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Blocking activation of delta-PKC enzyme could protect lungs from neutrophil-mediated damage

All of us may be able to breathe a little easier now that scientists from Pennsylvania have found a new therapeutic target for controlling dangerous inflammation in the lungs. A new research report in the January 2011 issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology (http://www.jleukbio.org) suggests that blocking the activation of an enzyme called delta-protein kinase C (delta-PKC) could protect the lungs from neutrophil-mediated damage, which can result in out of control inflammation.

5 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

Thomson Reuters and ChemAxon enter strategic partnership

The IP Solutions business of Thomson Reuters®, the leader in intellectual property research and analysis solutions, and ChemAxon, the leader in cheminformatics software for the life sciences industry, today announced a strategic partnership whereby Thomson Reuters is providing its chemical IP Data Feeds – Markush Structures and patent data to users of ChemAxon's JChem chemical software platform.

5 Jan 2011

Alnylam presents ALN-VSP Phase I trial results for liver cancer

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, a leading RNAi therapeutics company, today presented new clinical data from its ALN-VSP Phase I liver cancer trial in a presentation at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. Results from molecular analysis of human biopsy samples showed achievement of pharmacologically relevant siRNA drug levels in tissues.

5 Jan 2011

Obama to sign food safety law today

The Food and Drug Administration is preparing to enact provisions of the new food-safety bill that was passed by Congress in the waning days of 2010 and is expected to be signed into law Tuesday (Tomson, 1/4).

5 Jan 2011

High risk of burnout among residents and senior physicians

The January issue of the journal Anesthesiology examines the issue of burnout among anesthesiologists. Two studies provide significant burnout statistics among these highly trained medical specialists, and editorials offer personal perspective on the issue as well as advice on how best to avoid professional burnout.

5 Jan 2011

Fruit fly faeces provides answers to pregnant women's bloating and constipation

Clues about how the human gut helps regulate our appetite have come from a most unusual source - fruit fly faeces. Scientists at the University of Cambridge are using the fruit fly to help understand aspects of human metabolism, including why pregnant women suffer from bloating and constipation, and even the link between a low calorie diet and longevity.

5 Jan 2011

New research finds physicians are not following standard care guidelines for OA

New research found clinicians who care for patients with osteoarthritis are likely not following standard care guidelines that are based on current medical evidence.

5 Jan 2011

Metabolic cost of missing one night of sleep equivalent to walking two miles

In the first-ever quantification of energy expended by humans during sleep, a University of Colorado team has found that the metabolic cost of an adult missing one night of sleep is the equivalent of walking slightly less than two miles.

5 Jan 2011

Setting the date: House scheduled to vote Jan. 12 on health law repeal

House GOP leaders have scheduled for Jan. 12 a much-awaited and politically charged vote to repeal the health law. In the background, news organizations report on the positions being taken by Democrats who may have voted against the measure the first time around and how Republicans plan to explain the budget implications of this repeal effort.

5 Jan 2011

Researchers develop unique vaccine that produces long-lasting anti-cocaine immunity in mice

Researchers from The Scripps Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medical College, and Cornell University have produced a long-lasting anti-cocaine immunity in mice by giving them a unique vaccine that combines bits of the common cold virus with a particle that mimics cocaine.

5 Jan 2011

Researchers develop new hand-held instrument for glaucoma screening

A new hand-held instrument involving a system of micro-force sensors, specially designed microchips, and math-based programmed procedures has been designed by researchers at the UA College of Engineering. The easy-to-use probe gently rubs the eyelid and can be used at home, threatening to replace painful eye drops and the need for a sterilized sensor.

5 Jan 2011

Seattle Times looks at response to Haitian cholera outbreak on the ground

Though Haiti's cholera "epidemic continues to spread, infecting more than 125,000 people and killing more than 3,200," it seems to have "stabilized in" the town of Mirebalais, which is close to the "U.N. camp of Nepalese peacekeepers who are under investigation as a possible source" of the outbreak, the Seattle Times reports in a story outlining how aid groups and health workers are dealing with the situation.

5 Jan 2011

Santaris Pharma, Pfizer expand RNA-targeted medicine collaboration

Santaris Pharma A/S, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the research and development of mRNA and microRNA targeted therapies, and Pfizer Inc., today announced that the companies have expanded their collaboration directed to the development and commercialization of RNA-targeted medicines using Santaris Pharma A/S Locked Nucleic Acid (LNA) Drug Platform.

5 Jan 2011

Republican push to undo health law will be no easy task

Even as the GOP flexes its new political muscle, news outlets offer analysis of the difficulties involved in the long-term strategy to prevent the health law's implementation — including the difficulties involved in attempts to defund it. Meanwhile, PBS explores how this debate could trigger the return of the "death panel" issue.

5 Jan 2011

Study reviews effects of supplements on mental energy

The Life Sciences Research Organization, Inc. (LSRO) has published a review article in the December 2010 issue of Nutrition Reviews entitled Do Specific Constituents and Supplements Affect Mental Energy? Review of the Evidence.

5 Jan 2011

Vaccinex receives FDA clearance to initiate VX15/2503 Phase 1 clinical trial in advanced solid tumors

Vaccinex, Inc. announced today that it has received clearance from FDA and will initiate a Phase 1 clinical trial to assess the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of therapeutic antibody candidate VX15/2503 in cancer patients with advanced solid tumors.

5 Jan 2011

Roundup: Calif. issues emergency medical care expenditure regs; High risk pools in Mich., Wis. face stumbling blocks

California's new insurance commissioner sought Monday to force health insurers to spend more of their revenue on medical care. In his first official act, Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones ordered emergency regulations requiring insurance companies to devote at least 80% of their income to policyholders' claims in the state's individual insurance market (Helfand, 1/4).

5 Jan 2011

Increased amounts of MMP-1 enzyme may explain preeclampsia symptoms in pregnant women

Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine researchers have found that a significant increase of an enzyme in the blood vessels of pregnant women with preeclampsia may explain some of the symptoms associated with the condition, including hypertension, swelling and protein in the urine.

5 Jan 2011

VENENUM Biodesign relocates to new, state-of-the-art facility in Hamilton

VENENUM Biodesign, a drug discovery company that utilizes ultra-high throughput screening (UHTS) of its compound collection to identify hits against its novel disease-based targets or its partners' targets, announced today its relocation to a brand-new, state-of-the-art facility in Hamilton, NJ in Mercer County.

5 Jan 2011