs, once abundant in the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains, have been decimated in recent decades by plague - a virulent bacterial disease spread by fleas.Plague outbreaks periodically sweep through large prairie dog towns with thousands of inhabitants, killing virtually the entire population within months. Other prairie dogs move in and build a new colony, which eventually is wiped out when the disease returns.

4 Aug 2010

Research establishes bases of possible future pharmaceutical drugs to combat AIDS virus

The doors are closing on the AIDS virus. The scientific community continues to strive to find the formula that will halt the advance of one of the viruses that has sparked most scientific interest over recent years. A study by the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cient-ficas (CSIC) and led by Mr F-lix Go-i, director of the Biophysics Unit at the CSIC-University of the Basque Country Mixed Centre, has developed a method of attack against the AIDS virus The method involves creating a prevention system, i.e. an 'armour' in the cells that are likely to be infected and thus impede, de facto, the virus from accessing them and starting to act on their immunological system.

31 Jul 2010

Champions Biotechnology fiscal 2010 operating revenues increase to $4.89 million

Champions Biotechnology, Inc., a company engaged in the development of advanced preclinical platforms and tumor specific data to enhance the value of oncology drugs, today announced its financial results for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2010.

29 Jul 2010

Scientists study Legionella's reprogramming on cells for survival, propagation

When it infects the lungs, the Legionnaire's bacterium Legionella pneumophila causes acute pneumonia. The pathogen's modus operandi is particularly ingenious: it infiltrates deliberately into cells of the human immune system and injects a host of proteins which then interfere in the normal cellular processes. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology in Dortmund have now discovered how Legionella reprogrammes the cells to ensure its own survival and to propagate. They examined a protein used by the pathogen to divert the material transport within the cells for its own purposes.

26 Jul 2010

Biologists discover new way to limit formation of teratomas

One of the characteristics of embryonic stem cells is their ability to form unusual tumors called teratomas. These tumors, which contain a mixture of cells from a variety of tissues and organs of the body, are typically benign. But they present a major obstacle to the development of human embryonic stem cell therapies that seek to treat a variety of human ailments such as Parkinson's, diabetes, genetic blood disorders and spinal cord injuries.

9 Jul 2010

Hamilton Thorne announces launch of Staccato multi-pulse laser system at 8th ISSCR Annual Meeting

Hamilton Thorne Ltd., a leading provider of advanced laser systems and instruments for the stem cell research and fertility clinic markets, today announced the launch of the Staccato(TM) multi-pulse laser system at the 8th Annual Meeting of the International Society of Stem Cell Research (ISSCR), June 16-19, 2010, in San Francisco, CA. Staccato(TM) will add to the functionality of the XYClone(R) laser system, providing the ability of near-continuous application of the laser to the sample through rapid pulsing of the beam.

16 Jun 2010

Monoclonal antibodies induce long-lasting, protective antiviral immune response

Monoclonal antibodies are the largest class of biotherapeutic drugs. When administered to infected organisms to blunt the propagation of pathogenic viruses, they may also induce a long-lasting and protective antiviral immune response similar to that achieved by vaccination. These results obtained in mice by the "Oncogenèse et Immunothérapie" group at the Institut de Génétique Moléculaire de Montpellier (CNRS/Universités Montpellier 1 and 2), have been published on 10 June in PLoS Pathogens.

14 Jun 2010

BioTime first-quarter total revenue up 159% to $767,127

BioTime, Inc. today reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2010 and provided an update on recent corporate developments.

5 May 2010

Innovative algorithms lead to new arena of breast ultrasound technology

The groundbreaking algorithms developed at TechniScan, Inc. have led to a new arena of whole breast ultrasound technology, as presented at a national medical ultrasound conference in San Diego in March.

8 Apr 2010

Plexiglas robot sees in the dark much like blind cave fish Astyanax

Clever as a blind fish, the underwater robot "Snookie" can orient itself in murky waters with an artificial sensory organ inspired by the so-called lateral-line system, found in fish and some amphibians. The experimental vehicle was developed by researchers at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen within the framework of the CoTeSys (Cognition for Technical Systems) excellence cluster. In the future, the researchers expect such capabilities to enable underwater robots to work autonomously in operations ranging from deep sea exploration to inspection of sewer pipes.

5 Apr 2010

Palo Alto Networks study: Intensity of Enterprise 2.0 application usage is on the rise

The intensity of Enterprise 2.0 application usage is on the rise globally – especially in the most highly regulated industries, according to the latest study conducted by Palo Alto Networks™, the network security company. While social media is pervasive in organizations worldwide, usage has far outpaced controls.

5 Apr 2010

New molecule effective against lice

French medical researchers from the AP-HP (Henri Mondor Hospital and Avicenne Hospital) and Inserm (Unit 738 "Models and methods for therapeutic evaluation of chronic illnesses" and CIC 202, at Tours) have recently demonstrated the effectiveness of a new molecule in the fight against lice. Faced with the emergence of increasing resistance to conventional treatments by these parasites, this new medication represents a real therapeutic alternative which is effective in 95% of cases.

12 Mar 2010

Gene study could pave way for novel methods for plagues and other infectious diseases

An international consortium of scientists, including Universitat Aut-noma de Barcelona (UAB) researcher Deodoro Oliveira, have sequenced the genome of three species of parasitoid wasps of the genus Nasonia.

18 Feb 2010

CNRS-Institut researchers identify 'virulence factor' that inhibits host immune response

Oncogenic retroviruses are a particular family of viruses that can cause some types of cancer. Thierry Heidmann and his colleagues in the CNRS-Institut Gustave Roussy-Université Paris Sud 11 "Rétrovirus endogènes et éléments rétroïdes des eucaryotes supérieurs" Laboratory have studied these viruses. They have identified a "virulence factor" that inhibits the host immune response and allows the virus to spread throughout the body.

16 Feb 2010

Calcium waves could be relevant for understanding the origin of Alzheimer's disease

New insights on what causes Alzheimer's disease could arise from a recent discovery made by bioengineers from the University of California, San Diego. The finding concerns the infamous amyloid beta peptides (Aβ)-fragments of which form plaques thought to play a role in Alzheimer's disease.

15 Feb 2010

Journal explores biological and environmental challenges in elite winter sports

As the world turns its sporting gaze towards Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Olympics, The Physiological Society journal Experimental Physiology marks the occasion with a special issue exploring the biological and environmental challenges elite winter athletes must overcome to win gold.

11 Feb 2010

Study could lead to new therapeutic strategies for Parkinson's disease

A new study from The Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital - The Neuro - at McGill University is the first to discover a molecular link between Parkinson's disease and defects in the ability of nerve cells to communicate.

10 Feb 2010

Multiple ultrasounds may not be necessary for diagnosing DVT in some low-risk patients

An analysis of previous studies suggests that for patients with a suspected blood clot in a deep vein of a leg, withholding anticoagulation therapy after a negative whole-leg compression ultrasound is associated with a low risk of developing a blood clot during the subsequent 3 months, suggesting that multiple ultrasounds may not be necessary for some low-risk patients, according to an article in the February 3 issue of JAMA.

3 Feb 2010

New research shows tumor suppressor p53 prevents cancer progression in cells

Cells missegregate a chromosome approximately once every hundred divisions. But don't be too alarmed: new research in the Journal of Cell Biology shows that the tumor suppressor p53 limits the growth of cells with incorrect numbers of chromosomes and prevents their progression toward cancer.

2 Feb 2010

Normal protein can be converted into prion that causes fatal brain diseases in humans

Scientists have determined how a normal protein can be converted into a prion, an infectious agent that causes fatal brain diseases in humans and mammals.

29 Jan 2010