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				<title>Baylor College of Medicine News</title>
				<link>http://www.bcm.edu/news/</link>
				<description>News from Baylor College of Medicine, Houston Texas</description>
				<copyright>Copyright 2008</copyright>
				<language>en-us</language>
				<docs>http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss</docs>
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					<title>Baylor College of Medicine News</title>
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					<author>ggutierr@bcm.edu (Graciela  Gutierrez)</author>
					<title><![CDATA[Zoghbi awarded HHMI Collaborative Innovation Award]]></title>
					<link>http://www.bcm.edu/news/item.cfm?newsID=1275&amp;r=1</link>
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					<pubDate>Thu, 20 Nov 2008 00:00:00 CDT</pubDate>
					<description><![CDATA[ Dr. Huda Y. Zoghbi, professor of pediatrics and molecular and human genetics at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, leads a team that has been awarded the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Collaborative Innovation Award for research to identify genes that interfere with the misfolding of proteins in cells. Misfolded proteins can contribute to a host of neurodegenerative illnesses, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. Zoghbi, who is also a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator and professor in the departments of neurology and neuroscience at BCM, will collaborate with Drs. Juan Botas, associate professor of molecular and human genetics at BCM, Thomas Westbrook, assistant professor of molecular and human genetics and biochemistry and molecular biology at BCM, and Harry Orr, professor of genetics at the University of Minnesota. The Howard Hughes Medical Institute will award a total of nearly $40 million over four years to eight  &#8230;]]></description>
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					<author>loriw@bcm.edu (Lori Williams)</author>
					<title><![CDATA[Hamilton, Spann named to leadership positions at BCM]]></title>
					<link>http://www.bcm.edu/news/item.cfm?newsID=1273&amp;r=1</link>
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					<pubDate>Wed, 19 Nov 2008 00:00:00 CDT</pubDate>
					<description><![CDATA[ The Baylor College of Medicine Board of Trustees has named Dr. Susan Hamilton as senior vice president and dean of research and Dr. Stephen J. Spann as senior vice president and dean for clinical affairs. The appointments are effective immediately. Both have been serving as department chairs at BCM. Hamilton has been serving as the chair of molecular physiology and biophysics and Spann as chair of family and community medicine. As dean of research, Hamilton will work with the chairs and center directors to create a continuing strategic plan for research at BCM, establish standards of research, oversee the solicitation of research funding and implement research policies and priorities. She will have responsibility and authority for the budgets of the basic science departments and centers. She received her doctorate in biophysics from the University of Colorado Health Science Center in Denver and did her postdoctoral work in the Department of Neurology  &#8230;]]></description>
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					<author>picton@bcm.edu (Glenna Picton)</author>
					<title><![CDATA[Microarray analysis improves prenatal diagnosis]]></title>
					<link>http://www.bcm.edu/news/item.cfm?newsID=1268&amp;r=1</link>
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					<pubDate>Mon, 17 Nov 2008 00:00:00 CDT</pubDate>
					<description><![CDATA[ A &quot;chip&quot; or array that can quickly detect disorders such as Down syndrome or other diseases associated with chromosomal abnormalities proved an effective tool in prenatal diagnosis in a series of 300 cases at Baylor College of Medicine , said researchers in a report that appears in the current issue of the journal Prenatal Diagnosis. In the report, a team led by Dr. Arthur Beaudet and Dr. Sau Wai Cheung at BCM, described use of array comparative genomic hybridization to analyze samples taken during amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling for chromosomal abnormalities. Amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling allow researchers to obtain fetal cells for testing. &quot;Larger studies of this test will help us decide whether it should be used as a first line measure to detect chromosome abnormalities in fetuses,&quot; said Beaudet, chair of molecular and human genetics at BCM and senior author of the report. &quot;They will also  &#8230;]]></description>
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					<author>ggutierr@bcm.edu (Graciela  Gutierrez)</author>
					<title><![CDATA[Protein loss triggers axon-to-dendrite shift]]></title>
					<link>http://www.bcm.edu/news/item.cfm?newsID=1270&amp;r=1</link>
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					<pubDate>Mon, 17 Nov 2008 00:00:00 CDT</pubDate>
					<description><![CDATA[ When a neuron or nerve cell loses the protein ankryin G, its axon, the information output center of the cell, becomes more like a dendrite, which accepts information, a phenomenon that may have implications for brain and nerve injury and disease, said researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington in a report that appears online today in The Journal of Cell Biology. &quot;If the neuron gets confused, it does not know how to signal properly,&quot; said Dr. Matthew N. Rasband, associate professor of neuroscience at BCM and senior author of the report. &quot;Ankyrin G is required for a neuron to maintain the distinction between an axon and a dendrite. This is the first time an axon has been converted into a dendrite in the laboratory.&quot; The opposite change &ndash; dendrite to axon &ndash; has been observed previously in models of nervous system injury. Dendrites are rough  &#8230;]]></description>
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					<author>ggutierr@bcm.edu (Graciela  Gutierrez)</author>
					<title><![CDATA[Genetics used to personalize coronary heart disease treatment]]></title>
					<link>http://www.bcm.edu/news/item.cfm?newsID=1265&amp;r=1</link>
					<guid isPermalink="true">http://www.bcm.edu/news/item.cfm?newsID=1265</guid>
					<pubDate>Wed, 12 Nov 2008 00:00:00 CDT</pubDate>
					<description><![CDATA[ Identifying a single, common variation in a person's genetic information improves prediction of his or her risk of a heart attack or other heart disease events and thus, choice of the best treatment accordingly, said researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. These findings were presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions in New Orleans. &quot;This DNA variation at 9p21 chromosomal region is not a mutation; it is a genetic variant&quot; said Ariel Brautbar, clinical postdoctoral fellow in molecular and human genetics at BCM and lead author of the study, which is one of the presentations designated &quot;Best of Sessions&quot; at the annual American Heart Association meeting. &quot;We already know that 9p21 DNA variation is associated with a greater risk of heart events, but now we have shown its direct usefulness to patient care by adding it to traditional risk factor measurements,&quot; he said. &quot;This is  &#8230;]]></description>
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					<author>ggutierr@bcm.edu (Graciela  Gutierrez)</author>
					<title><![CDATA[Ultrasound helps predict heart attacks in "low risk" patients]]></title>
					<link>http://www.bcm.edu/news/item.cfm?newsID=1262&amp;r=1</link>
					<guid isPermalink="true">http://www.bcm.edu/news/item.cfm?newsID=1262</guid>
					<pubDate>Mon, 10 Nov 2008 00:00:00 CDT</pubDate>
					<description><![CDATA[ By adding the results of an imaging technique to the traditional risk factors for coronary heart disease, doctors at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston found they were able to improve prediction of heart attacks in people previously considered low risk. The findings are being presented today at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions in New Orleans. Viewing artery walls Researchers used ultrasound imaging to view the carotid intima media thickness (C-IMT), or thickness of the artery walls. &quot;The ultrasound added another dimension to the risk factor score and showed us that those with thick arteries in the higher end of low risk group actually are at intermediate risk for coronary heart disease,&quot; said Dr. Vijay Nambi , assistant professor of medicine - atherosclerosis and vascular medicine at BCM and lead author of the study. Risk prediction is  &#8230;]]></description>
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