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Scientists find surprising way of switching off a gene involved in cell division

Scientists at the University of Oxford have identified a surprising way of switching off a gene involved in cell division.

22 Jan 2007

New study finds endurance athletes with ventricular arrhythmias have dysfunctional right ventricles

Some high-level athletes who take part in endurance sports can develop a rare but life-threatening condition called ventricular arrhythmia (VA) in which the heart beats at an abnormal rate and rhythm.

22 Jan 2007

Call for reform of psychological therapies in the UK

An expert in mental health at the University of York is calling for the radical reform of psychological therapies in the UK.

22 Jan 2007

Ultrasensitive optical sensor detects viruses fast

Scientists of the Biophysical Engineering Group of the University of Twente in The Netherlands have developed an ultrasensitive sensor that can be used in a handheld device to, within minutes, detect various viruses and measure their concentration.

22 Jan 2007

No clear connection between mobile phone use and brain cancer

According to a study conducted in five Northern European countries, there is no clear connection between mobile phone use and malignant brain tumours.

22 Jan 2007

Researchers to study use of carbon monoxide in treating disease

Scientists at the University of York have won a grant of £110,000 to investigate potential uses of carbon monoxide in treating disease.

22 Jan 2007

Impact of birth defects on families and nation

Two separate government reports highlight the economic costs of birth defects, focusing attention on the ongoing need for prevention.

22 Jan 2007

AstraZeneca makes $100 million investment in Boston

AstraZeneca has announced a $100 million research investment to strategically boost work in the infectious disease area and continue its incremental growth in cancer research at its research center near Boston, Massachusetts.

22 Jan 2007

Access Pharmaceuticals receives MuGard patent allowance

Access Pharmaceuticals, Inc has announced that the Company has received a "Notice of Allowance" letter from the United States Patent and Trademark Office for its patent application entitled "Liquid Formulations for the Prevention and Treatment of Mucosal Diseases and Disorders."

22 Jan 2007

Heska to sell allergy patents to Allergopharma

Heska Corporation has announced that it has completed the sale of its rights in a worldwide patent portfolio covering a number of major allergens and the genes that encode them to Allergopharma Joachim Ganzer KG for an undisclosed sum.

22 Jan 2007

Sequella receives FDA fast track status for pulmonary tuberculosis drug

Sequella, Inc. has announced it has received Fast Track designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for SQ109, the company's proprietary lead drug candidate for treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB).

22 Jan 2007

Novavax's pandemic flu vaccines show promise

Novavax, Inc.'s novel virus-like particle (VLP) vaccines have been shown to be effective in generating protection against pandemic influenza as well as cross protection against different strains of the virus in pre-clinical studies, according to data presented at the Phacilitate Vaccine Forum.

22 Jan 2007

Shire licenses the north American rights for Apricitabine to Avexa

Shire plc has announced that it licensed the North America (U.S. and Canada) rights for the investigational HIV compound, SPD754 (also known as apricitabine), to the Australian biotechnology company Avexa Limited in return for an up-front payment of US$10 million, development and sales related milestones and royalties.

22 Jan 2007

Measles Initiative exceeds goals

Measles deaths have fallen by 60% worldwide since 1999 - a major public health success. This exceeds the United Nations goal to halve measles deaths between 1999 and 2005 and is largely due to an unprecedented decline in measles deaths in the African region.

22 Jan 2007

Nanion continues opposition against Molecular Devices patent

Nanion Technologies GmbH, a supplier of automated, parallel patch-clamp systems based in Munich, Germany, has announced that they would appeal the decision of the European Patent Office (EPO) to uphold the disputed Molecular Devices patent EP 1,040,349.

22 Jan 2007

H5N1 genetic mutation observed in Egypt

Viruses with a genetic mutation, linked in laboratory testing to moderately reduced susceptibility to oseltamivir, have been discovered in two persons previously reported with H5N1 infections in Egypt.

22 Jan 2007

Nanoscale "egg" to deliver platinum to tumor cells

Researchers at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology have developed a nanoscale "egg" that could safely deliver platinum, a known anticancer agent, to tumor cells.

22 Jan 2007

Nanoparticles from crab shells show promise for drug delivery

Nanoparticles made of chitosan, a naturally occuring polymer isolated from crab and shrimp shells, have shown promise as carriers of anticancer drugs, antitumor genes, and other novel therapeutic agents.

22 Jan 2007

Artificially engineered magnetic nanoparticles for ultra-sensitive molecular imaging

Iron oxide nanoparticles have shown promise as agents for detecting tumors using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), but such efforts have been limited by the relatively weak magnetic signal generated by these nanoparticles.

22 Jan 2007

Dendrimer-based targeted delivery of an apoptotic sensor in cancer cells

Taking a critical step toward the development of a multifunctional nanoscale anticancer agent that can detect cancer, treat it, and then report on the success or failure of that treatment, investigators at the University of Michigan have developed a nanoscale sensor of cell death.

22 Jan 2007