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Scientists discover brain cell development process implicated in mental retardation

New Brunswick, N.J. , Scientists at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, have discovered a biological process in brain cell development that may help explain some causes of mental retardation.

1 Aug 2007

Lithium promotes better bone healing

Researchers at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) have found a molecular pathway that plays a critical role in bone healing and have found that the drug lithium can improve the healing process.

1 Aug 2007

Reducing inflammation plays key role in type 1 diabetes therapy

Researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) have found that a triple combination therapy consisting of both tolerance-inducing and anti-inflammatory properties is successful in abolishing adverse autoimmunity against insulin-producing cells in a mouse model of Type 1 diabetes.

1 Aug 2007

Neighbor clustering better identifies functionally related genes on the bacterial chromosome

The moment a bacterial pathogen makes contact with its host, its goal is simple: to infect.

1 Aug 2007

New way to predict how cells will respond to targeted drug therapies

Models based on this approach could help doctors make better treatment choices for individual patients, who often respond differently to the same drug, and could help drug developers identify the ideal compounds on which to focus their research.

1 Aug 2007

Nanoparticles may provide safe pain control on the battlefield

University of Michigan scientists have received a pilot grant of nearly $1.3 million from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to test whether nanoparticles can solve a pressing problem in battle zones like Iraq: how to administer sustained, safe doses of the most effective painkillers to injured soldiers, long before they can reach expert medical help.

1 Aug 2007

Pigs key to understanding antibiotic resistant bacteria

NSW Department of Primary Industries (NSW DPI) Immunology & Molecular Diagnostic Research Unit Team Leader, Dr James Chin, says it is commonly believed that each time an antibiotic is used only pathogens or disease-causing bacteria will be killed.

1 Aug 2007

Huntington's disease study shows animal models on target

An international team of researchers has published a benchmark study showing that gene expression in several animal models of Huntington's Disease (HD) closely resembles that of human HD patients.

1 Aug 2007

Baby boomers are starting to feel the aches, pains and weight gain of aging

Because they, like others, want to feel younger for longer, food companies and food researchers are striving to meet their needs. Increased amounts of nutritional supplements and antioxidants, including calcium, vitamin D and zinc, can slow the rate of age-related disease and increase the number of healthy years, according Jeffrey Blumberg, a nutrition scientist at Tufts University and speaker here at the Institute of Food Technologists Annual Meeting & Food Expo.

1 Aug 2007

Discovery of pathway that controls cell size and division

Organisms precisely regulate cell size to ensure that daughter cells have sufficient cellular material to thrive or to create specific cell types: a tiny sperm versus a gargantuan egg for example.

1 Aug 2007

Neuroprotectin D1 protects retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells

Two papers to be published in the Early Edition online of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) the week of July 30-August 3, 2007 report findings that demonstrate that neuroprotectin D1 (NPD1) protects against damage to retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells and identifies an important trigger for its production and novel molecular mechanisms that support vision.

1 Aug 2007

New target for Hodgkin lymphoma

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists have identified a protein that prevents the body's immune system from recognizing and attacking Hodgkin lymphoma cells.

1 Aug 2007

Goats' milk healthier than cows' milk

Research carried out at the Department of Physiology of the University of Granada has revealed that goats milk has more beneficial properties to health than cows milk.

1 Aug 2007

New St. Jude alliance with San Diego institutions helps advance fight against cancer

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital continues to define the forefront of clinical care and research by announcing the creation of a new alliance with two Southern California institutions: Rady Children's Hospital, San Diego; and the University of California, San Diego (UCSD).

1 Aug 2007

Folic acid protects againts exposure to bisphenol A in the womb

Experiments in animals have provided additional and tantalizing evidence that what a pregnant mother eats can make her offspring more susceptible to disease later in life.

1 Aug 2007

New point of attack for future liver cancer treatments

The linking of two signalling pathways in the cells of liver tumours has a clear influence on their malignancy.

1 Aug 2007

Recent research into HPV and cervical cancer

The development of the first vaccine for the prevention of cancer came 30 years after Harald zur Hausen first hypothesized that human papilloma virus (HPV) might be associated with cervical cancer.

1 Aug 2007

First mouse model of schizophrenia

Johns Hopkins researchers have genetically engineered the first mouse that models both the anatomical and behavioral defects of schizophrenia, a complex and debilitating brain disorder that affects over 2 million Americans.

1 Aug 2007

Zebrafish provide clues to cure for Lou Gehrig's disease

A small tropical fish, the curiosity of a Geisinger research scientist and some college students have created the perfect storm of sorts in an attempt to find a cure for one of the world's most devastating neurological diseases.

1 Aug 2007

New treatment to combat bowel infection among the elderly

Scientists at the Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre (APC), based in University College Cork (UCC) and Teagasc’s Moorepark Food Research Centre, are researching a new treatment to combat the increasing incidences of hospital acquired diarrhoea which has become a major problem in hospitals, nursing homes and facilities for the elderly.

1 Aug 2007