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Two genes linked to increased risk of diabetes-associated kidney disease

An international group of researchers has discovered two genes that increase the risk of developing diabetes-associated kidney disease.

6 Oct 2012

RXi receives SBIR grant to enable discovery and preclinical development of sd-rxRNAs

RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation, a biotechnology company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing innovative therapies addressing major unmet medical needs using RNA-targeted technologies, today announced that it was awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

5 Oct 2012

Biologists solve long-standing scientific mystery of how mice first know to nurse or suckle

A team led by biologists at The Scripps Research Institute has solved the long-standing scientific mystery of how mice first know to nurse or suckle.

5 Oct 2012

GW professor to develop blood test for early detection of breast cancer

Today, patients with precancerous lesions, or early-stage breast cancer are usually diagnosed after a mammography screening. This method of detection can lead to false-positives and overtreatment, since mammography cannot determine whether pre-cancerous cells will actually turn into breast cancer. This may all change after Sidney Fu, M.D., professor of medicine at the George Washington School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS), completes his study of early breast cancer detection using novel small RNA (microRNA or miRNA) biomarkers.

5 Oct 2012

Researchers determine function of new IKKα enzyme variant in colorectal cancer

Researchers from IMIM, Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute, have succeeded in determining the function of a new variant of enzyme IKKalpha (IKKα) to activate some of the genes taking part in the tumor progressions of colorectal cancer.

5 Oct 2012

Mouse genome consists of 10-nm chromatin fibres

Scientists in Canada and the United States have used three-dimensional imaging techniques to settle a long-standing debate about how DNA and structural proteins are packaged into chromatin fibres. The researchers, whose findings are published in EMBO reports, reveal that the mouse genome consists of 10-nm chromatin fibres but did not find evidence for the wider 30-nm fibres that were previously thought to be important components of the DNA architecture.

5 Oct 2012

Researchers identify genetic risk allele for uterine fibroids

Uterine fibroids are the most common type of pelvic tumors in women and are the leading cause of hysterectomy in the United States. Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) are the first to discover a genetic risk allele (an alternative form of a gene) for uterine fibroids in white women using an unbiased, genome-wide approach.

5 Oct 2012

Contract Manufacturing Offering introduced to the biopharmaceutical market by Olympus Biotech

Olympus Biotech, an Olympus Corporation company, today announced its new Contract Manufacturing Offering (CMO) at its state-of-the-art facility in Lebanon, New Hampshire.

From Evident Corporation - Life Sciences 5 Oct 2012

Study links PI3Kgamma molecule with multiple sclerosis

A University of Adelaide researcher has published results that suggest a possible new mechanism to control multiple sclerosis (MS).

5 Oct 2012

Blood clot-busting enzymes much busier than previously imagined

The body's blood clot-busting enzymes are much busier than previously imagined, with new research showing that they also dispose of every cell that dies prematurely from disease or trauma.

5 Oct 2012

Newborn mice use mum's unique odour to begin breastfeeding

Researchers show for the first time that a mammal begins to suckle its mother's milk through a learned response built on learning her unique combination of smells. When it is born, the newborn is exposed to the smell of its mother's amniotic fluid and the baby then responds to those smells to feed.

5 Oct 2012

New gene test can detect pre-cancerous cells in patients with mouth lesions

Researchers from Queen Mary, University of London have developed a new gene test that can detect pre-cancerous cells in patients with benign-looking mouth lesions. The test could potentially allow at-risk patients to receive earlier treatment, significantly improving their chance of survival.

5 Oct 2012

Cognitively-based compassion training can boost empathic accuracy

A compassion-based meditation program can significantly improve a person's ability to read the facial expressions of others, finds a study published by Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience.

5 Oct 2012

New prototype mouse model duplicates the human response in rheumatoid arthritis

Researchers at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine have developed the first animal model that duplicates the human response in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), an important step that may enable scientists to discover better medicines to treat the disease.

5 Oct 2012

Study reveals atomic-level structure of the human peptidase enzyme meprin β

An international research team led by the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and researchers from Kiel University revealed the atomic-level structure of the human peptidase enzyme meprin β (beta).

5 Oct 2012

FDA licenses Quotient’s ALBAsera products

Quotient Biodiagnostics, Inc., a supplier of innovative and high-quality transfusion diagnostic products to hospitals, blood banks and other healthcare institutions, is pleased to announce that its range of ALBAsera Rare Antisera products have been licensed for sale by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

5 Oct 2012

Countering neuroinflammation is indeed a potential therapeutic strategy for Alzheimer's

New research proves the validity of one of the most promising approaches for combating Alzheimer's disease (AD) with medicines that treat not just some of the symptoms, but actually stop or prevent the disease itself, scientists are reporting. The study, in the journal ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters, also identifies a potential new oral drug that the scientists say could lead the way.

5 Oct 2012

Study explains why some people are easier to hypnotize than others

Not everyone is able to be hypnotized, and new research from the Stanford University School of Medicine shows how the brains of such people differ from those who can easily be.

5 Oct 2012

Krembil scientists develop lab study to accurately predict outcomes of stroke neuroprotectant

Scientists at the Krembil Neuroscience Centre, located at the Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network have developed the first lab study in the world to accurately predict the outcomes of a human clinical for their drug that protects the brain against the damaging effects of stroke.

4 Oct 2012

Ketamine can help improve brain function in Rett syndrome mice

A promising study out today in the prestigious Journal of Neurosciences showed that in a mouse model of Rett syndrome, researchers were able to reverse abnormalities in brain activity and improve neurological function by treating the animals with an FDA-approved anesthesia drug, ketamine.

4 Oct 2012