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Melanoma Tumors 'Eradicated' in Mice
June 17, 2013 | Comments
Researchers eradicated most melanoma tumors by exposing them to a fast-acting virus, according to a report in the Journal of Virology. Melanoma is the deadliest type of skin cancer and can spread throughout the body and even into the brain.
Technique Clears Major Diabetes Transplant Hurdle
June 17, 2013 11:04 am | Comments
Researchers have identified a way to trigger reproduction in the laboratory of clusters of human...
Lab-grown Organs Can Solve Shortage Dilemma
June 17, 2013 3:32 am | by MALCOLM RITTER - AP Science Writer - Associated Press | Comments
By the time 10-year-old Sarah Murnaghan finally got a lung transplant last week, she'd been...
Bringing Out the Cancer Genomics Suspects
June 16, 2013 12:22 pm | by Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard | Comments
As cancer genomics scales up, more and more mutations can be detected. But in order for critical...
Lilly to take over development of diabetes drug
June 17, 2013 1:22 pm | by The Associated Press | CommentsEli Lilly and Co. will pay Canadian drug developer Transition Therapeutics Inc. $7 million and take over the development of a potential diabetes treatment heading into mid-stage clinical testing. Transition said Monday it also could receive up to $240 million in additional payments, plus...
Printing Artificial Bone
June 17, 2013 10:51 am | CommentsResearchers working to design new materials that are durable, lightweight and environmentally sustainable are increasingly looking to natural composites for inspiration. While they have come up with hierarchical structures in the design of new materials, going from a computer model to the production of physical artifacts has been a challenge. Now, researchers have developed an approach that allows them to turn their designs into reality.
Toxin Testing Helps Treat Spine Injuries, MS Symptoms
June 17, 2013 10:28 am | CommentsA medical test previously developed to measure a toxin found in tobacco smokers has been adapted to measure the same toxin in people suffering from spinal cord injuries and multiple sclerosis, offering a potential tool to reduce symptoms.
Boston hospital to offer hand transplants for kids
June 17, 2013 1:44 am | by MARILYNN MARCHIONE - AP Chief Medical Writer - Associated Press | CommentsA Boston hospital is starting the world's first hand transplant program for children, and doctors say it won't be long until face transplants and other radical operations to improve appearance and quality of life are offered to kids, too. The move shows the growing willingness to do transplants...
Ala. high court to hear drug liability arguments
June 16, 2013 11:13 am | by The Associated Press | CommentsThe state Supreme Court is reconsidering a decision allowing makers of name brand drugs to be held liable for injuries caused by generic versions that are made by different companies. AL.com reported Sunday that (http://bit.ly/10nzALV ) the court has announced oral arguments will be held in...
Recovery from meningitis slow for 2 Va. residents
June 16, 2013 10:04 am | by JEFF STURGEON - The Roanoke Times - Associated Press | CommentsMichelle Powell of Moneta is again living aspects of the life she had before a doctor injected contaminated medicine into her spine and she fell horribly ill last fall. The fungal meningitis is, thankfully, gone, she said. Now she can again attack the back pain that she saw a doctor for in the...
US: Modified wheat appears to be isolated
June 14, 2013 5:50 pm | by MARY CLARE JALONICK - Associated Press - Associated Press | CommentsThe Agriculture Department says it has no indications that genetically modified wheat found in the western state of Oregon last month has spread beyond the field in which it was found. No genetically engineered wheat has been approved for U.S. farming, and the department is investigating how the...
FDA approves new silicone breast implant from J&J
June 14, 2013 4:53 pm | by MATTHEW PERRONE - AP Health Writer - Associated Press | CommentsThe Food and Drug Administration said Friday it approved a next-generation silicone breast implant from Johnson & Johnson unit Mentor. The company's MemoryShape breast implant uses a cross-linking gel design that the FDA says is firmer than previous implants. FDA regulators approved the new...
Blood-forming Stem Cells Produced in Lab
June 14, 2013 9:51 am | CommentsBy transferring four genes into mouse fibroblast cells, researchers have produced cells that resemble hematopoietic stem cells, which produce millions of new blood cells in the human body every day. These findings provide a platform for future development of patient-specific stem/progenitor cells, and more differentiated blood products, for cell-replacement therapy.
Competing Sensory Cells Control Salt Preference
June 14, 2013 9:47 am | CommentsResearchers report that in fruit flies, at least, that the process of how our tongues and brains can tell when the saltiness of our food has crossed the line from yummy to yucky is controlled by competing input from two different types of taste-sensing cells.
Developmental Protein Regulates Cancer Spread
June 14, 2013 9:43 am | CommentsA protein used by embryo cells during early development, and recently found in many different types of cancer, apparently serves as a switch regulating the spread of cancer, known as metastasis, new research reports. Metastasis is responsible for 90 percent of cancer-related deaths.
Nervous System Plays Role in Arthritis
June 14, 2013 8:54 am | CommentsArthritis is a debilitating disorder affecting one in 10 Canadians, with pain caused by inflammation and damage to joints. Yet the condition is poorly managed in most patients, since adequate treatments are lacking. A new study adds to a growing body of evidence that the nervous system and nerve-growth factor (NGF) play a major role in arthritis.
Genetic Mutations Crucial to Evolution
June 14, 2013 8:49 am | CommentsA new study offers further proof that the divergence of humans from chimpanzees some 4 million to 6 million years ago was profoundly influenced by mutations to DNA sequences that play roles in turning genes on and off. The study provides evidence for a 40-year-old hypothesis that regulation of genes must play an important role in evolution.
FDA backs new for Amgen drug for rare bone tumors
June 13, 2013 7:08 pm | by the Associated PressAssociated Press | CommentsBiotech drugmaker Amgen Inc. said Thursday that the Food and Drug Administration has approved a new use for its bone drug Xgeva. The company, based in Thousand Oaks, Calif., said it now can market Xgeva for treating a rare condition, giant cell tumor of bone, when surgery isn't practical. It...
Lilly stops mid-stage Alzheimer's drug study
June 13, 2013 6:09 pm | by The Associated Press | CommentsEli Lilly and Co. said Thursday that it stopped a mid-stage clinical trial of an experimental Alzheimer's disease drug because of potential side effects on patients' livers. The company stopped testing LY2886721 because of abnormal results in liver biochemical tests. Lilly says the results were...
