(International Osteoporosis Foundation) Convenient online registration to the IOF World Congress on Osteoporosis 2008, at greatly discounted rates, is available only until Oct. 31, 2008.

Alfacell Corporation (Nasdaq: ACEL) announced that a paper published in Cell Cycle (2008; Vol. 7, Issue 20) reports that ONCONASE (ranpirnase) targets small interfering RNA (siRNA), likely within the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) of the RNA interference (RNAi) mechanism.

Scientists from the Universities of Bath and Exeter have developed a rapid new way of checking for toxic genes in disease-causing bacteria which infect insects and humans. Their findings could in the future lead to new vaccines and anti-bacterial drugs. They studied a bacterium called Photorhabdus asymbiotica, which normally infects and kills insects, but which can also cause an unpleasant infection in humans.

Scientists have identified some of the elusive downstream molecules that play a critical role in the development and progression of familial breast cancer. The research, published by Cell Press in the October 10th issue of the journal Molecular Cell, also identifies a compound found in grapes and red wine as an excellent candidate for treatment of some forms of breast cancer.

Scientists have gained insight into the complex mechanisms that control bacterial pathogenesis and, as a result, have developed new theories about how independent mechanisms may have become intertwined during evolution.

Yale university researchers have described a molecular traffic signal in the middle of a busy biological highway that influences such diverse processes as the production of insulin, activation of the immune system, creation of new brain cells and formation of tumors. The centrality of this traffic signal, known as mTOR, makes it of intense interest to researchers searching for new treatments for a wide variety of diseases, said Michael Simons, M.D.

Pacific Grove (CA)/Leipzig. Researchers have for the first time identified complete gene sequences and function of two proteins in mussels that play a key defensive role against environmental toxicants.

Medical research is a cornerstone of Frontiers in Optics 2008 (FiO), the 92nd Annual Meeting of the Optical Society (OSA), being held Oct. 19-23 at the Riverside Convention Center in Rochester, N.Y. FiO 2008 will take place alongside Laser science XXIV, the annual meeting of the American Physical Society's Division of Laser science. MEDICAL RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS AT FiO Following are a few of the many technical highlights to be discussed at the meeting.

A novel enzyme may play a major role in anencephaly, offering hope for a genetic test or even therapy for the rare fatal birth defect in which the brain fails to develop, according to a new study.

VASCULAR BIOLOGY: A real-time view of blood flow through the pancreas A team of researchers at Vanderbilt university, Nashville, has developed a new microscopy approach that enabled them to image, in real time, the flow of blood in mouse pancreatic islets of Langerhans. The pancreatic islets of Langerhans have a central role in regulating the amount of glucose in the blood.