Bioscience

More than 225 people showed up for the Southwest Bioscience Expo May 21, put on by the Arizona BioIndustry Association at the JW Marriott Resort and Spa.

The theme of the day was “Capitalizing on Innovation.”

“It was a huge success,” said Robert Green, president of the association. “This was our most successful expo ever. We had more people, more vendors, more everything. It shows that AZBio has come of age as an organization.” Print this storyEmail this storyPost a CommentShareThis
Robert Green, hosted the expo as president of the Arizona Bioindustry Association.
 
The event included an opening panel on entrepreneurship with three successful entrepreneurs answering questions about how they built what they did over the years, and how they feel the game has changed in recent years

Bioscience

Bioscience

After living in a hospital for about two years, Charles Okeke has finally returned home.

The 43-year-old Phoenix resident was at the Mayo Clinic from 2008 until early this month. His lengthy recovery wasn't due to the artificial heart in his chest - it was the bulky 400-pound machine that anchored and powered the artificial heart.

He wasn't able to leave the hospital with the large machine following his every step. Okeke's freedom came after doctors swapped out the large, blood-pumping "driver" with a 13-pound version that fits in a backpack.

Bioscience

Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn Medical Center could soon start its face-lift.

The Scottsdale Planning Commission unanimously approved Scottsdale Healthcare's rezoning request that would allow for expansion and improvements at the nearly 50-year-old hospital downtown.

Commissioners roundly praised Scottsdale Healthcare's proposal when they considered the case on Wednesday. They were so supportive of the request, they also recommended Scottsdale Healthcare be allowed an additional 10 feet in height for two new main patient towers. The expansion could add more than 240 beds to the Osborn Medical Center, bringing the total to more than 630.

Bioscience

University of Arizona scientists have used a new quick-growing technique to produce a water-soluble form of a plant compound that combats cancer and encourages the survival of healthy cells.

Research trials are under way on this sulfate form of withaferin A, which could develop into a new anti-cancer drug.

Scientifically studied since the 1960s, withaferin A reduces tumor mass by preventing the growth of blood vessels that make a tumor malignant. The compound is derived from the roots of a winter cherry plant, the extracts of which have been used for more than 3,000 years in India as a general tonic to build stamina, improve mental concentration, relieve stress and enhance health.

Bioscience

InNexus Biotechnology Inc. is working with the National Cancer Institute on research related to new generation of antibodies based on the Canadian company’s “dynamic cross linking technology.”

Bioscience

The Undergraduate Biology Research Program at the University of Arizona has won a $1.8 million grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.  The program helps college and high-school students conduct math and science research by pairing them with university researchers in a variety of fields.

Bioscience

[Source: Nanowerk News] - Aiming to motivate researchers to help the U.S. Navy decrease its reliance on fossil fuels, the Office of Naval Research (ONR) announced nine winners of an "Energy Challenge" that was issued at its recent Naval Energy Forum. 

The recipients, whose projects range from microbial to solar power, will receive up to $100,000 to apply toward their research area, said Dr. Rich Carlin, who heads ONR's Sea Warfare and Weapons Department. 

Bioscience

The search for new drugs that can reverse the course of Alzheimer's has frustrated pharmaceutical companies, with several failures reported in recent years. Research advances have arrived, not in the form of new drugs but, rather, in technologies that track the underlying biology of the disease before the first symptoms appear.

The capacity to track things early underlines the growing recognition that the disease process begins many years before a diagnosis, a realization that has placed new emphasis on the need for preventive measures to ward off the leading cause of dementia.

Bioscience

The program that has supported and helped train more than 1,700 University of Arizona undergraduates and local high school students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics research has just received its sixth grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

The $1.8 million grant to the UA will fund the Undergraduate Biology Research Program, resulting in 21 years of consecutive HHMI funding.