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Biochemist develops polymer material to convert precursor cells into functional neurones

Nervous system diseases are especially difficult to treat, as it is not easy to replace the parts of the neural puzzle which are damaged. The key is in developing functional neurons from in vitro-treated, cells but for this it is essential that the support on which these cells are based simulate the characteristics of the nervous system.

16 Aug 2011

Human Genome Sciences, 4-Antibody sign collaboration agreement

4-Antibody AG today announced the signing of a collaboration agreement with Human Genome Sciences (HGS) to discover and develop fully human therapeutic antibodies.

16 Aug 2011

Green tea shows promise against two types of tumors, HHS

A compound found in green tea shows great promise for the development of drugs to treat two types of tumors and a deadly congenital disease. The discovery is the result of research led by Principal Investigator, Dr. Thomas Smith at The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center and his colleagues at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

16 Aug 2011

Bristol-Myers Squibb, BAC to develop CaptureSelect ligands for purification of Adnectins

BAC BV, the leading provider of antibody based affinity purification technology, has announced a collaboration with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company to generate CaptureSelect affinity ligands for applications in the purification and analysis of a proprietary type of targeted biologic, called Adnectins.

16 Aug 2011

Study confirms that vitamin D deficiency increases aggressiveness of colon cancer

A study conducted by VHIO researchers confirms that a lack of vitamin D increases the aggressiveness of colon cancer.

16 Aug 2011

Gene therapy cocktail can treat inherited diseases with 'misfolded' proteins

In a kind of molecular gymnastics, scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine have devised a gene therapy cocktail that has the potential to treat some inherited diseases associated with "misfolded" proteins.

16 Aug 2011

Researchers identify oncoprotein that allows MCV virus to trigger Merkel Cell Carcinoma

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) have identified the oncoprotein that allows a common and usually harmless virus to transform healthy cells into a rare but deadly skin cancer called Merkel Cell Carcinoma.

16 Aug 2011

Customized computer models may identify patients at risk of Lynch syndrome

People who are at risk for a certain form of colon and other types of cancer may soon have a better chance at surviving or even avoiding the diseases, thanks to a new study done by the Intermountain Clinical Genetics Institute at LDS Hospital.

16 Aug 2011

Scientists identify potential new target for childhood eye tumor

A research team led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists has identified a potential new target for treatment of the childhood eye tumor retinoblastoma.

16 Aug 2011

Tel Aviv University scientists work to determine how H1N1 becomes pandemic

The last century has seen two major pandemics caused by the H1N1 virus - the Spanish Flu in 1918 and 2009's Swine Flu scare, which had thousands travelling with surgical masks and clamoring for vaccination. But scientists did not know what distinguished the Swine Flu from ordinary influenza in pigs or seasonal outbreaks in humans, giving it the power to travel extensively and infect large populations.

16 Aug 2011

Combination immunotherapy more effective for patients with Sezary Syndrome

A three-pronged immunotherapy approach nearly doubles five-year survival among patients with rare leukemic form of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, reports a new study by dermatologists from the Abramson Cancer Center and Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

16 Aug 2011

Novel assay can accurately detect prostate cancer than traditional screening

new prostate screening test developed by AnalizaDx, Inc., a Cleveland-based biotech company, and studied by researchers at the Seidman Cancer Center at University Hospitals (UH) Case Medical Center along with colleagues at the Cleveland Clinic, the Veterans Administration Boston Healthcare and the National Cancer Institute, may prove to be a promising new tool in the diagnosis of prostate cancer.

16 Aug 2011

Caffeine might help prevent skin cancer

A new Rutgers study strengthens the theory that caffeine guards against certain skin cancers at the molecular level by inhibiting a protein enzyme in the skin, known as ATR. Scientists believe that based on what they have learned studying mice, caffeine applied directly to the skin might help prevent damaging UV light from causing skin cancer.

16 Aug 2011

NK cells may help limit metastasis in women with breast cancer

The main cause of death in women with breast cancer is spread of the original tumor to distant sites, a process known as metastasis. Immune cells known as NK cells help limit tumor progression and metastasis in animal models.

16 Aug 2011

New pathway for type 2 diabetes

Newly diagnosed type 2 diabetics tend to have one thing in common: obesity. Exactly how diet and obesity trigger diabetes has long been the subject of intense scientific research.

16 Aug 2011

Research: Decoding infidelity may increase risk of type 2 diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is an extremely common chronic condition characterized by high levels of sugar in the blood as a result of either insufficient production of the hormone insulin or an inability of cells to respond to insulin.

16 Aug 2011

New role for harmonin protein in Usher syndrome

University of Iowa scientists have discovered a new role for a protein that is mutated in Usher syndrome, one of the most common forms of deaf-blindness in humans. The findings, which were published Aug. 8 in Nature Neuroscience, may help explain why this mutation causes the most severe form of the condition.

16 Aug 2011

Alpha-synuclein protein key to Parkinson's has likely been mischaracterized

A new study finds that a protein key to Parkinson's disease has likely been mischaracterized. The protein, alpha-synuclein, appears to have a radically different structure in healthy cells than previously thought, challenging existing disease paradigms and suggesting a new therapeutic approach.

16 Aug 2011

Fresh food for years with newly discovered natural preservative

Scientists have discovered a natural preservative capable of destroying a whole class of bacteria, including E.coli and listeria and now food can be made to remain fresh and last for years. There would also be no need to refrigerate produce treated with the preservative, called, bisin, which is produced by harmless bacteria.

15 Aug 2011

Episodic memory depends on the hippocampus

Memory is not a single process but is made up of several sub-processes relying on different areas of the brain. Episodic memory, the ability to remember specific events such as what you did yesterday, is known to be vulnerable to brain damage involving the hippocampus. The question is, what happens when damage to the hippocampus occurs very early in life?

12 Aug 2011