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MiR-122 plays a critical role in the life cycle of hepatitis C virus

Hepatitis C virus has evolved to invade and hijack the basic machinery of the human liver cell to ensure its survival and spread. Researchers at the University of North have discovered how hepatitis C binds with and repurposes a basic component of cellular metabolism known as a microRNA to help protect and replicate the virus.

19 Dec 2012

Link between silent stroke and Parkinson's disease

Scientists at The University of Manchester have for the first time identified why a patient who appears outwardly healthy may develop Parkinson's disease.

19 Dec 2012

Study investigates biology of emotional sharing

Therapists have long known that people who've had a traumatic experience feel the need to talk about what they've been through. This process is called 'social sharing' and can take place for days, weeks, months or years after the event.

19 Dec 2012

Scientists decode VEGF/Ang1/Syx pathway that regulates leakiness of blood vessels

A research team led by scientists at Mayo Clinic in Florida have decoded the entire pathway that regulates leakiness of blood vessels — a condition that promotes a wide number of disorders, such as heart disease, cancer growth and spread, inflammation and respiratory distress.

18 Dec 2012

BubR1 and its associated regulators promising targets for aging disorders and cancer

A new series of studies in mouse models by Mayo Clinic researchers uncovered that the aging process is characterized by high rates of whole-chromosome losses and gains in various organs, including heart, muscle, kidney and eye, and demonstrate that reducing these rates slows age-related tissue deterioration and promotes a healthier life span. The findings appear in today's online issue of Nature Cell Biology.

18 Dec 2012

CNIO creates 2 new databases to study the human genome

Scientists from the Structural Computational Biology Group at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO), led by Alfonso Valencia, together with French and American researchers, have published recently two articles in the journal Nucleic Acid Research (NAR) that introduce two new databases for studying the human genome.

18 Dec 2012

MiR-181 molecule tied to breast cancer metastasis

Researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have identified a molecule linked to more aggressive forms of breast cancer - a discovery that could point the way to potential cures.

18 Dec 2012

High AngII levels put stress on the ER and cause hypertension

When the heart works too hard, the brain may be to blame, says new Cornell University research that is changing how scientists look at high blood pressure (hypertension). The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation in November, traces hypertension to a newfound cellular source in the brain and shows that treatments targeting this area can reverse the disease.

18 Dec 2012

Bullying among children may be a threat to their future mental health

A recent study by a researcher at the Centre for Studies on Human Stress (CSHS) at the H-pital Louis-H. Lafontaine and professor at the Universit- de Montr-al suggests that bullying by peers changes the structure surrounding a gene involved in regulating mood, making victims more vulnerable to mental health problems as they age.

18 Dec 2012

Advanced MRI can non-invasively evaluate cellular proliferation of tumor models of breast cancer

Scientists at the University of Arizona Cancer Center and the Moffitt Cancer Center, led by Dr. Robert Gillies, have demonstrated that an advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) method can non-invasively evaluate the cellular proliferation of tumor models of breast cancer.

18 Dec 2012

Klerokinesis may prevent some cancers from developing

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center have discovered a new form of cell division in human cells.

18 Dec 2012

Tbx18 gene directs conversion of cardiomyocytes to genuine pacemaker cells

Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute researchers have reprogrammed ordinary heart cells to become exact replicas of highly specialized pacemaker cells by injecting a single gene (Tbx18)-a major step forward in the decade-long search for a biological therapy to correct erratic and failing heartbeats.

18 Dec 2012

Germ cell removal may promote longevity

The gonad is well known to be important for reproduction but also affects animal life span. Removal of germ cells - the sperm and egg producing cells - increases longevity of the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms were a mystery. Now scientists at the Cologne-based Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing, have discovered that germ cell removal flips a "molecular switch" that extends the life span by using components of a "developmental clock".

18 Dec 2012

PRSS3 enzyme linked to aggressive prostate cancer

Researchers at Mayo Clinic's campus in Florida have identified an enzyme specifically linked to aggressive prostate cancer, and have also developed a compound that inhibits the ability of this molecule to promote the metastatic spread of the cancer.

18 Dec 2012

Study investigates muscle weakness in mouse model of Down syndrome

It is well known that people with Down syndrome (DS) suffer from marked muscle weakness. Even the simple tasks of independent living, such as getting out of a chair or climbing a flight of stairs, can become major obstacles. This can reduce the quality of life for those with DS and lead to a loss of independence. Now, a new study sheds light on some of the suspected causes of muscle weakness.

18 Dec 2012

Vero system can treat patients with recent diagnoses of metastatic cancer

University of Florida radiation oncologists are using a sophisticated medical device to treat patients who have recent diagnoses of metastatic cancer, where the disease has started to spread from one part of the body to another.

18 Dec 2012

Injecting LECT2 may protect against bacterial sepsis

Failure to launch an adequate immune response may be at the root of septic shock, according to a study published in The Journal of Experimental Medicine on December 17th.

18 Dec 2012

New MIT technology may help make cancer biomarker detection much easier

Finding ways to diagnose cancer earlier could greatly improve the chances of survival for many patients. One way to do this is to look for specific proteins secreted by cancer cells, which circulate in the bloodstream. However, the quantity of these biomarkers is so low that detecting them has proven difficult.

17 Dec 2012

University of North Carolina awards 13th Perl prize to two NTNU-Trondheim scientists

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has awarded the 13th Perl-UNC Neuroscience prize jointly to Edvard and May-Britt Moser at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU-Trondheim) in Trondheim, Norway.

17 Dec 2012

Researchers identify possible heredity mechanism that predisposes children to ALL

Researchers at the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Center and the University of Montreal have found a possible heredity mechanism that predisposes children to acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common type of blood cancer in children. According to their findings published in Genome Research, the presence of a genetic defect in the egg or sperm from which children having ALL arise may be a prerequisite for the disease to develop.

17 Dec 2012