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Swiss Initiative In Systems Biology Launches New Projects
In the second call for proposals, projects focus on either the development of new technologies or on the interface between biomedical research and genomics. The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) approved six RTD-projects today. They will engage a total of 47 research groups from both Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology (ETH Zurich und EPF Lausanne), as well as from the Universities of Basel, Lausanne, Geneva and Zurich. The Friedrich-Miescher Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation is also represented as the only privately financed institution. Eight groups belong simultaneously to one of the above-mentioned universities and to the Swiss Institute for Bioinformatics.

Advance In Understanding Cellulose Synthesis
Cellulose is a fibrous molecule that makes up plant cell walls, gives plants shape and form and is a target of renewable, plant-based biofuels research. But how it forms, and thus how it can be modified to design energy-rich crops, is not well understood. Now a study led by researchers at the Carnegie Institution"s Department of Plant Biology has discovered that the underlying protein network that provides the scaffolding for cell-wall structure is also the traffic cop for delivering the critical growth-promoting molecules where needed. The research, conducted in collaboration with colleagues at Wageningen University in the Netherlands and published in the advance online publication (AOP) of Nature Cell Biology on June 14th, is a significant step for understanding how the enzymes that make cellulose and determine plant cell shape arrive at the appropriate location in the cell to do their job.
News of the day
New Drug Blocks Common Cancer Pathway
SCIENTISTS have developed a new drug which can reduce the growth of tumours* in mice by up to 98 per cent, according to a study published in Molecular Cancer Therapeutics ** this week.
Oncology

Long Term Care Forms Part Of Health Plan

Long-term care plays a role in the Senate HELP committee health plan released Tuesday by Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass. The Associated Press reports that "Americans would be able to buy long-term care insurance from the government for $65 a month under a provision tucked into sweeping health care legislation that senators will begin considering next week." The AP notes: "Kennedy"s long-term care plan is designed to help disabled people pay for support services that would allow them to remain in their own homes and avoid moving into nursing homes. People would enroll in the program during their working years and begin paying premiums. To collect benefits, a person would have had to pay premiums for at least five years. The benefit would be modest - not less than $50 a day - but it could be used to cover a wide range of services. Prospects for the long-term care provision are uncertain, but Kennedy"s advocacy may sway other lawmakers. For Kennedy, who is being treated for brain cancer, health care legislation would be the crowning achievement of a long and productive career" (Alonso-Zaldivar, 6/10). Meanwhile, the Las Vegas Sun reports that Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., stressed "the importance of talking honestly about the high cost of end-of-life care" during a Tuesday meeting with President Obama at the White House. She was "among Democrats from the House Ways and Means Committee invited to discuss health care as Congress begins to legislate President Barack Obama"s top priority this year. When it came her turn to speak, Berkley was not shy. "I said, Mr. President, the way we deliver health care in this county is bass akwards," Berkley recounted. "We spend a large portion on end-of-life care. We don"t invest enough on early detection and prevention of disease"" (Mascaro, 6/9). This information was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at kaiserhealthnews.org. © Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


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