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ATCC develops and isolates novel avian flu monoclonal antibodies

ATCC (American Type Culture Collection) researchers have developed a panel of novel monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against avian influenza viruses. These antibodies could lead to a rapid diagnostic test for the infection, ATCC announced today. The organization has filed a patent covering the development of these novel antibodies.

16 Mar 2009

FDA approves new version of St. Jude Medical internet-based remote care system for implanted medical devices

St. Jude Medical, Inc. has announced U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the newest version of the Merlin.net Patient Care Network (PCN), a secure, Internet-based remote care system for patients with implanted medical devices.

16 Mar 2009

Immune cells play surprising role in cystic fibrosis lung damage

Immune cells once thought to be innocent bystanders in cystic fibrosis may hold the key to stopping patients' fatal lung disease.

16 Mar 2009

Dendritic cells ensure immune tolerance

One of the most important tasks of the immune system is to identify what is foreign and what is self. If this distinction fails, then the body's own structures will be attacked, the result of which could be an autoimmune disease such as diabetes mellitus type 1 or multiple sclerosis. The only way to protect against these afflictions is to destroy all immune factors that turn against the body's own tissue - in other words: immune tolerance.

16 Mar 2009

Research shows strong links between mothers' diets and the health of their children

A new report by University of Southampton academics emphasises the links between poor diet in mothers and ill-health in their children, and calls for women of childbearing age to be made more aware of the importance of good nutrition.

16 Mar 2009

Study examines why overweight women are less likely to undergo breast cancer screening

Obese women may be putting themselves at greater risk of breast cancer by not undergoing regular screening.

16 Mar 2009

Colon cancer screenings recommended at 45 for African Americans

According to the American Cancer Society, there were about 108,070 new cases of colon cancer and 40,740 new cases of rectal cancer in 2008. Overall, the two cancers caused nearly 50,000 deaths last year.

16 Mar 2009

Alzheimer's disease neuroimaging initiative announces completion of genome-wide analysis

Researchers announced today that a high-density genome wide analysis of participants in the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI; www.adni-info.org) is more than 95% complete and that data will be shared with scientists around the world for further analysis.

16 Mar 2009

Study reinforces the importance of healthy living for women

Women who maintain a healthy weight and who have lower perceived stress may be less likely to have chromosome changes associated with aging than obese and stressed women, according to a pilot study that was part of the Sister Study.

16 Mar 2009

Novel genetic technology for canine form of muscular dystrophy

Using a novel genetic technology that covers up genetic errors, researchers funded in part by the National Institutes of Health have developed a successful treatment for dogs with the canine version of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a paralyzing, and ultimately fatal, muscle disease.

16 Mar 2009

Does stress damage the brain?

In the March 1st issue of Biological Psychiatry, published by Elsevier, a paper by Tibor Hajszan and colleagues provides an important new chapter to this question.

16 Mar 2009

Music lessons help children improve reading skills

Children exposed to a multi-year programme of music tuition involving training in increasingly complex rhythmic, tonal, and practical skills display superior cognitive performance in reading skills compared with their non-musically trained peers, according to a study published in the journal Psychology of Music, published by SAGE.

16 Mar 2009

Big link between driving and heart attacks

People who have had a heart attack are likely to report having been in traffic shortly before their symptoms began, researchers reported at the American Heart Association's 49th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention.

15 Mar 2009

University of Florida doctors test targets for Parkinson surgery

Doctors may be able to tailor a specialized form of brain surgery to more closely match the needs of Parkinson patients, according to results from the first large-scale effort to compare the two current target areas of deep brain stimulation surgery, or DBS.

15 Mar 2009

Children can complete treatment for peanut allergies and achieve long-term tolerance

A carefully administered daily dose of peanuts has been so successful as a therapy for peanut allergies that a select group of children is now off treatment and eating peanuts daily, report doctors at Duke University Medical Center and Arkansas Children's Hospital.

15 Mar 2009

Next generation antibiotic compounds that do not provoke bacterial resistance

Bacterial resistance to antibiotics is one of medicine's most vexing challenges.

15 Mar 2009

Proteomics study shows that genes involved in invertebrate longevity have surprising parallels in humans

Prolexys Pharmaceuticals has announced the publication of the discovery of genes that are likely to have a role in the aging process of humans.

15 Mar 2009

Prion discovery gives clue to control of mass gene expression

The discovery in common brewer's yeast of a new, infectious, misfolded protein -- or prion -- by University of Illinois at Chicago molecular biologists raises new questions about the roles played by these curious molecules, often associated with degenerative brain diseases like "mad cow" and its human counterpart, Creutzfeldt-Jakob.

15 Mar 2009

Potential pathway for drug intervention

A newly identified molecular pathway that directs stem cells to produce glial cells yields insights into the neurobiology of Down's syndrome and a number of central nervous system disorders characterized by too many glial cells, according to a recent study by researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.

15 Mar 2009