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CDH Proton Center expands treatment capacity

The CDH Proton Center, A ProCure Center, in suburban Chicago, is now able to treat a wider variety of cancer tumors with the opening of a treatment room with a gantry, a nearly 100-ton rotating steel wheel that allows the proton beam to be directed at the tumor from any angle.

10 Mar 2011

Experimental drug effectively shuts off MCL1 gene and induces apoptosis

Predictive Biomarker Sciences (PBS-Bio) has uncovered how the experimental drug UNBS1450, produced by Unibioscreen, kills cancer cells.

10 Mar 2011

Swine flu virus may evolve into a deadlier form

In the fall of 1917, a new strain of influenza swirled around the globe. At first, it resembled a typical flu epidemic: Most deaths occurred among the elderly, while younger people recovered quickly. However, in the summer of 1918, a deadlier version of the same virus began spreading, with disastrous consequence. In total, the pandemic killed at least 50 million people - about 3 percent of the world's population at the time.

10 Mar 2011

Blood biomarker may help decide intake of aspirin or NSAIDs for reduction of cancer risk

The reduced risk of colorectal cancer associated with taking aspirin or other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may be confined to individuals already at risk because of elevations in a particular inflammatory factor in the blood.

10 Mar 2011

Mother's poor or inadequate nutrition linked to overeating later in life

Providing further understanding of the link between low birth weights and obesity later in life, researchers found nutritionally deprived newborns are "programmed" to eat more because they develop less neurons in the region of the brain that controls food intake, according to an article published today in the journal, Brain Research.

10 Mar 2011

Novel sortase-based techniques allow modification of a large variety of different proteins

Whitehead Institute scientists have created a method that site-specifically modifies proteins to exert control over their properties when administered therapeutically. The technique should be useful to increase potency, slow metabolism, and improve thermal stability of therapeutically useful proteins, such as interferon alpha 2 (IFN-alpha 2), which is used to treat variety of diseases, including leukemia, melanoma, and chronic hepatitis C.

10 Mar 2011

White House appeals Florida ruling overturning health law

The administration acted quickly in order to prevent a part of the judge's recent "clarification" that would have shut down implementation of the law for now. Meanwhile, in another health law challenge, Mass. Attorney General Martha Coakley and a number of hospital associations filed separate amicus briefs in support of the federal government.

10 Mar 2011

Wii Fit video games can improve health, physical fitness in women

Playing two Wii Fit video games—Step and Hula—can provide adequate exercise to improve health and physical fitness, reports a study in the March issue of The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, official research journal of the National Strength and Conditioning Association.

10 Mar 2011

Reid backs House version of 1099 repeal

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., went on record saying he liked the House's pay-for provision — which has drawn opposition from many Democrats — better than the Senate's approach.

10 Mar 2011

FDA accepts Tris' Extended Release Carbinoxamine Oral Suspension NDA for allergies in kids

Tris Pharma, a specialty pharmaceutical company that develops innovative drug delivery technologies, announced today that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted its Extended Release Carbinoxamine Oral Suspension NDA for the treatment of allergies in kids two years and older. If approved, Tris Pharma's Extended Release Suspension will provide an alternative to the currently available immediate release formulations.

10 Mar 2011

Tiniest pollution particles can contribute to cardiovascular disease in diabetic people

Scientists are untangling how the tiniest pollution particles - which we take in with every breath we breathe - affect our health, making people more vulnerable to cardiovascular and respiratory problems.

10 Mar 2011

First disease-specific biomarker for sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease identified

Neena Singh, MD, PhD and colleagues at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have identified the first disease-specific biomarker for sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD), a universally fatal, degenerative brain disease for which there is no cure. sCJD is one of the causes of dementia and typically leads to death within a year of disease onset.

10 Mar 2011

Need for new definition of 'normal' blood pressure

As many as 100 million Americans may currently be misclassified as having abnormal blood pressure, according to Dr. Brent Taylor from the Veterans Affairs Health Care System in Minneapolis and the University of Minnesota and his colleagues. Their findings show that these people are not actually more likely to die prematurely than those with 'normal' blood pressure, i.e. below 120/80.

10 Mar 2011

CRT, ICR sign deal with ZoBio to discover and develop cancer drugs

Cancer Research Technology and The Institute of Cancer Research have signed a deal with Dutch drug discovery company, ZoBio BV, to discover and develop drugs to block a DNA repair target which may play a role in cancer cell survival.

10 Mar 2011

Medtronic opens new manufacturing facility in Singapore

Medtronic, Inc., the global medical technology leader, announced today the official opening of its new manufacturing facility, Medtronic Singapore Operations. The facility will enhance the company's manufacturing capabilities to meet the future expected growth of cardiac devices in Asia.

10 Mar 2011

Opinions: Investing in science, technology; Indian public-private partnership for NTDs; U.S. global food security investments; Clinton's statements on PEPFAR; U.S. foreign aid; primary care

"Now is the time to support science and technology - especially in difficult economic times. It is the right thing to do, and it makes good economic sense," Alex Dehgan, science and technology adviser to the USAID administrator, and Kaitlin Christenson, coalition director for the Global Health Technologies Coalition, write in an opinion piece appearing on The Hill's "Congress Blog."

10 Mar 2011

Cedars-Sinai earns excellence in 2010 adult heart transplants

The Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute and Comprehensive Transplant Center performed the most adult heart transplants of any U.S. medical center in 2010, according to government statistics released today.

10 Mar 2011

Immunologists identify key cell component that triggers allergic responses to cat dander

A breakthrough by scientists at The University of Nottingham could provide hope for any allergy sufferers who have ever had to choose between their health and their household pet.

10 Mar 2011

Salmonella may serve as valuable tool to fight against cancer

University of Minnesota researchers are using salmonella - the bacteria commonly transmitted through food that sickens thousands of U.S. residents each year - to do what was once unthinkable: help people.

10 Mar 2011

NextGen Group subsidiary completes commercial reorganization

NextGen Group plc is pleased to announce that its subsidiary NextGen Sciences Inc, a leader in biomarker discovery, measurement and qualification, has completed a commercial reorganization. The restructuring, which is accompanied by new management appointments, is expected to help the company execute its strategy of becoming a leading player in the growing oncology and central nervous system (CNS) biomarker markets.

10 Mar 2011