Consumers need protection from unrealistic claims of home genetic tests
20 August, 2010Direct-to-consumer genetic tests provide access to a person’s genomic information without necessarily involving a doctor or insurance company in the process. Sadly, there is no guarantee that the consumer is aware of the limitations or implications of the tests.
The mathematics of fat cell formation
18 August, 2010Scientists using mathematics to try to determine what causes the birth of a human fat cell have come up with a few predictions about the proteins that influence this process.
Alzheimer research breakthrough
26 July, 2010Researchers from the University of Sydney's Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease Laboratory have achieved a breakthrough by finding the causes of Alzheimer's disease at a cellular level and thereby identifying a potential therapy as a result.
Scientists design new delivery device for gene therapy
13 July, 2010A self-destructing nanoparticle delivers genetic material deep into cells without generating an immune response.
Proteins may point to alcohol use test
06 July, 2010 byMeasuring a set of protein changes in the blood linked to alcohol use may potentially lead to a more accurate diagnostic test than those currently available.
Melbourne pathology to use microbiology system
02 July, 2010Melbourne Pathology will be the first Australian laboratory to acquire PREVI Isola, based on LBT Innovations MicroStreak technology for automated agar plate streaking in microbiology laboratories.
Blood test to predict the age when women will hit the menopause
30 June, 2010Researchers at the Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in Tehran have found that a single blood test may be used to accurately deterimine at what age women will reach the menopause.
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.
