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Smoking reduces brain thickness

Many brain imaging studies have reported that tobacco smoking is associated with large-scale and wide-spread structural brain abnormalities.

3 Dec 2010

Sirnaomics cemented partnership with Chinese pharmaceutical to develop siRNA therapeutics

Sirnaomics, Inc. announced today that the company has cemented a partnership with a Chinese pharmaceutical company for development of its small interfering RNA (siRNA) therapeutic (STP705) for scarless wound healing.

3 Dec 2010

Arteriocyte launches Stem Cell Expansion System for research use

Arteriocyte, Inc., a leading clinical stage biotechnology company with offices in Cleveland, Ohio, and Hopkinton, Massachusetts, that develops proprietary stem cell and tissue engineering based therapies announced today the launch of its first commercially available Stem Cell Expansion System for research use.

2 Dec 2010

New approach to biomarker detection for early lung cancer diagnosis

Even with astounding advances in genomic science, genetic analysis of disease remains largely a measure of risk rather than actual disease state. A truer and more immediate measure of health can be obtained by analysis of proteins, especially those that are biomarkers of disease state.

2 Dec 2010

Trillium presents results from cancer stem cell program at ASH Annual Meeting

Trillium Therapeutics Inc. (TTI), a biopharmaceutical company developing innovative immune-based biologics, today announced that preliminary results from its cancer stem cell program, targeting the CD47 protein, will be reported in an oral presentation at the 52nd American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting to be held in Orlando, Florida, December 4-7, 2010.

2 Dec 2010

MicroRNA linked to mosquito blood digestion and egg development identified

Each year, dengue fever infects as many as 100 million people while yellow fever is responsible for about 30,000 deaths worldwide. Both diseases are spread by infected female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which require vertebrate blood to produce eggs. The blood feeding and the egg development are tightly linked to how the mosquito transmits the disease-causing virus.

2 Dec 2010

Study on animal model may impact treatment of stroke

The results of two studies published in the current issue of Cell Transplantation (19:9) using animal models of cerebral ischemia and ischemic stroke in rats may significantly impact the treatment of stroke in humans.

2 Dec 2010

Emotional, social self-efficacy beliefs may contribute on strengthening major expressions of positive orientation

This study demonstrates that emotional and social self-efficacy beliefs may contribute on strengthening major expressions of positive orientation. The more people draw, from experience, their beliefs to be able to properly handle their emotions and their relations with others, the more they can preserve and enhance a positive evaluation of self, life and the future.

2 Dec 2010

AVMA condemns actions of animal rights activists against UCLA research neuroscientist

Citing its policy on the use of animals in research, testing and education, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) today condemned the recent actions of animal rights activists who have targeted a University of California research neuroscientist. The scientist's work includes the use of nonhuman primates to research biochemical factors that contribute to methamphetamine and tobacco addiction in adolescents, as well as to better understand cognitive problems that contribute to behavioral, speech and reasoning disabilities in schizophrenics.

2 Dec 2010

IOF commends IOM's new vitamin D and calcium intake recommendations

On November 30, 2010, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences (IOM) in the US released new recommendations on daily reference intakes for vitamin D and calcium across all ages. The report is based on available evidence in the literature, with higher quality studies, supporting the role of these nutrients on bone health. Vitamin D deficiency is an important health issue to address as it has been linked to the pathogenesis of osteoporosis and hip fractures as well as other skeletal and non-skeletal disorders.

2 Dec 2010

Impairments to health and physical performance are due to unfavorable lifestyle habits and lack of exercise

Impairments to health and physical performance are not primarily a result of aging but of unfavorable lifestyle habits and lack of exercise. This is the position taken by Dieter Leyk and his coauthors in the new issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2010; 107[46]: 809-16).

2 Dec 2010

Soy bean derived compound could treat Sanfilippo genetic disease in children

Scientists from The University of Manchester say a naturally occurring chemical found in soy could prove to be an effective new treatment for a fatal genetic disease that affects children.

2 Dec 2010

Scientists find new protein to break-up blood clots in prion diseases

The joy of a juicy hamburger could make a comeback thanks a new discovery by scientists from the University of Kentucky. In a new research report in the December 2010 print issue of The FASEB Journal, scientists found that a protein our body uses to break up blood clots speeds up the progress of prion diseases. This substance, called plasminogen, is a new drug target for prion diseases in both humans and animals.

2 Dec 2010

Mount Sinai’s instructor receives Liz Tilberis Grant from OCRF

AnaLisa DiFeo, PhD, Instructor in the Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, has been honored by the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (OCRF) with the Liz Tilberis Grant.

2 Dec 2010

New clues on surviving to be 100 years old

University of Georgia research has provided new clues on surviving to be 100 years old, finding that how we feel about ourselves and our ability to adapt to an accumulation of challenging life experiences may be as or more important than health factors.

2 Dec 2010

Longer life spans closer to reality

If you think life's too short, then you're not alone. A team of scientists from Texas set out to find what it would take to live a very long life and they made important discoveries that bring longer life spans much closer to reality. A new research report featured on the cover of The FASEB Journal, describes how scientists "activated" life extension in the worm, C. elegans, and in the process discovered a new metabolic state correlating with long life.

2 Dec 2010

UMDNJ experts to discuss IOM guidelines on vitamin D

For media covering the new Institute of Medicine (IOM) guidelines on vitamin D, several experts at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) are available for comment. The new guidelines updated the dietary reference intakes (DRIs) that the IOM established more than a decade ago and represent a significant change from previous limits.

2 Dec 2010

Beta-carotene from food sources is insufficient in substantial part of population

The intake of preformed vitamin A from animal products is not sufficient in parts of the population in the U.S., Europe and Asia. The vitamin A precursor beta-carotene therefore has an important function in providing for an adequate supply of total vitamin A, international carotenoid experts state in a recently published consensus answer.

2 Dec 2010

Study reveals role of VSV in killing cancer cells through turning off major survival signal

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have identified a mechanism by which specific viruses acting as oncolytic agents can enter and kill cancer cells. This finding, which is currently featured in an online edition of the Journal of Virology, could help lead to the development of more targeted treatments against many types of cancer.

2 Dec 2010

New visualization tool to foster understanding of science dynamics

A new set of tools released today by Science-Metrix Inc. seeks to improve the way we talk about and understand science from the classroom to the boardroom.

2 Dec 2010