$3.7 million trial uses genes to balance risks, benefits of blood thinner

A five-year, $3.7 million clinical trial will investigate how to balance the benefits and risks of warfarin, a drug that helps prevent potentially deadly blood clots. The multicenter study, led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, will evaluate customized warfarin dosage based on patient genetics and will test which range of blood clotting is optimal in orthopedic patients.

Urine test for kidney cancer a step closer to development

A team of researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has identified a pair of proteins excreted in the urine that could lead to earlier and more accurate diagnosis of kidney cancer. The research is the first to identify proteins in urine that appear to accurately reveal the presence of about 90 percent of all kidney cancers. 

Obituary:  I. Jerome Flance, 98

I Jerome Flance, an emeritus clinical professor of medicine at the Washington University School of Medicine who spearheaded the University’s development of the Forest Park Southeast neighborhood, died Friday (April 2, 2010) of infirmities of age at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. He was 98 and lived in Creve Coeur.

Tweet: Scientists decode songbird’s genome

Nearly all animals make sounds instinctively, but baby songbirds learn to sing in virtually the same way human infants learn to speak: by imitating a parent. Now, an international team of scientists, led by the School of Medicine, has decoded the genome of a songbird — the Australian zebra finch — to reveal intriguing clues about the genetic basis and evolution of vocal learning. 
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