A new report released by Capgemini, one of the world's foremost providers of consulting, technology and outsourcing services, highlights the significant challenges faced by the life sciences industry in the current global market. Capgemini's Vision and Reality Report 2009 provides an in-depth look at the current global market for the life sciences industries including pharmaceutical, medical device, biotech and agribusiness.

Oncologists are more likely than the overall population of U.S. physicians to visit pharmaceutical, biotech, and device corporate and product websites on a regular basis, according to pharmaceutical and healthcare market research company Manhattan Research. In fact, almost seventy percent of oncologists visit product websites monthly or more often.

Which type of flu infects cells deep inside the lungs: pandemic swine or seasonal? EU-funded researchers say pandemic swine flu wins hands down. Published in the journal Nature Biotechnology, the findings of a new study suggest that humans infected with the pandemic strain of swine-origin H1N1 influenza will probably experience more severe symptoms than patients infected with the seasonal strain of H1N1 because of how the swine virus attaches to specific receptors in the body.

Pharmaceutical and healthcare market research company Manhattan Research releases a new white paper, "How Digital is Shaping the Future of Pharmaceutical Marketing". In this new complimentary report, Manhattan Research takes a broad look at the most important eHealth trends from their four U.S.-based physician and consumer studies.

EU-funded researchers have identified a human genetic variant that raises the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The findings add to our understanding of the factors behind the condition, and could lead to the development of new treatments. The study is published in the journal Nature Genetics.

A German research team has shown that ancient neural pathways in the human brainstem are involved in the 'placebo effect', the well known medical phenomenon that occurs when a patient feels less pain after being given what he or she thinks is a painkiller but is, in fact, a medically inactive substance.

The VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and Bayer Schering Pharma AG, Germany have signed a two-year research contract to study the mode of action of a Bayer Schering Pharma's preclinical cancer drugs. As part of this contract, VTT will use its new gene and cancer biology methods such as the 3D-cell culture model developed at VTT's Medical Biotechnology unit in Turku, Finland.