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First Edition: October 3, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about how the federal and state health exchanges worked on their second day of operations. In the background, the congressional budget stand off continues.

3 Oct 2013

Scientists discover how to quantitatively observe cellular processes taking place on "lab on chip" devices

A team of scientists from The University of Texas at Arlington and MIT has figured out how to quantitatively observe cellular processes taking place on so-called "lab on a chip" devices in a silicon environment.

3 Oct 2013

New agreement to expand scope of research project to evaluate MCT-485 for primary liver cancer

MultiCell Technologies, Inc. is pleased to announce the signing of a new sponsored research agreement with Anand Ghanekar, M.D., Ph.D, of the University Health Network's Toronto General Hospital expanding the scope of the research project to evaluate MCT-485 in animal models for the treatment of primary liver cancer.

2 Oct 2013

ARAMARK event to aid low-income San Diego families caring for disabled family members

With minimal resources stretched to the limit, low-income families living in the heart of San Diego are challenged to provide adequate nutritious food, access to physical activity, and quality healthcare not only for themselves, but also for loved ones who suffer from disabling physical, mental or developmental impairments.

2 Oct 2013

Minimally invasive treatments for lumbar spinal stenosis: an interview with James Corbett, President & Chief Executive Officer of Vertos Medical

Lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) is a degenerative, age-related narrowing of the lower spinal canal that causes pressure on the nerves, leading to pain and reduced mobility. Symptoms include pain, numbness, or tingling in the lower back, legs, or buttocks, which limits your ability to stand or walk.

30 Sep 2013

Sister stem cells display considerable differences despite having identical DNA

Scientists have used a brand new technique for examining individual stem cells to uncover dramatic differences in the gene expression levels - which genes are turned 'up' or 'down'- between apparently identical 'sister' pairs.

27 Sep 2013

World’s first preclinical Magnetic Particle Imaging (MPI) system announced by Bruker

At the 2013 World Molecular Imaging Congress (WMIC, www.wmicmeeting.org), Bruker today announced the world’s first Magnetic Particle Imaging (MPI) system, an entirely new technology for preclinical imaging. The addition of MPI as a complementary preclinical imaging technique for disease studies, translational research and drug discovery, has significant potential in helping researchers gain new insights into disease processes at the organ, cellular and molecular level.

From Bruker BioSpin - NMR, EPR and Imaging 19 Sep 2013

Multimodal animal bed introduced by Bruker

Today, at the 2013 World Molecular Imaging Congress (WMIC), Bruker introduces a new multimodal animal bed enabling multiple sequential imaging sessions in preclinical research with robust repositioning between scans, while avoiding unwanted motion of the animal during the investigation. This optimizes results for image fusion, combined processing and evaluation of preclinical research applications requiring multiple imaging modalities across multiple systems.

From Bruker BioSpin - NMR, EPR and Imaging 19 Sep 2013

Using Serialization to Prevent Counterfeiting in the Pharmaceutical Industry

News-Medical speaks to Sue Miles about the dangers of counterfeit pharmaceutical products and how PCI are reducing the risk of counterfeiting during transit.

From Packaging Coordinators Inc. (PCI) 17 Sep 2013

Wake Forest Baptist conducts $24 million project to accelerate development of new therapies

Whether it's the Ebola virus or Sarin and Ricin, a key to responding to chemical or biological attacks is having effective antidotes at the ready. To accelerate the development of new therapies, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center's Institute for Regenerative Medicine is leading a unique $24 million federally funded project to develop a "body on a chip" that will be used to develop these countermeasures.

12 Sep 2013

Elevated miR-200 boosts survival of lung, ovarian, renal, triple-negative breast cancer patients

A family of microRNAs (miR-200) blocks cancer progression and metastasis by stifling a tumor's ability to weave new blood vessels to support itself, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center report today in Nature Communications.

12 Sep 2013

Improved lung function in patients with moderate asthma severity observed with investigational Tiotropium

Boehringer Ingelheim will present a pooled analysis of new data from the Phase 3 UniTinA-asthma® program at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Annual Congress 2013 in Barcelona. The data from the individual MezzoTinA-asthma® Phase 3 studies (NCT01340209 and NCT00565266), from which the pooled data are derived, show the addition of tiotropium delivered via the Respimat® inhaler to medium-dose maintenance inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) therapy (defined as 400-800 µg budesonide/day or equivalent) improved lung function and provided sustained bronchodilation over 24 hours in patients with moderate asthma and airflow limitation. Tiotropium is being investigated to determine the medicine’s efficacy in treating asthma patients and is not currently approved for this indication.

11 Sep 2013

Patients with COPD show improvements in lung function with olodaterol

Data from the olodaterol Phase 3 clinical program, presented for the first time at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Annual Congress 2013 in Barcelona, showed the addition of olodaterol 5 and 10 µg delivered once daily via the Respimat® inhaler provided improvements in lung function in patients with moderate to very severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

10 Sep 2013

European launch of new version of REVIVE™ SE Thrombectomy Device for treatment of acute ischemic stroke announced by Codman Neuro

Codman Neuro*, part of DePuy Synthes Companies of Johnson & Johnson, announced the European launch of the REVIVE™ SE Thrombectomy Device, a next generation clot removal device offering enhanced navigation through the cerebral vasculature and rapid restoration of blood flow to the brain after an ischemic stroke.

9 Sep 2013

Once-daily COPD portfolio data from Novartis presented at European Respiratory Society (ERS) Annual Congress

Novartis announced new analyses of data for once-daily Ultibro® Breezhaler® (investigational QVA149 - indacaterol 85 mcg/glycopyrronium 43 mcg delivered dose, equivalent to 110 mcg/50 mcg metered dose per capsule), which showed significant improvements in lung function, shortness of breath and health-related quality of life for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients versus all comparators1,2. These data were part of 39 respiratory abstracts presented at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Annual Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

9 Sep 2013

New flexible microneedle patch allows drugs to deliver directly through skin

An assistant professor with the Virginia Tech - Wake Forest School of Biomedical Engineering has developed a flexible microneedle patch that allows drugs to be delivered directly and fully through the skin. The new patch can quicken drug delivery time while cutting waste, and can likely minimize side-effects in some cases, notable in vaccinations and cancer therapy.

7 Sep 2013

Scientists develop robotic systems for image-guided removal of hard-to-reach brain tumors

NIBIB-funded scientists and engineers are teaming up with neurosurgeons to develop technologies that enable less invasive, image-guided removal of hard-to-reach brain tumors.

6 Sep 2013

Technology used to treat cancer also functions as micro rocket for spacecraft

Nanosatellites are smartphone-sized spacecraft that can perform simple, yet valuable, space missions. Dozens of these little vehicles are now tirelessly orbiting the earth performing valuable functions for NASA, the Department of Defense and even private companies.

5 Sep 2013

Microencapsulated brain cancer drug may simplify treatment and provide tightly controlled therapy

Consistently uniform, easily manufactured microcapsules containing a brain cancer drug may simplify treatment and provide more tightly controlled therapy, according to Penn State researchers.

4 Sep 2013

Iron deficiency anemia may offer protection against malaria infection

Children in a malaria-endemic community in Ghana who received a micronutrient powder with iron did not have an increased incidence of malaria, according to a study in the September 4 issue of JAMA. Previous research has suggested that iron supplementation for children with iron deficiency in malaria-endemic areas may increase the risk of malaria.