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Complex computer program helps analyze RNA structural motifs

Computer engineers may have just provided the medical community a new way of figuring out exactly how one of the three building blocks of life forms and functions.

16 Feb 2012

Study underscores power of real-time cell monitoring to dissect pluridimensionality of GPCR signaling

A research team led by Dr. Michel Bouvier at the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer (IRIC) of the University of Montreal in Quebec, used the Roche xCELLigence SP Instrument to measure changes in cell response following ligand stimulation.

From Roche Sequencing and Life Science 16 Feb 2012

Foreign-born scientists to receive Vilcek Prize in Biomedical Science

The Vilcek Foundation is pleased to announce the winners of its annual Vilcek Prizes in Biomedical Science, honoring the contributions of foreign-born scientists.

16 Feb 2012

Combination of photodynamic therapy and software can treat internal tumours

Laser light in combination with certain drugs - known as photodynamic therapy - can destroy cancer tumours, but is today used mostly to cure skin cancer. The reason that internal tumours are not treated with the method is that the technology does not exist to check that the precise amount of light is administered. However, software developed by researchers in atomic physics at Lund University in Sweden looks like being able to solve the problem.

16 Feb 2012

China's SFDA approves Affymetrix GeneChip System 3000Dx v.2

Affymetrix, Inc. today announced that its GeneChip System 3000Dx v.2 (GCS 3000Dx v.2) has been approved by China's State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) for in vitro diagnostic use.

16 Feb 2012

Midazolam autoinjector may effectively treat status epilepticus

Drug delivery into muscle using an autoinjector, akin to the EpiPen used to treat serious allergic reactions, is faster and may be a more effective way to stop status epilepticus, a prolonged seizure lasting longer than five minutes, according to a study sponsored by the National Institutes of Health. Status epilepticus is a potentially life-threatening emergency that causes 55,000 deaths each year.

16 Feb 2012

Pyromaker can rapidly sequence cancer-driving mutations

Using precise information about an individual's genetic makeup is becoming increasingly routine for developing tailored treatments for breast, lung, colon and other cancers. But techniques used to identify meaningful gene mutations depend on analyzing sequences of both normal and mutant DNA in tumor samples, a process that can yield ambiguous results. Now, a team of Johns Hopkins researchers says it has developed an easy-to-use online computer software application that can clear up any confusion faster and cheaper than other methods currently used to do the job.

16 Feb 2012

Deep brain stimulation can also affect respiratory function

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has become a common treatment for patients with chronic pain or movement disorders. Now a unique set of experiments shows that electrical stimulation in some of the same brain areas can also affect respiratory function, according to a study in the February issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.

16 Feb 2012

Oxford Gene Technology develops optimised rare disease sequencing and analysis service

Oxford Gene Technology (OGT), a provider of innovative clinical genetics and diagnostic solutions to advance molecular medicine, has extended its Genefficiency™ Sequencing Service to provide a dedicated service for investigating rare diseases. The specifically optimised version of the service will help investigators and clinicians identify causative mutations quickly, easily and without the need for in-house technical or bioinformatics expertise.

From Oxford Gene Technology 16 Feb 2012

Virginia Tech professor to receive Costa Rica's 2011 National Technology Prize

Pablo Sobrado, assistant professor of biochemistry at Virginia Tech, has been awarded Costa Rica's 2011 National Technology Prize, administered by the Ministry of Science and Technology.

16 Feb 2012

CompuGroup Medical releases LabNexus system

CompuGroup Medical US, developer of the market-leading LabDAQ Laboratory Information System (LIS), is proud to announce the release of LabNexus, a new software solution to assist hospital and reference labs with their outreach programs. LabNexus allows laboratories to send orders and review results, all within a completely cloud-based system.

16 Feb 2012

St. Jude Medical to examine cost-effectiveness of FFR-guided therapy in Australia, Asia

St. Jude Medical, Inc., a global medical device company, announced today it will evaluate the incremental cost-effectiveness of Fractional Flow Reserve (FFR)-guided treatment for patients with multivessel coronary artery disease in Japan, China, India, Korea, and Australia.

15 Feb 2012

Gen-Probe receives FDA approval for PROGENSA PCA3 assay

DiagnoCure, Inc., a Quebec life sciences company that develops and commercializes high‐value cancer diagnostic tests, announced today that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Gen-Probe's PROGENSA PCA3 (Prostate Cancer Antigen 3) assay, the first molecular test to help determine the need for repeat prostate biopsies in men who have had a previous negative biopsy.

15 Feb 2012

Online anatomy dissector a 'superb learning tool': JAMA

A Georgetown University School of Medicine professor's online anatomy dissector designed to assist medical students in learning gross anatomy is described as a "superb learning tool" in a review published in the February 15 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

15 Feb 2012

Biological scaffold for heart valves can be freeze-dried for later use

The biological scaffold that gives structure to a heart valve after its cellular material has been removed can be freeze-dried and stored for later use as a tissue-engineered replacement valve to treat a failing heart, as described in an article in Tissue Engineering, Part C: Methods, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc..

15 Feb 2012

World Economic Forum releases list of 'Important Technologies'

The World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council on Emerging Technologies has just released its list of "Important Technologies" that will change the world in the years ahead. The list highlights technology trends most likely to impact on the state of the world in the near future and was developed by a cross section of experts from science, businesses, and public policy.

15 Feb 2012

Greenest supercomputer to advance study of human disease

Victoria will be home to one of Australia's fastest supercomputers and the world's greenest supercomputer, the IBM Blue Gene/Q, which will be housed at the Victorian Life Sciences Computation Initiative (VLSCI) hosted by the University of Melbourne, and is aimed at advancing the study of human disease.

15 Feb 2012

Humana, NextGen Healthcare to increase adoption and exchange of EHRs

NextGen Healthcare Information Systems, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Quality Systems, Inc., and leading provider of healthcare information systems and connectivity solutions, announced today it has entered into an agreement with Humana Inc. to accelerate the adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) and the exchange of critical health and billing information among health care providers.

15 Feb 2012

Chemists adapt natural strategies to improve performance of DNA detectors

Over their 3.8 billion years of evolution, living organisms have developed countless strategies for monitoring their surroundings. Chemists at UC Santa Barbara and University of Rome Tor Vergata have adapted some of these strategies to improve the performance of DNA detectors. Their findings may aid efforts to build better medical diagnostics, such as improved HIV or cancer tests.

15 Feb 2012

Smart sensors can enable orthopaedicians to collect objective, quantifiable information

Imagine a smart sensor customized to provide vital, real-time information about a patient's recent orthopaedic surgery. Instead of relying on X-rays or invasive procedures, surgeons will be able to collect diagnostic data from an implantable sensor.

15 Feb 2012