Scientists have discovered the brain region which controls whether excess energy should be stored as fat or burned in our muscles. The researchers hope that their findings will lead to the development of new treatments for obesity. The work, which was partly funded by the EU, is published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Pfizer and the European Foundation for the Study of Diabetes (EFSD) announced today, at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) Annual Meeting, the development of a new awards program which will provide research grants to support European research around understanding and reducing cardiovascular risk in patients with diabetes.

SIMID® announced that the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) has agreed to provide metadata and full-text articles from its portfolio of medical journals through the SIMID Scientific Medical Information Library Europe (S.M.I.L.E.) database.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced grants totaling $280 million to help fight tuberculosis, an epidemic that infects one-third of people on earth and kills nearly 2 million yearly - mostly in the poorest countries. The 11 new grants will speed research and development on promising vaccines, diagnostic tests, and treatments to help reduce the global TB burden.

Spending on cancer research in Europe is on the up, and Europe is now a major contributor to the global cancer research effort, according to the second cancer research funding survey by the European Cancer Research Managers (ECRM) Forum. However, growing levels of bureaucracy threaten to stifle future research, the report warns.

Berlin software enterprise semgine GmbH has completed the new release of its semgine sciPlorer®. semgine sciPlorer® is the first product based on the semgine® semantic search technology and the first semantic information retrieval assistant specially developed for researchers working in the field of drugs discovery and biomedical science.

ePharma Physician® is a syndicated multi-client research study and advisory service focused on physician information technology adoption. Specifically, the study examines how technology is levered by pharmaceutical, biotech, and device companies to improve relationships with physicians. Fielded annually, ePharma Physician® builds upon Manhattan Research's population-level physician research Taking the Pulse® and probes deeper into the audience of physicians interacting with pharmaceutical, device, and biotech companies online, currently about 80% of the physician population.