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FDA clears IntriCon's Sirona Event and Holter Recorder

IntriCon Corporation, a designer, developer, manufacturer and distributor of miniature and micro-miniature body-worn devices, today announced it has received 510(k) marketing clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), for its Sirona Event and Holter Recorder. Sirona is the company's second-generation cardiac diagnostic monitoring (CDM) device, allowing physicians to monitor patient cardiac events remotely.

17 Nov 2011

Transgenomic third quarter total revenue increases 87% to $8.3 million

Transgenomic, Inc. today reported financial results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011 and provided a business update.

10 Nov 2011

Ground-breaking study into causes of high blood pressure

A researcher from the University of Leicester's Department of Cardiovascular Sciences has been involved in a ground-breaking study into the causes of high blood pressure.

9 Nov 2011

Strong clean indoor air laws associated with voluntary smokefree home rules

Second hand smoke exposure among nonsmokers has declined over time as clean indoor air laws have been adopted. However, there has been concern that such laws might encourage smokers to smoke more in their homes or other private venues. Children living in a home with an adult smoker are up to twice as likely to take up smoking themselves.

9 Nov 2011

Innovation needed to improve water delivery systems

With more than one billion people lacking access to clean and safe water, and waterborne diseases causing 7,000 child deaths every day worldwide, "it's more important than ever that we be willing to look at old problems and find innovative ways to solve them. The issues of water access, quantity and quality need to be addressed at the same time," Kevin McGovern and Quincy Jones, chair and honorary chair, respectively, of The Water Initiative (TWI), write in a Huffington Post opinion piece.

9 Nov 2011

New technology can detect toxins in a person's breath

Breathing. Anyone reading this article is doing it right now. But what chemicals are we breathing in, and out? A group of Virginia Tech College of Engineering researchers has published a paper in the journal Environmental Science & Technology that details how to learn just that, using microelectromechanical systems to focus on toxins and everyday impurities that enter the body through the air we intake.

8 Nov 2011

Transgenomic and A. Menarini Diagnostics enter distribution agreement for mutation detection systems

Transgenomic, Inc. and A. Menarini Diagnostics today announced an exclusive distribution agreement for Transgenomic's SURVEYOR Scan and WAVE MCE (Micro-Capillary Electrophoresis) Mutation Detection system to its network of over 2,000 pathologists throughout Europe.

7 Nov 2011

Chemical breakthrough could simplify drug development process

A new chemical process developed by a team of Harvard researchers greatly increases the utility of Positron Emission Tomography (PET) in creating real-time 3-D images of chemical process occurring inside the human body.

5 Nov 2011

Chemotherapy plus radiation improves overall survival for patients with stage II NPC

The combination of chemotherapy and radiation significantly improved the 5-year overall survival of patients with stage II nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), according to a phase III study published Nov. 4 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

5 Nov 2011

New UBC technology can accurately detect brain aneurysms

University of British Columbia researchers have developed new technology for monitoring brain aneurysms - an approach that is potentially less invasive and more accurate than current methods, and one that is simple enough for patients to use at home for frequent monitoring.

5 Nov 2011

Sensor system can monitor heart rate, skin conductance while driving

Safety in traffic depends on a number of factors. One decisive aspect is how fit the driver is. A research team at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM), in collaboration with researchers at the BMW Group, managed to develop a sensor system integrated into the steering wheel that can monitor the driver's state of health while driving.

4 Nov 2011

Elevated body temperature helps certain types of immune cells to work better

With cold and flu season almost here, the next time you're sick, think twice before taking something for your fever. That's because scientists have found more evidence that elevated body temperature helps certain types of immune cells to work better.

2 Nov 2011

Countries need vigilance, informed media coverage to achieve polio eradication

In this SciDev.Net editorial, T.V. Padma, regional coordinator for South Asia for the news service, recaps findings from the latest report of the Independent Monitoring Board of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), released last week, and writes, "Polio control in developing countries has received massive international support and funding, including free supplies of vaccines. Yet transmission of the virus remains. Clearly, there are problems other than funds."

1 Nov 2011

Ultra-sensitive techniques for early detection of breast cancer

A team of scientists at Tufts University will develop ultra-sensitive techniques at the single-molecule and single-cell levels designed to detect breast cancer earlier, and treat it with greater precision, through a $6.6 million Innovator Award from the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program made to Tufts chemist David R. Walt, Ph.D.

1 Nov 2011

Balanced approach can combat Central Africa's food insecurity

The polarized debate over the use of organic and inorganic practices to boost farm yields is slowing action and widespread farmer adoption of approaches that could radically transform Africa's food security situation, according to a group of leading international scientists meeting in Kigali this week.

29 Oct 2011

Scientists discover Leishmania parasite with juggling chromosomes

Scientists found a deadly parasite with some of its chromosomes in duplicate, others in triplicate, while still others are present four or even five times. Moreover, the copy number varies between individuals. Such a bizarre occurrence has never before been found in nature, in any organism. As a rule, chromosomes should come in couples. The scientists, from the Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITG) and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, made the striking discovery while deciphering the genetic code of a series of Leishmania-parasites.

29 Oct 2011

BZL and ATLAB Pharma partner to develop 177Lu-J591 for metastatic prostate cancer treatment

ATLAB Pharma SAS and BZL Biologics LLC have entered into a sublicense agreement to develop 177Lu-J591 for cancer treatment. It includes exclusive rights to manufacture, develop and commercialize this radiopharmaceutical product worldwide as well as a joint Phase IIB/III clinical validation program.

29 Oct 2011

Sulodexide drug fails to benefit diabetes patients with kidney disease

What was hoped to be a promising new drug to protect the kidneys has failed to benefit diabetes patients with kidney disease, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology.

28 Oct 2011

HMS, EPFL to collaborate on 6 pioneering neuroengineering projects

Two of the world's leading universities are joining forces to combine neuroscience and engineering in order to alleviate human suffering caused by such neurological disabilities as paralysis and deafness. Scientists, engineers, and clinicians at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and Ecole Polytechnique F-d-rale de Lausanne (EPFL) will collaborate on six pioneering neuroengineering projects made possible thanks to a $3.6 million grant from the Bertarelli Foundation.

24 Oct 2011

Simulation improves cardiac surgical training results

Residents in cardiac surgery who receive extra training on a take-home simulator do a better job once they get into the operating room, Dr. Buu-Khanh Lam today told the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress 2011, co-hosted by the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Cardiovascular Society.

24 Oct 2011