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University of Florida researchers have successfully used molecular probes to detect subtle differences in leukemia cells from patient samples, an achievement that could lead to more effective ways to diagnose and treat cancer.The strategy, described in a recent issue of Clinical Chemistry, involves engineering short, single strands of DNA or RNA called aptamers to seek out and bind with specific proteins in body fluids. [click link for full article]

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Using selective cannabinoid 1 (CB1) receptor antagonists such as rimonabant at a dose of 20 mg per day can help people quit smoking, can help them to remain abstinent, and can help prevent the weight gain that so often accompanies attempts at stopping smoking. The lower dose of 5mg, however, was not shown to be effective, according to a Cochrane Systematic Review. [click link for full article]

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The chair of the Board of Regents of the American College of Physicians (ACP) has commended Senate Finance Committee Leaders for working on a bipartisan bill to reauthorize the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) but expressed concern that funding levels are too low and that pending Medicare cuts are not addressed.Joel S. [click link for full article]

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SearchMedica and GPnotebook are joining forces to offer GPs a powerful integrated search and reference tool online. SearchMedica, the medical search engine, now provides results from GPnotebook, the online medical encyclopedia, alongside its regular results. And GPnotebook provides search results from SearchMedica alongside its own material for doctors. [click link for full article]

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Unique technology, that uses the enzymes of fireflies to read the genetic code of DNA, has been installed at the University of Liverpool.Liverpool is one of only two universities in the UK with the machine, which can read up to 100 million DNA letters in a few hours compared to technology currently in use that can only process 50,000.The machine - called GS-Flex - is unique in that it uses an enzyme found in fireflies as a flash light to help read the DNA strand. [click link for full article]

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A traffic cop protein in the cell may have an even more important role: transporting a messenger protein that tells components in the nucleus to stop cell growth. The discovery of this additional role may lead to diagnostic tools and earlier treatments for ovarian cancer.A Penn State College of Medicine research team, led by Kathleen M. Mulder, Ph.D. [click link for full article]

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CongressDaily on Thursday examined how the “fragile support” for a Senate bill (S 1695) that would allow FDA to approve generic versions of biotechnology drugs is “deteriorating at the same time House lawmakers are trying to persuade leaders not to allow for such a provision in an FDA bill” (Edney, CongressDaily, 7/19). [click link for full article]

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The Genetics & IVF Institute (GIVF), headquartered in Fairfax, VA, announced today that it has created 14,000 pregnancies worldwide using in vitro fertilization (IIVF). Many of the 14,000 pregnancies were in patients with particularly challenging infertility problems, including some who had been rejected for treatment by other centers or who had previously suffered repeated IVF failures. “Every pregnancy is a cause for joy. [click link for full article]

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Rigel Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: RIGL) today announced that its partner Merck Serono, a division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, has begun enrolling patients in a Phase 1 study to evaluate R763/AS703569 in combination with a standard of care therapy in patients with advanced malignancies. This is the third Phase 1 study planned to evaluate the safety and initial activity of R763/AS703569, a highly potent, orally available Aurora kinase inhibitor. [click link for full article]

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Christopher Flowers, MD, the first winner of the ASH-AMFDP, an award designed to help increase the number of underrepresented minority scholars in the field of hematology, begins his research award this month (in July). [click link for full article]

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