Discovery of Natural Compounds that Could Slow Blood Vessel Growth
from Biology News Net
Using computer models and live cell experiments, biomedical engineers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, have discovered more than 100 human protein fragments that can slow or stop the growth of cells that make up new blood vessels. More

MU Scientists 'See' How HIV Matures into an Infection
from Bio-Medicine
After improving the sensitivity of nuclear magnetic resonance, researchers at the University of Missouri actually watched the HIV-1 protease mature from an inactive form into an active infection. This process has never been directly visualized before. The findings appear today in the journal Nature. More

J&J Crohn's Disease Drug is Superior in its Study
from The Associated Press
An injected Johnson & Johnson biologic drug used to treat several immune diseases controlled Crohn's disease, a difficult-to-treat bowel disorder, better than a widely used pill, a study found. Run by J&J's biotech unit, Centocor Inc., and funded by the company, the study showed that patients getting its Remicade, either alone or in combination with azathioprine pills, brought disease remission in far more patients than in a group getting just the pills. More

USDA Issues Warning for Frozen Chicken Dinners
from USA Today
The government is urging consumers to thoroughly cook frozen chicken dinners after 32 people in 12 states were sickened with salmonella poisoning. The health warning by the U.S. Department of Agriculture cited frozen dishes in which the chicken is raw, but breaded or pre-browned, giving the appearance of being cooked. They include "chicken cordon bleu," "chicken Kiev," or chicken breasts stuffed with cheese, vegetables or other items. More

Stopping Pandemic Bird Flu
from Technology Review
Bird flu tops the list of the world's next "potential pandemic"--virulent influenza strains that spread rapidly across the globe--but figuring out how to fight it has been far less clear-cut. So far, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a few vaccines that may be able to fend off the virus, but all of those are grown in chicken eggs, take up to six months to produce, and are each effective against only one strain of the virus. A brand-new DNA vaccine, which scientists hope to soon test in humans, may provide much broader protection. More

CLSI Recognizes World Standards Week
from The Wall Street Journal
Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) is proud to recognize the importance of global health care standards as it celebrates World Standards Week this October. The goal of World Standards Week is to raise awareness of the importance of global standardization to the world economy, promote its role in helping meet the needs of business, industry, government, and consumers worldwide, and to pay tribute to the thousands of volunteers around the world who participate in standardization activities. More

Three Europeans Win the 2008 Nobel for Medicine
from The New York Times
Two virologists who discovered HIV and a third who showed that a virus causes cervical cancer share this year's Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Two French researchers, Luc Montagnier and Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, share half the prize for discovering, in 1983, that the virus now known as HIV causes AIDS. The other half of the prize goes to Harald zur Hausen, a German, for discovering that the human papilloma virus causes cervical cancer. More

Californians Have Higher Levels of Flame-retardant PBDEs in their Blood
from The Los Angeles Times
Californians have twice as much of flame-retardant chemicals in their blood and as much as 10 times more of them in their homes than elsewhere in the country, researchers say. Older children and infants, who may be more susceptible to the harmful effects of the chemicals, can have several times as much as adults, the research team reported recently in the journal Environmental Science & Technology. More

Gene Variants Influence Effectiveness of Weight Loss Drug
from Medscape Medical News
Specific genetic markers may indicate the potential success of weight-loss treatment among patients treated with sibutramine accompanied by behavioral therapy. The new research, reported in the October issue of Gastroenterology, identified genetic variants associated with two hormones and an intracellular protein that significantly enhance the outcome of weight-loss therapy. More

Sutter Roseville's Lab Receives Accreditation
from The Sacramento Bee
Sutter Roseville Medical Center's Clinical Laboratory in Sacramento, Calif., received accreditation from the College of American Pathologists. The clinical laboratory operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and provides chemistry, special chemistry urinanalysis, hematology, coagulation, transfusion, microbiology and pathology services. More