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Researchers develop molecule to confuse insects' ability to detect plants

Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)-funded research, published this week in Chemical Communications, describes how scientists have discovered molecules that could confuse insects' ability to detect plants by interfering with their sense of smell. This could reduce damage to crops by insect pests and contribute to food security.

25 Sep 2009

Survey reveals that cardiologists are seeing more patients than ever before

The healthcare crisis that has affected millions of Americans has hit the nation's cardiologists as well, according to a new survey: they are seeing more patients than ever and performing more tests on those patients. But they are being reimbursed less for those services by Medicare and insurance firms, in what one cardiologist called "a revenue roller coaster of uncertainty," even as their costs continue to increase steadily.

25 Sep 2009

Researchers to use Intravenous Immune Globulin for slowing AD progression

Researchers from the Memory and Cognition Center at University Hospitals Case Medical Center will begin testing an intriguing new approach to slowing down the progression of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) using Intravenous Immune Globulin (IGIV), also known as gammaglobulin.

25 Sep 2009

Micro Imaging announces the settlement with Divine Capital regarding issuance of convertible debentures

Micro Imaging Technology, Inc. has announced that it and Divine Capital Markets, LLC have settled all claims and counterclaims asserted in a lawsuit pending in New York State Supreme Court arising from the issuance of convertible debentures.

25 Sep 2009

PACTR: The first WHO endorsed trials registry in Africa

The Pan-African Clinical Trials Registry (PACTR) has been accepted as a primary clinical trials registry - the first World Health Organization (WHO) endorsed trials registry in Africa. This registry will feed data into the global WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP) search portal facilitating African representation in the global picture of planned, ongoing and completed clinical trials. The Registry is currently funded by the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) and coordinated by the South African Cochrane Centre (SACC) at the Medical Research Council (MRC).

25 Sep 2009

Research to improve the targeting of chemotherapeutic drugs to specific cells

Kenneth Longmuir, associate professor of physiology & biophysics, and Richard Robertson, professor of anatomy & neurobiology, used liposomes, small spheres (less-than 100 nanometer in diameter) of naturally-occurring lipid molecules, as "packages" for the cancer chemotherapeutic agent doxorubicin, and a small peptide molecule to "address" the package to the targeted tissue.

25 Sep 2009

Kerry, Lugar letter calls for Obama to appoint USAID leader quickly

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry, D-Mass., and the ranking Republican Senator Richard Lugar, R-Ind., have sent a letter to President Barack Obama "urging" him to nominate a candidate - who has already been screened - for the vacant USAID administrator position "as quickly as possible," CQ reports. According to the senators, the "leadership vacuum" is impeding USAID's efforts in foreign, development and humanitarian aid, and it is the "last major agency in the U.S. government to remain unfilled," CQ writes.

25 Sep 2009

Research to develop small-molecule drug that blocks excess iron absorption

Excess iron in the body, if left unchecked, can form toxic deposits in major organs leading to serious conditions including heart failure, diabetes, liver cirrhosis, arthritis, and even infertility. Iron overload can be a consequence of a genetically mutated gene known as hereditary hemochromatosis, or a consequence of red blood cell transfusions, required as life saving treatments, for patients with diseases such as thalassemia.

25 Sep 2009

NIH to award $348 million for investigators to speed the translation of research into improved health

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced today that it is awarding $348 million to encourage investigators to explore bold ideas that have the potential to catapult fields forward and speed the translation of research into improved health.

25 Sep 2009

Researchers study about abnormal gene functioning in mitochondria

Researchers are delving into abnormal gene function in mitochondria, structures within cells that power our lives. Mitochondria are the place where energy is generated from the most basic molecules of food. Because this function is essential to life, defects in mitochondria may affect a wide range of organ systems in humans and animals.

25 Sep 2009

Profile of Grady Memorial Hospital highlights the difficulties faced by safety net facilities

The New York Times: Illegal immigrants say an effort to close the dialysis center at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta could synch their only source of care. The closure may foreshadow broader problems "safety-net" hospitals could face under the health care overhaul.

25 Sep 2009

Neuroscience professor receives Institutes of Health Director's New Innovator Award

Leon Reijmers, PhD, assistant professor of neuroscience at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, is one of 55 recipients of the National Institutes of Health Director's New Innovator Award. Reijmers is investigating the way memories are stored in the brain, specifically focusing on the proteins involved in long-term memory storage.

25 Sep 2009

Chemicals found in breast milk adversly affect the fetal testis

A comparison of breast milk samples from Denmark and Finland revealed a significant difference in environmental chemicals which have previously been implicated in testicular cancer or in adversely affecting development of the fetal testis in humans and animals. This finding is published today in the International Journal of Andrology.

25 Sep 2009

Cynosure to market Smartlipo MPX LaserBodySculpting Workstation in Korea

Broadening the reach of two of its flagship aesthetic laser products into the Asia Pacific region, Cynosure, Inc. today announced that it has received approval to market the Smartlipo MPX(TM) LaserBodySculpting(SM) Workstation in Korea and the Affirm(TM) Anti-Aging Workstation in the People's Republic of China.

25 Sep 2009

Current stem cell applications to be discussed at NJIT

Stem cell researcher Treena Livingston Arinzeh will discuss current stem cell applications at NJIT, including the regeneration of bone and cartilage for bone fracture and osteoarthritis treatments, spinal cord repair, and liver regeneration at NJIT's first Research Caf.

25 Sep 2009

Registered Nurses of CNA/NNOC requests meeting with HCA regarding its policy on use of surgical masks

In response to a new policy imposed by the Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) mandating flu shots for all employees and requiring masks, the Registered Nurses of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC) have requested a meeting with hospital executives on behalf of the chain's 50,000 RNs over this life-and-death issue.

25 Sep 2009

Caliper Life Sciences unveils XenoLight Rediject reagents series at WMIC

Caliper Life Sciences, Inc., a leading provider of tools and services for drug discovery and life sciences research, today introduced a series of XenoLight Rediject reagents at the World Molecular Imaging Congress (WMIC) in Montreal, Canada. Rediject D-Luciferin Ultra is the latest in an expanding range of XenoLight reagents for Caliper's IVIS optical imaging systems.

25 Sep 2009

Senators fight over Medicare spending cuts, what it would mean for beneficiaries

Senators on the Senate Finance Committee spent much of Wednesday duking it out over proposed Medicare cuts that would fund part of a Democratic push at health care reform. The intensity of the debate highlights the political importance of the senior citizen demographic.

25 Sep 2009

Children exposed to pesticides more susceptible to chilhood leukemia

Northern California Cancer Center (NCCC) research reveals that children exposed to agricultural pesticides applied near their home may experience an increased risk of the most common form of childhood leukemia.

25 Sep 2009

$10 million grant to Weill Cornell Institute from NIMH to study geriatric depression

The Weill Cornell Institute of Geriatric Psychiatry at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Westchester Division announced today it has received the largest grant in its 20-year history. One of a handful awarded nationally, the new $10 million, five-year "Center Grant" from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) will enable NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell investigators to advance their pioneering work in understanding the biological, medical, cognitive and psychosocial problems of depressed seniors.

25 Sep 2009