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Immunotherapy Shown Effective in Brain Tumor Animal Test
Researchers at University of Zurich in Switzerland tested a therapy in lab mice that harnesses the immune system to fight glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. The team led by Zurich immunologist Burkhard Becher reported its findings yesterday online in the Journal of Experimental Medicine (paid subscription required) and seeks commercial partners for accelerated…
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Graphic Labels Reduce Smoking More Than First Thought
Public health researchers at University of Illinois in Chicago and University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada found graphic warnings on cigarette packs can reduce smoking to a greater extent than the U.S. Food and Drug Administration estimated two years ago. The team led by Chicago’s Jidong Huang published its findings online earlier this month in…
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Genome Editing Start-Up Secures $43M in First Round Funds
The Cambridge, Massachusetts start-up Editas Medicine, developing therapies based on new research in genome editing, gained $43 million in its first financing round. The funding was led by venture companies Flagship Ventures, Polaris Partners, and Third Rock Ventures, with participation from Partners Innovation Fund, the venture funding arm of Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and…
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Nanoparticles, Ultrasound Offer Option to Insulin Injections
Biomedical engineers at North Carolina State University in Raleigh developed a system of long-term insulin delivery for patients with diabetes, which tests in lab animals show can regulate blood glucose levels without painful injections. The team led by NC State engineering professor Zhen Gu published its findings online earlier this week in the journal Advanced…
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Neurotherapies Require Collaboration, Team Science, Big Data
In a briefing today on Capitol Hill, University of Pennsylvania biomedical engineer and neurologist Brian Litt outlined requirements for harnessing promising research for patients suffering from brain disorders. The briefing in Washington, D.C. was organized by the journal Science Translational Medicine and its publisher American Association for the Advancement of Science. Litt, who is on…
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New Process Speeds 3-D Printing of Multiple Materials
Engineers at University of Southern California in Los Angeles developed a new, faster technique for three-dimensional printing of objects made with multiple materials. Industrial engineering professor Yong Chen and colleagues from USC described their process yesterday at a meeting of the engineering organization ASME in San Diego. Despite the promise and potential of 3-D printing…
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FDA Approves Sale of High-Throughput DNA Sequencing Systems
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration yesterday cleared for marketing high-throughput sequencing systems by Illumina Inc. in San Diego to analyze a person’s DNA. In a commentary on this approval in New England Journal of Medicine, FDA director Margaret Hamburg and National Institutes of Health director Francis Collins say, “Access to these data opens the…
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Gene Therapy Shows Long-Term Benefit for Heart Failure
A therapy using genes to induce production of an enzyme for heart cells to restore their use of calcium was found to help heart failure patients in a clinical trial reduce their incidents of cardiac problems over a three-year period. Researchers at Mount Sinai Health System in New York, with colleagues from the biotechnology company…
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Nutritional Labeling Leads to Healthier Restaurant Choices
A study in Philadelphia shows consumers who read nutritional labels on restaurant menus purchase items lower in calories, sodium, and saturated fats than patrons of that restaurant chain overall. The results of the study by researchers at Drexel University, University of Pennsylvania, and Philadelphia’s public health department appear online in yesterday’s advance issue of the…
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Pressure-Cooked Nanoparticles Improve Lithium-Ion Batteries
Engineers at University of California in Riverside discovered a process for improving cathodes in lithium-ion batteries found in today’s electric cars and most electronic devices, and thus their performance. The team from the lab of Riverside’s David Kisailus published their findings in this month’s issue of the journal Crystal Growth and Design (paid subscription required).…