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Lab-Made Heart Cells Found Useful for Research, Testing
Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine in California have devised a process for generating artifical heart cells from the skin of patients with a common cardiac condition. Their findings appear today in the journal Science Translational Medicine (paid subscription required). The team led by Joseph Wu, a professor of cardiovascular medicine and of…
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Helicopter Medevacs Save Trauma Patient Lives But Are Costly
A study led by researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore shows helicopter transport increases the survival rate of trauma victims brought to hospitals compared to ground transport, but the costs are high and better guidelines are needed to determine when to use this resource. The findings are published in this week’s issue of the…
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Breakout Labs Makes First Early-Stage Science Company Grants
Breakout Labs, a revolving investment fund in San Francisco that aims to support early-stage enterprises developing radical new technologies, announced its first six grants yesterday. The fund is backed by the Thiel Foundation, established by entrepreneur Peter Thiel, a founder of online payments service PayPal and an early investor in Facebook. All of the recipient…
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Bioengineered Microbe Developed for Low-Temperature Enzymes
Molecular biologists at University of Georgia in Athens have devised a process for engineering a microorganism to generate enzymes at lower temperatures than in its natural state. Their findings appear today in the online journal mBio published by American Society for Microbiology. The team, led by Georgia professor Michael Adams, engineered a type of microbe…
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Clinical Trial Shows Brain Cancer Vaccine Extends Lives
A clinical trial involving researchers from University of California at San Francisco and the biotechnology company Agenus Inc. in Lexington, Massachusetts found a vaccine has extended the lives of patients with recurrent glioblastoma multiforme, a type of brain cancer. The findings are being presented today at a meeting of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons.…
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Degradable Stent Found Safe for Long Term Coronary Treatment
Researchers in Japan and the Netherlands completed a 10-year study that found a stent that degrades and is absorbed into the blood vessel tissue to be safe for patients with coronary artery disease. The findings are published online ahead of print in the journal Circulation. Stents are mesh tubes inserted to prop open coronary arteries…
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Nutritional Enzyme Maker Secures $10M Early-Stage Financing
Alcresta, in Newton, Massachusetts, has closed a $10 million series A financing round, the first funding installment after start-up. Investors are led by the venture capital firms Bessemer Venture Partners, Frazier Healthcare, and Third Rock Ventures. The company develops and commercializes enzyme-based nutritional products designed to improve the health of and manage disease for infants,…
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Quarter of Grandparents Keep Meds Where Kids Can Find Them
A survey by the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor shows nearly one quarter of grandparents in the U.S. of children age 1 to 5 say they keep their prescription medicines in easily accessible containers or locations. The findings were part of the hospital’s National Poll on Children’s Health conducted in…
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Boron Added to Carbon Nanotubes Produce Super Oil Sponge
Materials scientists at Rice University in Houston have devised a material that can absorb large quantities of oil by adding the element boron to carbon nanotubes. The Rice researchers, joined by colleagues in the U.S., Belgium, Japan, Spain, and Mexico published their findings Friday in the journal Scientific Reports. Rice graduate student Daniel Hashim (pictured…
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Piramal Healthcare Buys Bayer Molecular Imaging Portfolio
Piramal Healthcare, a pharmaceutical and drug discovery company in Mumbai, India, says it has acquired rights to the molecular imaging research and development portfolio of Bayer Pharma AG in Leverkusen, Germany. The company has formed a new subsidiary, Piramal Imaging SA, to manage these assets. Financial terms of the sale were not disclosed, but Piramal…