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Scientists discover molecular pathway to regenerate damaged kidney tissues

Scientists have discovered a molecular pathway that works through the immune system to regenerate damaged kidney tissues and may lead to new therapies for repairing injury in a number of organs.

16 Feb 2010

Study: Common underlying mechanism causes complex defects in brain development and function

A new study reveals that a common underlying mechanism is shared by a group of previously unrelated disorders which all cause complex defects in brain development and function. Rett syndrome (RTT), Cornelia de Lange syndrome (CdLS) and Alpha-Thalassemia mental Retardation, X-linked syndrome (ATR-X) have each been linked with distinct abnormalities in chromatin, the spools of proteins and DNA that make up chromosomes and control how genetic information is read in a cell.

16 Feb 2010

Simple protein urine test may help detect early kidney disease in people with lupus

Simple urine tests for four proteins might be able to detect early kidney disease in people with lupus, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found in an animal study.

16 Feb 2010

CNRS-Institut researchers identify 'virulence factor' that inhibits host immune response

Oncogenic retroviruses are a particular family of viruses that can cause some types of cancer. Thierry Heidmann and his colleagues in the CNRS-Institut Gustave Roussy-Université Paris Sud 11 "Rétrovirus endogènes et éléments rétroïdes des eucaryotes supérieurs" Laboratory have studied these viruses. They have identified a "virulence factor" that inhibits the host immune response and allows the virus to spread throughout the body.

16 Feb 2010

UCSF researchers: B1N1 protein is necessary for heart to contract

UCSF researchers have discovered that a protein called B1N1 is necessary for the heart to contract. The findings, published in the Feb. 16 issue of the open access journal PLoS Biology, shed light not only on what makes a heart beat but also on heart failure, a disease where cardiac cells are no longer able to contract and pump blood through the body.

16 Feb 2010

Researchers discover new mechanism within human cells that constantly protects against disease

Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University have discovered a new mechanism within human cells that constantly protects us against disease. P. Michael Conn, Ph.D., a researcher at the OHSU Oregon National Primate Research Center directed the work. The findings are reported in the Feb. 15 issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

16 Feb 2010

Researchers identify potential therapeutic targets for treatment of neuroblastoma

A team of researchers, led by Patrick Mehlen, at Universit- de Lyon, France, has identified the protein NT-3 and the cell-surface molecule to which it binds (TrkC) as potential therapeutic targets for the treatment of neuroblastoma - the most frequent solid tumor in young children- by studying human neuroblastoma cells in vitro and after xenotransplantation into mice and chicks.

15 Feb 2010

Stem cells intentionally cut and then repair their own DNA to develop new tissues

A new study from the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI) and the University of Ottawa suggests that stem cells intentionally break their own DNA as a way of regulating tissue development. The study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS), could dramatically change how researchers think about tissue development, stem cells and cancer.

15 Feb 2010

Joint meeting of AAPT and APS to discuss strategies for improving nation's education system

Recent international studies of math and science education suggest that students in the United States are falling further behind their foreign counterparts. Next week, this issue and others will take center stage at the 2010 joint meeting of the American Association of Physics Teachers and the American Physical Society, which takes place from Feb. 13-17 at the Washington Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, D.C.

15 Feb 2010

Allele-specific DNA methylation a widespread phenomenon, reveals IoP study

Researchers from the Institute of Psychiatry (IoP), King's College London, have identified numerous novel regions of the genome where the chemical modifications involved in controlling gene expression are influenced by either genetic variation or the parental origin of that particular stretch of DNA. This contradicts previous assumptions that epigenetic signals are generally equal across both copies of a given region of the genome, except at a small number of known imprinted genes.

15 Feb 2010

Structure of 'DNA repair engine' that reverses beneficial effects of chemotherapy deciphered

Cancer Research UK scientists have deciphered the first structure of 'a DNA repair engine' that reverses the beneficial effects of chemotherapy, according to research published in Nature Structural and Molecular Biology* today.

15 Feb 2010

Research findings may open door to new therapeutic strategies for serious health problems

Drugs that target the way cells convert nutrients into energy could offer new approaches to treating a range of conditions including heart attack and stroke. Using a new way to screen for potential drugs, a team led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers has identified several FDA-approved agents, including an over-the-counter anti-nausea drug, that can shift cellular energy metabolism processes in animals.

15 Feb 2010

Potential cancer-killing compounds synthesized

Yale University scientists have streamlined the process for synthesizing a family of compounds with the potential to kill cancer and other diseased cells, and have found that they represent a unique category of anti-cancer agents. Their discovery appears in this week's online edition of the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

15 Feb 2010

Muscle-preserving therapy development may help young men keep muscle shirts a bit longer

Hey guys, remember the muscle shirts we wore in our teens and 20s? After the age of 40 that meager part of our wardrobes usually is obsolete. Yes, at the big 4-0 we begin to lose muscle, and by age 80 up to a third of it may be gone. It's an inevitable process of aging called sarcopenia.

15 Feb 2010

Scientists identify bacterial protein VpsT as master regulator in Vibrio

Finding a biological mechanism much like an online social network, scientists have identified the bacterial protein VpsT as the master regulator in Vibrio, the cause of cholera and other enteric diseases. This discovery, now published in the journal Science, provides a major tool to combat enteric disease.

15 Feb 2010

Fast method for producing bone and cartilage tissue using body's own cells

Injuries to joints and cartilage can have serious consequences, including osteoarthritis. Cartilage degeneration in joints is a widespread disease in Germany and worldwide. Prof. Dr. Prasad Shastri is an expert in tissue engineering (TE), tissue construction and tissue cultivation using the body's own cells. He is Professor of Biofunctional Macromolecular Chemistry at the Centre for Biological Signalling Studies (BIOSS), a Cluster of Excellence at the University of Freiburg, where he has been researching for the last year.

15 Feb 2010

Negative life experiences can harm developing capacity for love

Do you make the same mistakes in love over and over again? For example, do you always seem to pick the wrong partner or always experience the same negative romantic outcome? If so, you need to understand your developmental history of love and break the pattern, according to Dr. Mark Beitel, a licensed clinical psychologist and psychotherapist at Greenwich Hospital's Center for Integrative Medicine in Cos Cob, CT.

15 Feb 2010

Researchers identify defective signaling pathway that contributes to the severity of cystic fibrosis

In a study that could lead to new therapeutic targets for patients with the cystic fibrosis, a research team from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine has identified a defective signaling pathway that contributes to disease severity.

15 Feb 2010

SRC-3 gene sends signal to cell membrane to promote cell motility

The master gene called SRC-3 (steroid receptor coactivator 3) not only enhances estrogen-dependent growth of cancer cells by activating and encouraging the transcription of a genetic message into a protein, it also sends a signal to the cell membrane to promote cell motility or movement - a key element of cancer spread or metastasis, said Baylor College of Medicine (www.bcm.edu) researchers and collaborators in a report that appears in the current issue of the journal Molecular Cell.

15 Feb 2010

Researchers discover Dab2 protein that switches on EMT process

Reporting in Nature Cell Biology, researchers describe the discovery of a specific protein called disabled-2 (Dab2) that switches on the process that releases cancer cells from the original tumor and allows the cells to spread and develop into new tumors in other parts of the body.

15 Feb 2010

Medical Science News

Scientists discover molecular pathway to regenerate damaged kidney tissues

Study: Common underlying mechanism causes complex defects in brain development and function

Simple protein urine test may help detect early kidney disease in people with lupus

CNRS-Institut researchers identify 'virulence factor' that inhibits host immune response

UCSF researchers: B1N1 protein is necessary for heart to contract

Researchers discover new mechanism within human cells that constantly protects against disease

Researchers identify potential therapeutic targets for treatment of neuroblastoma

Stem cells intentionally cut and then repair their own DNA to develop new tissues

Joint meeting of AAPT and APS to discuss strategies for improving nation's education system

Allele-specific DNA methylation a widespread phenomenon, reveals IoP study

Structure of 'DNA repair engine' that reverses beneficial effects of chemotherapy deciphered

Research findings may open door to new therapeutic strategies for serious health problems

Potential cancer-killing compounds synthesized

Muscle-preserving therapy development may help young men keep muscle shirts a bit longer

Scientists identify bacterial protein VpsT as master regulator in Vibrio

Fast method for producing bone and cartilage tissue using body's own cells

Negative life experiences can harm developing capacity for love

Researchers identify defective signaling pathway that contributes to the severity of cystic fibrosis

SRC-3 gene sends signal to cell membrane to promote cell motility

Researchers discover Dab2 protein that switches on EMT process

Small solutions for big problems in drug discovery and delivery

Professor Nancy Ip: Pioneering New Paths in Neurodegenerative Therapy

Utilizing process Raman in optimizing cultivated meat production

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