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Researchers show how estrogen turns genes on and off during cancer progression

Ohio - A new study suggests that the hormone estrogen works in partnership with other proteins to activate or suppress gene activity in breast cancer cells.

2 Feb 2006

Hepatitis C recurs rapidly after liver transplant

When a diseased liver is removed from a patient with Hepatitis C (HCV), serum viral levels plummet. However, after receiving a healthy liver transplant, virus levels rebound and can surpass pre-transplant levels within a few days, according to a new study published in the February 2006 issue of Liver Transplantation, the official journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) and the International Liver Transplantation Society (ILTS).

2 Feb 2006

Study looks at placebo effect

The debate about the existence of a placebo effect has heated up over the past year as more and more lab experiments are detecting immediate physiological responses to placebos.

2 Feb 2006

Can rimonabant slow atherosclerosis?

Researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center has announced that they have launched a study to determine whether an experimental drug, rimonabant, can slow atherosclerosis, the fatty build-up in arteries that creates heart attack risk.

2 Feb 2006

Phase II clinical trial for new gene transfer drug study

As many as 8-10 million Americans have Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD), by age 70, roughly 20 percent of the population has it, and people with PAD face a six-to-seven times higher risk of heart attack or stroke.

2 Feb 2006

Deadly birdflu virus reaches Cyprus

According to European Union officials the deadly H5N1 strain of avian flu has been detected in poultry in northern Cyprus.

30 Jan 2006

Saudi Arabia culls falcons with bird flu

According to the Agriculture Ministry in Saudi Arabia, 37 falcons have been culled after five of them tested positive to the H5 virus of the avian flu.

29 Jan 2006

HIV testing and counseling reduces high-risk sexual behavior and prevents HIV transmission in Tanzania

Offering free HIV tests instead of charging a small fee is more cost-effective at preventing HIV infections and draws in three times as many people for testing, according to a Duke University Medical Center study conducted in Tanzania.

27 Jan 2006

BRCA1 gene inhibits estrogen and progesterone

It's been known that the breast cancer susceptibility gene BRCA1 regulates use of estrogen in breast and other cells, but now researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center have discovered that it also controls activity of a second sex steroid hormone, progesterone.

27 Jan 2006

Treatment of down syndrome in mice restores nerve growth in cerebellum

Researchers at Johns Hopkins restored the normal growth of specific nerve cells in the cerebellum of mouse models of Down syndrome (DS) that were stunted by this genetic condition. The cerebellum is the rear, lower part of the brain that controls signals from the muscles to coordinate balance and motor learning.

25 Jan 2006

Breakthrough in lupus research

A major breakthrough in lupus research - one that may fundamentally change thinking on how the disease affects behavior and cognition - was reported in the January 17, 2006 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

25 Jan 2006

University of Florida researchers restore vitality to cells in lab experiments

University of Florida researchers say primitive cells that act like molecular maintenance men - traveling throughout the body to repair damaged blood vessels - become too rigid to move in patients with diabetes, fueling the disease's vascular complications.

25 Jan 2006

Researchers use yogurt to fight AIDS

Researchers have come up with a novel delivery system for anti-AIDS drugs: milk-curdling bacteria used to make yogurt and cheese.

25 Jan 2006

Faster method for detecting disease-causing mutations developed by Pitt researchers

University of Pittsburgh researcher Alexander Star and colleagues at a California-based company, Nanomix, Inc., have developed devices made of carbon nanotubes that can find mutations in genes causing hereditary diseases, they report in the Jan. 16 issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.

24 Jan 2006

Injection of EU funds for a microdose project

A new EU-funded project kicked off this month which aims to bridge the gap between the laboratory and the clinic. The EU Microdose AMS Partnership Programme (EUMAPP) aims to boost Europe’s expertise in micodosing and its application of AMS, or accelerator mass spectrometry, to developing new candidate drugs for treating diseases the world over.

23 Jan 2006

Gene therapy to turn off Parkinson's

A group of Northwestern University researchers is developing a novel gene therapy aimed at selectively turning off one of the genes involved in the development of Parkinson's disease.

23 Jan 2006

New real-time test for Chlamydia and Gonorrhea

Abbott today announced that a highly sensitive new test for the simultaneous detection of the sexually transmitted pathogens Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) and Neissera gonorrhoeae (NG) has received CE Mark certification, allowing it to be marketed in the European Union.

23 Jan 2006

Scientists discover method to multiply an adult stem cell 30-fold

Adult stem cells may be free of the ethical concerns that hamper embryonic stem cell research, but they still pose formidable scientific challenges.

23 Jan 2006

Chocolate compund that helps heart identified

In a multifaceted study involving the Kuna Indians of Panama, an international team of scientists has pinpointed a chemical compound that is, in part, responsible, for the heart-healthy benefits of certain cocoas and some chocolate products.

23 Jan 2006

Histidine may be key to new therapies for cardiovascular disease

It's just one little amino acid, but it makes all the difference in protecting the heart from the harmful effects of heart attack and cardiac failure. Researchers from the University of Michigan Medical School suggest this amino acid, called histidine, could be the key to a new therapy for cardiovascular disease

23 Jan 2006