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MPIIB, QIAGEN partner to develop latent TB diagnostic test

QIAGEN N.V. and the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology (MPIIB), Department of Immunology have announced a new collaboration to develop a molecular diagnostic test to assess the risk of an individual with latent tuberculosis (TB) developing active TB disease during their lifetime.

From QIAGEN Manchester Limited 9 Jan 2012

Scientists identify two genes involved in major symptoms of MeCP2 duplication disorder

The anxiety and behavioral issues associated with excess MeCP2 protein result from overexpression of two genes (Crh [corticotropin-releasing hormone] and Oprm 1 [mu-opioid receptor MOR 1]), which may point the way to treating these problems in patients with too much of the protein, said Baylor of Medicine scientists in a report that appears online in the journal Nature Genetics.

8 Jan 2012

AICAR therapy may combat heat stroke

We've all seen the story in the news before. Whether it's the death of a physically fit high school athlete at football training camp in August, or of an elderly woman gardening in the middle of the day in July, heat stroke is a serious, life-threatening condition for which there is no treatment beyond submersion in ice water or the application of ice packs to cool the body to a normal temperature.

8 Jan 2012

Scientists develop simple, reliable test to identify biomarkers for MPS

A team of scientists, led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Zacharon Pharmaceuticals, have developed a simple, reliable test for identifying biomarkers for mucopolysaccharidoses (MPS), a group of inherited metabolic disorders that are currently diagnosed in patients only after symptoms have become serious and the damage possibly irreversible.

8 Jan 2012

New U.S. patent covers key element of Xencor's Xtend half-life prolongation technology

Xencor, Inc., a company using its proprietary Protein Design Automation (PDA) platform technology to engineer next-generation antibodies, announced today that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued Xencor a broad patent covering optimized monoclonal antibody variants and their application for extending in vivo half-life of antibodies.

7 Jan 2012

Study shows high consistency of malignancy-risk gene signature on both breast cancer and NSCLC

A malignancy-risk gene signature developed for breast cancer has been found to have predictive and prognostic value for patients with early stage non-small cell lung cancer. The advancement was made by researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., who published their study results in a recent issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

7 Jan 2012

Silence completes siRNA research work with AstraZeneca, MedImmune

Silence Therapeutics plc, a leading RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics company, announces the successful completion of its research work under the Research Collaboration and Delivery Collaboration with its partner AstraZeneca and its biologics arm, MedImmune.

7 Jan 2012

Novel approach reveals underlying neuroscience of patient decision-making

Mind Field Solutions kicked off the 2012 AHRQ lecture series with what's been described as a "Stunning Innovation in Healthcare" by one of the nation's leading academic clinical centers.

7 Jan 2012

Study provides hope for stimulating remyelination in MS patients

Scientists at Joslin Diabetes Center, Harvard University, and the University of Cambridge have found that the age-related impairment of the body's ability to replace protective myelin sheaths, which normally surround nerve fibers and allow them to send signals properly, may be reversible, offering new hope that therapeutic strategies aimed at restoring efficient regeneration can be effective in the central nervous system throughout life.

7 Jan 2012

Age-associated decline of remyelination process may be reversible

New research highlights the possibility of reversing ageing in the central nervous system for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. The study is published today, 06 January, in the journal Cell Stem Cell.

7 Jan 2012

Drinking red wine in moderation may reduce risk of breast cancer

Drinking red wine in moderation may reduce one of the risk factors for breast cancer, providing a natural weapon to combat a major cause of death among U.S. women, new research from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center shows.

7 Jan 2012

Researchers crack structure and function of malarial protein

A biology lab at Washington University has just cracked the structure and function of a protein that plays a key role in the life of a parasite that killed 655,000 people in 2010.

7 Jan 2012

SPIE to honor CCNY professor with Britton Chance Biomedical Optics Award

A scientific innovator from The City College of New York (CCNY) whose research unites the divergent fields of medicine, biology and high-speed laser physics will be honored this month for his pioneering work in biomedical optics by SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics.

7 Jan 2012

VisionGate achieves full automation of Cell-CT system

VisionGate, Inc., a company developing a revolutionary non-invasive test for the early detection of lung cancer and other applications, today reported that it has achieved full automation of its Cell-CT system, a proprietary imaging platform that generates high-resolution 3D biosignatures from intact cells.

7 Jan 2012

Studies identify genes and small molecules against protein conformational diseases

Two related studies from Northwestern University offer new strategies for tackling the challenges of preventing and treating diseases of protein folding, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), cancer, cystic fibrosis and type 2 diabetes.

7 Jan 2012

Scientists map neurons that process different kinds of visual information

There's a 3-D world in our brains. It's a landscape that mimics the outside world, where the objects we see exist as collections of neural circuits and electrical impulses.

7 Jan 2012

GSK obtains exclusive license to ChemoCentryx's CCX354 CCR1 inhibitor for RA

ChemoCentryx, Inc., today announced that GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has exercised its option to obtain an exclusive license for further development and worldwide commercialization of the investigational medicine CCX354, a potent and selective inhibitor of CCR1, a chemokine receptor that drives the recruitment of inflammatory cells into the joints of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

6 Jan 2012

New HIV vaccine candidates show promise in monkeys

"The quest for a vaccine against AIDS is gaining momentum, with research published Wednesday identifying promising new candidates that protected monkeys against a powerful strain of the virus and that soon could be tested in humans," the Wall Street Journal reports.

6 Jan 2012

Muscles must work too inefficiently to speed walk

Other than Olympic race walkers, people generally find it more comfortable to run than walk when they start moving at around 2 meters per second - about 4.5 miles per hour.

6 Jan 2012

AHA honors Rice University professor with Established Investigator Award

Rice University's Jane Grande-Allen, one of the world's foremost experts on the biomechanics of heart-valve tissue, has won an Established Investigator Award from the American Heart Association.

6 Jan 2012