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Cardiac ischemia plays an important role in adenovector gene transfection in mammalian hearts

Cardium Therapeutics today announced a late-breaking poster presentation at the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT) 15th Annual Meeting being held May 16-19, 2012 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, PA.

17 May 2012

Breast cancer cell surface protein blows cover of potent tumor-generating cells

Breast cancer stem cells wear a cell surface protein that is part nametag and part bull's eye, identifying them as potent tumor-generating cells and flagging their vulnerability to a drug, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center report online in Journal of Clinical Investigation.

17 May 2012

Sensory substitution device enables blind persons to actually 'read' an eye chart

A method developed at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem for training blind persons to "see" through the use of a sensory substitution device (SSD) has enabled those using the system to actually "read" an eye chart with letter sizes smaller than those used in determining the international standard for blindness.

17 May 2012

Strong connection found between eating meat and masculinity

Why are men generally more reluctant to try vegetarian products? According to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research, consumers are influenced by a strong association of meat with masculinity.

17 May 2012

Damage to brain white matter connections may be the cause of Phineas Gage's behavioral changes

Poor Phineas Gage. In 1848, the supervisor for the Rutland and Burlington Railroad in Vermont was using a 13-pound, 3-foot-7-inch rod to pack blasting powder into a rock when he triggered an explosion that drove the rod through his left cheek and out of the top of his head. As reported at the time, the rod was later found, "smeared with blood and brains."

17 May 2012

First Edition: May 17, 2012

Today's headlines includes reports about the deadline set by the federal government regarding the creation of state-based health insurance exchanges.

17 May 2012

Nottingham researchers lead largest ever research project into genetics of pre-eclampsia

Researchers from The University of Nottingham are leading the largest ever international research project into the genetics of the potentially fatal condition pre-eclampsia.

17 May 2012

Paper-based diabetes device can be adapted for other applications

With epidemics of Type 2 diabetes looming in rural India, China and other areas of the world where poverty limits the availability of health care, scientists are reporting development of an inexpensive and easy-to-use urine test ideally suited for such areas. The report describing the paper-based device, which also could be adapted for the diagnosis and monitoring of other conditions and the environment, appears in ACS' journal Analytical Chemistry.

17 May 2012

MedWorks and its partners to offer two days of free cancer screenings

On Saturday, June 2, and Sunday, June 3, 2012, MedWorks, its partners The Free Medical Clinic of Greater Cleveland, University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center and the Cleveland Clinic-Taussig Cancer Center, and volunteers will provide two days of free cancer screenings at a MedWorks clinic held at The Free Medical Clinic of Greater Cleveland, 12201 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44106.

17 May 2012

MSF report criticizes Global Vaccine Action Plan

In a report released on Tuesday, "the international humanitarian relief organization Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), also known as Doctors Without Borders, has said a new $10 billion global vaccination plan "fails to address the 20 percent of babies -- some 19 million infants -- who never receive basic, life-saving shots," and that, "rather than pushing for novel vaccines, the plan should focus more concretely on strategies to get existing vaccines to children," Nature's "News Blog" reports.

17 May 2012

Mary Ann Liebert releases BioResearch Open Access journal

The inaugural issue of BioResearch Open Access, a new bimonthly peer-reviewed open access journal, was released today by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The Journal provides a new rapid-publication forum for a broad range of scientific topics including but not limited to molecular and cellular biology, tissue engineering and biomaterials, regenerative medicine, stem cells, gene therapy, systems biology, genetics, biochemistry, virology, microbiology, and neuroscience.

17 May 2012

For a family of 4, health care costs can top $20,000

A study by the benefits consultant group Milliman notes the average annual health care costs for a family of four are $20,728 -- a 7 percent increase from last year.

17 May 2012

CHOP researcher leads trial of ALK inhibitor in neuroblastoma, lymphoma

A pill designed to zero in on abnormal genes that drive specific cancers has produced encouraging early results in children with an uncommon but aggressive type of lymphoma, as well as in children with a rare form of neuroblastoma.

17 May 2012

Driving food, nutrition security to top of global agenda

In a guest post in the Chicago Council on Global Affairs' "Global Food for Thought" blog, Ertharin Cousin, executive director of the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP), examines global efforts to promote food security.

17 May 2012

Abiraterone acetate can help eliminate prostate tumors

A hormone-depleting drug approved last year for the treatment of metastatic prostate cancer can help eliminate or nearly eliminate tumors in many patients with aggressive cancers that have yet to spread beyond the prostate, according to a clinical study to be presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), June 1-5, in Chicago.

17 May 2012

Contraception coverage rule ripples through college campuses

A fight over allowing HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius -- a key player in creating a mandate to force student health plans to cover contraception -- to speak at Georgetown's graduation continues. In the meantime, a Catholic university in Ohio is ending its student health insurance plan instead of complying with the mandate.

17 May 2012

Study reveals pathway that may help slow development of multiple myeloma

Researchers at NYU School of Medicine have identified a target for slowing the progression of multiple myeloma by using currently available drugs.

17 May 2012

CEWG recommends WHA adopt international convention on R&D

The chairs of the Consultative Expert Working Group on Research and Development (CEWG), John-Arne Rottingen and Claudia Chamas, in this week's PLoS Medicine, "recommended the May 2012 World Health Assembly adopt an international convention on research and development (R&D) that will bind member states to action and catalyze new knowledge for diseases that primarily affect the global poor but for which patents provide insufficient market incentives," a PLoS press release states.

17 May 2012

Gene therapy restores movement in children bedridden with AADC

Using gene transfer techniques pioneered by University of Florida faculty, Taiwanese doctors have restored some movement in four children bedridden with a rare, life-threatening neurological disease.

17 May 2012

Health law's health coverage expansions pose logistical challenges

Politico reports on how immigration status will play into this effort, and McClatchy notes the strain that will be felt by the physician workforce as a result of the across-the-board push to increase access to care.

17 May 2012