Archives for 2011

Health in Public Media: Highlight HEALTH Joins 170 Million Americans

February 18, 2011 | by

Congress and the White House are clashing over the federal budget. Congress is considering serious cuts in funding for all public broadcasting. Since January, three bills have been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives to cut or eliminate the $430 million currently allocated for the Corporation For Public Broadcasting (CBP). Pending a vote in congress this week, the Public Broadcasting System (PBS), considered by the public to be the second-best use of taxpayer dollars (outranked only by defense spending [1]), could cease to exist.

170 Million Americans

Grey Weather, Grey Mood: Cortisol Levels May Underlie Seasonal Affective Disorder

February 14, 2011 | by

The relationship between season and psychological health in terms of mood has been greatly researched. A recent study shows the cortisol function differs over season in people reporting “Seasonal Affective Disorder” or SAD [1]. This may finally help us to understand any biological mechanism underlying of SAD.

Seasonal affective disorder

NHGRI Vision to Move Genomic Medicine from Base Pairs to Bedside

February 11, 2011 | by

A new strategic plan from an arm of the National Institutes of Health envisions scientists being able to identify genetic bases of most single-gene disorders and gaining new insights into multi-gene disorders in the next decade. This should lead to more accurate diagnoses, new drug targets and the development of practical treatments for many who today lack therapeutic options, according to the plan from the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI).

Base pairs to bedside

Crizotinib: Another Step Towards Personalized Cancer Care

February 9, 2011 | by

Tyrosine kinases are signaling molecules that are frequently mutated as cells become tumorigenic. One of their responsibilities is regulating a cell’s growth based on the extracellular signals they receive. The presence of extracellular growth factors tells them to induce the cell to grow more rapidly, while a lack of oxygen or nutrients tells them to grow more slowly. When these kinases are mutated they make the cell grow uncontrollably, divorcing growth from the conditions outside the cell. In some cases, this mutation is what makes a cell cancerous.

Biomarker Bulletin: February 7, 2011

February 7, 2011 | by

Biomarker Bulletin is an occasionally recurring update of news focused on biomarkers aggregated at BiomarkerCommons.org. Biomarkers are physical, functional or biochemical indicators of normal physiological or disease processes. The individualization of disease management — personalized medicine — is dependent on developing biomarkers that promote specific clinical domains, including early detection, risk, diagnosis, prognosis and predicted response to therapy.

Biomarker Commons
  • Prize4Life Awards $1 Million Prize for Discovery of ALS Biomarker

    Prize4Life, a non-profit organization dedicated to accelerating the discovery of a cure for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) by offering incentives to drive innovation, today announced that Dr. Seward Rutkove, Chief of the Division of Neuromuscular Disease at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Associate Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School, has received the $1 million dollar Prize4Life award for the discovery of a new ALS biomarker.

  • Rosetta Genomics Signs Agreements to Advance Development of Body Fluids-Based Diagnostic Tests

    Rosetta Genomics has announced that it has signed two new agreements for the development and validation of microRNA-based diagnostics for various indications related to its Gen 3 products. Rosetta Genomics Gen 3 tests focus on cardiovascular indications, neurodegenerative diseases, women’s health and early detection of certain cancers, and are designed to leverage microRNA biomarkers extracted from body fluids.

  • Genomic Health Announces Results of Biomarker Discovery Program Using Next-Generation Sequencing

    Last week, Genomic Health, Inc. announced that its scientists had successfully used Illumina next-generation sequencing technology to survey expression of the whole human transcriptome and test hypotheses for biomarker discovery in archived tumor and normal breast tissue samples.

  • Spinal Muscular Atrophy Foundation and Rules-Based Medicine Collaborate on SMA Biomarker Panel

    The Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) Foundation and Rules-based Medicine (RBM) have reached the first milestone in a program to develop a panel of plasma protein biomarkers for SMA using RBM’s Multi-Analyte Profiling (MAP) technology platform.

  • Computable Genomix Secures Investment for the Development of Genetic Biomarker Tests

    Memphis-based Computable Genomix announced this week that it has secured an investment from venture capital firm Innova Memphis to pilot a novel process for developing genetic biomarker tests. Leveraging its next-generation computational discovery capability, the company is developing highly targeted genetic biomarker tests for clinical researchers.