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The role of genes in the development of non-Hodgkin's lymphomas

An international consortium of epidemilogists - including Dr. Alexandra Nieters and Professor Nikolaus Becker of the Clinical Epidemiology Division of the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) - has conducted the first ever investigation of genetic factors in the development of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) in a study called InterLymph.

15 Dec 2005

65% of ovarian cancer cells sideline body's defences

Ovarian cancer tumour cells use two separate mechanisms to evade the body’s defensive reaction - and in so doing also elude a newly discovered counteraction from the surrounding tissue.

15 Dec 2005

How temperature influences our taste

Why does a beer taste better if it comes from the fridge and does a warm beer taste bitter? Why is red Bordeaux wine best drunk at room temperature? And what causes that unique taste sensation of ice cream?

15 Dec 2005

University at Buffalo researches rules for targeting RNA

Once described as DNA's less-famous chemical cousin, RNA, or ribonucleic acid, recently has moved to center stage.

15 Dec 2005

Microfluidics chips for simplifying medical imaging biomarkers of disease

A collaboration between scientists at UCLA, Caltech, Stanford, Siemens and Fluidigm have developed a new technology using integrated microfluidics chips for simplifying, lowering the cost and diversifying the types of molecules used to image the biology of disease with the medical imaging technology, Positron Emission Tomography (PET).

15 Dec 2005

Gene therapy tackles hereditary spastic paraplegia

Elena Rugarli and colleagues from the National Neurological Institute in Milan have used gene therapy to save sensory and skeletal muscle nerve fibers from degeneration in mice with hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP).

15 Dec 2005

Controlled delivery of peptide nanofibers for myocardial protection

Reminiscent of the 1966 sci-fi thriller Fantastic Voyage, where a surgical team is miniaturized and injected into a dying man, researchers from Harvard Medical School have used injectable self-assembling peptide nanofibers loaded with the pro-survival factor PDGF-BB to protect rat cardiomyocytes from injury and subsequent heart failure.

15 Dec 2005

Kids with specific gene variant more at risk from passive smoking

When U.S. children who possess a variant gene are exposed to second-hand smoke in their homes, they are at a substantially greater risk for developing respiratory illnesses that lead to school absences.

15 Dec 2005

Stem cells provide new way to sneak drugs into brain

One of the great challenges for treating Parkinson's diseases and other neurodegenerative disorders is getting medicine to the right place in the brain.

15 Dec 2005

Milk thistle extract treatment for liver disease found to be ineffective

Results of high-quality randomized clinical trials have determined that milk thistle extract, a widely used alternative medication, may not have any significant influence on the course of patients with alcoholic liver disease or hepatitis B or C liver disease.

15 Dec 2005

Rockeby Biomed ships first batch of Avian Flu Test kits

Rockeby Biomed has announced that the first batch of its Avian Flu Test kits was sold early this month and shipped to Singapore, North Korea, South Korea, Japan, Romania, Austria, South Africa, Netherlands and UK. The second shipment will be distributed before Christmas.

15 Dec 2005

Recommendations for artificial nutrition and hydration

For two decades, doctors have followed an ethically-established agreement about the appropriate use of artificial nutrition and hydration (ANH) for patients who are seriously ill or in a persistent vegetative state.

15 Dec 2005

Hospital-level care can be provided at home for less money

Being hospitalized can be a traumatic experience, especially for older persons. Hospitals are noisy, disorienting, full of strangers and infections often spread among patients.

15 Dec 2005

DNA strands for biologically based electronics and medical devices

Ohio State University researchers have invented a process for uncoiling long strands of DNA and forming them into precise patterns.

15 Dec 2005

Researchers discover potential mechanism for tumor growth

Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center have identified an inherent feature of stem and progenitor cells that may promote initiation and progression of cancerous tumors.

15 Dec 2005

Important skin color gene identified

With help from a common aquarium pet and a recently released online database of human genetic variation, a collaborative team of Penn State researchers has found what could be the most important skin color gene identified to date.

15 Dec 2005

Remarkable developmental pathway in frog embryos discovered

Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers have discovered an important regulatory pathway that enables frog embryos to develop normally even after being split in half -- as happens in the development of identical twins.

15 Dec 2005

New understanding of Mediterranean spotted fever

New research by a team of scientists in France and the United States has identified both the bacterial and host receptor proteins that enable Rickettsia conorii, the Mediterranean spotted fever pathogen, to enter cells.

15 Dec 2005

Some children like sweets not just because they taste good, but also because sweets make them feel good

Now researchers at the Monell Chemical Senses Center report in the current issue of the journal Pain that the analgesic efficacy of sweet taste is influenced both by how much a child likes sweet taste and by the child's weight status.

15 Dec 2005

Increase in pregnancy obesity

A growing number of women are overweight or obese when they become pregnant, a condition that is risky to both mother and baby, a new study conducted by researchers at the University at Buffalo has shown.

15 Dec 2005