News and applications for life science research professionals
Gene test may help guide prostate cancer treatment
May 8, 2013 12:01 am | by MARILYNN MARCHIONE - AP Chief Medical Writer - Associated Press | News | CommentsA new genetic test to gauge the aggressiveness of prostate cancer may help tens of thousands of men each year decide whether they need to treat their cancer right away or can safely monitor it. The new test, which goes on sale Wednesday, joins another one that recently came on the market. Both...
Technique Tracks Cell Interactions
May 7, 2013 5:09 pm | News | CommentsResearchers have developed a new technique to see how different types of cells interact in a living mouse. The process uses light-emitting proteins that glow when two types of cells come close together. Using the technique, the team was able to pinpoint where in the body metastatic cancer cells ended up after they broke off from an initial tumor site, using readily available lab reagents.
Untangled Neurons Promising for Cell Growth
May 7, 2013 5:03 pm | News | CommentsTwo wrongs don’t make a right, they say, but here’s how one tangle can straighten out another. In new research, scientists employed techniques ranging from semiconductor-style circuit patterning to rat cell culture to optimize the growth of nerve cells for applications such as reconstructive surgery.
Protein Crucial to Sense of Smell
May 7, 2013 4:49 pm | News | CommentsResearchers have identified a protein that is critical to the ability of mammals to smell. Mice engineered to be lacking the Ggamma13 protein in their olfactory receptors were functionally anosmic– unable to smell. The findings may lend insight into the underlying causes of certain smell disorders in humans.
New Genetic Cancer Driver Found
May 7, 2013 4:45 pm | by Harvard Medical School | News | CommentsApproximately 90 percent of cancers start within tissues that form the inner linings of various organs. Decades of accumulated genetic mutations can, on occasion, induce cells specialized for growth in one-cell deep sheets to form disordered clumps that eventually become tumors.
Life Span Extended 25% in Fruit Flies
May 7, 2013 4:25 pm | News | CommentsScientists have identified a gene previously implicated in Parkinson's disease that can delay the onset of aging and extend the healthy life span of fruit flies. The research, they say, could have important implications for aging and disease in humans.
Cubist antibiotic regimen gets fast-track review
May 7, 2013 1:50 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsCubist Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Tuesday that the Food and Drug Administration has given fast-track status to an experimental antibiotic regimen as a treatment for three types of infections. The company is studying a combination of ceftolozane and tazobactam as a treatment of hospital-acquired...
Defense to make openings in Vegas hep C trial
May 7, 2013 12:39 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsLawyers for a former endoscopy clinic owner and an employee accused of murder and other charges are due to make opening statements at a trial stemming from a Las Vegas hepatitis C outbreak. The defense of Dr. Dipak Desai (DEE'-pahk deh-SEYE') and former nurse-anesthetist Ronald Lakeman is set to...
Ariad reports $6.4M in 1Q sales of leukemia pill
May 7, 2013 12:06 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsAriad Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Tuesday that revenue from its leukemia pill Iclusig, its first approved drug, totaled $6.4 million in the first quarter, surpassing Wall Street's expectations. The Food and Drug Administration approved Iclusig in December as a treatment for two types of the...
Simplified Filter with Agitation Capability
May 7, 2013 9:14 am | Product Releases | CommentsThe new simplefilter from Powder Systems Limited is now available, with agitation in option, to simplify your filtration and drying process.
Drug Fails to Slow Alzheimer's
May 7, 2013 7:53 am | by BY MARILYNN MARCHIONE - AP CHIEF MEDICAL WRITER | News | CommentsBaxter International Inc. says that a blood product it was testing failed to slow mental decline or to preserve physical function in a major study of 390 patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease. The company says that people who received 18 months of infusions with its drug, Gammagard, fared no better than others given infusions of a dummy solution.
FDA wants cancer warnings on tanning beds
May 6, 2013 5:35 pm | by MATTHEW PERRONE - AP Health Writer - Associated Press | News | CommentsIndoor tanning beds would come with new warnings about the risk of cancer and be subject to more stringent federal oversight under a proposal unveiled Monday by the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA has regulated tanning beds and sun lamps for over 30 years, but for the first time ever the...
MicroRNAs Control Cancer Attack
May 6, 2013 4:27 pm | News | CommentsThe body's own immune system’s fight against breast cancer is controlled by genetic "fine tuners," known as microRNAs, according to a new study. Looking at 1,300 breast cancer samples, scientists found that the influence of these microRNAs, which help control how genes behave, varies between different subtypes of breast cancer.
Antibody a Possible Blood Cancer Treatment
May 6, 2013 4:10 pm | News | CommentsA single antibody could be the key to treating multiple myeloma, or cancer of the blood, currently without cure or long-term treatment. Using a "biological library" of thousands of antibodies, researchers singled out antibody BI-505, shown to have a powerful effect on the tumor cells.
3-D Living Patch Built for Damaged Hearts
May 6, 2013 4:01 pm | News | CommentsBiomedical engineers have grown three-dimensional human heart muscle that acts just like natural tissue. This advancement could be important in treating heart attack patients or in serving as a platform for testing new heart disease medicines.
