Recycling is a critical component in the process of transmitting information from one neuron to the next, and a large protein called Tweek plays a critical role, said an international consortium of researchers led by Baylor College of Medicine in a report in the current issue of the journal Neuron. Fruit flies that lack the protein, named for the over-caffeinated character in the cartoon South Park, shake in a hyperactive manner, said Dr.
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Researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have shown that they can engineer mouse and human cells to produce brown fat, a natural energy-burning type of fat that counteracts obesity. If such a strategy can be developed for use in people, the scientists say, it could open a novel approach to treating obesity and diabetes.
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Scientists in New York and North Carolina are reporting assembly of the first functioning prototype of an artificial Golgi organelle. That key structure inside cells helps process and package hormones, enzymes, and other substances that allow the body to function normally. The lab-on-a-chip device could lead to a faster and safer method for producing heparin, the widely used anticoagulant or blood thinner, the researchers note. Their study is scheduled for the Aug.
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“As Congress struggles with a massive health care overhaul, several lobbying powerhouses - including the pharmaceutical industry and the nation’s largest advocacy group for retirees - are locked in a contentious fight over the future of biotechnology drugs,” USA Today reports in a front page package.
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When September 10 - 12, 2009 Where Vancouver, BC, Canada New research will be presented about peer review and other processes to evaluate and disseminate medical and scientific research and other information during the conference.
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Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: NBIX) announced new six month safety and efficacy results from its fourth Phase II clinical trial using its proprietary, orally-active non-peptide Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone (GnRH) receptor antagonist, elagolix, in patients with endometriosis.
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QuatRx Pharmaceuticals Company, a privately-held biopharmaceutical company, announced positive top-line efficacy results from the first of two patient cohorts in its second pivotal Phase 3 trial of the investigational compound, Ophena(TM) (ospemifene tablets), for the treatment of postmenopausal vulvovaginal atrophy (VVA). The Company has also successfully completed two long term safety extension studies from its first pivotal Phase 3 studies.
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Sanofi-aventis U.S. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Sculptra(R)Aesthetic (injectable poly-L-lactic acid) for the correction of shallow to deep nasolabial fold (smile lines) contour deficiencies and other facial wrinkles which are treated with the appropriate injection technique in healthy patients. Sculptra(R)Aesthetic works gradually to offer natural-looking results that can last up to two years.
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The US-based PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Malaria Vaccine Development Program (MVDP), and Dutch biopharmaceutical company Crucell N.V. today announced a collaboration to accelerate development of a promising type of malaria vaccine.
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Without state approval to raise the sales tax and make pension changes, Philadelphia will be forced to eliminate almost 3,000 positions and close all of its libraries and recreation centers, Mayor Michael Nutter said Thursday.

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