Six California stem cell biotech companies received more than $5 million in funding last week from the state's stem cell funding body -- the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), according to a linkurl:news release ;http://www.cirm.ca.gov/pdf/ICOC_121008.pdf from the agency. The money represents the first major pay out to companies from the state's $3 billion research enterprise. Until now, only Novocell Inc. had received a small grant of $50,000. The grants are part of 23 gr

Two employees in the pediatric neurological research department at Columbia University were arrested Wednesday (December 10) for scamming the institution out of more than $200,000. John Bzdil, the former manager of the pediatric neurosciences department at the university's Neurological Institute, and his wife, Heather Rinehart, will be presented with charges today (Dec 12) of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, a press officer from the US Attorney's office, Southern D

Biotech industry executives are beseeching Congress today (10 Dec) for a temporary change in the tax code that would give some struggling biotech companies a cash boost. The plan would funnel hundreds of millions of dollars to some biotechs in exchange for tax credits that the companies would not take if they make money next year and beyond. Nearly a third of publically traded American biotech companies have a six month's or less supply of operating cash, The New York Times linkurl:reported.;h

Parasites can confuse their hosts' immune system by switching the proteins they display on their surface. But how? The intestinal parasite Giardi lamblia harnesses RNA interference to target which surface proteins to shut down, a study published tomorrow in Nature reports. "I actually think it's a superb paper," linkurl:Therdore Nash,;http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/labs/aboutlabs/lpd/gastrointestinalParasitesSection/ chief of gastrointestinal parasitology at the National Institute of Allergy and Inf

The dearth of new drugs coming to market is forcing some drug companies -- and their investors -- to rethink R&D. For instance, at the Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research (NIBR), the focus has shifted from trying to develop the next blockbuster to reexamining well understood disease pathways to identify drug targets. In a presentation to investors last month, Mark Fishman, president of NIBR, reported that the company has boosted its portfolio of new molecular entities by 40%, and its r

The immune tricks that keep HIV in check in long term non-progressors (LTNPs) -- people who carry the virus but don't get AIDS -- have been a mystery for decades. It turns out that T cells in LTNPs destroy the virus by punching holes in infected cells and injecting a strong dose of apoptotic proteins, according to a study to be published in the December 19th issue of Immunity. "This study brings us closer to a potential vaccine or cure for AIDS," linkurl:Guido Silvestri;http://www.med.upenn.edu

Alfred Russel Wallace" />Alfred Russel Wallace One hundred and fifty years ago, British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace wrote an essay describing some of his ideas on the origin of new species and survival of the fittest species in an environment. Knowing that Charles Darwin had been kicking around some similar ideas, Wallace sent him a copy so the two might compare notes. Darwin, who indeed had for

The European Patent Office (EPO) issued its final ruling last week rejecting a much-contested embryonic stem cell patent -- a decision that will likely be cheered by researchers and jeered by biotechs. The patent covered technology developed by linkurl:James Thomson,;http://ink.primate.wisc.edu/~thomson/ a University of Wisconsin researcher, to culture primate embryonic stem cells derived from pre-implantation embryos. In last week's ruling, the EPO upheld a previous decision, made last summer,

linkurl:Get involved in politics;http://www.the-scientist.com/2008/9/1/73/1/ to ensure that the new Obama administration makes research a high priority, policy makers urged researchers yesterday at the linkurl:annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience.;http://www.sfn.org/am2008/ Former NIH director linkurl:Harold Varmus,;http://www.the-scientist.com/blog/display/55173/ Wendell Primus , senior advisor to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and former Congressman and lobbyist linkurl:John P

Former Senator Tom Daschle has accepted the position of Secretary of Health and Human Services, according to anonymous sources in the Democratic Party. Officials told the linkurl:Associated Press today;http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081119/ap_on_go_pr_wh/obama_health_daschle;_ylt=ArFmLtW30WaWP4EF3xoHK6sDW7oF (November 19) that Daschle has the job once his background check is complete, although no formal announcement has been made. linkurl:Speculation has been rampant;http://www.the-scientist.com

Inhibitory neurons make up about a third of the neurons in the cerebral cortex, but researchers know little about how they take their place in the developing brain. New findings suggest that their migration is controlled by a back and forth interplay between a pair of dopamine receptors, modulated by several other molecules, researchers said today (November 18) at the linkurl:annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience.;http://www.sfn.org/am2008/ Neurons that respond to GABA, the main inhibi

Neurons involved in pain processing have been the subject of much research in the past decades, but neurons responsible for a more pesky problem -- itchy skin -- remain elusive. In fact, many neurons seem to be involved in itch response, a process closely linked to the processing of pain in the brain, researchers reported today at the linkurl:annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience,;http://www.sfn.org/am2008/ in Washington, D.C. To find which neurons were responsible for the itching res