Body

DURHAM, N.C. -- Exclusive licenses to gene patents, most of which are held by academic institutions and based on taxpayer-funded research, do more to block competition in the gene testing market than to spur the development of new technologies for gauging disease risk, say researchers at the Duke Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy (IGSP).

As single-gene tests give way to multi-gene or even whole-genome scans, exclusive patent rights could slow promising new technologies and business models for genetic testing even further, the Duke researchers say.

Published online today in Nature, a paper authored by over 200 members of the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) describes the beginnings of a Brave New World, a new era of personalised medicine for cancer patients.

Formed in 2008, the consortium brings together leading cancer researchers from around the world, working together to catalogue the genetic changes of the 50 most common cancers - 500 genomes from each cancer type – and make the results freely available on the internet.

A team of scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified a network of genes that initiate and manage cilia formation. Although scientists have known about cilia for decades, only recently have they discovered their role in disease. This new discovery, which may lead to new therapies for ciliopathies, will appear in the April 15 edition of Nature.

Scientists from Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS) recently presented preliminary research findings that identify a specific gene as a potential new target for treating obesity-related diseases.

AUSTIN, Texas — When Conservation International began working with one of Indonesia's largest energy companies on an environmentally conscious development plan two years ago, the groups looked to a philosopher for guidance.

Sahotra Sarkar, a professor at The University of Texas at Austin and leader in the study of environmental ethics, worked with the conservationists and energy producers to develop strategies that balance economic development and biodiversity protection while respecting the needs of indigenous people.

New Orleans, LA – Research led by T. Cooper Woods, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, and Director of the Molecular Cardiology Research Laboratory at Ochsner Clinic Foundation, has identified the mechanism of how a drug commonly used on stents to prevent reclosure of coronary arteries, regulates cell movement which is critical to wound healing and the progression of diseases like cancer. The study is published in the April 16th issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

Eggs from chickens that consumed extremely high levels of melamine in their feed still did not contain levels of the potentially toxic contaminant that exceeded U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) limits. That was the conclusion of the first study to check on the effects of melamine-contaminated feed in laying hens. It appears in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, a bi-weekly publication.

NEW YORK (April 13, 2010) -- Researchers from the Sackler Center at Weill Cornell Medical College have designed a new class of drugs that targets BCL6, a master regulatory protein responsible for causing the most common type of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Some components of the onion have antioxidant and antimicrobial properties, making it possible to use this bulb for food preservation. This is demonstrated by researchers from the Polytechnic University of Cataluña (UPC) and the University of Barcelona (UB) in a study that has just been published in the International Journal of Food Science and Technology.

A new technique using tissue from those below-the-waist "love handles" improves cosmetic breast reconstruction in slim, athletic cancer patients without adequate fat sources elsewhere, a small Johns Hopkins study has found. The method also turns out to be less complicated than other options for surgeons as well, the research shows.

The novel The Bottom of the Glass, written by the recently deceased Francisco Ayala, shows that violence against women cuts across all social classes. This is the conclusion drawn from the study titled Entre la estupidez y el honor: La violencia en el fondo del vaso de Francisco Ayala, conducted by Alana Gómez Gray. It was published in the specialised journal Sociocriticism, coordinated by professor Antonio Chicharro Chamorro.

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Measuring body composition – the amount of fatty tissue, muscle tissue and bone present in the body – can provide valuable information for determining an individual's overall health status. However, obtaining accurate measurements can be difficult and expensive, according to Steve Ball, University of Missouri Extension fitness specialist. Now, MU researchers are comparing measurement techniques to determine the most efficient and cost-effective method for assessing body composition.

By using a novel prototype drug, researchers have discovered more about the mechanisms underlying female sexual arousal, according to findings published today in the British Journal of Pharmacology.

An early ancestor of the cockroach that lived around 300 million years ago is unveiled in unprecedented detail in a new three-dimensional 'virtual fossil' model, in research published today in the journal Biology Letters.