Biozona Weekly: Senestech and dog overpopulation; new med-ed panel; Cardinal Health arrives

July 21, 2011

By hammersmith

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Drug may revolutionize control of dog population
07/21/2011 | Arizona Republic | Stephanie Russo

Dr. Loretta Mayer, a Flagstaff scientist and founder of the firm Senestech, was looking for a way to artificially induce menopause in mice so they could be used to study human diseases when she and another scientist developed a drug that they realized also could be used to sterilize female dogs, removing the need for painful and expensive surgery.


Medical drama comes to life (Editorial)
07/21/2011 | Arizona Republic

As any savvy TV producer will tell you, hospitals and doctors produce great drama. Life and death. Birth and salvation. From “House” to “St. Elsewhere,” medical drama fascinates us because it puts the basic elements of humanity into a single building and lets the conflict fly. Truth be told, the saga of Maricopa County’s hospital is more interesting and improbable than most fiction.


Judge tosses biomed commission lawsuit
07/20/2011 | Yellow Sheet Report

The Arizona Biomedical Research Commission is going to appeal a Maricopa County Superior Court decision yesterday that said neither the commission nor Commissioner T. Lon Owen could challenge a budget provision that takes away the commission’s authority over three special funds and hands it over to DHS, turning the commission into only an advisory panel.


Brewer announces members of medical-ed oversight panel
07/19/2011 | Arizona Daily Star | Rhonda Bodfield

Gov. Jan Brewer announced members of a new state panel that will help steer the future of state-funded medical education in the Arizona, following a high-profile spat over who should have more control over UA Healthcare. The panel is supposed to help bring some resolution to an ongoing discussion about how best to structure the relationship between the $1.2 billion nonprofit and the medical school.


Cardinal Health opens $11M imaging research center in Phoenix
07/18/2011 | Phoenix Business Journal | Angela Gonzales

Cardinal Health Inc. opened an $11 million molecular imaging center on Monday, bringing 20 new jobs to Phoenix. The 25,000-square-foot facility will help pharmaceutical companies and academic research institutions accelerate the development, testing and commercialization of new radiopharmaceuticals and positron emission tomography imaging agents used in PET scans.


Marijuana May Be Studied for Combat Disorder
07/18/2011 | New York Times | Dan Frosch

For years now, some veterans groups and marijuana advocates have argued that the therapeutic benefits of the drug can help soothe the psychological wounds of battle. Now researchers are seeking federal approval for what is believed to be the first study to examine the effects of marijuana on veterans with chronic post-traumatic stress disorder.


Valley fever cases likely to increase after Phoenix dust storm
07/18/2011 Arizona Republic | Cecilia Chan

A leading medical expert predicts a significant increase in the number of people with valley fever in the weeks following the massive dust storm earlier this month. Dr. John Galgiani, head of the Valley Fever Center of Excellence, expects Maricopa County to see 3,600 more cases, resulting in a total of 5,000 cases for July and August.


Pruitt: Science Foundation Arizona is investing in our state’s future (Op-ed)
07/18/2011 | Arizona Republic | J. Doug Pruitt

There are bright spots in Arizona’s effort to be competitive on a global level as we continue to pull out of a deep recession, particularly with regard to public-private partnerships. Science Foundation Arizona has just released the independent assessment gauging the annual success of its partnership-grant programs. The report, conducted by Battelle Technology Partnership Practice, found a more than 3-to-1 return on investment from the state’s initial investment of $77.6 million.


Science comes alive for TGen summer interns
07/18/2011 | Arizona Republic | Kerry Fehr-Snyder

Daniel Hannon calls his diagnosis of brain cancer nearly four years ago a wake-up call for him to get serious about college and stop wasting his life. Today, he is working in a genetics lab in downtown Phoenix studying how lung cancer spreads to the human brain. Hannon is among 45 students working as summer interns at the Translational Genomics Research Institute.