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Genetic susceptibility study for Barrett's esophagus and esophageal adenocarcinoma awarded $7.9M grant

Thomas Vaughan, M.D., head of the Epidemiology Program in the Public Health Sciences Division of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, has received a three-year, $7.9 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to study genetic susceptibility for Barrett's esophagus and esophageal adenocarcinoma, a rapidly fatal cancer whose incidence has increased more than 500 percent in the past 30 years, faster than any other cancer in the United States.

31 Oct 2009

NCI awards $4.8M for project to measure all the proteins in the human body

An expert in cancer proteomics at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has received $4.8 million in federal stimulus funding from the National Cancer Institute to co-lead a pilot study to assess the feasibility and scalability of a project that aims to measure all of the proteins in the human body.

31 Oct 2009

IGR Genomic Center awarded ISO 9001 certification

The Institut de cancérologie Gustave Roussy (IGR) France announced today that its Genomic Center has been awarded ISO 9001 certification for quality management and compliance to the highest standards of quality by Association Française de Normalisation (AFNOR), France’s national organization for standardization and certification.

30 Oct 2009

Scientists present new perspective on antigenic drift of flu viruses

Influenza viruses evade infection-fighting antibodies by constantly changing the shape of their major surface protein. This shape-shifting, called antigenic drift, is why influenza vaccines-which are designed to elicit antibodies matched to each year's circulating virus strains-must be reformulated annually.

30 Oct 2009

GPC establishes grants to expand knowledge about probiotics

Today, the success of the Young Investigator Grant for Probiotics Research (YIGPRO) program was confirmed with the announcement of two $50,000 grants that are available to rising young investigators in the field of probiotics. 2010 marks the third consecutive year for the grants. The grants were established by The Global Probiotics Council (GPC), a committee formed by DANONE and Yakult Honsha Co., Ltd., and are designed to contribute to the advancement of probiotics and gastrointestinal microbiota research in the United States.

30 Oct 2009

Viral protein could be a major player in SARS virulence

Ever since the previously unknown SARS virus emerged from southern China in 2003, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston virologists have focused on finding the source of the pathogen's virulence - its ability to cause disease. In the 2003 epidemic, for example, between 5 and 10 percent of those who fell sick from the SARS virus died, adding up to more than 900 fatalities worldwide.

30 Oct 2009

Genetists identify gene signature expressed in skin associated with the occurrence of lung disease

At its most benign, the autoimmune disease scleroderma can discolor parts of the skin of its sufferers. At its most pernicious, it can thicken and harden their skin, their blood vessels, and their internal organs before, in many cases, killing them.

30 Oct 2009

Helper T cell's effect raises possibility of cellular therapy and vaccine development

A specific type of T helper cell awakens the immune system to the stealthy threat of cancer and triggers an attack of killer T cells custom-made to destroy the tumors, scientists from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report in the early online edition of the journal Immunity.

30 Oct 2009

Research team reports advances in development of an effective therapy against the Nipah and Hendra virus

A collaborative research team from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU), the Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL), and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health (NIH) reports a major step forward in the development of an effective therapy against two deadly viruses, Nipah virus and the related Hendra virus.

30 Oct 2009

UT Southwestern ophthalmologist receives 2009 Castroviejo Medal

Dr. H. Dwight Cavanagh, vice chairman of ophthalmology at UT Southwestern Medical Center, has been named the 2009 recipient of the prestigious Castroviejo Medal, one of the top ophthalmology prizes in the world.

30 Oct 2009

Monash University physiologist honored with Life Scientist of the Year award

A Monash University physiologist, whose research into weight management, obesity and diabetes has led to significant medical breakthroughs and drug design, has been awarded one of the nation's top research honours.

30 Oct 2009

Antioxidants may hold the key in preventing severe flu-related lung damage

As the nation copes with a shortage of vaccines for H1N1 influenza, a team of Alabama researchers have raised hopes that they have found an Achilles' heel for all strains of the flu-antioxidants. In an article appearing in the November 2009 print issue of the FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org) they show that antioxidants-the same substances found in plant-based foods-might hold the key in preventing the flu virus from wreaking havoc on our lungs.

30 Oct 2009

Johns Hopkins bioethicists raise important issues on recent creation of live mice from iPSCs

The recent creation of live mice from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) not only represents a remarkable scientific achievement, but also raises important issues, according to bioethicists at The Johns Hopkins University's Berman Institute of Bioethics.

30 Oct 2009

Absence of male hormones extends transplanted cell survival, says new study

Trophoblast stem cells (TSCs), cells found in the layer of peripheral embryonic stem cells from which the placenta is formed, are thought to exhibit "immune privilege" that aids cell survivability and is potentially beneficial for cell and gene therapies. Further, the survivability of TSCs has been thought to require the presence of ovarian hormones. However, none of these assumptions has ever been verified.

30 Oct 2009

Research provides new insight on gene fusion, a phenomenon known to cause prostate cancer

Researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center have discovered what leads to two genes fusing together, a phenomenon that has been shown to cause prostate cancer to develop.

30 Oct 2009

Researchers discover new bend in gene control

Since the completion of the human genome sequence, a question has baffled researchers studying gene control: How is it that humans, being far more complex than the lowly yeast, do not proportionally contain in our genome significantly more gene-control proteins?

30 Oct 2009

Study: HSP inhibitor could stop tumor formation and extend survival

Like yoga for office drones, cells do have coping strategies for stress. Heat, lack of nutrients, oxygen radicals - all can wreak havoc on the delicate internal components of a cell, potentially damaging it beyond repair. Proteins called HSPs (heat shock proteins) allow cells to survive stress-induced damage. Scientists have long studied how HSPs work in order to harness their therapeutic potential.

30 Oct 2009