The Food and Drug Administration has issued a first slate of decisions affecting the market for tobacco products, approving two new products and rejecting four.
http://articles.latimes.com/2013/jun/25/science/la-sci-fda-tobacco-20130625
U.S. Cancer Research Institute "Mega Project" to Target and Cure 33% of All Cancers
NCI officials outlined a plan to bring together the agency's contract lab in Frederick, Maryland, and outside researchers to find ways to block a mutated protein that drives growth in one-third of all cancers.
http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2013/06/us-cancer-institute-megaproject-.html?ref=hp
New Promising Viral Therapy Kills Breast Cancer Stem Cells
A promising new treatment for breast cancer being developed at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center and the VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine (VIMM) has been shown in cell culture and in animal models to selectively kill cancer stem cells.
http://www.stemcellsfreak.com/2013/06/breast-cancer-stem-cells.html
HPV Vaccine has Decreased HPV Rates in Teens by 56%
A new study looking at the prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) infections in girls and women before and after the introduction of the HPV vaccine shows a significant reduction in vaccine-type HPV in U.S. teens.
http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2013/p0619-hpv-vaccinations.html
FDA Approves Sale of Morning-After Pill Without Age and Prescription Requirements
The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved the emergency contraceptive Plan B One-Step for use without a prescription or age restrictions, effectively ending more than a decade of legal and regulatory wrangling over the controversial morning-after pill.
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-fda-plan-b-20130621,0,3037557.story
Biologists Discover Cancer-Proof Drug
Two researchers at the University of Rochester have discovered the chemical that makes naked mole rats cancer-proof.
Obesity Officially Recognized as a Disease by American Medical Association
The American Medical Association has officially recognized obesity as a disease, a move that could induce physicians to pay more attention to the condition and spur more insurers to pay for treatments.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/19/business/ama-recognizes-obesity-as-a-disease.html?_r=0
Scientists at University College London Discover Why Cancer Spreads
A mechanism that cells use to group together and move around the body – called 'chase and run' - has been described for the first time by scientists at UCL.
http://cen.acs.org/articles/91/i24/Pushing-Cancer-Over-Edge.html
UCSF Finds Memory Boosting Chemicals
Memory improved in mice injected with a small, drug-like molecule discovered by UCSF San Francisco researchers studying how cells respond to biological stress.
http://www.newswise.com/articles/memory-boosting-chemical-is-identified-in-mice
Supreme Court Rules Human Genes Are NOT Patentable
The Supreme Court unanimously ruled Thursday that human genes isolated from the body can't be patented, a victory for doctors and patients who argued that such patents interfere with scientific research and the practice of medicine.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324049504578543250466974398.html