Safer in Biological News

In vitro antibody production enables HIV infection detection in window period -- key to safer blood

This release is available in Chinese . Researchers in Israel and Kenya have shown that the contribution of variable degrees of immune suppression, either due to existing chronic infections such as parasitemi...

Researchers piggyback to safer reprogrammed stem cells

Austin Smith and his research team at the Centre for Stem Cell Research in Cambridge have just published in the journal Development ( http://dev.biologists.org/ ) a new and safer way of generating pluripotent stem cells the stem cells that can give rise to every tissue of the body. Rapid deve...

Queen's University Belfast plays leading role in Europe-wide tests for safer food

A top food scientist at Queen's University Belfast is playing a major role in a 4m European project to develop new techniques to detect chemical contaminants in food and animal feed. Professor Chris Elliott, Director of the Institute of Agri-Food and Land Use at Queen's, will lead a team of...

Researchers create safer alternative to heparin

Troy, N.Y. Robert Linhardt has spent years stitching together minuscule carbohydrates to build a more pure and safer alternative to the commonly used and controversial blood thinner heparin. At the national conference of the American Chemical Society on August 17, 2008, Linhardt announced that h...

Scientists discover how cigarette smoke causes cancer: Study points to new treatments, safer tobacco

Everyone has known for decades that that smoking can kill, but until now no one really understood how cigarette smoke causes healthy lung cells to become cancerous. In a new research report published in the March 2008 print issue of The FASEB Journal ( http://www.fasebj.org ), researchers from the...

'Jumping genes' could make for safer gene delivery system

MADISON - To move a gene from point A to point B, scientists and gene therapists have two proven options: a virus, which can effectively ferry genes of interest into cells, and a plasmid, an engineered loop of DNA that can do the same thing, albeit usually only on a short-term basis. The catch ...

MIT works toward safer gene therapy

CAMBRIDGE, MA (09/07/2007) -- In work that could lead to safe and effective techniques for gene therapy, MIT researchers have found a way to fine-tune the ability of biodegradable polymers to deliver genes. Gene therapy, which involves inserting new genes into patients' cells to fight diseases ...

Oh baby, interventional radiology makes childbirth safer

SAN DIEGO, Calif. (March 10, 2009)Innovative, interventional radiology treatments are making childbirth safer for women who have C-sections that are complicated by massive bleeding and for those who suffer from the pregnancy condition of "invasive" placenta. The results of two studies detailing th...

NPL unveils new equipment to make cancer treatment safer

NPL unveils new equipment to make cancer treatment safer A new piece of medical technology unveiled at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) today will help improve the success rates of radiotherapy cancer treatments. The new clinical electron linear accelerator (linac) will help ensure patien...

NIST trumps the clumps: Making biologic drugs safer

Scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a technique to measure the formation of clumps of proteins in protein-based pharmaceuticals. This first systematic study* clarifies the conditions under which scientists can be assured that their instruments are...

New drug makes weight loss safer

TEL AVIV More than 60 percent of American women are overweight, with nearly a third falling into the category of obese and at greater risk of cancer, heart disease and diabetes. Until now, there has been no safe, long-term medical remedy that tackles unwanted weight gain. Dr. Nir Barak of T...

Study finds surfing safer than soccer

While public perception may frame surfing as a dangerous sport, new research begs to differ. In the first study of its kind, researchers have computed the rate of injury among competitive surfers and found they are less prone to harm than collegiate soccer or basketball players. Led by researchers ...

Fragment of yellow fever virus may hold key to safer vaccine

In one of the first molecular studies of the human antibody response to yellow fever, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) researchers and their colleagues have found the crucial bit of virus that people's immune systems need to spot and quash this often-fatal re-emerging disease. The findings...

Symposium to discuss geoengineering to fight climate change at the ESA Annual Meeting

...reat as those of global warming itself," he says. Despite its apparent hazards at the global scale, Jackson thinks that research should continue on safer ways to use geoengineering at a smaller scale. Geologic sequestration, sometimes known as CO2 capture and storage, takes CO2 out of the atmosphere and...

University of Miami receives stimulus funds for study of hurricane impacts on structures, ecosystems

... Industry/University Cooperative Research Center on Repair of Buildings, Bridges and Composites. "Research directed at the development of stronger and safer structures and communities is critical for the present and future well-being of society." The Marine Life Science Center, co-located within the fa...

UK Identity and Passport Service and IBM Sign 7-year National Biometric Identity Service (NBIS) Contract

...e world is becoming increasingly interconnected, both through personal travel and electronically, these new systems are part of building a smarter and safer planet where identifying ourselves when we travel is easier and more convenient. We look forward to extending and enhancing our existing relationship ...

First riser-drilling research operations undertaken

...uid circulation and use of the blow-out preventer (BOP) help to maintain pressure balance within the borehole and prevent it from collapsing, enabling safer and deeper drilling. CHIKYU is the world's first scientific drilling vessel capable of riser-drilling deep beneath the ocean floor and in seismogenic...

Carnegie Mellon's Kris Matyjaszewski recieves EPA's Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award

...ing PPG Industries, Dionex, Ciba, Kaneka, Mitsubishi, WEP and Encapson, have licensed ATRP and have begun to produce high-performance, less-hazardous, safer materials for a wide variety of applications. Matyjaszewski is the second chemist from Carnegie Mellon to win this award since its inception in 1...

Research explores interactions between nanomaterials, biological systems

...of engineered nanomaterials and to explore design methods that will lead to safer and more effective nanoparticles for use in a variety of treatments and pro...ed for setting up a deliberate inorganic-organic roadmap to new, better and safer products," Nel said. "What we can identify by understanding the rules that ...

'Father of green chemistry' Paul Anastas to head EPA research

... holds joint appointments in chemistry, chemical engineering and the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. His research focuses on the design of safer chemicals and chemical processes to replace the use of hazardous substances. "I am tremendously honored to be considered for this important posit...

American Chemical Society's Weekly PressPac -- May 20, 2009

...ous machine-workers' disease Journal of Proteome Research Scientists in Ohio are reporting a long-awaited advance toward making the workplace safer for more than one million machinists in the United States who may be exposed to disease-causing bacteria in contaminated metalworking fluids. Those fl...

Treatment for extreme nausea, vomiting during pregnancy

... medication protocol, introduced by the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Center, appears effective in improving symptoms more quickly and provides a safer option than those previously available. The findings, which are good news for moms and babies, are published in a recent edition of the European Jour...

Moving gene therapy forward with mobile DNA

...ancer that would otherwise be lethal. A safe delivery of the genes? Despite the overall progress, there is still a need to develop improved and safer approaches to deliver genes into cells. The success of gene therapy ultimately depends on these gene delivery vehicles or vectors. Most vectors have b...

Nanotechnology holds promise for STD drug delivery

...xic to the mucosal tissues and are unable to provide sustained release. In the current work, the researchers demonstrated that PLGA nanoparticles were safer than the best current lipid vehicles. Gene interference therapy is moving rapidly from basic research to application. The PLGA packaging these re...

American Chemical Society Weekly PressPac -- April 8, 2009

..., more effective drugs to fight obesity Chemical & Engineering News safer and more effective drugs to fight obesity appear to be around the corner, b...tional food products obtained from egg whites, soybeans, and oats may offer safer alternatives to conventional drugs for fighting cancer, obesity and other m...

NIH funds development of resistance-breaking insecticides to reduce malaria transmission

..., they could prove ideal for deployment on ITNs. Two patent applications have been filed and commercial interest has been expressed in the potentially safer compounds, he said. "Second, we figured out how to inhibit target site-resistant mosquito AChE and demonstrated this effect in vitro," said Carlier...

UGA licenses invention that kills food-borne pathogens in minutes

...ulations. Chlorine may also damage certain seeds and delicate sprouts. "We can't rely on chlorine any longer," Doyle said. "In addition to being safer and more acceptable in terms of appearance and smell, our studies have shown this new technology to be considerably more effective than chlorine." The...

Penn researchers demonstrate a new model for drug discovery with a fluorescent anesthetic

...re precise information about how anesthetics work in the body and will provide a means to more rapidly test new anesthetic compounds in the search for safer and more effective drugs. The study is published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . Using the fluorescing compound...

Two-day symposium in Baltimore to tackle the promises and perils of proton radiotherapy

...ional X-ray photon radiotherapy. Proton therapy is the modality of choice for treating certain small tumors of the eye, head, head or neck. It is also safer -- especially for young children -- because it exposes less of the tissue surrounding a tumor to the dosage, proton therapy lowers the risk of seconda...

Concerns about food safety to be spotlighted at U of Minnesota symposium

...dustry." Their talk will expand on findings from a February 2009 study that revealed just 22.5 percent of consumers were confident the food supply was safer than a year ago. Craig Hedberg, professor of environmental health sciences, will speak on "Public Health Surveillance: A Prerequisite for a Safe Food ...

Penn medicine draws road map for elimination of central line-associated bloodstream infections

... and take their toll in human lives. The mortality rate of CLABSI has been reported as high as 30 percent. Our program ultimately makes the hospital a safer place to receive medical care." Previous studies on CLABSI reduction efforts have focused only on intensive care units. But since the majority of C...

University researchers to develop coatings that kill superbugs

... has developed a range of new compounds which have been shown to be highly effective against common hospital bacterial infections such as MRSA and are safer than existing anti-bacterials based on silver nanoparticles. They will develop these compounds so they can be cheaply and efficiently incorporated ...

Waking up dormant HIV

...of several toxic side effects made HMBA clinically non-viable. However, the chemically similar SAHA had received FDA approval, making it a potentially safer alternate. So, the researchers examined whether SAHA had any effect on HIV latency. They found that SAHA could indeed stimulate latent HIV to begin...

Montana State team finds Yellowstone alga that detoxifies arsenic

...na State University. Cyanidioschyzon could someday help reclaim arsenic-laden mine waste and aid in everything from space exploration to creating safer foods and herbicides, the scientists said. The alga and how it detoxifies arsenic are described in a paper that's posted this week (week of March 9...

Freezing prostate cancer does a man's body good

... out where the cancer is and just destroy the cancer," said study author Gary M. Onik, M.D., interventional radiologist and director of the Center for safer Prostate Cancer Therapy in Orlando, Fla. "We've reached a tipping point: treating only the tumor instead of the whole prostate gland is a major and pr...

Society of Interventional Radiology hosts 34th annual scientific meeting

...ections and Invasive Placentas Studying Women's Health: Making Childbirth safer The rate of C-sections in the United States has risen greatly over the pas...ther. Innovative, interventional radiology treatments are making childbirth safer for women who have C-sections that are complicated by massive bleeding and ...

'Biological control of tropical weeds using arthropods'

...s." The book discusses the use of insects for the control of twenty invasive weeds, which is often more cost-effective than using chemical means and safer for the environment. Providing ecologically sound management practices for controlling invasive plants in the tropics is one of the main purposes of t...

The Earth Observatory of Singapore devoted to the study of earth sciences officially opens

...omena and their attendant perils to our fellow sojourners who include civic leaders, engineers and planners, all altruists working to make the world a safer and more enjoyable place." Dr Su Guaning, NTU President, noted that as Singapore's first Research Centre of Excellence (RCE) devoted to earth sci...

Press statement on new CDC MRSA study from SHEA president

...be a misleading indicator of the burden of disease caused by this organism." "The rate of these infections is decreasing and hospitals are becoming safer for patients because hospitals are instituting and adhering to general practices that result in fewer infections, including measures to ensure proper ...

Even natural perfumes may cause allergies

...as, known as essential oils, many manufacturers believe that natural antioxidants in these oils offer protection against autoxidation thus making them safer and longer lasting than artificial perfumes. Research at the University of Gothenburg shows this is not the case. Lina Hagvall, a researcher at th...