Back
HudsonAlpha Does World Class Biotech Research in Huntsville
Open just over a year, the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology in Huntsville is already a leader in genomic research, with a team of scientists that includes institute director Richard Myers, PhD, who as chair of the Stanford University Department of Genetics, played a key role in the Human Genome Project.
STEVE SPENCER |
Birmingham Scientists Engineer New, Affordable Cell Lines for Researchers
"Researchers devote millions of dollars testing for potential drug discoveries on 'generic' cells," said Erik Schwiebert, PhD and founder of DiscoveryBioMed (DBM) in Birmingham. These existing lines from human or rodent cells have often lost their tissue origin, leading to wasteful false positives. "Researchers find a lot of hits when they screen, because the drug works in these 'generic' systems. But when they try them in a human model or a tissue-specific cell, they don't work," he said.
JANE EHRHARDT |
Breakthroughs in Understanding Horseshoe Crab Clotting Proteins Hold Promise
In the early 1960s a group of scientists at Woods Hole, Massachusetts, discovered that if they injected bacteria into a horseshoe crab, the blood clotted: a clear and definite detection system. By the 1990's, Asian scientists had isolated, cloned and sequenced the proteins within the crab's blood that detected the endotoxins associated with gram-negative bacteria. "The entire pharmaceutical industry is dependent upon horseshoe crab blood clotting in response to the endotoxin," said Michael Pepe, PhD and CEO of BioDtech in Birmingham.
JANE EHRHARDT |
Improved Treatment, Survivorship Issues Focus of Research
While cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States, having touched nearly everyone in some way, tremendous gains have been made to manage the disease, with survival rates for all cancers having improved dramatically since the 1970s, leading to better treatment protocols and new areas of study.
CATHY DELOZIER |
Drilling Down to Eliminate Cancer Disparities
AACR Seeks Solutions through Inclusive ResearchNearly 80 percent of children with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) can be cured today.
Although this statistic holds true for Caucasian children in the United States, for Hispanic and American Indian children... not so much...
CINDY SANDERS |
Hospital Heroes Show Exceptional Dedication
Each year, the Alabama Hospital Association asks Alabama hospitals to nominate employees for the hospital heroes award. From this pool of nominees, a committee selects up to 10 winners from each of seven areas of the state. These winners are honored locally, and from these names, judges select 10 people who are recognized as statewide heroes. The common denominator in all of these health care professionals is the service they provide to others. Four heroes were honored from Birmingham and the surrounding area.
STEVE SPENCER |
HHS Releases New Family Health History Tool and Privacy Guidance
A family history of cancer is well accepted as an important risk factor for the development of several forms of the disease, including breast, ovarian and colon cancer. In keeping with the "oncology" focus of this issue of the Birmingham Medical News, this editorial will discuss the recent release of a new tool for gathering family medical data and new HIPAA Privacy Rule guidance addressing the use and disclosure of same.
JENNIFER L. GRIFFIN |
New Stimulus Bill Contains Both Carrots and Sticks for the Healthcare Industry
On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed into law The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the Stimulus Bill). The bill includes a number of significant healthcare-related provisions, such as funding for health information technology, subsidies for COBRA premiums to continue health coverage for workers who lose their jobs, and an increase in the federal Medicaid matching rate.
JUDD HARWOOD |
|
