Archive for May, 2006

Return from Honeymoon Vacation

Wednesday, May 31st, 2006

I have just returned from my honeymoon to Negril, Jamaica and wanted to let the readers know that the site will now be updated more regularly with the wedding complete.
Of course, according to some researchers, my marriage may have signaled the beginning of the end of my productivity in science. Link

Epigenetics a High Priority in New NIEHS 5-Year Plan

Sunday, May 14th, 2006

This month, the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), which provides funding for a number of researchers investigating epigenetic alterations, published its 2006-2011 NIEHS Strategic Plan, entitled “New Frontiers in Environmental Sciences and Human Health.” The effort to create the strategic plan was spearheaded by NIEHS director David Schwartz, and was aided in [...]

Epigenetics in Nature

Thursday, May 11th, 2006

Nature has posted an interesting article entitled “Epigenetics: Unfinished Symphony” [subscription required]. Beginning with a look at how epigenetics has been explored in identical twin studies, the article also takes a current look at the International Human Epigenome Project and its efforts to gain funding, better organization, and credibility as a worthwhile effort.
Given…technological challenges, [...]

Hypomethylating Drug Approved by FDA for Treatment of MDS

Wednesday, May 3rd, 2006

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Dacogen for Injection, a drug developed by MGI Pharma, Inc. and SuperGen, Inc. for the treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS).
Results from a phase 3 clinical trial demonstrated an overall response rate of 21% in Dacogen-treated patients considered evaluable for response, defined as those patients with pathologically confirmed [...]