News and applications for life science research professionals
Farm bill: Senate rejects GMO labeling amendment
May 23, 2013 11:24 am | by MARY CLARE JALONICK - Associated Press - Associated Press | News | CommentsThe Senate has overwhelmingly rejected an amendment allowing states to require labeling of genetically modified foods. The amendment by Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders tried to clarify that states can require the labels. Both the Vermont House and Connecticut Senate voted this month to...
UN: 22 deaths worldwide from coronavirus
May 23, 2013 11:24 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsA new coronavirus has now claimed 22 lives worldwide out of 44 lab-confirmed cases, mostly in Saudi Arabia, World Health Organization officials said Thursday. The latest fatal case of the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, or MERS, involves a 63-year-old man with an underlying medical...
Updated LIMS Features Capabilities for Mobile Devices, HTML5, and Advanced Analytics
May 23, 2013 11:19 am | Product Releases | CommentsSTARLIMS Version 11 LIMS software is based on Abbott’s STARLIMS informatics technology and expands user functionality to include mobile-device applications, advanced analytics, and HTML5 compatibility. STARLIMS helps laboratories organize and analyze vast amounts of data across multiple industries, and the new Version 11 software will enable customers to develop apps for their operations.
Report: Nation's kids need to get more physical
May 23, 2013 11:18 am | by JENNIFER C. KERR - Associated Press - Associated Press | News | CommentsReading, writing, arithmetic — and PE? The prestigious Institute of Medicine is recommending that schools provide opportunities for at least 60 minutes of physical activity each day for students and that PE become a core subject. The report, released Thursday, says only about half of the...
Enzyme Discovery Holds Possible Adavances for Stuttering
May 23, 2013 11:10 am | News | CommentsScientists have determined the 3-D structure of the chemically active part of an enzyme involved in stuttering. While the discovery is not likely to lead to a cure for stuttering any time soon, it is welcome news to scientists who have been studying this enzyme, known as "uncovering enzyme" or UCE, for decades.
Largest Sequencing Study of Autoimmune Diseases Completed
May 23, 2013 10:56 am | News | CommentsResearchers have led the largest sequencing study of human disease to date, investigating the genetic basis of six autoimmune diseases. The exact cause of these diseases– autoimmune thyroid disease, coeliac disease, Crohn’s disease, psoriasis, multiple sclerosis and type 1 diabetes– is unknown, but is believed to be a complex combination of genetic and environmental factors.
Digging Out DNA with Digital PCR
May 23, 2013 10:44 am | by Mike May, PhD | Articles | CommentsThe polymerase chain reaction (PCR) plays a leading role in today’s biology. PCR started with an endpoint approach that detected a particular nucleic-acid sequence. Then, real-time PCR provided relative quantification of the sequences. Most recently, digital PCR (dPCR) allowed scientists to absolutely quantify sequences of nucleic acids.
Depression Linked to Telomerase
May 23, 2013 10:41 am | News | CommentsThe first symptoms of major depression may be behavioral, but the common mental illness is based in biology— and not limited to the brain. In recent years, some studies have linked major, long-term depression with life-threatening chronic disease and with earlier death, even after lifestyle risk factors have been taken into account.
Forest Labs CEO Howard Solomon to retire
May 23, 2013 10:33 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsForest Laboratories Inc. said Thursday that longtime executive Howard Solomon will retire as president and CEO at the end of 2013. Forest said it has been reviewing candidates to replace Solomon and expects to name a successor before the end of the year. Solomon, 85, will remain chairman of the...
J&J forecasts 10 new drug applications by 2017
May 23, 2013 8:31 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsJohnson & Johnson says it plans to submit more than 10 new treatments to regulators for approval and 25 applications for additional uses of approved drugs by 2017. The New Brunswick, N.J., company says its pipeline of drugs in late-stage clinical development include a potential hepatitis C...
FDA panel backs experimental Merck insomnia drug
May 22, 2013 5:46 pm | by MATTHEW PERRONE - AP Health Writer - Associated Press | News | CommentsA federal panel of medical experts said that an experimental insomnia drug from Merck & Co. Inc. appears safe and effective, despite evidence from company trials that the pill can cause daytime sleepiness and difficulty driving. A majority of Food and Drug Administration panelists voted...
Ohio Boy Saved with 3-D 'Printed' Airway
May 22, 2013 5:06 pm | by MARILYNN MARCHIONE - AP Chief Medical Writer - Associated Press | News | CommentsIn a medical first, doctors used plastic particles and a 3-D laser printer to create an airway splint to save the life of a baby boy who used to stop breathing nearly every day. It's the latest advance from the booming field of regenerative medicine, making body parts in the lab.
Glaxo, US partnering to develop new antibiotics
May 22, 2013 2:26 pm | by HZL-LAJ - By The Associated Press - Associated Press | News | CommentsGlaxoSmithKline PLC says it's starting an unusual collaboration with the U.S. government to develop several antibiotics for both bioterrorism threats and bacterial infections resistant to current medicines. Antibiotic resistance will become a global crisis, experts predict, because most drug...
Xeno-free Mesenchymal Stem Cell Osteogenic Differentiation Medium
May 22, 2013 1:15 pm | Product Releases | CommentsEMD Millipore, the Life Science division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, and Plasticell of London, UK, announced the availability of OsteoMAX-XF, a fully defined, xeno-free human mesenchymal stem cell differentiation medium for the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells into osteocytes.
Addiction-blocking Drug Under Development
May 22, 2013 12:50 pm | News | CommentsResearchers have unraveled the molecular foundations of cocaine’s effects on the brain, and identified a compound that blocks cravings for the drug in cocaine-addicted mice. The compound, already proven safe for humans, is undergoing further animal testing in preparation for possible clinical trials in cocaine addicts.
