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Researchers develop best biologically based test for autism to date

Researchers at Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital and the University of Utah have developed the best biologically based test for autism to date. The test was able to detect the disorder in individuals with high-functioning autism with 94 percent accuracy. The study will be published online the week of November 29th in Autism Research.

2 Dec 2010

Museum of Science recognizes RainDance for contributions to advance genetic research

RainDance Technologies, Inc., a private company pioneering microdroplet-based technologies for single molecule and single cell analysis, today announced that the company has been recognized by the Museum of Science, Boston and the Boston Patent Law Association for its innovations and contributions to advancing the field of genetic research.

2 Dec 2010

Bone marrow stromal stem cells may aid in stroke recovery: Research

A research study from the Farber Institute for Neurosciences and the Department of Neuroscience at Thomas Jefferson University determines bone marrow stromal stem cells may aid in stroke recovery. The results can be found in Cell Transplantation, The Regenerative Medicine Journal, issue 19(9).

2 Dec 2010

AMT, Amgen amend GDNF gene license agreement

Amsterdam Molecular Therapeutics Holding N.V., a leader in the development of gene-based therapies, today announced that it has amended and restated its licensing agreement with Amgen for gene therapy applications incorporating the GDNF (glial cell derived neurotrophic factor) gene, to which Amgen holds rights. Financial terms were not disclosed.

2 Dec 2010

Research may lead to new treatment strategies for Graves' disease

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have identified a compound that prevents overproduction of thyroid hormone, a finding that brings scientists one step closer to improving treatment for Graves' disease.

2 Dec 2010

Improved support may reduce health care cost in children with diabetes

Managing diabetes in a child requires a careful balance of insulin, diet, and exercise. Buying essential medical supplies, such as needles and testing strips, adds a financial burden to families. According to a new study soon to be published in The Journal of Pediatrics, the resulting food insecurity that arises from the financial burden of diabetes management increases a child's risk of being hospitalized due to complications from diabetes.

2 Dec 2010

Graphene: A new genome sequencing technique

Genome sequencing will have a profound effect on our understanding of genetic biology and could usher in a day when doctor and patient are able to review individual genome sequences to fully personalise medical treatment.

2 Dec 2010

Inserting plant's clock gene could replace circardian clock defect in humans

A gene that controls part of the 'tick tock' in a plant's circadian clock has been identified by UC Davis researchers. And not only is the plant gene very similar to one in humans, but the human gene can work in plant cells and vice versa.

2 Dec 2010

New radiation-free device to detect breast cancer

A new device may enable breast cancer screening and cancer detection in populations where mammography is not widely available or successful, including women in developing countries, and those under the age of 40.

2 Dec 2010

Vision problems in stroke patients can impact rehabilitation

Visual problems can affect up to two thirds of stroke patients, but can sometimes go undetected if patients do not recognise them as an after-effect of the condition or if they are unable to communicate the problem to their medical team or families.

2 Dec 2010

Exposure to BPA during perinatal development impairs reproductive capacity of female offspring

Exposure to a ubiquitous environmental chemical during pregnancy may impair reproductive capacity of female offspring, according to a study published online in advance of print on December 2 in Environmental Health Perspectives. Fertility decreased over time in female mice that had been exposed during fetal and neonatal (perinatal) development to doses of bisphenol-A (BPA) that were lower than or equal to human environmental exposure levels.

2 Dec 2010

Biomagnetics identifies second biomarker for tuberculosis assay

Biomagnetics Diagnostics Corp., a developer of revolutionary diagnostic systems and technology for HIV, hepatitis, tuberculosis, cholera and malaria detection, and other innovative technologies, today announced the identification of a second biomarker for development of a tuberculosis assay.

2 Dec 2010

Cellectis signs agreement with Harvard Apparatus for electroporation-based instruments

Cellectis, the French genome engineering specialist, and Harvard Apparatus, a division of Harvard Bioscience, Inc. (Nasdaq: HBIO), a global developer, manufacturer, and marketer of a broad range of tools to advance life science research and regenerative medicine, have announced today that they have signed a license agreement that grants Harvard Apparatus the worldwide exclusive right to manufacture and sell, for research use, the full line of electroporation-based instruments acquired by Cellectis from CytoPulse in September of 2010.

2 Dec 2010

CSL Behring launches next generation HeliTrax System for Apple's devices

CSL Behring announced today the availability of the next generation HeliTrax System as part of a specially designed software platform for Apple's iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad devices. This enhanced system is designed to improve therapy management for people with hemophilia A who use CSL Behring's recombinant factor VIII (rFVIII).

2 Dec 2010

Supreme Court considers overcrowding's effect on Cal. prison health care

The U.S. Supreme Court is considering an order requiring California prisons to release 40,000 inmates because overcrowding has limited prisoners' access to health care.

2 Dec 2010

FDA advisory committee votes against Avodart sNDA for prostate cancer risk reduction

GlaxoSmithKline today announced the results of a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) meeting to discuss the supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for Avodart® (dutasteride) for reducing the risk of prostate cancer in men at risk for the disease, defined as those who have had a prior negative biopsy due to clinical concern and have an elevated serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA).

2 Dec 2010

Current Opinion in Lipidology journal publishes data on VB-201 for immune-mediated disorders

VBL Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company committed to the development of novel treatments for immune-inflammatory diseases and cancer, today announced the publication of a new concept in the Current Opinion in Lipidology evaluating oxidized phospholipid analogs as potential treatments for chronic inflammatory diseases.

2 Dec 2010

Wake Forest University to begin clinical trial for low-grade gliomas

For patients with low-grade gliomas, or slow growing brain tumors, a shot in the arm might soon lead to a new treatment therapy. A groundbreaking, first in humans vaccine will be tested in an early phase clinical trial that will soon begin at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. Eighteen patients will be the first in the world to receive it.

2 Dec 2010

Sleep plays a crucial role in post-infarction remission

The heart and the brain appear to be even more closely connected than previously imagined. The damaging effects of myocardial infarction are apparently not confined to the heart, but also affect the brain.

2 Dec 2010

Deficit panel delays vote; Curbing Medicare spending part of proposal

Over the next ten years, 30 million more seniors will pour into Medicare, which already eats up 12 percent of the federal budget and 20 percent of all health spending, NPR reports. That has deficit hawks worried. Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a former Congressional Budget Office director, says, "If you look past the next eight to 10 years, Medicare is the deficit problem… And there's simply no way we can address our fiscal problems without coming to terms with Medicare's future."

2 Dec 2010