Johns Hopkins news from FierceBioResearcher

When it comes to government spending on medical research, the EU is far behind the U.S. And some of the leaders in the field say it's time to catch up--fast. A new study by the European Medical Read more...

Scientists at Johns Hopkins were able to damaged skulls by transplanting human embryonic stem cells directly to the site of massive injuries. Working in the laboratory, the research team took stem Read more...

The key to extraordinary muscle growth is inhibiting the gene that expresses myostatin, which blocks the growth of skeletal muscle. And now there's a race among a group of drug developers to bring a Read more...

Scientists at Johns Hopkins have genetically engineered mice to carry a human gene that triggers schizophrenia, an advance that will help researchers search for new methods to control the disease. Read more...

In what is shaping up as one of the toughest rehab jobs in science, disgraced Korean scientist Hwang Woo-suk is logging long hours in his new lab. Hwang was accused of one of the biggest frauds in scientific history when he claimed in 2005 to have cloned human embryos and developed embryonic stem cells from them. Hwang apologized for the scam but insisted that he should be …

Read more...

BusinessWeek has discovered something that's been evident in the biotech community for some time: The University of Florida has made some amazing progress in turning its research projects into start-up companies. In the 2004 to 2005 time frame, Florida spun off 13 start-ups. That put it behind the big three of MIT, the University of California and the California Institute of Technology, but ahead of powerhouse centers like Johns Hopkins. Florida's licensing income has grown as …

Read more...

A Johns Hopkins University research team has developed a synthetic drug based on a Chinese herbal folk remedy that cured malaria-infected mice with a single shot. And they developed an oral medication that worked in mice after three doses. The therapy contains an oxygen-oxygen unit that destroys the malaria parasite. Gary Posner, Scowe Professor of Chemistry in the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences at Johns Hopkins, says that he believes the drugs could be more effective and far safer …

Read more...

A group of three universities has banded together to create a research grid that will allow cardiovascular researchers to share data, analytical tools and models on healthy and diseased patients. The Institute for Computational Medicine at Johns Hopkins University will host the grid--which is being funded with an $8.5 million federal grant--and work with Ohio State University and the University of information that can be shared by everyone who is connected. And that's a big advance from …

Read more...

Stem cell research

Researchers have cloned mice from mouse skin cells, raising the prospect of gaining human stem cells for therapeutic use that would be free of immune reactions. Release

Japanese scientists have developed a process to use stem cell-enriched fat cells in breast augmentation procedures. They're hoping to develop a more natural looking alternative to …

Read more...

Tools & Technology

Using a €1.7 million grant, the U.K.'s Plasticell hopes to automate its technology so that thousands of stem cell experiments can be run in the same time a handful of tests take now. National Institute for Biological Standards and Control and University College London are collaborating on the automation work. Exploration into cell differentiation is critical to speeding up the work in the field. …

Read more...