|
|
| Latest Science News Happy New Year to all our viewers | | Tricky T Cells:A new lymphocyte behind autoimmunity has created feverish excitement—and raised as many questions as it answers
TheScientist.com (Feb., 2, 2010) As the number of people suffering from autoimmune and inflammatory diseases continues to grow, scientists are racing to uncover therapeutic treatments by studying the signaling pathways that drive the disorders. The recent publication of several, sometimes competing, studies describing the complex roles of cytokines and lymphocytes has helped deepen the understanding of the molecular mechanics of the immune system, even leading to a Phase I clinical trial.The role of cytokine Interleukin-17 (IL-17) as the source of cellular communication in autoimmune and inflammatory pathogenesis has been widely accepted for nearly a decade. And the discovery of its manufacturer, T helper cell 17 (or Th17), 5 years ago as an entirely new lineage of lymphocytes helped identify the first step in how some immune cells can switch from their protective roles to become the drivers of disease..............More | Gene Function Discovery: New Computation Model Predicts Gene Function
ScienceDaily (Feb. 1, 2010) — Scientists have created a new computational model that can be used to predict gene function of uncharacterized plant genes with unprecedented speed and accuracy. The network, dubbed AraNet, has over 19,600 genes associated to each other by over 1 million links and can increase the discovery rate of new genes affiliated with a given trait tenfold. It is a huge boost to fundamental plant biology and agricultural research.
Despite immense progress in functional characterization of plant genomes, over 30% of the 30,000 Arabidopsis genes have not been functionally characterized yet. Another third has little evidence regarding their role in the plant.
"In essence, AraNet is based on the simple idea that genes that physically reside in the same neighborhood, or turn on in concert with one another are probably associated with similar traits," explained corresponding author Sue Rhee at the Carnegie Institution's Department of Plant Biology. "We call it guilt by association. Based on over 50 million scientific observations ..............More | US President's FY 2011 budget plan outlines 5.9 percent increase in nondefense R&D
Scinece News (Feb. 1,2010) Given the economy, federal research agencies seemed pleased that the Obama administration plans on giving to science. The president’s budget for fiscal 2011, released February 1, proposes $147.7 billion for federal research and development. Of that, nondefense-related funding would be $66 billion, a 5.9 percent increase over 2010 levels. Some programs, such as the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste facility and NASA’s Constellation program, met an early death. Most agencies saw modest increases.
“Given that there’s an overall freeze, you had to hope that the president was going to be true to his promise to use a scalpel rather than a hatchet,” comments Albert Teich, director of science and policy programs at the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington, D.C. “That seems to be the case. Within the budget, science seems to be treated pretty well.” ..............More | AstraZeneca to cut 8000 pharmaceutical jobs
Pharmaceutical News (Feb. 2, 2010) AstraZeneca, the Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical group, is gearing up for one of the biggest shake-ups witnessed in the industry.
The company plans to cut 8,000 more pharmaceutical jobs worldwide by 2014. The new cuts follow the loss of 12,600 roles at the group since 2007.
The company highlighted that driving increased productivity from investments in research and development is key to portfolio renewal and value creation.
The company will undertake additional restructuring within the R&D function. These plans include a reduction in the number of disease area targets within its core therapeutic areas, a continued focus on externalisation, some consolidation of activities onto a smaller R&D site footprint, and other efficiency measures, subject to consultations with work councils, trades unions and other employee representatives and in accordance with local labour laws...............More | GSK's TYKERB® Receives Accelerated Approval For First-line Combination Treatment Of Hormone Receptor Positive, HER2+/ErbB2+ Breast Cancer
Medical News Today (Feb. 1, 2010) GlaxoSmithKline announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted accelerated approval for a new combination regimen using TYKERB® (lapatinib) as a first-line, all-oral treatment for women with metastatic breast cancer.
TYKERB is now indicated in combination with letrozole for the treatment of postmenopausal women with hormone receptor positive metastatic breast cancer that overexpresses the HER2 receptor for whom hormonal therapy is indicated. TYKERB in combination with an aromatase inhibitor has not been compared to a trastuzumab-containing chemotherapy regimen for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer...............More | More News |
| | | | | | Message from Dr. Abhay Jere | Nobel Prize 2009* New | The Nobel Prize in Biology, 1982-2007
During the period 1901-2000, a total of about 190 scientists were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine. And 58 of them received the Prize between 1982 and 2007. Their discoveries range from basic to clinical research. The following is a compilation the scientists who were awarded Nobel Prizes during the last 25 years and their brief discoveries. ....More | | | 
| Register With us & Get Updates on JOB OPENINGS & SUMMER TRAININGS
| BioSpectrum Biotech Schools Survey 2008 (Part-1)
BioSpectrum Biotech Schools Survey 2008 (Part-2) | 
|
| |
|