Sugar-based markers on human sperm cells which may prevent them from being attacked by the female immune system could provide a vital clue to how some cancers spread in the human body, according to new research published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

Researchers analyzed these markers, believed to tell the female immune system that the sperm are not dangerous pathogens, and therefore should not be attacked by the woman’s white blood cells during the reproductive process. The study, led by Imperial College London and the University of Missouri, suggests that these sugar markers, found on N-glycans which are part of human sperm glycoproteins, can be universally recognised by all human immune systems, regardless of the individual.

LONDON, December 14 /PRNewswire/ --

- Second Appraisal Consultation Document Fails to Provide Choice for Patients and Ophthalmologists

Pfizer Limited today expresses concern that the latest NICE appraisal consultation document (ACD) regarding the use of treatments for wet Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD), fails to provide any treatment choice for patients or physicians, by recommending only one anti-VEGF therapy for AMD.

NICE's second ACD again fails to recommend Macugen(R) (pegaptanib) for patients affected by wet AMD in England and Wales, in stark contrast to Scotland where the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) approved its use.

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, December 13 /PRNewswire/ --

- Results to be presented at San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium

Agendia BV, world leader in the rapidly evolving field of molecular diagnostics, announced today that an independent international consortium has demonstrated the prognostic power of its MammaPrint(R) breast cancer prognosis test in patients who have 1-3 positive lymph nodes. The data show that MammaPrint(R) can accurately identify a low risk group of lymph node-positive breast cancer patients with an excellent survival, implications that will help doctors to decide the optimal treatment management.

I recently submitted a Letter of Intent for the NSF Cyber-Enabled Discovery and Innovation competition. Kevin Owens is a co-PI and will assist with the laboratory automation component. ChemSpider will contribute the database support. The pre-proposal is due in early January 2008 and we'll be writing it openly here. Comments are welcome. We would ultimately like to enable the chemistry community to directly control the actions of a robot to help us understand some chemistry problems.

More than 10 years after the discovery of the first extrasolar planet, astronomers have now discovered more than 250 of these planets. Until a few years ago, most of the newly discovered exoplanets were Jupiter-mass, probably gaseous, planets. Recently, astronomers have announced the discovery of several planets that are potentially much smaller, with a minimum mass lower than 10 Earth masses: the now so-called super-Earths [1].

In April, a European team announced in Astronomy & Astrophysics the discovery of two new planets orbiting the M star Gliese 581 (a red dwarf), with masses of at least 5 and 8 Earth masses.

ANTONY, GRENOBLE France, December 13 /PRNewswire/ -- STALLERGENES S.A and Protein'eXpert S.A. announce they have signed a partnership agreement for developing and pharmaceutically producing mites recombinant allergens(1).

The partnership is part of the STALLERGENES "Enhanced Allergens" innovation programme for a recombinant protein treatment for sublingual desensitisation of allergy to mites. This second-generation treatment is made up of the recombinant allergens Der p 1 and Der p 2 in the form of a fusion protein, combined with an adjuvant and/or a mucoadhesive formulation for facilitating recognition of the allergen by the immune system.

Protein'eXpert will handle:

- developing processes aimed at optimising the existing production protocol;

Schizophrenia is one of the most debilitating of the major psychiatric disorders, and is also one of the most difficult to treat.

Although numerous antipsychotic treatments are available, they can cause significant side effects and many patients experience only a partial relief of their symptoms and up to 30% no relief at all.

In a new study in Biological Psychiatry, Dr. Stephen Marder of UCLA and colleagues examined the efficacy and safety of a new psychotropic agent for the treatment of schizophrenia in a 6-week, randomized, placebo-controlled trial.

LUSTENAU, Austria and DALLAS, Texas, December 13 /PRNewswire/ -- IDENTEC SOLUTIONS recent acquisition of a Wtek, a global leader in providing active RFID solutions in the workplace, sets the stage for IDENTEC SOLUTIONS entry into the growing sector of worker safety and security.

Worker safety and security has long been an ongoing and vital concern for a number of industries. Identifying the location of employees in time sensitive situations can often mean the difference between life and death. By utilizing active RFID, emergency response and deployment in time critical situations is vastly enhanced, thereby offering the employer and employee a greater assurance of overall safety and security.

LONDON, December 13 /PRNewswire/ -- The MS Society has today (13 December) welcomed an unprecedented move by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to provide potential prescribers of the unlicensed drug Sativex more information to help them in their decision.

Sativex is an oral spray containing a cannabis extract and clinical trials are investigating its efficacy in alleviating symptoms of spasticity and pain in people with multiple sclerosis (MS).

Although currently unlicensed, it is available to people with MS on a named patient basis and around 1,200 people have so far received the drug in the UK.

How close are we to real-world bionic parts like they show on TV? We spent Part I discussing Bionic Women on TV and speculating as to why they spent $55 Million on Jaime Sommers in the show but couldn't fix actress Michelle Ryan's chin.

Now we're going to get into actual science, like how we would build a Bionic Woman today if we didn't give a crap about television ratings. It's a good thing I am writing this now because television ratings are important and this show could be cancelled any day, making it a lot less culturally relevant. How will I get you to buy a book on science if it doesn't have pop culture relevance and cute girls?