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$First study to explore impact of crowding on children with fracture-related pain$

First study to explore impact of crowding on children with fracture-related pain

Crowding in hospital emergency departments has led to a decrease in the timely and effective use of pain medication in children suffering acute long bone fractures, according to a new study by the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

23 Dec 2011

Fluoride has dramatic effects on bacteria inside the mouth

Regular use of fluoride-containing toothpaste and mouthwash has long been known to strengthen the enamel on teeth. But new research by Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) scientists finds that fluoride also has dramatic effects on bacteria inside the mouth -- including those that form plaque and can cause cavities.

23 Dec 2011

Scientists discover mechanism by which TNFα stimulates tumor formation

An inflammation-promoting protein triggers deactivation of a tumor-suppressor that usually blocks cancer formation via the NOTCH signaling pathway, a team of researchers led by scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reports today in Molecular Cell.

23 Dec 2011

Abbott commences Esprit drug eluting BVS trial in peripheral artery disease

Abbott today announced the initiation of ESPRIT I, a first-of-its-kind clinical trial in Europe evaluating the safety and performance of the novel Esprit drug eluting bioresorbable vascular scaffold (BVS) for the treatment of blockages in the superficial femoral arteries (SFA) and iliac arteries that have resulted in claudication.

23 Dec 2011

Health care issues leaving mark on presidential race

President Obama is busy touting his health law, while Mitt Romney argues that an individual mandate in Massachusetts is a "conservative" idea. In the meantime, the Associated Press examines Newt Gingrich's past support of the Children's Health Insurance Program.

23 Dec 2011

Changes in social structure, cultural practices can contribute to human evolution

Changes in social structure and cultural practices can also contribute to human evolution, according to a study that has recently been published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), contributed to by the lecturer Mireia Esparza and assistant Neus Martínez-Abadías, from the Anthropology Unit of the UB's Department of Animal Biology.

23 Dec 2011

Gladstone, Bristol-Myers Squibb to identify and validate novel targets in Alzheimer's

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and the Gladstone Institutes today announced the formation of a discovery-based research collaboration to identify and validate novel targets in Alzheimer's disease.

23 Dec 2011

First picture of how specialized neurons are organized in hairy skin

Compared to our other senses, scientists don't know much about how our skin is wired for the sensation of touch. Now, research reported in the December 23rd issue of the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication, provides the first picture of how specialized neurons feel light touches, like a brush of movement or a vibration, are organized in hairy skin.

23 Dec 2011

Researchers identify previously unknown gene fusion event in lung cancer

Smoking is a well-known risk factor for lung cancer, but nearly 25% of all lung cancer patients have never smoked. In a study published online today in Genome Research, researchers have identified a previously unknown gene fusion event that could explain a significant proportion of lung cancer cases in never-smokers, and might serve as a target for new therapies.

23 Dec 2011

Russia will not use HIV spending to fund needle exchange, methadone therapy, Reuters reports

Though Russia is doubling its budget for HIV in 2012 over 2010 levels, "no money will go to such internationally recognized efforts as needle exchanges" and methadone replacement therapy, Reuters reports.

23 Dec 2011

ViroPharma to acquire Meritage

ViroPharma Incorporated today announced that it has entered into an exclusive option to acquire Meritage Pharma, Inc., a private company based in San Diego, CA focused on developing oral budesonide suspension (OBS) as a treatment for eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), a chronic inflammatory disorder of the esophagus.

23 Dec 2011

Researchers identify molecules that can stimulate heart muscle regeneration

Damaged heart tissue is not known for having much inherent capacity for repair. But now, scientists are closing in on signals that may be able to coax the heart into producing replacement cardiac muscle cells. Using a zebrafish model system, researchers have identified a family of molecules that can stimulate stem cells to develop into beating heart muscle cells.

23 Dec 2011

Momenta, Baxter partner to develop and commercialize biosimilars

Baxter International Inc. and Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that they have entered into a global collaboration to develop and commercialize follow-on biologic products, also known as biosimilars.

From Baxter International Inc. 23 Dec 2011

Enrollment complete in two Anacor's tavaborole Phase 3 trials on onychomycosis

Anacor Pharmaceuticals announced today that it has completed the enrollment of approximately 600 patients in the second of its two Phase 3 trials of tavaborole, a topical anti-fungal product candidate for the treatment of onychomycosis, a fungal infection of the nail and nail bed that affects approximately 35 million people in the United States.

23 Dec 2011

Roundup: Texas members oppose state's MLR waiver; Calif.'s disability case takes unusual turn

If you want to know what a Tea Party America might look like, there is no place like Kansas. In the past year, three state agencies have been abolished and 2,050 jobs have been cut. Funding for schools, social services and the arts have been slashed. The new Republican governor rejected a $31.5 million federal grant for a new health-insurance exchange because he opposes President Obama's health-care law. And that's just the small stuff.

23 Dec 2011

Inhibition of necroptosis protects mice from lethal SIRS

Sepsis, a form of systemic inflammation, is the leading cause of death in critically ill patients. Sepsis is linked with massive cell death; however, the specific mechanisms involved in the lethality of sepsis are unclear. Now, a new study published by Cell Press in the December 23rd issue of the journal Immunity finds that inhibition of a specific cell death pathway called "necroptosis" protected mice from lethal inflammation.

23 Dec 2011

Oak Pharmaceuticals acquires three Lundbeck hospital-based injectables

Akorn, Inc., a niche generic pharmaceutical company, today announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Oak Pharmaceuticals, has acquired three off-patent, branded, hospital-based injectables from the US subsidiary of H. Lundbeck A/S.

23 Dec 2011

ECMC network receives £35M grants for cancer medicine research

The Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres (ECMC) network, which runs UK clinical studies of the newest cancer treatments, has been awarded a second wave of £35M funding for the next five years.

23 Dec 2011

Researchers develop CAD-type tools to engineer RNA control systems

The computer assisted design (CAD) tools that made it possible to fabricate integrated circuits with millions of transistors may soon be coming to the biological sciences. Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) have developed CAD-type models and simulations for RNA molecules that make it possible to engineer biological components or "RNA devices" for controlling genetic expression in microbes.

23 Dec 2011

Longer looks: Manufacturing killer flu; The ironies of the individual mandate; When the elderly refuse help

In experiments conducted at the University of Wisconsin in Madison and Erasmus University in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, researchers engineered a strain of H5N1. … The next logical step would be for the researchers to publish studies in major scientific journals, describing the newly created flu, including its genetic makeup.

23 Dec 2011