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Targeted nanoparticles image early tumors

A well-established fact in cancer therapy is that early tumor detection improves the odds that a patient will survive the disease. Now, using nanoparticles targeted to the tiny blood vessels that surround even the smallest tumors, researchers at the Siteman Center for Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence (CCNE) have developed a radioactive imaging agent that was able to identify human tumors in rabbits.

5 Mar 2007

Ultrafine hydrogel nanoparticles: synthetic approach and therapeutic application in living cells

Ultrafine nanoparticles made of a lacy web of polymer and tiny pockets of water may prove to be an ideal vehicle for delivering light-activated drugs to tumors.

5 Mar 2007

British Government to ask public what they think of stem cell science

Britain's Science and Innovation Minister Malcolm Wicks has announced that the UK's two major public funders of stem cell research will run a national public discussion about this cutting-edge area of science.

1 Mar 2007

Scientists alter electrical properties of cells inducing regeneration

Scientists at Forsyth may have moved one step closer to regenerating human spinal cord tissue by artificially inducing a frog tadpole to re-grow its tail at a stage in its development when it is normally impossible. Using a variety of methods including a kind of gene therapy, the scientists altered the electrical properties of cells thus inducing regeneration.

28 Feb 2007

New terms for describing gene products involved in microbial-host interactions

An international group of scientists has announced a major expansion of a lingua franca used to describe the activities of genes in living organisms.

28 Feb 2007

Dissecting secret formula of nectar

The sugar-containing nectar secreted by plants and consumed by pollinators shares a number of similarities to fitness drinks, including ingredients such as amino acids and vitamins. In addition to these components, nectar can also contain secondary metabolites such as the alkaloid nicotine and other toxic compounds.

27 Feb 2007

NASA undersea mission to test space medicine concepts

NASA will send a flight surgeon, two astronauts and a Cincinnati doctor under the ocean off the Florida coast May 7-18 to test space medicine concepts and moon-walking techniques. It is the first undersea mission to include a NASA flight surgeon.

26 Feb 2007

DNA 'cages' to deliver drugs

By combining DNA macromolecules with polymers containing iron, molecular 'cages' can be made: porous structures capable of carrying and delivering drugs or DNA-fragments.

26 Feb 2007

Quantum dots detect metastatic lesions

By injecting quantum dots into tumors, investigators at Carnegie Mellon University have been able to image sentinel lymph nodes in animals using near-infrared light. These results could lead to a simple, non-invasive method for detecting metastasis.

26 Feb 2007

siRNA delivery into human T cells and primary cells with carbon-nanotube transporters

Short pieces of RNA, known as small interfering RNA (siRNA), have the potential to become a new class of anticancer drugs if researchers can solve the problem of how to deliver these fragile molecules to cancer cells.

26 Feb 2007

Quantum rods and dots image cancer cells

Brightly fluorescent quantum dots and quantum rods are quickly becoming important tools for identifying specific molecules and cells in living systems. Two new reports demonstrate some of the ways in which cancer researchers are using these nanoscale imaging agents.

26 Feb 2007

Perfluorocarbon nanoparticles track living cells

Stem cell therapy, primarily bone marrow transplantation, plays a key role in treating leukemia and other types of cancer.

26 Feb 2007

Entire genetic blueprints of more than 2,000 human and avian influenza viruses completed and made public

The Influenza Genome Sequencing Project, funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), announced today that it has achieved a major milestone.

21 Feb 2007

siRNA delivery into human T cells and primary cells with carbon-nanotube transporters

A promising approach to gene therapy involves short DNA fragments (interfering RNA) that bind to specific genes and block their "translation" into the corresponding, disease-related protein.

20 Feb 2007

Cell-based bone tissue engineering

In an article in PLoS Medicine, Gert Meijer (University Medical Centre Utrecht, The Netherlands) and colleagues discuss what kind of progress there has been in restoring the function of diseased or damaged bone by bone tissue regeneration.

20 Feb 2007

Nanoparticles advance photodynamic therapy to kill tumor cells

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a powerful approach for destroying tumors, one that uses light and a light-sensitive chemical to rapidly kill cells.

20 Feb 2007

Nanoparticles rely on 'velcro effect' to target tumor cells

One of the basic tenets of targeted nanoparticle drug delivery is putting multiple targeting molecules on a nanoparticle surface will improve the ability of nanoparticles to stick to their targeted cell and deliver their drug cargos to the appropriate diseased cell.

20 Feb 2007