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Yeast cells help show how GSAO (glutathionarsenoxide) angiogenesis inhibitor drug works

The humble yeast has revealed the molecular workings of an anti-cancer drug that stops the growth and spread of tumours in humans by starving their blood supply.

18 Oct 2005

HIV drug combo Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole highly effective at preventing malaria

A drug combination used to prevent pneumonia and opportunistic bacterial infection in persons with HIV/AIDS has unexpectedly been found to be highly effective at preventing malaria, according to a study published in the November 15 issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases, now available online.

18 Oct 2005

Steroids and the chicken pox are a bad combination for children

Children who have been treated with steroids and are exposed to chicken pox tend to have a more severe case of the virus, according to pediatric oncologists at Brenner Children's Hospital, part of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

18 Oct 2005

Newly discovered role of MECP2 gene in Rett Syndrome

Huda Zoghbi, of Baylor College of Medicine and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Juan Young, also of Baylor and colleagues report in the online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, posted the week of October 17, 2005, that the Rett Syndrome gene, MECP2, regulates RNA splicing.

18 Oct 2005

Cutting-edge research to develop this range of next-generation biomedical devices

Revolutionary new self-diagnostic devices to provide early warning of deadly and debilitating illnesses like cancer, diabetes and heart disease are the aim of a Euro 22.5m Science Foundation Ireland research facility to be established at Dublin City University.

18 Oct 2005

Acyclovir use uncertain in children with chickenpox

There seems to be little value in using acyclovir to treat children with chickenpox who are otherwise healthy.

18 Oct 2005

No credible evidence behind claims of harm from the MMR vaccination

There was no credible evidence behind claims of harm from the MMR vaccination. This is the conclusion drawn by the Cochrane Review Authors, an international team of researchers, after carefully drawing together all of the evidence found in 31 high quality studies from around the world.

18 Oct 2005

Discovery increases the yield of stem cells from umbilical cord blood

A team of bioengineers led by the University of Toronto has discovered a way to increase the yield of stem cells from umbilical cord blood, to an extent which could broaden therapeutic use of these cells.

18 Oct 2005

No evidence of a "safe" threshold with environmental toxins

Four of the most widespread environmental toxins - lead, trihalomethanes (found in drinking water), ionizing radiation from indoor radon gas, and tobacco smoke - can cause serious damage to health even at very low levels, say researchers in the open access journal PLoS Medicine.

18 Oct 2005

Pathological liars found to have less gray matter

In a new study Dr. Adrian Raine and Yaling Yang of the University of Southern California, and colleagues found that individuals who habitually lied and cheated had less gray matter and more white matter in their prefrontal cortex than normal people.

18 Oct 2005

New tool that may prove to be invaluable for investigating the long-term mutagenic effects of chemotherapy and radiation

Scientists have developed a new tool that may prove to be invaluable for investigating the long-term mutagenic effects of chemotherapy and radiation, therapies that are widely used for the treatment of cancer.

17 Oct 2005

Abused boys may 'learn' that violence is an acceptable method of conflict resolution in the home

According to a study in the October 18 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, a history of childhood physical abuse may be common in men from urban settings, and these men with physical abuse histories may be more likely to commit domestic violence. The study found that the childhood abuse was primarily committed by parents, with mothers being the most frequent abusers.

17 Oct 2005

New treatment for the pediatric eye cancer retinoblastoma

Investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have demonstrated in laboratory studies a new treatment for the pediatric eye cancer retinoblastoma that appears to be more effective than the current standard therapy, and more likely to prevent the recurrence of this cancer. A report on their work appears in the October 15 issue of Clinical Cancer Research.

17 Oct 2005

New findings on brain tumors called ependymomas

Brain tumors called ependymomas that occur in different parts of the central nervous system appear to arise from subpopulations of stem cells called radial glia cells (RGCs), according to investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The discovery explains why some identical-looking ependymomas are actually distinctly different diseases, the researchers said.

17 Oct 2005

Harvard study finds vaccines boost economies of poor countries

Immunization programs in impoverished countries not only save lives, they boost economies, finds a study by researchers with the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) published in the current edition of World Economics.

16 Oct 2005

Family history of alcohol dependency does not relate to age of first drink

Having a first alcoholic drink at the early age of 12, 13 or 14 might be influenced more by a child's tendency to do things like lie, steal or skip school than by a family history of alcohol dependency, according to findings by University of Iowa and other investigators.

16 Oct 2005

Alternative methods to create stem cells successful in mice-studies

According to researchers in the U.S. two alternative methods for making embryonic stem cells, work in mice and could lead to a less controversial way to grow them.

16 Oct 2005

4D ecography for the diagnosis of prenatal cardiopathy

One of the most recent novelties in ecographic studies has been the application of a fourth dimension, i.e. movement added to three-dimensional reconstruction. According to Dr. Alcázar, "the development of the STIC system, carrying out the spatio-temporal correlation of images, adds movement to 3D ecography.

13 Oct 2005

First gene mutation associated with Tourette syndrome

Researchers have identified the first gene mutation associated with Tourette syndrome - opening a new avenue for understanding the complex disorder that causes muscle and vocal tics.

13 Oct 2005

Cancer survivors have unique and long-term cancer-specific side effects.

Patients surviving childhood Hodgkin disease suffer strokes later in life at rates about four times that of the general population, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found.

13 Oct 2005