Birth Defects News and Research

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UVA engineer and biologist named recipients of Hartwell Individual Biomedical Research Awards

University of Virginia engineer Silvia Salinas Blemker and biologist Christopher Deppmann have been named recipients of 2011 Hartwell Individual Biomedical Research Awards, which provide $100,000 in annual research support for three years to each awardee.

16 Apr 2012

Toxic nail varnish at salons raises concerns

It has been long seen that workers at nail salons suffer health problems. Workers have more headaches, respiratory problems and skin irritations than the general population and are exposed to chemicals at higher than recommended levels, according to research in scientific journals.

12 Apr 2012

Study finds alarming misconception about fertility among women

Many women do not fully appreciate the consequences of delaying motherhood, and expect that assisted reproductive technologies can reverse their aged ovarian function, Yale researchers reported in a study published in a recent issue of Fertility and Sterility.

6 Apr 2012

Weight loss pill Qnexa wins panel vote and awaits approval

The drug was rejected in a 10-6 vote the first time it came before a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel, in 2010, due to safety concerns. However when the medication returned for another review in February, the advisory committee gave it near-unanimous approval (20-2). Because the FDA often follows the advisory panel's advice, Qnexa is likely to get FDA approval, probably by mid-April.

5 Apr 2012

Autism cases rise by 23% from ’06 to ’08: CDC report

According to latest figures, nearly one in 88 U.S. children have autism spectrum disorders. The report further urges national attention on the need for earlier diagnosis and treatment, especially in rural and minority communities.

1 Apr 2012

Greenwood launches Syndromic Autism 62-Gene Panel

RainDance Technologies, Inc., the Digital Biology Company, today announced that Greenwood Genetic Center has commercially launched its Syndromic Autism 62-Gene Panel which was built for use on RainDance's picodroplet-based targeted sequencing platform.

29 Mar 2012

Scientists create first full 3-D images of vitamin B12

In a paper published recently in the journal Nature, scientists from the University of Michigan Health System and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology report they have created the first full 3-D images of B12 and its partner molecules twisting and contorting as part of a crucial reaction called methyltransfer.

27 Mar 2012

Synthetic pasta-like objects are major chemistry advances for regenerative medicine

Medicine's recipe for keeping older people active and functioning in their homes and workplaces - and healing younger people injured in catastrophic accidents - may include "noodle gels" and other lab-made invisible filaments that resemble uncooked spaghetti with nanoscale dimensions, a scientist said here today at the 243rd National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS).

26 Mar 2012

Study of genes may hold the key to improved skin care

Ever wonder why two people who are the same age may look years apart? While extrinsic factors such as sun exposure and smoking can contribute to skin aging, intrinsic factors - namely the genes inherited from our parents - can have an even greater influence on how our skin ages.

17 Mar 2012

PCP signaling restricts neural growth during regeneration, homeostasis and development

The genetic pathway that regulates the way cells align themselves relative to each other has been found to act as a "stop sign" that signals organisms when to halt cell growth, according to new research published by biologists at the Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology in Tufts University's School of Arts and Sciences.

16 Mar 2012

ACTB and ACTG1 actin genes cause Baraitser-Winter syndrome

Scientists from Seattle Children's Research Institute and the University of Washington, in collaboration with the Genomic Disorders Group Nijmegen in the Netherlands, have identified two new genes that cause Baraitser-Winter syndrome, a rare brain malformation that is characterized by droopy eyelids and intellectual disabilities.

1 Mar 2012

Obama contraception rule continues to fuel arguments

Conservative women opposed to the birth control mandate are pushing to reframe the debate around religious liberty. Meanwhile, a range of organizations, including pediatricians, labor unions and charities that fight birth defects, oppose an amendment by Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., that would allow employers to exclude any insurance benefit they deemed immoral.

29 Feb 2012

Researchers discover connection between early humans and Neanderthals' genome

A striking discovery in the study of human genetics was the focus of the most-visited press release posted on EurekAlert! in 2011. Researchers found that part of the non-African human X chromosome came from Neanderthals, confirming that they interbred with early human populations.

28 Feb 2012

FDA panel votes in favor of earlier rejected anti-obesity drug Qnexa

Qnexa took a step closer to approval on Wednesday, when outside advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration voted 20-to-2 in favor of approval. The panel also recommended the company conduct a study to scrutinize even more closely any risk of heart problems. That study may be required after the drug is approved. Should the FDA ask for further data on heart risks before any approval, it would delay Qnexa's launch further.

26 Feb 2012

Experts to discuss current treatments for children with heart disease at Cardiology 2012

An international group of almost 1000 medical experts gathers this week to discuss the most current treatments for children with heart disease. Affecting about a million children born each year throughout the world, congenital heart disease is the most common birth defect. In its severe forms, it is also the leading cause of death from birth defects in infants.

23 Feb 2012

Birth control mandate, abortion draw lines in presidential debate

Democrats successfully shifted a debate over religious liberty to birth control last week, but opponents of the contraception mandate are trying to shift it right back. The political debate over the birth-control mandate in the health care law is largely a fight over how to frame the issue.

23 Feb 2012

FDA to review rejected weight loss drug Qnexa

The weight loss pill Qnexa has been once rejected by the FDA over safety concerns. But this Wednesday it will get a second chance before an FDA advisory committee. Qnexa maker Vivus Inc. hopes something might come out of this second chance. The company will be submitting new safety data from patients who took Qnexa for a second year after completing a one-year clinical trial.

21 Feb 2012

Drug 'addicted' newborn the latest hysteria driven absurdity

The Florida Society of Pain Management Providers (www.Flspmp.org) feels it is vital to set the factual record straight in light of the mass deception used to foment a hysteria driven war on pain medications that now is threatening the health and welfare of Florida's chronic pain patients.

21 Feb 2012

FDA to reconsider diet drug that failed to get approval in 2010

Next week, advisers to the Food and Drug Administration will recommend whether the agency should approve the first new prescription diet pill in 13 years. The F.D.A. rejected the drug under review, Qnexa, in 2010, amid safety concerns, and the drug's manufacturer is now presenting additional data to argue its case.

18 Feb 2012

First Edition: February 17, 2012

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations include reports about the latest debate on the Obama administration's regulation to mandate free birth control for women.

17 Feb 2012