NewsBlog: NIH boosts translational funding Posted by Bob Grant [Entry posted at 29th May 2008 10:45 PM GMT] The National Institutes of Health announced plans today (May 29) to inject $533 million over the next five years into speeding up the bench to bedside trajectory for new treatments. The funding will go to researchers at 14 academic health centers - including Harvard University, The Scripps Research Institute, Stanford University and others - which will become part of the NIH's Clinical... Click to continue Comment on this blog NewsBlog: Collins to industry, top of NIH? Posted by Bob Grant [Entry posted at 28th May 2008 09:49 PM GMT] Francis Collins told reporters at a conference call today that he'd be considering "a number of opportunities, some in the private, some in the public sector," and said he'd even consider heading up the NIH, after announcing plans to step down as director of NIH's National Human Genome Research Institute. Collins said that he wouldn't be opposed to taking over the directorship of NIH should that position become available in the next year... Click to continue Comment on this blog NewsBlog: Francis Collins leaves NHGRI Posted by Bob Grant [Entry posted at 28th May 2008 08:00 PM GMT] The director of the NIH's National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), Francis Collins, announced today (May 28) that he will step down from his position on August 1. Collins started as NHGRI director in 1993 and led the institute through the Human Genome Project, which concluded in 2003. ... Click to continue Comment on this blog NewsBlog: Want longevity? Call a friend Posted by Bob Grant [Entry posted at 27th May 2008 04:12 PM GMT] Having a social life may just be the key to longevity, and the effect of interacting with peers shows up even in basic molecular pathways, according to a new study from University of Iowa researchers. Though research has previously shown that animals engaging in social interaction may have longer life spans, a new study published in PNAS yesterday (May 26) explores the molecular... Click to continue Comment on this blog NewsBlog: Thousands vie for Gates grants Posted by Bob Grant [Entry posted at 21st May 2008 04:23 PM GMT] Biologists have been submitting research proposals in droves hoping to receive money from a new Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation grant program aimed at improving global health. As Yiwu He, Gates foundation senior program officer in global health, told me at a biomarker meeting in Philadelphia on Monday (May 19), the Gates Foundation has gotten... Click to continue View comment (1) | Comment on this blog NewsBlog: HIV vaccines: Plan B Posted by Bob Grant [Entry posted at 20th May 2008 07:57 PM GMT] Anthony Fauci, director of NIH's National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), is apparently making good on the promise to "turn the knob towards discovery" in HIV vaccine research, which he made at a meeting this March. The NIAID today (May 20) announced a five-year, $15.6 million project to fund... Click to continue View comments (4) | Comment on this blog NewsBlog: Explorers find Brittlestar City Posted by Bob Grant [Entry posted at 20th May 2008 05:01 PM GMT] A team of researchers has discovered millions of slender, sea star-like creatures - called brittlestars - thriving on a submerged oceanic ridge in the icy waters between New Zealand and Antarctica. The researchers, Australians and New Zealanders participating in the Macquarie Ridge Expedition, announced their discovery... Click to continue Comment on this blog NewsBlog: That's misconduct, eh? Posted by Bob Grant [Entry posted at 13th May 2008 06:56 PM GMT] A researcher in Canada has been living high on the government hog, spending thousands on toys and personal effects with federal money meant to fund his research. According to a story from the Canwest News Service that ran in the Vancouver Sun yesterday, the scientist spent more than $20,000 on top-of-the-line ... Click to continue Comment on this blog NewsBlog: Plagiarism detection 2.0 Posted by Bob Grant [Entry posted at 12th May 2008 05:57 PM GMT] Publishers are getting a new tool in the fight against plagiarism in scientific manuscripts. The Scientific business of Thomson Reuters announced on May 1 that they would be offering their clients - the publishers of many well-read science journals - the option to employ iThenticate, a tool that checks submitted manuscripts for potential copy-catting against databases of previously published work. According to Logan Hutchinson,... Click to continue View comments (8) | Comment on this blog NewsBlog: Get political, scientists Posted by Bob Grant [Entry posted at 12th May 2008 03:18 PM GMT] A former Congressman, speaking at a meeting of researchers, policy makers, and advocates last Friday (May 9), urged scientists to become intimately involved in the political process. And he encouraged the nation's scientists to do much more than just cast their votes for the candidates of their choice in upcoming elections. "Get inside their campaigns and then press to get science in their messages to voters," said ... Click to continue View comments (4) | Comment on this blog NewsBlog: Platypus genome published Posted by Bob Grant [Entry posted at 7th May 2008 06:01 PM GMT] The platypus joins the ranks of fruit flies, rice, humans, and other subjects of intense genetic study with the publication of its genome sequence today (May 7) in Nature. Researchers say that exploring the genome of the platypus, which sits at a... Click to continue Comment on this blog NewsBlog: Fat cell numbers fixed in adults Posted by Bob Grant [Entry posted at 5th May 2008 03:17 PM GMT] The number of fat cells in a person's body is determined during childhood and stays constant throughout life, with about 10 percent of fat cells dying and being replaced annually, according to study published in Nature yesterday (May 4). Understanding the hitherto poorly characterized dynamics of fat cell production and turnover may help researchers target key processes in obesity and related diseases, such as diabetes. "We are... Click to continue View comments (8) | Comment on this blog NewsBlog: Barcoding the world's trees Posted by Bob Grant [Entry posted at 2nd May 2008 06:32 PM GMT] Botanists from all over the world have convened in New York City and are hammering out plans to assemble a DNA-based catalog of the Earth's tree species. The scientists met yesterday (May 1) and are meeting today (May 2) at the New York Botanical Garden to discuss an effort to barcode - or identify using short, standardized stretches of genetic material - all 100,000 or so tree species on the planet. The project is called Tree-BOL, for the... Click to continue Comment on this blog

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