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Significant drops seen in AIDS-related deaths, new HIV infections, UNAIDS report shows

UNAIDS on Monday released its World AIDS Day Report 2011, "which shows more people than ever living with HIV, but deaths and new infections steadily dropping," the Guardian reports.

22 Nov 2011

WSU receives NHLBI grant to develop new CF treatments

A Wayne State University research team led by Fei Sun, Ph.D., assistant professor of physiology in the School of Medicine, recently received a grant with an anticipated amount of nearly $1.9 million from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health to better understand how this defective protein in cystic fibrosis patients is prematurely digested.

22 Nov 2011

U.N. makes statement, WaterAid releases report on sanitation to coincide with World Toilet Day

"The United Nations independent expert on access to water and sanitation as a human right on Saturday urged States to allocate more resources to improving sanitation and promote efficient use of existing hygiene facilities, stressing that people are entitled to decent toilets," the U.N. News Centre reports.

22 Nov 2011

Decanoic acid can modulate glucose control

A Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) study published recently in the Journal of Biological Chemistry reveals that a natural fatty acid can serve as a regulator of blood sugar levels, which may have important applications in designing better and safer drugs for diabetes treatment.

22 Nov 2011

Super committee ends talks without deal

Late Monday afternoon, the co-chairmen of the congressional super committee announced that their talks had ended in stalemate. In a joint statement, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, said, "After months of hard work and intense deliberations, we have come to the conclusion today that it will not be possible to make any bipartisan agreement available to the public before the committee's deadline."

22 Nov 2011

New 'triggered imaging' enables physicians to better target tumors during radiosurgery

A new type of "triggered imaging" technology enables University of Alabama at Birmingham physicians to better target tumors during radiosurgery and lessens the risk of injury to surrounding lung tissue.

22 Nov 2011

If there's no deficit reduction deal, what happens next?

Both parties are jockeying for position, trying to spin the super committee's expected announcement of failure into political victory. Meanwhile, some news outlets are examining what happens next for the automatic cuts, which will be triggered in 2013 if the deficit panel indeed does not offer a plan.

22 Nov 2011

Study reveals specific functional deficit in inner ear mechanotransduction channels

National Institutes of Health-funded researchers have identified two proteins that may be the key components of the long-sought after mechanotransduction channel in the inner ear-the place where the mechanical stimulation of sound waves is transformed into electrical signals that the brain recognizes as sound.

22 Nov 2011

Increasing food supply through production, trade policies necessary to prevent widespread hunger

"If we are to succeed in alleviating poverty and providing the necessary framework for sustainable development on our planet, there is no more pressing need than ensuring the supply of affordable food for our people," Pascal Lamy, director-general of the World Trade Organization, writes in the Guardian's "Poverty Matters Blog."

22 Nov 2011

FDA accepts Otsuka's aripiprazole depot formulation NDA for review

Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and H. Lundbeck A/S announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has determined that a new drug application (NDA) for Otsuka's investigational once-monthly aripiprazole depot formulation for the indication of maintenance treatment of schizophrenia in adults is sufficiently complete to permit a substantive review.

22 Nov 2011

Sluggish recycling of protein-slicing enzyme could promote Alzheimer's

Sluggish recycling of a protein-slicing enzyme could promote Alzheimer's disease, according to a study published online on November 21 in The Journal of Cell Biology.

22 Nov 2011

Southampton professor receives ERC Advanced Grant to advance biophotonics research

Professor James Wilkinson at the University of Southampton's Optoelectronics Research Centre has been awarded a European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grant to realise tools for fast, low-cost point-of-care clinical diagnostics and for chemical analysis in water pollution and food safety.

22 Nov 2011

MedImmune, U-M to work toward new biologic options for cancer and other diseases

Leaders from the University of Michigan Medical School and MedImmune, the global biologics arm of AstraZeneca, have signed a new agreement to work together on a broad range of projects.

22 Nov 2011

MIT, Pfizer announce new location for CVMED and Neuroscience research units

Pfizer Inc. and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) today held the official groundbreaking of the new location of Pfizer's Cardiovascular, Metabolic and Endocrine Diseases (CVMED) and Neuroscience research units at 610 Main Street, Cambridge, MA.

22 Nov 2011

Exposure to loud noises induces plasticity in hippocampus

Neuroscientists at The University of Texas at Dallas are examining whether multiple areas of the brain are culpable in causing tinnitus, research that could enable new medical interventions against the disabling effects of severe "ringing in the ears."

22 Nov 2011

New way to enhance effects of anandamide in the body

UC Irvine and Italian researchers have discovered a new means of enhancing the effects of anandamide - a natural, marijuana-like chemical in the body that provides pain relief.

22 Nov 2011

Infarct size associated with time of day onset of ischemia

The size of a heart attack and subsequent left-ventricular function are significantly different based on the time of day onset of ischemia, according to a first of its kind study in humans, published online Nov. 17 in Circulation Research.

22 Nov 2011

CUMC presents 2011 Naomi Berrie Award to UMDNJ researcher

Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) presented the 2011 Naomi Berrie Award to Barry E. Levin, MD, a University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey researcher whose work focuses on the mechanisms by which specialized metabolic-sensing neurons regulate glucose and energy homeostasis. Junior investigator Kazuhisa Watanabe, at Columbia University Medical Center, received a Berrie Fellow award.

22 Nov 2011

'WHPA Prague Call to Action' fights against falsified medicines

In a first for the Central European region, national health professions organisations have discussed and endorsed the WHPA Prague Call to Action, to reduce the harmful impact of falsified medical products on patients and the public.

22 Nov 2011

CRF to sponsor Women's Heart Health Summit

The Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF) will sponsor the Women's Heart Health Summit: "In Pursuit of Excellence: Improving Cardiovascular Outcomes in Women." The goal of the meeting is to examine current prevention, treatment, and key research issues to collectively identify opportunities and recommendations that will lead to improved cardiovascular outcomes in women.

22 Nov 2011