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New method for diagnosing post-traumatic stress disorder

Researchers at the University of Minnesota and Minneapolis VA Medical Center have identified a biological marker in the brains of those exhibiting post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

20 Jan 2010

Scientists explore new ways to counteract viral infections

For the first time the research world has managed to measure the energy that is used when a virus infects a cell. The aim is to find a way to reduce the amount of energy inside the virus and thereby ultimately find a medicine that can counteract infections.

20 Jan 2010

New pre-clinical data on RXi Pharmaceuticals' proprietary rxRNA compounds presented

RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company pursuing the development and commercialization of proprietary therapeutics based on RNA interference (RNAi), today announced that new pre-clinical data using proprietary rxRNA™ compounds was presented at the Keystone Symposia’s RNA Silencing: Mechanism, Biology and Application held January 14-19 in Keystone, Colorado.

20 Jan 2010

Study shows lack of protease-activated receptors may cause neural tube defects

New research, published by Cell Press in the January 19th issue of the journal Developmental Cell, provides intriguing insight into how the nervous system forms during very early embryonic development.

20 Jan 2010

HSF1A stimulates more protein chaperones and reduces protein misfolding

Scientists at Duke University Medical Center have found some compounds that improve a cell's ability to properly "fold" proteins and could lead to promising drugs for degenerative nerve diseases, including Huntington's disease, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.

20 Jan 2010

Researchers show how gliomas can evade drugs aimed at blocking EGFR

Researchers at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR) at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Moores UCSD Cancer Center have shown one way in which gliomas, a deadly type of brain tumor, can evade drugs aimed at blocking a key cell signaling protein, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR),that is crucial for tumor growth.

20 Jan 2010

Fc engineering enhances antibody half-life

A Nature Biotechnology article published online January 17 reveals that Xencor Inc.’s proprietary Fc engineering extends the half-life of antibodies while maintaining their potency and extending duration of action. These results, published in an article entitled, “Enhanced antibody half-life improves in vivo activity” demonstrate the potential of Fc engineering to impact the flexibility of route, schedule and dose for nearly any antibody.

20 Jan 2010

Scientists discover Ebola's immune evasion strategies

A research team led by Gaya Amarasinghe, an assistant professor of biochemistry, biophysics and molecular biology, had previously solved the structure of a critical part of an Ebola protein known as VP35, which is involved in host immune suppression.

20 Jan 2010

Access Pharmaceuticals provides update on its Cobalamin insulin development program

ACCESS PHARMACEUTICALS, INC. provided an update today on its Cobalamin™ oral drug delivery product development programs. The proprietary Cobalamin™ technology utilizes the body's natural vitamin B12 oral uptake mechanism to facilitate oral absorption of pharmaceuticals by a "Trojan horse" mechanism.

20 Jan 2010

Finding supports modularity of mind theory

Recognizing faces is an important social skill, but not all of us are equally good at it. Some people are unable to recognize even their closest friends (a condition called prosopagnosia), while others have a near-photographic memory for large numbers of faces.

20 Jan 2010

Gene variant predisposes humans to develop acute myeloid leukemia, says study

A large international research group led by Dr. Tarik M-r-y, a researcher at the Institut de recherches cliniques de Montr-al (IRCM), has discovered that a variant of the gene "Growth Factor Independence 1" (GFI1) predisposes humans to develop acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a certain subtype of blood cancer.

20 Jan 2010

Microbiologists explain why apples are beneficial for health

Why does an apple a day keep the doctor away? New research published in the open access journal BMC Microbiology contributes to our understanding of why eating apples is good for you.

20 Jan 2010

Statins may protect SCD children from pneumococcal infection

New research suggests a family of widely used cholesterol-lowering drugs might help protect individuals from serious illness following bacterial infection, including the pneumococcal infections that pose a deadly threat to those with sickle cell disease.

20 Jan 2010

Dynamic mapping may help in detecting links between diseases and environmental exposures

A team of researchers has developed a dynamic mapping tool to gain a more nuanced view of the links between diseases and environmental exposures. The application of the method is illustrated by a number of examples of associations between environmental exposures and Salmonella infections among people in the US age 65 and over in 2002.

20 Jan 2010

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals presents data on multiple therapeutic programs at RNAi Symposium

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, today announced that it presented data from multiple pre-clinical and clinical programs at the “RNA Silencing: Mechanism, Biology, and Application” Keystone Symposium held January 14-19, 2010 in Keystone, Colorado. Alnylam and its collaborators presented data from Alnylam’s therapeutic programs including transthyretin (TTR)-mediated amyloidosis and Huntington’s disease, as well as new data on delivery approaches for the systemic delivery of RNAi therapeutics.

20 Jan 2010

Combination treatment strategies may benefit patients with non-small cell lung cancer

Even when their tumors are shrinking in response to therapy, some non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients have a scattering of cancer cells that are undeterred by the drug, causing the tumor to resume its growth, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Cancer Center scientists report in the January issue of Cancer Cell.

20 Jan 2010

New research at Rhode Island Hospital identifies a treatment for glioblastomas

New research at Rhode Island Hospital has identified a treatment in animal models for glioblastomas - deadly brain tumors which, once diagnosed, offer a poor prognosis and relatively short life expectancy.

20 Jan 2010

Study shows an intriguing relationship between cancer-related genes and schizophrenia susceptibility

People who inherit a specific form of a gene that puts them on a road to schizophrenia may be protected against some forms of cancer, according to a new study by scientists at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research.

20 Jan 2010

Researchers propose a new model for breast cell differentiation

A study by researchers at Tufts University School of Medicine, the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences at Tufts, and Tufts Medical Center improves our current understanding of the origins of breast cancer. The

19 Jan 2010

Repeated exposure to tobacco smoke makes lung cancer much worse

Repeated exposure to tobacco smoke makes lung cancer much worse, and one reason is that it steps up inflammation in the lung. Scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have found that mice with early lung cancer lesions that were repeatedly exposed to tobacco smoke developed larger tumors - and developed tumors more quickly - than unexposed animals.

19 Jan 2010