Transposagen Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. based in Lexington, KY announced today that its scientists and collaborators from the Medical College of Wisconsin have created and characterized the world's first rat model of severe combined immunodeficiency, or SCID. The Transposagen rat has a nearly complete lack of the major components of the immune system. Transposagen will be marketing SCID rats to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. "Transposagen is pleased to have characterized the world's first rat model of SCID. We now have intellectual property covering the SCID phenotype in rat and will be offering the SCID rat and other rat models of the immune system in the near future," said Dr. Eric Ostertag, CEO of Transposagen. full story

Untargeted metabolic profiling implicates a new suite of metabolites that may be involved in nerve damage-induced pain. full story

Stephen Hawking turns 70 on Sunday, beating the odds of a daunting diagnosis by nearly half a century. [More] full story

A groundbreaking study reveals the existence of at least two independent mechanisms for iron absorption from non-meat sources -- and a potential treatment for iron deficiency, the most common nutrient deficiency worldwide. The discovery of an alternative mechanism for iron absorption from vegetables and legumes may provide the key to helping solve iron deficiency by providing an alternative ... full story

( IOS Press ) A number of different immunological mechanisms ensure the successful establishment and maintenance of pregnancy. Imbalance in these mechanisms is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. In a review published in Advances in Neuroimmune Biology, researchers from the Institute of Life Science, College of Medicine at Swansea University in the UK examine the impact of maternal ... full story

A groundbreaking study conducted by Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI) Senior Scientist Elizabeth Theil, PhD, is the first to reveal the existence of at least two independent mechanisms for iron absorption from non-meat sources-and a potential treatment for iron deficiency, the most common nutrient deficiency worldwide. The discovery of an alternative mechanism for iron ... full story

A groundbreaking study conducted by Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI) Senior Scientist Elizabeth Theil, PhD, is the first to reveal the existence of at least two independent mechanisms for iron absorption from non-meat sources-and a potential treatment for iron deficiency, the most common nutrient deficiency worldwide. full story