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Research on mosquito genes could be used for disease control measures

By unraveling the mysteries that exist within the molecular composition of mosquitoes, a team of Kansas State University researchers is trying to discover how the insects survive a parasite that causes malaria in humans.

17 Feb 2010

Researchers discover new strategy to overcome drug resistance in breast cancer

Combining tamoxifen, the world's most prescribed breast cancer agent, with a compound found in the flowering plant feverfew may prevent initial or future resistance to the drug, say researchers at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center.

17 Feb 2010

Directing gold nanoparticles into nucleus can kill cancer cells

Taking gold nanoparticles to the cancer cell and hitting them with a laser has been shown to be a promising tool in fighting cancer, but what about cancers that occur in places where a laser light can't reach? Scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology have shown that by directing gold nanoparticles into the nuclei of cancer cells, they can not only prevent them from multiplying, but can kill them where they lurk. The research appeared as a communication in the February 10 edition of the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

17 Feb 2010

Research suggests scorpion venom could be an alternative to morphine painkiller

Scorpion venom is notoriously poisonous ― but it might be used as an alternative to dangerous and addictive painkillers like morphine, a Tel Aviv University researcher claims.

17 Feb 2010

ACT's research on therapeutic cell types obtained from iPS cells featured in leading news media outlets

Advanced Cell Technology or “ACT” announced today that its research involving therapeutic cell types obtained from induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells has been featured in several leading news media outlets: Scientific American, USA Today and Newsweek.

17 Feb 2010

New foundational research may advance pharmacological therapies for neurological disorders

Investigators in the Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Faculty of Medicine, have made a major breakthrough in our understanding of nerve impulse generation within the brain.

17 Feb 2010

Protein crucial in mediating anti-inflammatory actions of nuclear lipid receptors discovered

Researchers at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet have discovered a protein that is crucial in mediating the anti-inflammatory actions of nuclear lipid receptors. The findings, published in the research journal Genes & Development, link lipid metabolism and inflammation and open up new possibilities for developing treatments of metabolic diseases associated with inflammation, such as diabetes and atherosclerosis.

17 Feb 2010

UWM engineer creates software program that foresees outcome before stem cell divides

A software program created by an engineer at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) can not only predict the types of specialized cells a stem cell will produce, but also foresee the outcome before the stem cell even divides.

17 Feb 2010

International Stem Cell's human cornea technology: Clinical-commercial opportunities in Asia and Europe

International Stem Cell Corporation, announced today that multiple international meetings taking place between ISCO’s executive management and researchers and clinicians from commercial entities in both Asia and Europe revealed significant clinical-commercial opportunities for the company’s stem cell-derived human cornea technology in those regions.

17 Feb 2010

Pacific Biosciences introduces partner program for SMRT DNA sequencing system

Pacific Biosciences, a private company developing a disruptive technology platform for real-time detection of biological events at single molecule resolution, today announced the launch of a partner program designed to work with best-in-class organizations providing complementary solutions to its Single Molecule Real Time (SMRT™) DNA sequencing system. The program will help customers rapidly and easily adopt its third-generation DNA sequencing solution into their discovery programs.

17 Feb 2010

BAC adds affinity resin for AAT purification to GE Healthcare’s range of custom designed media

BAC BV, the leading provider of antibody-based affinity purification technology, has extended its collaboration with GE Healthcare with the addition of a new bioprocess affinity chromatography ligand to GE Healthcare’s range of custom designed media. The latest addition to the range is an affinity resin for the purification of alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) from blood plasma, recombinant cell culture or transgenic sources. The new resin has been developed as part of GE Healthcare’s Custom Designed Media (CDM) programme and provides a new solution for AAT purification in the biopharmaceutical industry.

17 Feb 2010

Researchers use new strategy to develop cancer vaccines

Researchers at National Jewish Health and the University of Colorado School of Medicine have used a new strategy to develop cancer vaccines that are remarkably effective in mice. In the February 16 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Kimberly Jordan, PhD, Jill Slansky, PhD, and John Kappler, PhD, report that 100 percent of the mice vaccinated with a peptide they developed remained alive and tumor-free for at least 60 days after inoculation with colon cancer cells.

17 Feb 2010

CalciMedica granted U.S. composition patent concerning key component of CRAC channel

CalciMedica today announced that the US Patent and Trademark Office has issued to CalciMedica US Patent No. 7,645,588, a composition patent involving STIM1, a key component of the calcium release-activated calcium (CRAC) channel. The patent, entitled "Composition comprising a cell comprising a STIM1 protein and an agent that modulates intracellular calcium and methods of use," has a priority date of March 4, 2003 and was issued on January 12, 2010.

17 Feb 2010

Study confirms link between mammographic breast density and breast cancer

A University of Melbourne study has revealed that certain breast cancer genetic variants increase mammographic density, confirming the link between mammographic breast density and breast cancer.

17 Feb 2010

Researchers have traced protein that stops cells from becoming cancerous

In the dominoes that make up human cells, researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center have traced another step of the process that stops cells from becoming cancerous.

17 Feb 2010

Oxytocin hormone improves social behavior in autistic patients

Autism is a disease characterized by difficulties in communicating effectively with other people and developing social relationships. The team led by Angela Sirigu at the Centre de Neuroscience Cognitive (CNRS) has shown that the inhalation of oxytocin, a hormone known to promote mother-infant bonds and social relationships, significantly improved the abilities of autistic patients to interact with other individuals.

17 Feb 2010

TKS4 protein plays significant role in Frank-Ter Haar syndrome

An international team of investigators at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham, formerly Burnham Institute for Medical Research), Nijmegen Centre for Molecular Life Sciences and other organizations have discovered that TKS4, a protein implicated in cancer metastasis, also plays a significant role in Frank-Ter Haar syndrome (FTHS), a rare fatal disorder.

17 Feb 2010

Rhubarb may have anti-cancer properties, but more research needed

Rhubarb contains natural chemicals called polyphenols that have been shown to kill cancer cells in the lab, or prevent their growth. Baking appears to greatly increase the levels of these chemicals, UK scientists have found, but Cancer Research UK cautioned against reading too much into these results.

17 Feb 2010

Researchers adopt new technique to inhibit cancer growth

One of the difficulties of fighting cancer is that drugs often hit other non-cancerous cells, causing patients to get sick. But what if researchers could sneak cancer-fighting particles into just the cancer cells?

17 Feb 2010

New fluorescent probes improve tumor detection in mice

Building on his Nobel Prize-winning work creating fluorescent proteins that light up the inner workings of cells, a team of researchers led by Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator Roger Tsien, PhD, professor of pharmacology, chemistry and biochemistry at the University of California, San Diego and the Moores UCSD Cancer Center has developed biological probes that can stick to and light up tumors in mice.

17 Feb 2010