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New nonviral method to create cardiac cells

Johns Hopkins scientists have developed a simplified, cheaper, all-purpose method they say can be used by scientists around the globe to more safely turn blood cells into heart cells. The method is virus-free and produces heart cells that beat with nearly 100 percent efficiency, they claim.

11 Apr 2011

Louisville Chief of Cardiovascular Medicine earns APS' Walter B. Cannon Award

Heart failure affects roughly six million Americans, yet treatment consists of either a heart transplant or the insertion of mechanical devices that assist the heart. This is unacceptable to Roberto Bolli, MD, Chief of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Louisville in Louisville, Ky., which is why he is on a mission to make cardiac stem cell treatment an option for all who must cope with the limitations of a failing heart.

11 Apr 2011

Blueberry polyphenols can reduce obesity

The benefits of blueberry consumption have been demonstrated in several nutrition studies, more specifically the cardio-protective benefits derived from their high polyphenol content.

11 Apr 2011

Cepheid receives FDA clearance for new assay to detect C. difficile infection

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today cleared a test called the Cepheid Xpert C. difficile/Epi assay that is designed to rapidly detect the toxin B gene associated with Clostridium difficile infection, a cause of diarrhea that can lead to colitis, other serious intestinal conditions and death in severe cases.

11 Apr 2011

Increased levels of plasma renin activity protein may predict major cardiovascular event in high-risk patients

Increased levels of a protein that helps regulate the body's blood pressure may also predict a major cardiovascular event in high-risk patients, according to a study led by St. Michael's Hospital's cardiovascular surgeon Subodh Verma. Measuring the amount of the protein, known as plasma renin activity (PRA), in the blood stream may give doctors another tool to assess a patient's risk and help prevent a heart attack or stroke.

8 Apr 2011

Key regulator of fat cell development may provide a target for obesity and diabetes drugs

New research by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute and collaborating institutions has identified a key regulator of fat cell development that may provide a target for obesity and diabetes drugs.

8 Apr 2011

Real-time brain feedback can help gain greater control over thoughts

As humans face increasing distractions in their personal and professional lives, University of British Columbia researchers have discovered that people can gain greater control over their thoughts with real-time brain feedback.

8 Apr 2011

Some consumers left out of Anthem's delay to planned rate hikes

Although the insurer announced last month that it would delay a planned premium rate increase for about 600,000 policy holders, reports indicate that as many as 120,000 people will still experience the increases.

8 Apr 2011

DNA forensic test frees prisoner with life sentence after having served 18 years

In a landmark case, a prisoner with a life sentence was freed after serving 18 years in a Florida prison, based on DNA findings presented by DDC (DNA Diagnostics Center). DNA analysis and testimony provided by Dr. Julie Heinig, DDC's DNA Forensics Assistant Laboratory Director, is credited with leading to the exoneration of Derrick Williams earlier this week. DDC is the largest provider of private DNA paternity and other DNA testing in the United States and worldwide.

8 Apr 2011

Researchers identify new gene that predisposes people to both autism, epilepsy

Researchers from the CHUM Research Centre have identified a new gene that predisposes people to both autism and epilepsy.

8 Apr 2011

Gene expression changes in prostate tissue surrounding cancer lesions may allow prostate cancer diagnosis

Researchers have found that gene expression changes in prostate tissue surrounding cancer lesions may allow diagnosis of prostate cancer even if no cancer cells are present in biopsy tissue, according to study results published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

8 Apr 2011

New report finds 13,000 cancer cases per year in the UK due to alcohol consumption

Alcohol causes at least 13,000 cases of cancer a year in the UK, according to a new report published in the British Medical Journal today.

8 Apr 2011

Brain 'talks' to computer by saying/thinking of a particular sound

Patients with a temporary surgical implant have used regions of the brain that control speech to "talk" to a computer for the first time, manipulating a cursor on a computer screen simply by saying or thinking of a particular sound.

8 Apr 2011

FluCide nanoviricide drug reduces overall leukocytes in lung tissue of influenza model

NanoViricides, Inc. reports that post-infection treatment with its optimized FluCide drug candidates resulted in significant reduction in lung tissue presence of leukocytes, and in particular, that of eosinophils in a lethal influenza infection animal model.

8 Apr 2011

Mammal muscle turned into biological raw material for new limb

Move over, newts and salamanders. The mouse may join you as the only animal that can re-grow their own severed limbs. Researchers are reporting that a simple chemical cocktail can coax mouse muscle fibers to become the kinds of cells found in the first stages of a regenerating limb. Their study, the first demonstration that mammal muscle can be turned into the biological raw material for a new limb, appears in the journal ACS Chemical Biology.

8 Apr 2011

Lecture to explain science behind modern pharmaceutical products

The science behind the creation of medicines is the subject of a lecture at the University of Greenwich's Medway Campus on Wednesday, April 13.

8 Apr 2011

ASBMB honors Stanford professor with DeLano Award for Computational Biosciences

Stanford University professor Axel T. Brunger has been named the winner of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology's inaugural DeLano Award for Computational Biosciences. Brunger will present his award lecture, titled "Towards Structural Biology with Single Molecules" at 9:03 a.m. on Wednesday, April 13, at the Experimental Biology 2011 conference at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.

8 Apr 2011

T2 Biosystems' technology platform demonstrates ability to detect Candida organisms in whole blood samples

T2 Biosystems, Inc., a company developing next-generation diagnostic products, presented data today on the rapid and sensitive detection of five species of the fungal infection Candida at the Annual Meeting of the Mycoses Study Group in Philadelphia, PA.

8 Apr 2011

John Wiley hosts Psychology Roundtable

On Thursday, March 31, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. hosted a Wiley Psychology Roundtable focused on developmental psychology, entitled Putting Research into Practice. The invitation-only forum, held at the 2011 Society for Research and Child Development Biennial Meeting in Montreal, was a dynamic discussion about the needs and methods of making research in developmental psychology more accessible.

8 Apr 2011

Biochemical battle of the bulge: New developments

Dozens of researchers in the coming days will lay out what's around the corner in the biochemical battle of the bulge as part of the Experimental Biology 2011 conference in Washington, D.C.

8 Apr 2011