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Scientists show that endothelial cells give rise to blood stem cells

Stem cell researchers at UCLA have proven definitively that blood stem cells are made during mid-gestational embryonic development by endothelial cells, the cells that line the inside of blood vessels.

3 Dec 2008

Light exposure therapy, dark sunglasses help night-shift workers

A new study finds the use of light exposure therapy, dark sunglasses and a strict sleep schedule can help night-shift workers create a "compromise circadian phase position," which may result in increased performance and alertness during night shifts while still allowing adequate nighttime sleep on days off.

3 Dec 2008

Potential new target for drugs to prevent HIV-associated dementia

A new study led by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University has clarified how two major variants of HIV differ in their ability to cause neurologic complications.

3 Dec 2008

Stress-related disorders affect brain's processing of memory

Researchers using functional MRI (fMRI) have determined that the circuitry in the area of the brain responsible for suppressing memory is dysfunctional in patients suffering from stress-related psychiatric disorders.

3 Dec 2008

Natural killer T cells play important role in Lyme disease

A research team led by the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology and Albany Medical College has illuminated the important role of natural killer (NK) T cells in Lyme disease, demonstrating that the once little understood white blood cells are central to clearing the bacterial infection and reducing the intensity and duration of arthritis associated with Lyme disease.

3 Dec 2008

Discovery of new enzyme in cancer growth

While studying the mechanics of blood clots, researchers at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center discovered a new enzyme that not only affects the blood, but seems to play a primary role in how cancer tumors expand and spread throughout the body.

3 Dec 2008

Anti-oestrogen drugs may promote more harmful cancer cell behaviour

The authors found that tamoxifen can promote an invasive phenotype in ER+ breast cancer cells under conditions of poor cell-cell contact, a previously unknown effect of this drug

3 Dec 2008

New set of controls for stem cells discovered

Natural changes in voltage that occur across the membrane of adult human stem cells are a powerful controlling factor in the process by which these stem cells differentiate, according to research published by Tufts University scientists.

3 Dec 2008

Motor neurons derived from human embryonic stem cells provide insight into ALS

Two new research studies use motor neurons derived from human embryonic stem (hES) cells to demonstrate that multiple toxic pathways contribute to the devastating degeneration associated with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and that protective therapeutics will need to oppose the disease on multiple fronts.

3 Dec 2008

Best treatments found for long-term survival in low-grade gliomas

A new Mayo Clinic study found that patients with low-grade gliomas survived longest when they underwent aggressive surgeries to successfully remove the entire tumor.

3 Dec 2008

Kidney disease patients with poor health literacy are less likely to receive kidney transplants

Kidney disease patients' ability to understand basic health information may have a significant impact on whether or not they will receive an organ transplant, according to a study appearing in the January 2009 issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology.

3 Dec 2008

Gene therapy used to alleviate sickle cell disease pathology

Using a harmless virus to insert a corrective gene into mouse blood cells, scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have alleviated sickle cell disease pathology.

3 Dec 2008

Discovery of gene variants that impact the placebo effect

It is a well-known fact in drug trials that individuals can respond just as well to placebos, sugar pills, as to the active drug.

3 Dec 2008

New insights into cellular senescence

Scientists have identified a molecular cause behind the ravages of old age and in doing so have also shown how a natural process for fighting cancer in younger persons can actually promote cancer in older individuals.

3 Dec 2008

Broccoli compound, indole-3-carbinol targets key enzyme in late-stage cancer

An anti-cancer compound found in broccoli and cabbage works by lowering the activity of an enzyme associated with rapidly advancing breast cancer, according to a University of California, Berkeley, study appearing this week in the online early edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

3 Dec 2008

More alkaline diet strengthens skeletal health

Diets that are high in protein and cereal grains produce an excess of acid in the body which may increase calcium excretion and weaken bones, according to a new study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).

3 Dec 2008

Men who survive childhood leukemia have lower bone mineral density

Men who survived childhood leukemia treatment into adulthood were more likely to have low bone mineral density than other adults their age, putting them at risk of osteoporosis and bone fractures, according to a new study.

3 Dec 2008

Researchers develop human embryonic stem cell-based system for modeling ALS

Long thought of as mere bystanders, astrocytes are crucial for the survival and well-being of motor neurons, which control voluntary muscle movements.

3 Dec 2008

Alpha-catenin protein provokes healthy cell bonding

In human relationships, a certain "spark" often governs whether we prefer one person more than another, and critical first impressions can occur within seconds. A team lead by Johns Hopkins researchers has found that cell-to-cell "friendships" operate in much the same way and that dysfunctional bonding is linked to the spread of cancer.

3 Dec 2008

Interferon needed for cells to 'remember' how to defeat a virus

Scientists at UT Southwestern Medical Center have determined that the immune-system protein interferon plays a key role in "teaching" the immune system how to fight off repeated infections of the same virus.

3 Dec 2008