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DiagnoCure receives new U.S. patent for PCA3 prostate cancer biomarker portfolio

DiagnoCure, Inc., a life sciences company commercializing high‐value cancer diagnostic tests and delivering laboratory services, today reported the issuance of a new U.S. patent, which represents a significant addition to DiagnoCure's PCA3 prostate cancer biomarker portfolio.

16 Jun 2011

Platelet Derived Growth Factor Receptor-beta plays key role in onset of obesity

A new study from Mount Sinai School of Medicine has found that a cellular signaling pathway governs the differentiation of cells into fat tissue or smooth muscle, which lines the vascular system. Engaging this signaling pathway and its capacity to govern cell differentiation has important implications in preventing obesity and cardiovascular disease.

16 Jun 2011

ISCO discovers novel technology to produce pure hepatocyte population

International Stem Cell Corporation announces the discovery of a novel, patent-pending technology to produce unlimited numbers of liver cells (hepatocytes) that are free of contamination with potentially dangerous undifferentiated cells.

16 Jun 2011

Magical thinking may help consumers cope with stressful situations

Magical thinking, usually dismissed as na-ve and irrational, can actually help consumers cope with stressful situations like trying to lose weight, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research.

16 Jun 2011

Non-invasive intervention can greatly improve patients' inhibitory control

Inhibitory control can be boosted with a mild form of brain stimulation, according to a study published in the June 2011 issue of Neuroimage, Elsevier's Journal of Brain Function.

16 Jun 2011

Train the brain to manage chronic pain

How do you function when chronic pain is a part of your daily life? The UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness (UCSD CFM) at UC San Diego Health System offers a novel program to help people who are dealing with chronic pain "train their brains" to lessen their experience of discomfort and, in some cases, eliminate it.

16 Jun 2011

ISSCR honors UCSF cancer scientist with 2011 Outstanding Young Investigator Award

UCSF's Robert Blelloch, MD, PhD, has received the 2011 Outstanding Young Investigator Award from the International Society for Stem Cell Research, for his pioneering research on the role of molecular tools known as microRNAs in embryonic stem cells and cancer.

16 Jun 2011

Healthy diet, antioxidants, critical nutrients and activities may provide the foundation to youthful living

As the baby boomer generation continues to increase in age, so does its passion to remain youthful, both inside and out. Beating the clock is now a multi-faceted, science-driven industry. From its age-old quests to find the elixir of life, to modern exploration of how microcellular activity contributes to metabolic breakdown, scientific research continues to advance its goals to enhance bodily energy, vigour and performance, and fade or stall the visible signs of aging.

16 Jun 2011

Potential new drug therapies targeting genetic mutations benefit lung-cancer patients

Some lung-cancer patients at UT Southwestern Medical Center are responding well to potential new drug therapies targeting genetic mutations. Their participation in a national study is helping to forge new avenues to attack the disease.

16 Jun 2011

Life Technologies introduces CytoTune-iPS Reprogramming Kit

Life Technologies Corporation today announced the launch of CytoTune-iPS Reprogramming Kit -- research technology that provides far improved efficiency over standard methods to develop induced pluripotent stem cells from human somatic cells.

16 Jun 2011

Scientists discover new cell type in the immune system

A team of Australian scientists has discovered a new type of cell in the immune system. The new cell type, a kind of white blood cell, belongs to a family of T-cells that play a critical role in protection against infectious disease.

16 Jun 2011

ProImmune introduces new uniquely powerful protein and peptide array platform

ProImmune Ltd., a leader in services for understanding immune responses, announced today that it has launched ProArray Ultra, a uniquely powerful protein and peptide array platform, which is more sensitive than optimized ECL ELISA.

16 Jun 2011

Exposure to asbestos can cause genetic somatic mutations in mammals

Mice inhabiting an area known for its high concentration of asbestos-contaminated dust, have a higher level of genetic somatic mutations, compared with other regions where asbestos pollution levels are lower.

16 Jun 2011

Cholesterol-lowering statins reduce rate of mortality and cardiovascular events

Over the long term, treatment with cholesterol-lowering statins reduces the rate of mortality and cardiovascular events such as heart attack, for people with and without heart disease. Still, it is unclear whether these drugs take effect rapidly when the risk of these dire events is highest.

15 Jun 2011

Placental growth factor also plays a role in chronic myeloid leukemia

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a particular form of leukemia or cancer of the bone marrow, which can be treated with targeted imatinib. However, in some cases this medicine has no effect. Researchers at the VIB Vesalius Research Centre, K.U. Leuven, under the direction of Peter Carmeliet, have investigated the role of placental growth factor (PlGF) in mice with CML.

15 Jun 2011

Magnesium essential for absorption and metabolism of vitamin D and calcium

Magnesium deficiency is an important factor in the results obtained from vitamin D. According to Dr. Carolyn Dean, MD, ND, magnesium expert and Medical Director of the nonprofit Nutritional Magnesium Association, the effectiveness and benefits of vitamin D are greatly undermined in the absence of adequate levels of magnesium in the body.

15 Jun 2011

Low-level antibiotic exposure may cause E. coli bacteria to develop resistance

E. coli bacteria exposed to three common antibiotics were more likely to develop antibiotic resistance following low-level antibiotic exposure than after exposure to high concentrations that would kill the bacteria or inhibit their growth, according to a timely article in Microbial Drug Resistance, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

15 Jun 2011

Overactive mTOR can result in serious disruption of kidney filter in diabetes patients

Diabetes mellitus is one of the most common secondary diseases in modern society. And because it is on the rise, it is also one of the greatest challenges facing medicine today. Diabetes patients do not die as a direct result of the increase in blood sugar, but from the long-term complications of their disease, in which the increase in blood sugar causes damage to blood vessels and organs.

15 Jun 2011

There is no such thing as expressive muscles

According to doctors during the interwar period, wide hips made women unsuitable for running long distances. In her recent doctoral thesis, Kerstin Bornholdt looks at how researchers reached conclusions like this.

15 Jun 2011

Scientists zero in on dose levels of "sacred mushroom"

Scientists at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have zeroed in on the dose levels of the "sacred mushroom" chemical capable of yielding positive, life-changing experiences, while minimizing the chance of transient negative reactions in screened volunteers under supportive, carefully monitored conditions.

15 Jun 2011