Feature: Epigenetics and diabetes
23 November, 2010 by Graeme O'NeillThe phenomenon of ‘glycaemic memory’ has long puzzled diabetes clinicians and researchers. Now, researchers at the Baker Heart and International Diabetes Institute (Baker IDI) have made a crucial advance that explains how exposure to high blood-glucose levels drives epigenetic changes that underlie the syndrome.
Novogen reports positive results from U.S cancer study
19 November, 2010 by David BinningShares in Sydney biotech Novogen jumped 16.7 percent today on news that its majority-owned US subsidiary Marshall Edwards had reported positive data from it anti-cancer therapeutic, NV-128.
Feature: The science of longevity: Resveratrol and beyond
19 November, 2010 by Tim DeanSustaining a long, healthy life is the holy grail of medical science. David Sinclair, discoverer of resveratrol, is working on understanding the mechanisms underlying ageing with the hope of producing new drugs that combat diseases and maybe even extend life itself.
Ageing, heart disease and colour blindness among key themes for 5th AHMRC
18 November, 2010 by David BinningThe 5th Australian Health and Medical Research Congress (AHMRC) wound up in Melbourne today after this week playing host to a coterie of top local and international researchers.
Bionomics reports strong data from anxiety and depression study
17 November, 2010 by Staff WritersAdelaide biotech Bionomics has reported positive data from a study of its anti-anxiety and depression drug BNC210, indicating a number of potential advantages over its many blockbuster rivals.
Meet the Australian Life Scientist of the Year: Ben Kile
17 November, 2010 by Tim DeanDr Benjamin Kile of the The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute has received the prestigious Science Minister’s Prize for Life Scientist of the Year for work in understanding the causes of cancer and for providing insight into the mechanisms that keep blood platelets alive.
Could the brain be tricked to perceive colours and sounds instead of pain?
15 November, 2010 by Staff WritersA group of Australian and Austrian researchers have located a key gene behind the body’s perception of pain, a mutation of which has been shown to replace pain with other sensations.
Road to Alzheimer's disease begins in middle-age
10 November, 2010 by Tim DeanAlzheimer's disease and other neurological ailments are well know to affect individuals later in life, but now a study by researchers at ANU and Brunel University, London, has found the precursors to neurological decline can be found in individuals in middle-age.
Opinion: Tuberculosis: threatening Australia’s borders
09 November, 2010 by Staff WritersThe recent scare involving six Australian customs officials who appear to have contracted a latent tuberculosis infection has called into question the current protection and testing measures.
Opinion: Private funding – enabling Australian biomedical research
03 November, 2010 by Staff WritersThe biomedical sphere is one of the toughest areas in which to gain funding – the level of competition, coupled with limited public funding makes it difficult to take many areas of research forward. With so many subjects worthy of development, private philanthropy is a significant enabler of vital research projects across Australia.
Australia’s first iPS Type 1 diabetes cells created
03 November, 2010 by David BinningResearchers at Monash University's Institute of Medical Research have used iPS (induced pluripotent stem cells) technology to become the first in Australia to create Type 1 diabetes cells in a laboratory.
Leading antiemetic Aloxi receives PBS approval
02 November, 2010 by Staff WritersThe popular Swiss-made antiemetic post-chemo drug Aloxi (palonosetron hydrochloride) has been approved for reimbursement under the PBS.
Life science backgrounder: What is xenotransplantation?
01 November, 2010 by Staff WritersXenotransplantation is the transplantation of organs or cells from a non-human animal into a human.
Victorian Cancer Agency awards $400,000 fellowship to ovarian specialist
29 October, 2010 by Staff WritersThis year’s $400,000 Victorian Cancer Agency (VCA) Clinical Fellowship has been awarded to Dr Clare Scott from theWalter and Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI) to help advance her ground-breaking work on epithelial ovarian cancer.
Insight into how immune cells cause diabetes
27 October, 2010 by Staff WritersResearchers from Sydney's Garvan Institute of Medical Research have uncovered a mechanism by which immune cells interact, giving insight into the causes of Type 1 diabetes, where the body's own immune cells target the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas.
