Biotech Business Week articles from June 2009

Biotech Business Week archives from June 2009

HRT-breast cancer risk stays same, regardless of family history.
June 1, 2009... The risk of developing breast cancer due to taking hormone replacement therapy appears to be the same for women with a family history of the disease and without a family history, a University of Rochester Medical Center study concluded (see...

Your brain on -- and off -- caffeine.
June 1, 2009... Ever miss your daily cup of coffee and subsequently get a pounding headache? According to reports from consumers of coffee and other caffeinated products, caffeine withdrawal is often characterized by a headache, fatigue, feeling less alert,...

Reports from Z.R. Edelstein et al highlight recent research in acid reflux disease.
June 1, 2009... "Our aim was to measure the relative risks of Barrett's esophagus (BE) associated with demographic factors, measures of adiposity, and smoking among patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Patients newly diagnosed with specialized...

Studies from Duke University in the area of allergies described.
June 1, 2009... According to recent research from the United States, "Because glioma etiology is largely unknown, the inverse association of glioma risk with atopic conditions is promising and deserves close scrutiny. We examined the association between a...

Studies from Q.L. Ma et al provide new data on Alzheimer disease.
June 1, 2009... "The sortilin-related receptor SorLA/LR11 (LR11) is a transmembrane neuronal sorting protein that reduces beta-amyloid precursor protein trafficking to secretases, notably BACE1 that generates beta-amyloid, the principal component of senile...

Medtronic to Reduce Global Workforce.
June 1, 2009... Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT) announced plans to reduce its global workforce by 1,500 to 1,800 employees, in an effort to streamline operations and to further align the company with its long-term growth outlook. This reduction includes...

Recent findings from Konkuk University highlight research in microbiology and biotechnology.(Report)
June 1, 2009... According to recent research published in the journal Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, "This study isolated a novel erythritol-producing yeast strain, which is capable of growth at high osmolarity. Characteristics of the strain include...

Medtronic Provides Revenue and EPS Guidance for Fiscal Year 2010.(Financial report)
June 1, 2009... Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE:MDT) today provided revenue and diluted earnings per share (EPS) guidance for fiscal year 2010 (see also Medtronic, Inc.). For fiscal year 2010, the company expects revenue growth in the range of 5-8 percent on a...

PaperFree Medical Systems Enters Growing Teeth Whitening Business.
June 1, 2009... PaperFree Medical Solutions, Inc. (Pink Sheets:PFMS) announced that has branched out into the growing retail teeth whitening business by acquiring the flagship location of LightWhitening Centres, Inc. LightWhitening Centres offers teeth...

Is there any association between COX2 and colon cancer?
June 8, 2009... Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), which are known to reduce the risk of colon cancer, act directly on cyclooxygenase-2 (COX2) and reduce its activity. Population studies have found an association of inherited variations in the...

Studies in the area of abdominal hysterectomy reported from Brigham and Women's Hospital.
June 8, 2009... "To study the relationship of annual surgeon cast, volume to surgical outcome following hysterectomy. We performed a retrospective cohort Study of,women who underwent hysterectomy between January 1995 and December 2005 and evaluated the...

Research on adenoma discussed by S. Rohrmann and co-researchers.(Clinical report)
June 8, 2009... According to recent research from Heidelberg, Germany, "Heterocyclic aromatic amines (HCAs), which arise from cooking meat and fish at high temperatures, may increase the risk of colorectal adenomas. Conversely, flavonoids might counteract the...

Research reports from University of Joensuu provide new insights into aging.
June 8, 2009... According to a study from Joensuu, Finland, "The effects of temperature and sediment-chemical contact time on desorption and bioaccumulation of sediment-spiked C-14-labelled 2,2',4,4'-tetrabromo diphenyl ether (BDE-47) and benzo(a)pyrene (BaP)...

New findings reported from Duke University describe advances in Alzheimer disease.
June 8, 2009... According to a study from the United States, "We previously found that vascular smooth muscle actin (SMA) is reduced in the brains of patients with late stage Alzheimer disease (AD) compared with brains of nondemented, neuropathologically...

GeneWize Hires Senior Vice-President of Sales and Marketing: GeneLink's GeneWize Subsidiary Prepares for Growth.
June 8, 2009... GeneLink, Inc. (OTCBB:GNLK.OB), a leading consumer genomics biotech company, is pleased to announce the appointment of Sharon M. Tahaney to the position of Senior Vice-President of Sales and Marketing of GeneWize Life Sciences, Inc (see also...

MediConnect CEO, Amy Rees Anderson, New Utah Technology Council Trustee.
June 8, 2009... MediConnect Global, Inc. is pleased to announce CEO Amy Rees Anderson as The Utah Technology Council's (UTC) newest Board of Trustees member. Anderson was inducted along with Jeremy Hanks of 9aisle, and Timothy Hunt of Go Natural CNG, at the...

Jefferson researchers identify critical marker of response to gemcitabine in pancreatic cancer.(Report)
June 15, 2009... A protein related to aggressive cancers can actually improve the efficacy of gemcitabine at treating pancreatic cancer, according to a Priority Report in Cancer Research, published by researchers at Thomas Jefferson University (see also Thomas...

Old stain in a new combination.
June 15, 2009... New combinations of agents based on the oldest synthetic malaria drug, the methylene blue stain, can curb the spread of malaria parasites and make a significant contribution to the long-term eradication called for by the international "Roll...

Autoinflammatory disease model reveals role for innate, not adaptive, immunity.
June 15, 2009... Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have developed the first mouse model for auto-inflammatory diseases, disorders that involve the over-activation of the body's innate, primitive immune system. Their...

Study may aid efforts to prevent uncontrolled cell division in cancer.
June 15, 2009... Researchers from the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have uncovered a remarkable property of the contractile ring, a structure required for cell division. Understanding how the...

Scientists uncover mode of action of enzyme linked with several types of cancer.
June 15, 2009... This release is available in French (see also University of Montreal). Scientists at the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer (IRIC) of the Universite de Montreal have discovered a key mechanism used by cells to efficiently...

Studies from J. Kim et al provide new data on nature biotechnology.
June 15, 2009... According to recent research from the United States, "Genetic changes that help explain the differences between two individuals might create or disrupt sites complementary to microRNAs ( miRNAs)(1,2), but the extent to which such polymorphic...

AGA Medical Corporation Launches Final Video from its Web-Based Stroke Education and Awareness Series Featuring Professional Football Player Tedy Bruschi.
June 15, 2009... AGA Medical Corporation today launched the fifth in a series of Web-based stroke education and awareness videos featuring Tedy Bruschi, a professional football player who suffered a stroke in February 2005, subsequently recovered and returned...

Bruker Announces Avance 1000, the World's First 1 Gigahertz NMR Spectrometer.
June 15, 2009... At the beginning of the ‘International Workshop on High Field Solution and Solid State Biomolecular NMR', Bruker BioSpin announced the launch of a breakthrough one Gigahertz (1 GHz = 1,000 MHz) ultra-high field Avance™ 1000 NMR...

Northfield Laboratories Announces Filing of Voluntary Petition under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code.
June 15, 2009... Northfield Laboratories Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLD) announced that it has filed a voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The filing was made to facilitate the...

Reports from S. Huhulescu and co-researchers add new data to research in acute gastroenteritis.
June 22, 2009... "We studied the etiology of acute gastroenteritis in a village with a total population of approximately 6,000. This is the first study in Austria that has investigated a broad range of pathogens recovered from an unselected population of...

Reports outline aging study results from Duke University.(Clinical report)
June 22, 2009... According to a study from the United States, "The goal of this study was to determine if brain lesion volume was correlated with dietary glycemic index and glycemic load in elderly individuals. This cross-sectional study was performed at an...

Reports by C. Elsing and co-researchers describe recent advances in alcoholism.
June 22, 2009... "Clomethiazole (CLO) has been shown to be effective in treating alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS). Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) has also been introduced in the treatment of alcoholic patients and is effective in surgical intensive care unit...

Research on allergies reported by A. Bagg et al.
June 22, 2009... According to recent research from the United States, "Allergy skin testing is a common procedure for the diagnosis of atopic diseases with a small risk of systemic reactions. To determine the 12-month incidence of systemic reactions (SRs) to...

Studies from L.D. Christiano and co-researchers update current data on aneurysm.
June 22, 2009... According to a study from the United States, "Segal and McLaurin first described giant serpentine aneurysms, based on their distinct angiographic features, in 1977. These lesions are >= 25 mm, partially thrombosed aneurysms with a patent,...

Investigators at University of Lodz zero in on biotechnology.
June 22, 2009... "Hairy roots of Nasturtium officinale, Barbarea verna and Arabis caucasica with active glucosinolate-myrosinase system were obtained after transformation with Agrobacterium rhizogenes," investigators in Lodz, Poland report (see also...

New biotechnology study findings have been reported from University of Tokyo.
June 22, 2009... According to recent research from Komaba, Japan, "Electrochemical properties of composite films consisting of polyaniline/carboxydextran (PANI/carDEX) as a biofuel cell electrode platform were investigated. These composite films were formed on...

New biotechnology study findings recently were published by J.F. Wang and co-researchers.
June 22, 2009... According to a study from Beijing, People's Republic of China, "Keratinocyte growth factor-2 (KGF-2) plays an important role in vertebrate limb development, lung branching morphogenesis, regeneration and reconstruction of the epidermis....

New data from J. Vanmarwijk et al illuminate research in biotechnology.
June 22, 2009... "Dissimilatory reduction of vanadium(V) by Enterobacter cloacae EV-SA01, isolated from a gold mine at 1.6 km below surface, is shown to occur anaerobically as well as aerobically," scientists writing in the journal Biotechnology Letters report...

Research on biotechnology published by scientists at University of Birmingham.
June 22, 2009... "The chondron in articular cartilage includes the chondrocyte and its surrounding pericellular matrix (PCM). Single chondrocytes and chondrons were compressed between two parallel surfaces by a micromanipulation technique to investigate their...

Research results from Kagoshima University update knowledge of biotechnology.
June 22, 2009... According to a study from Kagoshima, Japan, "Bovine lactoferrin promotes bifidobacterial growth. Its binding to bifidobacteria is thought to be responsible for such action." "After separating the bovine lactoferrin half molecule and...

Research results from Shandong University update knowledge of biotechnology.
June 22, 2009... "A laccase was purified from Trametes hirsuta. This laccase was classified as a ''white'' or ''yellow'' laccase. pH 2.4 was optimal for the oxidation of ABTS and pH 2.5 for DMP," scientists in Jinan, People's Republic of China report (see also...

Researchers from University of Puerto Rico discuss findings in biotechnology.
June 22, 2009... According to a study from the United States, "alpha-Chymotrypsin was chemically modified with methoxypoly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) of different molecular weights (700, 2,000, and 5,000 Da) and the amount of polymer attached to the enzyme was...

Researchers from Wuhan University report on findings in biotechnology.
June 22, 2009... According to recent research from Wuhan, People's Republic of China, "A novel OSPGYRP gene encoding a rice proline-, glycine- and tyrosine-rich protein was isolated from cold-stress treated rice seedlings using suppression subtractive...

Studies from A. Diazbarrera et al in the area of biotechnology described.
June 22, 2009... According to a study from Valparaiso, Chile, "Alginate production by Azotobacter vinelandii growing in chemostat cultures was evaluated under different O-2 transfer rates (OTR)." "As a result of modifying the culture's agitation rate from...

Study findings from Department of Agriculture provide new insights into biotechnology.
June 22, 2009... "1,3-Diferuloyl-sn-glycerol is found ubiquitously throughout the plant kingdom, possessing ultraviolet adsorbing and antioxidant properties. Diferuloyl glycerol was synthesized and isolated as a byproduct in up to 5% yield from a pilot plant...

University of Lisbon reports research in biotechnology.
June 22, 2009... According to a study from Campo Grande, Portugal, "Two oxygen-containing monoterpene substrates, menthol or geraniol (25 mg l(-1)), were added to Anethum graveolens hairy root cultures to evaluate the influence of the biotransformation capacity...

Data on microbiology and biotechnology reported by researchers at Technical University of Denmark.
June 22, 2009... According to a study from Roskilde, Denmark, "A pilot plant for hydrothermal treatment of wheat straw was compared in reactor systems of two steps (first, 80A degrees C; second, 190-205A degrees C) and of three steps (first, 80A degrees C;...

Wageningen University publishes research in microbiology and biotechnology.
June 22, 2009... According to a study from Netherlands, "To avoid problems related to the discharge of sulfidic spent caustics, a biotechnological process is developed for the treatment of gases containing both hydrogen sulfide and methanethiol. The process...

Multiple PVI: a poor prognostic factor for hepatocellular carcinoma.
June 29, 2009... The prognostic factors for HCC with microscopic PVI have remained elusive and no therapeutic strategy has been established in patients with HCC accompanied by microscopic PVI. A research article to be published on June 7, 2009 in the World...

What are the risk factors of sporadic colorectal cancer?
June 29, 2009... Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers in China. Although the association between the epidemiological factors and sporadic colorectal cancer has been studied, the relation between smoking, alcohol drinking, family history of...

Reports outline adolescence study results from University of Helsinki.(Clinical report)
June 29, 2009... In this recent report published in the International Journal of Obesity, researchers in Helsinki, Finland conducted a study "To study genetic and environmental factors affecting body mass index (BMI) and BMI phenotypic correlations across...

Research data from University of Lubeck update understanding of adrenal insufficiency.
June 29, 2009... "Cortisol replacement in patients with adrenal insufficiency usually consists of hydrocortisone (HC) given orally during day time. Due to the short half-life of hydrocortisone, cortisol levels between midnight and early morning are very low in...

Study data from University of Limoges update understanding of african trypanosomiasis.
June 29, 2009... "To determine the role of the B-cell attracting chemokine CXCL-13, which may initiate B-cell trafficking and IgM production in diagnosing HAT meningo-encephalitis. We determined CXCL-13 levels by ELISA on paired sera and CSF of 26 patients from...

New biotechnology study findings have been reported from M. Alam et al.(Report)
June 29, 2009... According to recent research from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, "The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of producing bioethanol from palm-oil mill effluent generated by the oil-palm industries through direct bioconversion process....

Reports by D.J. Barry and co-researchers describe recent advances in biotechnology.
June 29, 2009... "Mycelial morphology is a critically important process property in industrial fermentations of filamentous micro-organisms, as particular phenotypes are associated with maximum productivity. However, the accurate quantification of complex...

Research from Central South University provides new data on biotechnology.
June 29, 2009... "Two sphalerite samples with different iron/sulphur (Fe/S) ratios, Shuikousan ore (Fe/S 0.2) and Dachang ore (Fe/S 0.52), were processed using three microbial species, Leptospirillum ferriphilum, Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans and...

Research from Huazhong Agricultural University yields new data on biotechnology.
June 29, 2009... According to recent research from Wuhan, People's Republic of China, "Spodoptera exigua is one of the most renowned agricultural pest insects and relatively insensitive to Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki strains which are widely used...

Research from M. Pescheck and co-researchers provides new data on biotechnology.
June 29, 2009... According to a study from Frankfurt, Germany, "A closed gas loop bioprocess was developed to improve fungal biotransformation of monoterpenes. By circulating monoterpene-saturated process gas, the evaporative loss of the volatile precursor from...

Scientists at Tianjin University publish new data on biotechnology.
June 29, 2009... "Strain Candida albicans PDY-07 was used to study the anaerobic biodegradation of phenol and m-cresol as single and dual substrates in batch cultures. The strain had a higher potential to degrade phenol than m-cresol," scientists writing in the...

Studies from Osmania University have provided new data on biotechnology.
June 29, 2009... According to a study from Hyderabad, India, "The objective of this paper was to report a bacterium designated as 88D, capable of producing poly (3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) [P (3HB-co-3HV)] copolymer from a single carbon source,...

Study data from Ankara University update knowledge of biotechnology.
June 29, 2009... According to a study from Ankara, Turkey, "Nisin production in continuous cultures of bioengineered Lactococcus lactis strains that incorporate additional immunity and regulation genes was studied. Highest nisin activities were observed at 0.2...

Affymetrix to Webcast Annual Meeting of Shareholders.
June 29, 2009... Affymetrix, Inc. (Nasdaq:AFFX) announced that it will webcast its Annual Meeting of Shareholders live at 4 p.m. (PT), on June 17, 2009. Following the formal business of the meeting, Affymetrix President and Chief Executive Officer Kevin King...

CombinatoRx Granted Extension to Regain NASDAQ Compliance.(Report)
June 29, 2009... CombinatoRx, Incorporated (NASDAQ: CRXX) announced that the NASDAQ Stock Market has granted an extension of the time the Company has to regain compliance with NASDAQ's minimum stockholders' equity requirement set forth in Listing Rule...

Dyadic International Appoints Goldstein Lewin As New Independent Auditor.
June 29, 2009... Dyadic International, Inc. ("Dyadic")(Pink Sheets: DYAI) announced that the Audit Committee of its Board of Directors has appointed Goldstein Lewin & Co. ("Goldstein Lewin") as Dyadic's independent registered public accounting firm for the...