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How stem cells are regulated

Researchers from Biotech Research & Innovation Centre (BRIC) at University of Copenhagen have identified a new group of proteins that regulate the function of stem cells. The results are published in the new issue of Cell.

22 Feb 2007

First embryonic stem cell research grants approved under California Proposition 71

The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine's Independent Citizens' Oversight Committee on Friday announced the approval of the first human embryonic stem cell research grants provided under Proposition 71, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

22 Feb 2007

Pregnancy hormone prolactin gives hope to MS victims

Canadian scientists believe they may be some way to solving the mystery of why women suffering from multiple sclerosis (MS) go into remission while they are pregnant.

21 Feb 2007

Scientists find new genes linked to Lou Gehrig's disease

In the first genome-wide search for the genetic roots of the most common form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Johns Hopkins scientists have newly identified 34 unique variations in the human genetic code among 276 unrelated subjects with ALS.

21 Feb 2007

Don't advertise during sexy programmes - the viewer won't remember

People are less able to recall the brand of products advertised during programmes with a lot of sexual content, than if the advert is placed in similar programme that has no sexual content.

21 Feb 2007

New test identifies suitable lymphoma patients likely to respond to new therapy

Researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have discovered a genetic signature identifying cases of lymphoma that are uniquely susceptible to a newly developed molecular targeted therapy. As a result, physicians organizing clinical trials of the new therapy will be able to enroll patients who'll be most likely to benefit from it.

20 Feb 2007

Cancer cells 100 times more likely to genetically mutate

When cells become cancerous, they also become 100 times more likely to genetically mutate than regular cells, researchers have found. The findings may explain why cells in a tumor have so many genetic mutations, but could also be bad news for cancer treatments that target a particular gene controlling cancer malignancy.

20 Feb 2007

Hormone prolactin key to repairing nerve cell damage

The mystery of why multiple sclerosis (MS) tends to go into remission while women are pregnant may be the secret to overcoming the devastating neurodegenerative disease, according to University of Calgary researchers who have shown that a pregnancy-related hormone is responsible for rebuilding the protective coating around nerve cells.

20 Feb 2007

Translationally controlled tumor protein key to organ growth

When amounts of a small protein called TCTP (translationally controlled tumor protein) are reduced in the cells of fruit flies, they are smaller than normal, indicating that the protein plays a major role in the growth and proliferation of cells, said researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in a report in current issue of the journal Nature.

20 Feb 2007

Chemotherapy drug bortezomib packs a one-two punch

Cancer can be wily, and those who treat the disease have amassed a wide array of weapons with which to fight it and kill tumors.

20 Feb 2007

Low levels of RANTES protein in the blood is a predictor of cardiac death

Researchers at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn have determined that low levels of a protein in the blood is a predictor of cardiac death in patients with coronary artery disease.

20 Feb 2007

Newborns with respiratory distress should be evaluated for primary ciliary dyskinesia

Reviewing published reports, Ferkol and Margaret Leigh, M.D., professor of pediatrics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), found that neonatal respiratory distress was a common clinical symptom of PCD, a chronic airway disease that affects about 1 in 15,000 children.

20 Feb 2007

Researchers discover markers that identify breast cancer subtypes resistant to Herceptin

Using gene chips to profile tumors before treatment, researchers at Harvard and Yale Universities found markers that identified breast cancer subtypes resistant to Herceptin, the primary treatment for HER2-positive breast cancer. They say this advance could help further refine therapy for the 25 to 30 percent of breast cancer patients with this class of tumor.

20 Feb 2007

How T cells attack tumors

Our immune system struggles to eliminate tumors effectively. By unraveling its strategies, we can enhance its effects on tumor cells and so improve the clinical prospects of cancer immunotherapy.

20 Feb 2007

How DNA is packed

The life cycles of many viruses include a self-assembly stage in which a powerful molecular motor must pack the DNA genome into the virus's preformed shell (the capsid). How it manages this intricate feat has been subject to debate, but we know that the DNA passes into the capsid shell through a channel formed by a structure called the connector. Scientists have speculated that rotation of the connector complex might feed the DNA into the capsid as it turns.

20 Feb 2007

Smoking produces biochemical changes in human brain

New research shows for the first time that smoking produces long-lasting biochemical changes in the human brain similar to those changes previously seen in the brains of animals that used cocaine, heroin, and other illicit drugs.

20 Feb 2007

Regulator of cholesterol production identified

By first probing the way primitive yeast make cholesterol, a team of scientists has discovered a long-sought protein whose human counterpart controls cholesterol production and potentially drug metabolism.

20 Feb 2007

Genetic mutations make people susceptible to schizophrenia

Gene mutations governing a key brain enzyme make people susceptible to schizophrenia and may be targeted in future treatments for the psychiatric illness, according to MIT and Japanese researchers.

20 Feb 2007

Injections with "dermal fillers" containing hyaluronic acid may partially restore sun-damaged skin

Injectable skin fillers have become increasingly popular for correcting the lines and wrinkles associated with aging, as well as acne scars and other skin conditions, according to background information in the article.

20 Feb 2007

Procalcitonin helps predict prognosis among those with peritonitis

Monitoring blood levels of a compound known as procalcitonin in patients with peritonitis (a serious intra-abdominal infection) could help identify patients at increased risk of organ failure and death, according to a report in the February issue of Archives of Surgery.

20 Feb 2007