NIH
Affymetrix Announces Cancer Profiling Collaboration
Affymetrix Inc. has entered into an agreement with the Broad Institute to chart the genomic changes involved in more than 20 types of cancer as part of the Broad’s work in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). The agreement will involve the processing of 13,500 cancer samples on the Affymetrix Genome-Wide Human SNP 6.0 Array, a widely used platform for genotyping and studying copy number variation (CNV) and somatic events in tumor samples. The SNP Array 6.0 will also determine loss of...
Firefly BioWorks Announces Award of $2M NIH Grant
Firefly BioWorks Inc. was awarded a $2M Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Cancer Institute for microRNA profiling. MicroRNAs are an emerging class of biomarkers that are proving to be important indicators for early diagnosis of cancer and other diseases. The company will use the award to expand production capacity and validate its microRNA assay against the current state of the art. The goal of the Phase II studies is to develop a product providing a...
NIH: The Time Is Right To Reengineer Translational Science
Commentary on translational science, by Francis Collins, Director of National Institutes of Health (NIH), was published earlier this week on ScienceTranslationalMedicine.org, a Web site of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The piece, titled "Reengineering Translational Science: The Time Is Right," introduces NIH's intention to establish a National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) to "pursue opportunities for disruptive translational...
Immunetics Awarded $2.4M NIH Grant for Clinical Trials of New Chagas Test
Immunetics Inc. has been awarded a $2.4 million, 3-year Phase II SBIR grant by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a division of NIH, to support clinical trials of the company's new confirmatory test for Chagas’ disease. Existing screening tests that detect antibodies to the parasite are frequently inaccurate. A complex method called radioimmunoprecipitation (RIPA) is sometimes used to confirm screening test results, but is beyond the reach of most laboratories....
Fed Shutdown Would Affect NIH, CDC
National Public Radio (NPR) is reporting today on how various government science agencies would be affected by a federal-goverment shutdown. "In general," reports NPR, "it looks like lab animals will get fed and some types of scientific work can continue, but many studies will have to be stopped or put on hold." NPR lists the following details regarding activities at NIH and CDC. National Institutes Of Health The NIH Clinical Center currently has 640 clinical trials...
Virus may be associated with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
The most recent News In Health publication, produced by National Institutes of Health, summarizes research that shows there may be an association between Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and the XMRV virus.  CFS is a "debilitating and complex syndrome that involves multiple body systems," characterized by "profound fatigue that is not improved by bed rest and may be exacerbated or re-kindled by physical or mental activity," according to NIH's Office of Research on Women's...
FDA, NIH Present Goals on Companion Diagnostics
Margaret A. Hamburg, MD, FDA commissioner, and Francis S. Collins, NIH director, cowrote an article that was published online in the New England Journal of Medicine. The following is a brief excerpt from that article: "As the leaders of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), we have a shared vision of personalized medicine and the scientific and regulatory structure needed to support its growth. Together, we have been focusing on the best ways...
NIH Announces Genetic Testing Registry
NIH announced that it is creating a public database that researchers, consumers, health care providers, and others can search for information submitted voluntarily by genetic test providers. The Genetic Testing Registry (GTR) aims to enhance access to information about the availability, validity, and usefulness of genetic tests. Currently, more than 1,600 genetic tests are available to patients and consumers, but there is no single public resource that provides detailed information about them...