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Researchers identify three new chemical risk factors for bladder cancer

Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers and colleagues have identified three new chemical risk factors for bladder cancer in a study involving some 600 people in the Los Angeles area. The work was reported in the Oct. 6 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

8 Oct 2004

Spitting into a cup could someday be an alternative to blood testing

Researchers have identified the largest number of proteins to date in human saliva, a preliminary finding that could pave the way for more diagnostic tests based on saliva samples. Such tests show promise as a faster, cheaper and potentially safer diagnostic method than blood sampling, they say.

5 Oct 2004

Microfluidics help lab-on-a-chip development skyrocket

Lab-on-a-chip (LOC) development has skyrocketed in the last couple of years due to constant efforts in harnessing microfluidics and µTAS to improve the LOC design and function. The distinct advantages that they bestow on applications are pushing the commercial potential of LOCs.

28 Sep 2004

Japanese research lab to use an IBM supercomputer for protein research

IBM announced today that AIST, a leading Japanese research laboratory, will use an IBM BlueGene/L supercomputer to advance their research in proteins, potentially accelerating breakthroughs in drug design. The BlueGene/L supercomputer has been ranked as the fourth largest supercomputer in the world.

8 Sep 2004

Toxic chemical in hand soaps, cleaner is deposited and remains in the environment long after the products are used

A toxic chemical used in hand soaps, cleaners and other personal care products to kill germs is deposited and remains in the environment long after the products are used, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

18 Aug 2004

Scientists discover the body's own defense against H.Pylori, the cause of stomach ulcers and stomach cancer

An international team led by The Burnham Institute's Minoru Fukuda, Ph.D., has discovered that a human glycoprotein inhibits Helicobacter pylori ("H. pylori"), the bacterium that causes stomach ulcers and is linked with 90% of stomach cancers.

13 Aug 2004

New service-oriented laboratory focused on bioanalysis and pharmacokinetics

Oregon Health & Science University researchers will more quickly move benchtop discoveries toward drug discoveries with the help of a new, service-oriented laboratory focused on bioanalysis and pharmacokinetics.

11 Aug 2004

New method for detecting premature birth

Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University have discovered a method for detecting intra-amniotic infections in pregnant women using state-of-the-art methods.

29 Jul 2004

New method for identifying proteins found in trace quantities in the blood

Using conventional technologies, researchers supported by the National Cancer Institute (Science Applications International Corporation-Frederick, Inc. (SAIC)) have developed a new method for identifying proteins found in trace quantities in the blood.

5 Jun 2004

To sleep…

Proteomic analysis using mass spectrometry could be used in a diagnostic test for sleeping sickness that can more accurately spot the disease than current approaches.

18 May 2004

Scientists have identified a compound that halts the activity of a deadly toxin called anthrax

University of Chicago scientists have identified a compound that halts the activity of a deadly toxin called anthrax lethal factor in laboratory tests. Nature Biotechnology will publish the findings online on May 16 and in the June issue of the journal's print edition.

17 May 2004

New designer steroid discovered in anonymously provided syringe

A previously unknown synthetic "designer" steroid has been identified as tetrahydrogestrinone (THG). Researchers working out of the UCLA Olympic Analytical Laboratory in Los Angeles synthesized and characterized the "New Chemical Entity", and proceeded to develop a rapid and accurate urine detection test for it.

14 May 2004

Functional genomics and proteomics may accelerate the discovery of new drugs and therapeutic molecules

Functional genomics and proteomics have been quite successful in identifying functions of potential therapeutic targets such as encoded proteins. In fact, the possibilities of identifying more than 10,000 novel target antigens in the human genome may accelerate the discovery of new drugs and therapeutic molecules.

29 Apr 2004

Mass spectrometry offers promising diagnostic test for sleeping sickness

Around half a million people a year in sub-Saharan Africa are affected by sleeping sickness (human African trypanosomiasis). The disease is fatal in humans if not treated with chemotherapy; however, adverse effects of drug treatment and an increase in drug resistance underline the importance of establishing an accurate diagnostic test for the disease.

22 Apr 2004

Identification of first protein biomarkers to help patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

A University of Pittsburgh pathologist has identified the first protein biomarkers able to diagnose patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease) with near 100 percent accuracy. Before this finding, there were no known diagnostic biomarkers for this neurodegenerative disease.

18 Apr 2004

Using mass spectrometry to diagnose cancers and non-cancerous diseases

Using mass spectrometry, Emory University scientists have identified specific protein fingerprints in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of humans that enable them to differentiate between cancers, both primary and metastatic, and non-cancerous diseases of the central nervous system (CNS).

18 Apr 2004

Protein identification gets a speed boost

But the labor intensity of the procedure is now a thing of the past for researchers in the Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine. The Proteomics Shared Resource, an unassuming but state-of-the-art lab on the fifth floor of OHSU's Medical Research Building, can process more than three times as many protein samples in half a day, and much of it can be done by one person.

14 Apr 2004