Dear reader,In this, the last Editors Choice eNewsletter of 2012, I decided that in common with many other forms of media such as newspapers, radio, television etc., I would review some of the highlights of the past year.To avoid Editorial bias, I thought that I would choose the highlights purely upon the number of times articles were downloaded in each of the first three quarters of the year. Simple, I thought; although selecting the articles was easy and unbiased, it did throw up some issues with respect to highlights of 2012.
28 November, 2012
Fifty years after scientists first posed a question about protein folding, the search for answers has led to the creation of a full-fledged field of research that led to major advances in supercomputers, new materials and drug discovery, and shaped our understanding of the basic processes of life, including so-called "protein-folding diseases" such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and type II diabetes.
27 November, 2012
A*STAR scientists have identified the enzyme, telomerase, as a cause of chronic inflammation in human cancers. Chronic inflammation is now recognized as a key underlying cause for the development of many human cancers, autoimmune disorders, neurodegenerative diseases, and metabolic diseases such as diabetes. This enzyme, which is known to be responsible for providing cancer cells the endless ability to divide, is now found to also jumpstart and maintain chronic inflammation in cancers.
23 November, 2012
A new targeted drug demonstrated its ability to control metastatic gastrointestinal stromal tumor, an uncommon and life-threatening form of sarcoma, after the disease had become resistant to all existing therapies, report investigators at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute who led the worldwide clinical trial.
22 November, 2012
The Myelin Repair Foundation (MRF) has announced the results of a new peer-reviewed research study published in Nature Biotechnology highlighting a targeted, novel approach for multiple sclerosis (MS).
21 November, 2012
The formulation of drugs by means of drug delivery systems (DDSs) is challenging yet indispensable to ensure efficacy of treatments especially when using drugs that do not present ideal characteristics in terms of stability, safety and pharmaco-dynamics/kinetics. Although many DDSs have reached maturity, resulting in their commercialization for various applications, further investigations and the introduction of new types of delivery carriers are paramount to stimulate and foster this field of science that has become essential to researchers working in both pharmaceutical industries and academia.
19 November, 2012
Unique funding opportunity for young scientists from across Europe! Young researchers are invited to contribute with innovative research ideas and to apply for the EFIC-Gruenenthal Grant (E-G-G) 2012, one of the most highly regarded grants worldwide in the field of pain research.
19 November, 2012
A group of researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have for the first time described the structure of the active site core of topoisomerase II alpha, an important target for anticancer drugs.
15 November, 2012
There are plenty of effective anticancer agents around. The problem is that, very often, they cannot gain access to all the cells in solid tumors. A new gene delivery vehicle may provide a way of making tracks to the heart of the target.
14 November, 2012
A new study has found Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML) patients given a new type of 'smart drug' in addition to chemotherapy treatment are 22 percent less likely to relapse and around 13 percent less likely to die from their disease. The results are from a major phase III Cancer Research UK-funded trial led by Cardiff University.
12 November, 2012
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine have developed a transgenic mouse that carries a human gene known to increase risk of Alzheimer's 15-fold. This new mouse mimics the genetics of the human disease more closely than any of the dozen existing mouse models and may prove more useful in the development of candidate drugs to prevent or treat the disease.
09 November, 2012
The latest issue of Drug Discovery Today is packed full of industry focused research articles, new developments in drug discovery, and expert comment and opinion.
08 November, 2012
PharmaInformatic, a German biotech-company has developed a comprehensive knowledge base on bioavailability, which enables the targeted development of new drugs.
08 November, 2012
Core research facilities on the Science Exchange network announced today their support for those researchers affected by Hurricane Sandy.
07 November, 2012
Treatment with roflumilast, an orally-administered highly selective phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) inhibitor, can help to shift chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients from the frequent to the more stable infrequent exacerbator state, according to a new data analysis published in CHEST.
05 November, 2012
An international effort led by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania has resulted in positive phase 3 clinical trial results for a new medicine to treat patients suffering from a rare and deadly cholesterol disorder.
02 November, 2012
Today physicists at Wake Forest University and NanoMedica, their biotechnology company partner, received a $700,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to bring to market a new drug-discovery tool using next-generation genetic sequencing.
01 November, 2012