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Colchicine, another weapon against cancer

Finding a drug that targets only the diseased cells in our body and is otherwise harmless to healthy tissue is a goal for cancer researchers. It's driven the work of Professor Laurence Patterson, Director of the Institute of Cancer Therapeutics at the University of Bradford, and his team of researchers.

2 Feb 2012

Scientists reveal novel mechanism underpinning age-dependent changes to cognitive abilities

New findings, led by neuroscientists at the University of Bristol and published this week in the journal Neurobiology of Aging, reveal a novel mechanism through which the brain may become more reluctant to function as we grow older.

2 Feb 2012

High beta-amyloid levels may affect brain performance in healthy adults

High levels of the protein beta-amyloid in the brain that is associated with Alzheimer's disease may affect brain performance even in healthy adults, according to a study published in the February 1, 2012, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

2 Feb 2012

Researchers identify mechanism that leads to ischemia-reperfusion damage

For patients with incurable pulmonary conditions, a lung transplantation is the only available treatment option. However, suitable donor organs are scarce, and even getting them to prospective recipients is not easy. As Professor Alexander Dietrich of the Walther Straub Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology at LMU explains, "An isolated lung which is no longer perfused with blood can become so severely damaged that it is no longer functional. This so-called ischemia-reperfusion injury is one of the major problems in the field of lung transplantation."

2 Feb 2012

Scientists establish HCV infection in liver-like cells derived from iPSCs

Hepatitis C, an infectious disease that can cause inflammation and organ failure, has different effects on different people. But no one is sure why some people are very susceptible to the infection, while others are resistant. Scientists believe that if they could study liver cells from different people in the lab, they could determine how genetic differences produce these varying responses. However, liver cells are difficult to obtain and notoriously difficult to grow in a lab dish because they tend to lose their normal structure and function when removed from the body.

2 Feb 2012

Researchers reveal how antipsychotics affect metabolism by SMAD3 activation

In a paper published January 31 in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham) reveal how antipsychotic drugs interfere with normal metabolism by activating a protein called SMAD3, an important part of the transforming growth factor beta (TGFbeta) pathway.

2 Feb 2012

Oxford Nanopore CTO to present at AGBT conference in Florida

Oxford Nanopore Technologies Ltd. announces that Clive G Brown, Chief Technology Officer, will present at the Advances in Genome Biology and Technology (AGBT) conference in Marco Island, Florida, on 17th February 2012 at 11.40am (EST) / 4.40pm (GMT).

From Oxford Nanopore Technologies 2 Feb 2012

Gene activity may help explain how vigorous exercise improves survival from prostate cancer

Scientists at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) have identified nearly 200 genes in the healthy prostate tissue of men with low-grade prostate cancer that may help explain how physical activity improves survival from the disease.

2 Feb 2012

Abnormal tau protein propagates along linked brain circuits

For decades, researchers have debated whether Alzheimer's disease starts independently in vulnerable brain regions at different times, or if it begins in one region and then spreads to neuroanatomically connected areas. A new study by Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers strongly supports the latter, demonstrating that abnormal tau protein, a key feature of the neurofibrillary tangles seen in the brains of those with Alzheimer's, propagates along linked brain circuits, "jumping" from neuron to neuron.

2 Feb 2012

Healthy lung tissue transplantation shows promise for patients with pulmonary diseases

For patients suffering from severe pulmonary diseases including emphysema, lung cancer or fibrosis, transplantation of healthy lung tissue may offer the best chance for survival. The surgical procedure, however, faces two primary challenges: an acute shortage of donor lungs and rejection of transplanted tissue by the recipient's immune system.

2 Feb 2012

Over-exposure to noise can cause more lasting changes to auditory circuitry

We all know that it can take a little while for our hearing to bounce back after listening to our iPods too loud or attending a raucous concert. But new research at the University of Michigan Health System suggests over-exposure to noise can actually cause more lasting changes to our auditory circuitry - changes that may lead to tinnitus, commonly known as ringing in the ears.

2 Feb 2012

Researchers discover new biomarker for cyanide poisoning

Researchers have found a new biomarker for cyanide poisoning, which may extend its detection window in death investigations by weeks if not months.

2 Feb 2012

Reduced insulin sensitivity linked to smaller brain size, deteriorated language skills in seniors

New research from Uppsala University shows that reduced insulin sensitivity is linked to smaller brain size and deteriorated language skills in seniors. The findings are now published in the scientific journal Diabetes Care.

2 Feb 2012

Cancer Genomics now available online

Genome Research publishes online and in print today a special issue entitled, "Cancer Genomics," highlighting insights gained form cutting-edge genomic and epigenomic analyses of cancer.

2 Feb 2012

Almac introduces NGS data analysis services

Almac's Diagnostics business unit today announced launch of its advanced Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) data analysis services.

2 Feb 2012

Clear link between male subfertility and lower risk of prostate cancer

Involuntary childlessness owing to reduced fertility is a concern for many men. However, these men do have one advantage - they run a significantly lower risk of suffering from prostate cancer. Researchers are interested in whether this phenomenon could be used in the fight against cancer.

2 Feb 2012

Brief 10-minute massage helps reduce inflammation in muscle

Researchers at McMaster University have discovered a brief 10-minute massage helps reduce inflammation in muscle.

1 Feb 2012

Singapore scientists lead in 3D mapping of human genome

Genome Institute of Singapore's (GIS) Associate Director of Genomic Technologies, Dr Yijun RUAN, led a continuing study on the human genome spatial/structural configuration, revealing how genes interact/communicate and influence each other, even when they are located far away from each other. This discovery is crucial in understanding how human genes work together, and will re-write textbooks on how transcription regulation and coordination takes place in human cells.

1 Feb 2012

New light on how superbugs become resistant to antibiotics

Scientists have shed new light on the way superbugs such as MRSA are able to become resistant to treatment with antibiotics

1 Feb 2012

Decaffeinated coffee may improve brain energy metabolism linked with type 2 diabetes

Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine have discovered that decaffeinated coffee may improve brain energy metabolism associated with type 2 diabetes.

1 Feb 2012