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Globe and Mail examines GlaxoSmithKline's RTS,S malaria vaccine trials in Kenya

The Globe and Mail examines GlaxoSmithKline's RTS,S malaria vaccine trials in Kilifi, Kenya – one of the sites where the experimental vaccine is being tested. "The stories of the mothers of Kilifi open a window on the challenges faced by researchers as they build a trial that will include more than 16,000 babies from 11 sites spread across sub-Saharan Africa," the Globe and Mail reports.

18 Jun 2009

CNN, The Independent, VOA News examine technology, health systems in developing countries

CNN examines the increasing numbers of health workers using cell phone technology to monitor diseases in the developing world. The article features EpiSurveyor - "a free, open-source application designed for personal digital assistants" that can be downloaded onto cell phones, so that officials can "gather data directly from the site of the outbreak and send it electronically back to headquarters for faster analysis," CNN writes.

18 Jun 2009

Opinion: World must work together to stop human trafficking

"To some, human trafficking may seem like a problem limited to other parts of the world," Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton writes in a Washington Post opinion piece, but "it occurs in every country, including the U.S., and we have a responsibility to fight it just as others do."

18 Jun 2009

Discovery of candidate tumor suppressor gene and potential biomarker for colorectal cancer

Researchers have identified a new candidate tumor suppressor gene in colorectal cancer and examined its use as a potential biomarker in stool samples, according to a new study published online June 17 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

17 Jun 2009

Increased risk of stroke and transient ischemic attack in survivors of Hodgkin lymphoma

Patients treated for Hodgkin lymphoma with radiation therapy have a substantially higher risk of stroke, according to a new study published June 17 online in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

17 Jun 2009

Fallopian tubes: a new source of multipotent adult mesenchymal stem cells

Human tissues normally discarded after surgical procedures could be a rich additional source of stem cells for regenerative medicine. New research from BioMed Central's open access Journal of Translational Medicine shows for the first time that human fallopian tubes are abundant in mesenchymal stem cells which have the potential of becoming a variety of cell types.

17 Jun 2009

Honey more effective than antibiotics

In the first study of its kind University of Sydney researchers have found proof that some honeys can be more effective than antibiotics in treating surface wounds and infections.

17 Jun 2009

Whole-genome searches unlock secrets of a childhood cancer

Two new studies from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia advance the search for genetic events that result in neuroblastoma, a puzzling, often-deadly type of childhood cancer.

17 Jun 2009

Research uncovers clues to the development of cancers in AIDS patients

In a series of recently-published articles, a research team from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center has uncovered clues to the development of cancers in AIDS patients.

17 Jun 2009

Circadian Technologies granted significant European patent

Circadian Technologies Limited (ASX:CIR) announced today that its subsidiary company, Vegenics Limited, has been granted European Patent 1749836 covering the use of VEGF-D protein and antibodies to VEGF-D in a broad spectrum of therapeutic indications, including the treatment of cancer.

17 Jun 2009

Relation between local food environments and obesity among adults

Living in an area with more fast food outlets and convenience stores than supermarkets and grocers has been associated with obesity in a Canadian study. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Public Health have shown that your local food environment can affect your weight.

17 Jun 2009

Targeting children may be an effective use of limited supplies of flu vaccine

Targeting children may be an effective use of limited supplies of flu vaccine, according to research funded by the Wellcome Trust and the EU. The study suggests that, used to support other control measures, this could help control the spread of pandemics such as the current swine flu.

17 Jun 2009

Low dose bisphenol-A exposure shows significant reproductive health effects in rats

New research from North Carolina State University and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) shows significant reproductive health effects in rats that have been exposed to bisphenol-A (BPA) at levels equivalent to or below the dose that has been thought not to produce any adverse effects.

17 Jun 2009

Animal model for human gambling

UBC researchers have created the world's first animal laboratory experiment to successfully model human gambling. The advance will help scientists develop and test new treatments for gambling addictions, a devastating condition that affects millions worldwide.

17 Jun 2009

Bariatric surgery raises kidney stone risk

The most popular type of gastric bypass surgery appears to nearly double the chance that a patient will develop kidney stones, despite earlier assumptions that it would not, Johns Hopkins doctors report in a new study. The overall risk, however, remains fairly small at about 8 percent.

17 Jun 2009

Neuroimaging shows how we recognize right and wrong

A recent neuroimaging study reveals that the ability to distinguish true from false in our daily lives involves two distinct processes. Previous research relied heavily on the premise that true and false statements are both processed in the left inferior frontal cortex.

17 Jun 2009

Genome-wide map shows precisely where microRNAs do their work

MicroRNAs are the newest kid on the genetic block. By regulating the unzipping of genetic information, these tiny molecules have set the scientific world alight with such wide-ranging applications as onions that can't make you cry and therapeutic potential for new treatments for viral infections, cancer and degenerative diseases. But the question remains: How do they work?

17 Jun 2009

“Life force” linked to body’s ability to withstand stress

Our ability to withstand stress-related, inflammatory diseases may be associated, not just with our race and sex, but with our personality as well, according to a study published in the July issue of the journal Brain, Behavior and Immunity. Especially in aging women, low levels of the personality trait extraversion may indicate that blood levels of a key inflammatory molecule have crossed over a threshold linked to a doubling of risk of death within five years.

17 Jun 2009

Telemedicine expands reach of care for Parkinson’s patients

A unique and innovative telemedicine project is providing distant nursing home patients with Parkinson's disease access to neurologists at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC).A pilot study of the project - the results of which were released this month at the International Congress of Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders in Paris - demonstrates that the system can improve the quality of life and motor function of patients.

17 Jun 2009

New diagnostic technique detects possible Alzheimer's biomarker in blood

A new diagnostic technique which may greatly simplify the detection of Alzheimer's disease has been discovered by researchers at McGill University and the affiliated Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research at Montreal's Jewish General Hospital (JGH).

17 Jun 2009