1 The report, conceived by the venture capital working group of the region's CEO Council for Growth, compares the Greater Philadelphia area to peer regions with strong life science industries and suggests strategies for advancing the region's commercialization potential. With so many excellent universities and research institutes in the area, more innovations should be ending up in the hands of entrepreneurs who can develop them into products, the report finds. In response, business leader

THE LAUNCH AND THE EXIT By Susan Brown There's an art to creating - and selling - a life science company. Pick an invention that solves a problem and then think the enterprise through to the end so you will attract the needed investors to launch a life science company. That is the advice of Gary Kurtzman who has helped to start dozens of companies over the past 16 years. Kurtzman picks winning ventures for a living as vice president for the life sciences group

Bacteria trapped in permafrost breathe and repair their DNA for more than half a million years

Bioengineers program the microbe to produce artemisinin precursor -- and at potentially lower cost, they argue

Genomic analysis of database might point to deadly mutations

Worms learn: If something makes you sick, don't eat it again.

Neuronal cells clogged with a mutant protein associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) die within hours after clumps first form, researchers report.1 The finding directly links aggregation of malformed proteins with cell death characteristic of the disease, the authors claim.By watching individual cells over the course of 48 hours, Richard Morimoto at Northwestern University and colleagues demonstrated that most cultured neurons die between 6 and 24 hours after mutant superoxide dismut

Serotonin signal warns Caenorhabditis elegans of toxic meal

Aggregations of misfolded proteins foretell cell death in ALS model

Jamming the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor allows severed neurons to regenerate.1 "It's a surprising finding," says Martin Schwab of the University of Zurich, as activation of the EGF receptor is normally associated with proliferation and growth of cells.Previous research that sought to explain why mammalian axons fail to regenerate in the wounded brain or spinal cord found several inhibitory cues that prevent healing. The culprits include proteins associated with myelin and proteoglycan

Study suggests songbirds are choosing mates that share a new migration path, splitting one group into two

Blocking a growth factor receptor allows damaged axons to re-grow, providing new clues to why nerves typically don't heal