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HOUSTON-(Dec. 8, 2009)—The second phase of a clinical trial testing a new stem-cell-based therapy on injured heart muscle has been launched by researchers at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston. It is the only study site in the Texas Medical Center.

DURHAM, N.C. -- Humans have the same receptors for detecting odors related to sex as do other apes and primates. But each species uses them in different ways, stemming from the way the genes for these receptors have evolved over time, according to Duke University researchers.

Varying sensitivity to these sex-steroid odors may play a role in mate selection -- and perhaps prevent cross-species couplings, the researchers speculate.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — University of Florida researchers have found a way to use just a fraction of the normal dosage of a highly toxic, debilitating chemotherapy drug to achieve even better results against colon cancer cells.

More research is needed before the therapy can be tested in patients, but the discovery in human colon cancer cell lines and mice with established human tumors suggests that the addition of a small molecule to the cancer drug Temozolomide disrupts repair mechanisms in a type of tumor cells that is highly resistant to treatment.

Scientists at Singapore's Institute of Microelectronics (IME) have developed a rapid and sensitive integrated system to test simultaneously for specific cardiac biomarkers in finger prick amount of blood.

Transplanting human stem cells from umbilical cords onto the abnormally thin, cloudy corneas of laboratory mice significantly improved corneal transparency and increased the thickness of the animals' corneal stroma, the transparent middle layer, according to research that will be presented at the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) 49th Annual Meeting, Dec. 5-9, 2009 in San Diego.

CINCINNATI—New research from the University of Cincinnati (UC) may help in the recovery of lost vision for patients with corneal scarring.

Winston Whei-Yang Kao, PhD, professor of ophthalmology, along with other researchers in UC's ophthalmology department found that transplanting human umbilical mesenchymal stem cells into mouse models that lack the protein lumican restored the transparency of cloudy and thin corneas.

Mesenchymal stem cells are "multi-potent" stem cells that can differentiate into a variety of cell types.

New scientific evidence refutes the preconception that testosterone causes aggressive, egocentric, and risky behavior. A study at the Universities of Zurich and Royal Holloway London with more than 120 experimental subjects has shown that the sexual hormone with the poor reputation can encourage fair behaviors if this serves to ensure one's own status.

Due to a lack of suitable studies, it is unclear whether patients with soft tissue sarcoma can benefit from autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation. With this type of therapy, some of the patient's own (autologous) stem cells are removed at a convenient time and generally re-implanted after a course of high-dose chemotherapy. At present, there is neither indication nor proof of additional benefit compared to conventional chemotherapy.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Dec. 8, 2009 — TGen Clinical Research Services at Scottsdale Healthcare (TCRS) is the world's first clinical trials site for a new drug designed to halt cancer cell division.

NMS-1286937 is produced by Nerviano Medical Sciences of Milan, Italy's largest pharmaceutical research and development facility. NMS-1286937 is designed to stop cancer from spreading by preventing mitosis, the process of cell division.

Endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) is a highly sensitive diagnostic method for the detection of small pancreatic carcinomas. Recently, there have been some reports describing the utility of contrast-enhanced harmonic EUS (CEH-EUS) which uses sonographic contrast agent for differentiation of a pancreatic mass.

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is defined as the pathological retrograde movement of gastric contents into the esophagus. Various esophageal motility disturbances which may be important in reflux are observed in patients with GERD. The main esophageal motility disorder in these patients is ineffective esophageal motility (IEM). Increased acid clearance time and IEM have been shown to be strongly associated with isolated proximal reflux. However, there are no data that conclusively link motility disorders with isolated distal reflux (IDR).

OAK BROOK, Ill. – December 8, 2009 – According to a new guideline from the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) regarding the management of antithrombotic agents for endoscopy, aspirin and/or NSAIDs may be continued for all elective endoscopic procedures. When high-risk procedures are planned, clinicians may elect to discontinue aspirin and/or NSAIDs for five to seven days before the procedure, depending on the underlying indication for antiplatelet therapy.

In the pipefish, the male cares for the offspring.

Apart from the ones he sucks the life out of.

The discovery of filial cannibalism in the pipefish is now creating a stir in the research world.

The pipefish, which is related to the seahorse, has an unusual way of organising childcare. In this fish species it is the father who takes care of the eggs, which he receives from one or more females and then looks after in a brood pouch on the tail, where a kind of male equivalent of the placenta provides the embryos with oxygen and nutrients.

The fall of 2009 was a truly special season for the Emsland Group: For the first time in the history of the largest German potato starch manufacturer, it processed Tilling potatoes, which exclusively contain amylopectin starch. Not only can nutritional starches for emulsifying soups and desserts be extracted from it – it can also be used for paste and smooth coating for paper and thread production. "This potato is the first product in Germany developed by Tilling that achieves market readiness," explains Prof.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Dec. 8, 2009 — The Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) and Scottsdale Healthcare are testing a new drug specifically for thymic cancer based on early promising results at Scottsdale Healthcare.

PHA-848125ac is produced by Nerviano Medical Sciences of Milan, Italy's largest pharmaceutical research and development facility. It is designed to stop abnormal cell division and duplication, a common feature of cancer.