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New device could cut chemotherapy deaths

A new method of delivering chemotherapy to cancer patients without incurring side effects such as hair loss and vomiting is being developed.

31 Mar 2006

Health experts meet in Asia to discuss preventing deadly childhood diseases

The deadly diseases pneumonia and meningitis kill an estimated 1.8 million children under the age of 5 years across the globe every year. Of these, more than 700,000 occur in the countries in the South-East Asia and Western Pacific regions of the World Health Organization (WHO).

30 Mar 2006

Scientists use bacteria found naturally in soil to produce new antibiotics in the fight against drug-resistant "Super-bugs"

Antibiotic resistance is a major problem worldwide and there is an urgent need for new antibiotics to be developed. Potential new drugs are usually made in the lab which is complicated and time-consuming.

30 Mar 2006

Minimal genome should be twice the size

The simplest bacteria need almost twice as many genes to survive than scientists first believed, according to new research published in Nature (30 March 2006).

30 Mar 2006

Patent filed for method to prevent early labor and premature delivery of low-birth-weight babies

The discovery is an incremental step in an area of obstetrics that has seen little improvement in 20 years.

28 Mar 2006

Discovery of a gene that drives anthrax bacteria's toxic effects

A study in Cell reports the discovery of a gene that drives anthrax bacteria's toxic effects. The gene could offer a potential new target for countermeasures against the lethal toxin, according to the researchers.

28 Mar 2006

Procedure cures some diabetic mice, but not in the way previously reported

Researchers attempting to reproduce a controversial 2003 mouse experiment suggestive of a cure for type 1 diabetes have found evidence that the experimental procedure does eliminate diabetic symptoms in a small fraction of the mice exposed to it.

28 Mar 2006

Researchers find environmentally friendly ways to produce more Taxol

As the effective cancer-treatment drug Taxol enters its next generation, Michigan State University announces discoveries which point to both environmentally friendly ways to produce more Taxol, and ultimately innovations to produce a more potent second-generation drug.

28 Mar 2006

Researchers find compound 10 times more effective than isoniazid, the leading anti-tuberculosis drug

Researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have synthesized chemicals that are up to 10 times more effective than isoniazid, the leading anti-tuberculosis drug.

28 Mar 2006

Researchers combat tuberculosis - help may come from protective protein

Most Americans think of tuberculosis as a disease of the past, but with HIV and drug-resistant strains fueling epidemics in India and Africa, TB kills someone every six seconds across the world.

23 Mar 2006

"Sick building syndrome" is a hallmark of job stress and lack of support rather than an unhealthy building

Sick building syndrome describes a cluster of symptoms affecting the eyes, head, nose and throat and skin, all of which have been associated with the physical properties of office buildings.

23 Mar 2006

A newly recognized type of immune cell may play an important role in causing asthma

...perhaps explaining why current therapies sometimes fail, report researchers from Children's Hospital Boston in the New England Journal of Medicine.

21 Mar 2006

Discovery of basic defect in cystic fibrosis airway glands

Scientists at Stanford University have determined that the buildup of sticky mucus found in cystic fibrosis is caused by a loss in the epithelial cell's ability to secrete fluid.

21 Mar 2006

Novel vaccine approach to listeria - potential protection against other intracellular bacterial pathogens

When bacterial pathogens attack the surface of a cell, vaccine-induced antibodies can mount a formidable defense and fend off the bad bugs.

21 Mar 2006

Rutgers researchers discover obesity gene

Rutgers researchers have identified a gene - and the molecular function of its protein product - that provides an important clue to further understanding obesity and may point the way to new drugs to control fat metabolism.

20 Mar 2006

Attractive birds appear to have greater avian virus resistance

A research team at Uppsala University, Sweden has shown in a new study, published in the journal Acta Zoologica, that the size of the spot on a male collared flycatcher's forehead reflects how well the immune defence system combats viruses such as avian influenza.

20 Mar 2006