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Autism research at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia named among top ten medical breakthroughs

Autism research led by scientists at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia has been named one of the top ten medical breakthroughs of 2009 by Time Magazine.

14 Dec 2009

Combination of Herceptin and chemotherapy improves treatment for women with HER2+ breast cancer

Using Herceptin with chemotherapy, instead of after, clearly improves treatment of women with HER2+ breast cancer, and should be the new standard of care, says a Mayo Clinic researcher who led what is regarded to be a key clinical trial determining the best use of Herceptin.

14 Dec 2009

Texas researchers identify new detection method for circulating tumor cells

Circulating metastatic breast cancer cells can lose their epithelial receptors, a process that enables them to travel through the bloodstream undetected, according to research from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

14 Dec 2009

Iowa researchers discover new inherited retinal disease

University of Iowa researchers have found the existence of a new, rare inherited retinal disease. Now the search is on to find the genetic cause, which investigators hope will increase understanding of more common retinal diseases.

14 Dec 2009

Scientists discover five genetic variants associated with lung disease

Scientists have discovered five genetic variants that are associated with the health of the human lung. The research by an international consortium of 96 scientists from 63 centres in Europe and Australia sheds new light on the molecular basis of lung diseases.

14 Dec 2009

Study examines the association of BRCA1 gene, infertility and breast/ovarian cancer

In a study published online this week in the leading cancer journal, Journal of Clinical Oncology, Westchester Medical Center Physician Dr. Kutluk Oktay, MD, Director, Division of Reproductive Medicine & Infertility concluded that mutations in the BRCA1 gene (gene associated with early onset breast cancer) are associated with early diminishment of egg reserve.

14 Dec 2009

Researchers explore regenerative techniques to treat common neurological disorders

For more than 400 years, scientists have studied the amazing regenerative power of salamanders, trying to understand how these creatures routinely repair injuries that would usually leave humans and other mammals paralyzed -- or worse.

14 Dec 2009

By understanding how gene works, scientists may find ways to prevent, cure diabetes

A gene commonly studied by cancer researchers has been linked to the metabolic inflammation that leads to diabetes.

12 Dec 2009

SOCS1 molecule prevents cancer-causing activity of cytokines, discover researchers

Canadian researchers have discovered a novel molecular mechanism that prevents cancer. In the December 11 edition of the prestigious journal Molecular Cell, scientists from the Universit- de Montr-al and the Universit- de Sherbrooke explain how they found that the SOCS1 molecule prevents the cancer-causing activity of cytokines, hormones that are culprits in cancer-prone chronic inflammation diseases such as Crohns, in smokers and people exposed to asbestos.

12 Dec 2009

Fertility experts announce new research findings on reproductive medicine

Reproductive medicine is one of today's most exciting scientific and clinical areas. Every month brings announcements of research developments, medical 'firsts', new rulings by regulatory bodies, or ethical controversies.

11 Dec 2009

Brandeis researchers reveal the hidden, transient life of protein between active states

Understanding the incredibly speedy atomic mechanisms at work when a protein transitions from one shape to another has been an elusive scientific goal for years, but an essential one for elucidating the full panoply of protein function.

11 Dec 2009

Study may help in treating sex differentiation disorders in children

Is it a boy or a girl? Expecting parents may be accustomed to this question, but contrary to what they may think, the answer doesn't depend solely on their child's sex chromosomes.

11 Dec 2009

University of California now has an innovative stem cell core facility

Kornberg Associates | Architects has converted part of an existing building (Keen Hall), including a previously unused covered open area, into an innovative stem cell core facility for the University of California, Riverside. Ken Kornberg, president and founder, made the announcement.

11 Dec 2009

Winner of the 2010 Avanti Young Investigator Award in Lipid Research

Sarah L. Keller, a professor of chemistry and adjunct professor of physics at the University of Washington, has been named the winner of the 2010 Avanti Young Investigator Award in Lipid Research for her innovative and cutting-edge studies on membrane lipids.

11 Dec 2009

Rice, TMC team wins stimulus funds for nanoparticle standardization

One of the promises of nanomedicine is the design of tiny particles that can home in on diseased cells and get inside them. Nanoparticles can carry drugs into cells and tag cells for MRI and other diagnostic tests; and they may eventually even enter a cell's nucleus to repair damaged genes. Unfortunately, designing them involves as much luck as engineering.

11 Dec 2009

UT researchers identify new molecule that slows ALS progression in mice

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found that a molecule produced naturally by muscles in response to nerve damage can reduce symptoms and prolong life in a mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

11 Dec 2009

Study may lead to improved, targeted therapies for cancer patients

A team of Princeton University scientists has produced a systematic listing of the ways a particular cancerous cell has "gone wrong," giving researchers a powerful tool that eventually could make possible new, more targeted therapies for patients.

11 Dec 2009

NIH awards $14.6M for Eukaryotic Pathogen Genome Database Resource expansion

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Georgia have been awarded a five-year, $14.6 million contract from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the US National Institutes of Health, to expand and extend work on the Eukaryotic Pathogen Genome Database Resource, http://EuPathDB.org.

11 Dec 2009

Scientists explore new potential therapies for Parkinson's disease

Following up on their previous work showing the rescue of dopamine neurons by chemicals that interact with the retinoid X receptor (RXR), researchers have now investigated the potential of these chemicals, known as RXR ligands, for the treatment of Parkinson's disease.

11 Dec 2009

Phosphatases can prevent inflammation and formation of blood clots

Polyphosphate from blood platelets plays a key role in inflammation and the formation of blood clots, scientists from the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet have shown. The study, which is presented in the prestigious scientific journal Cell, describes how this mechanism can be used in treatment.

11 Dec 2009