Safe smoking and tobacco industry funding of genetic research
29 June, 2010The tobacco industry's funding of genetic research could potentially be used to shift responsibility for cancer from smoking to an individual’s genetic make-up.
Researchers discover mechanism that limits scar formation
15 June, 2010Senescent cells in wounds appear to have the biological effect of inhibiting the formation of excess scar tissue.
Rapid, effective system for monitoring mosquito-borne disease
11 June, 2010A University of Western Australia researcher has exploited mosquitoes' love of honey to develop a rapid and effective method for monitoring mosquito-borne disease.
Did the end of smallpox vaccination cause the explosive spread of HIV?
19 May, 2010Researchers suggest that the end of smallpox vaccination in the mid-20th century may have caused a loss of protection that contributed to the rapid contemporary spread of HIV.
Gene test identifies subtypes of breast cancer
10 May, 2010A simple genetic test that uses just three genes is among the most effective means of classifying breast cancer into sub-types.
New ways to kill TB
05 May, 2010Researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have found two novel ways of killing the bacteria that cause tuberculosis (TB), a disease responsible for an estimated two million deaths each year. The findings could lead to a potent TB therapy that would also prevent resistant TB strains from developing.
Biomarkers for the diagnosis of parasitic diseases
29 April, 2010A team of researchers from McGill/MUHC validates a novel screening tool in the fight against Chagas disease.
Genetic tests may predict of hospital readmissions in newborns
29 April, 2010The results of two separate research studies taking place at Children’s Mercy Hospitals and Clinics will help physicians predict which newborns may require readmission to the hospital shortly after birth. The studies will also help physicians identify which of their young patients are likely to respond well - or not - to steroid therapy for asthma.
Biomarker for liver cancer screening
13 April, 2010Several medical diagnostic companies are in the process of developing automated serum tests for Golgi Protein-73. This protein could be used to screen for liver cancer and the test could be performed in routine hospital laboratories.
New discovery is a significant boost to cancer research
06 April, 2010Synthetic derivatives UDP-Galactose have been found to block the activity of glycosyltransferases and may have a significant role in the treatment of cancer, inflammation and infection.
Bio-marker for MS - the start of personalised medicine
30 March, 2010Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham have found the first bio-marker for multiple sclerosis (MS) that might predict which patients will respond to a standard therapy and which will not.
Mathematical innovation turns blood draw into information goldmine in Stanford study
10 March, 2010Scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine have devised a software algorithm that could enable a common laboratory device to virtually separate a whole-blood sample into its different cell types and detect medically important gene-activity changes specific to any one of those cell types.
Detecting fish disease
10 March, 2010A new test is available for the nervous necrosis virus - a serious disease affecting more than 35 species of fish worldwide. The new PCR method was first achieved through research and development funded by the Australian Research Council at the University of Sydney.
Blood test for rheumatoid arthritis
04 March, 2010Researchers from University Hospital in Umea, Sweden, have identified several cytokines, cytokine-related factors and chemokines that increase significantly prior to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) disease onset; confirming earlier studies which suggested that the risk of developing RA can be predicted and disease progression may be prevented.
Genetic link between misery and death
01 March, 2010Most people who are exposed to adverse life events strong enough to trigger depression have an increased risk of dying for the following 11 years. However, some people have a varient gene that makes them immune to this risk.
