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German Research Foundation skeptical on cloning of human cells

According to a paper published in the journal Stem Cells, an American group has succeeded in inserting cell nuclei from human skin cells into human enucleated oocytes and to stimulate these new cells to undergo cell division in the laboratory.

23 Jan 2008

Debate over safety of gene therapy trials focuses on issue of informed consent

Can a patient who agrees to participate in a safety study of a gene therapy protocol give truly informed consent and understand the risks involved when the consent forms are highly technical and the physician or institution seeking their consent has a stake in the study and its outcome?

23 Jan 2008

Cervical cancer rates higher among minority women

The last 50 years have witnessed a dramatic decline in the number of cervical cancer cases, according to the National Cancer Institute.

23 Jan 2008

Cell division studies hint at future cancer therapy

When a cell's assets get divided between daughter cells, Dr. Quansheng Du wants to make sure both offspring do well.

23 Jan 2008

Radiotherapy as effective as surgery in bladder cancer treatment

The study by Cancer Research UK scientists has found that survival rates among bladder cancer patients treated with radiotherapy in Leeds are the same as those associated with radical cystectomy surgery involving the complete removal of the bladder.

22 Jan 2008

Lots of caffeine during pregnancy increases risk of miscarriage

High doses of daily caffeine during pregnancy - whether from coffee, tea, caffeinated soda or hot chocolate - cause an increased risk of miscarriage, according a new study by the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research.

22 Jan 2008

Genmab reaches milestones in Ofatumumab collaboration

The second milestone payment of the collaboration of DKK 87.2 million was triggered by treatment of the first patient in the Phase II study of ofatumumab in Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL), which occurred in 2007.

22 Jan 2008

Researchers disarm Ebola virus

The deadly Ebola virus, an emerging public health concern in Africa and a potential biological weapon, ranks among the most feared of exotic pathogens.

22 Jan 2008

Stem cell therapy restores muscle function in mice with muscular dystrophy

Scientists in Texas have been able to restore muscle function in mice with muscular dystrophy by using embryonic stem cells.

21 Jan 2008

Stem-cell transplantation improves muscles in MD animal model

Using embryonic stem cells from mice, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have prompted the growth of healthy - and more importantly, functioning - muscle cells in mice afflicted with a human model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

21 Jan 2008

Stem cell research aims to tackle Parkinson's disease

Scientists in Sweden are developing new ways to grow brain cells in the laboratory that could one day be used to treat patients with Parkinson's disease, an international conference of biologists organised by the European Science Foundation (ESF) was told last week.

21 Jan 2008

Researchers identify a means of controlling a parasite that kills and eats human cells

Researchers from the University of Virginia and the University of Vermont have discovered a means of inhibiting one of the world's most voracious parasites.

21 Jan 2008

New method to transfer DNA into a host cell

Genetically engineered products have become indispensable. For example, genetically modified bacteria produce human insulin.

21 Jan 2008

Case researcher in RNA biology makes waves by challenging current thinking

In the January 18th issue of Molecular Cell, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine researcher Kristian E. Baker, Ph.D. challenges molecular biology's established body of evidence and widely-accepted model for nonsense-mediated messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) decay.

21 Jan 2008

Sleep plays a critical role in the brain's ability to learn

Most people know it from experience: After so many hours of being awake, your brain feels unable to absorb any more-and several hours of sleep will refresh it.

21 Jan 2008

How anti-TNF compounds work

Powerful drugs used to treat patients with rheumatoid arthritis have a profound, previously unrecognized effect on the immune system, breaking up molecular "training camps" for rogue cells that play an increasingly recognized role in autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.

21 Jan 2008

Culprit cell for childhood leukaemia discovered

A study by British researchers of twin girls has identified a rogue cell that is the fundamental cause of childhood leukaemia.

20 Jan 2008

British scientists given go-ahead for human-animal embryo research

Scientists in Britain have been given the go-ahead to create human-animal hybrid embryos for research.

20 Jan 2008

Previously unknown Merkel cell polyomavirus linked to deadly skin cancer

A new strategy to hunt for human viruses described in this week's issue of the journal Science by the husband-and-wife team who found the cause of Kaposi's sarcoma has revealed a previously unknown virus strongly associated with another rare but deadly skin cancer called Merkel cell carcinoma.

18 Jan 2008

Scientists uncover role of cancer stem cell marker: controlling gene expression

Scientists at Jefferson's Kimmel Cancer Center in Philadelphia have made an extraordinary advance in the understanding of the function of a gene previously shown to be part of an 11-gene "signature" that can predict which tumors will be aggressive and likely to spread.

18 Jan 2008