Using transparent zebrafish embryos, researchers at Jefferson Medical College have shown that a microscopic nanoparticle can help fend off damage to normal tissue from radiation. The nanoparticle, a soccer ball-shaped, hollow, carbon-based structure known as a fullerene, acts like an “oxygen sink,” binding to dangerous oxygen radicals produced by radiation.
The scientists, led by Adam Dicker, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of radiation oncology at Jefferson Medical College of T
The drug gefitinib (Iressa) was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in May 2003 under the agency’s accelerated approval program for the treatment of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who had failed two or more courses of chemotherapy. Consistent with the requirements of accelerated approval, the sponsoring company continued to study the drug to verify the expected clinical benefit. In December 2004, the FDA released a statement notifying the failure of a large cli
Scientists thought sickle and thalassemia traits would be potent combination; instead, they cancel each other out
Two genetic conditions–sickle cell trait and a mild version of the blood disorder known as thalassemia–that by themselves give millions of Africans natural protection against malaria, can be rendered essentially useless when they occur together, according to a new study of Kenyan children that is to be discussed today at the Fourth Multilateral Initiative on Malaria
American Thoracic Society journal news tips for November 2005 (second issue)
Biomedical scientists have revealed a new and promising antibody profiling technique that provides a high degree of early diagnostic accuracy for non-small cell lung cancer cases.
Their research was reported in the second issue of November 2005 of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, published by the American Thoracic Society.
Li Zong, Ph.D. of the Division
A combination of brain scanning with a new imaging agent and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis has left neuroscientists encouraged that they may finally be moving toward techniques for diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease before its clinical symptoms become apparent. “When clinical symptoms start, the disease process has already been at work in the patient for many years and possibly even decades,” explains Anne Fagan Niven, Ph.D., research associate professor of neurology at Washington Univer
The types of food eaten in an effort to cut down on saturated fat may make a difference in reducing heart disease risk, according to a study of people with either high blood pressure or prehypertension. The study was supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), a part of the National Institutes of Health.
Investigators evaluated three diets that follow the principles of NHLBI’s DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) eating plan with some mod
Vitamin A deficiency has been associated with the development of lung cancer in laboratory studies. However, clinical trials of natural and synthetic derivatives of vitamin A, called retinoids, for the prevention of lung cancer have been largely unsuccessful in the general population. A new study in the November 16 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute finds that targeting a previously unknown variant of a common retinoid receptor may restore the beneficial effects of retinoids in
A new study suggests that hamsters may suffer from symptoms of anxiety and depression during the dark days of winter, just as some humans do.
Using a variety of tests, researchers found more symptoms of depression and anxiety in adult hamsters that were housed for weeks in conditions with limited daylight, as they would find in winter, when compared to hamsters who had days with longer daylight.
The research also examined whether hamsters that developed prenatally and the
Today the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) opens a new high-throughput crystallization facility at its Outstation located on the campus of the German Synchrotron Radiation Facility (DESY) in Hamburg, Germany. The facility, made possible by major funds from the German Ministry for Science and Education (BMBF), will combine technological advances in new ways to transform proteins into crystals, a key step in efforts to automate the process of analyzing protein structures. “We’re very
The Chemical Industries Association (CIA) today applauded the Environment Agency on their draft Chemical Sector Plan. The Plan – to be viewed as work in progress – aims to improve environmental management and performance within the chemical industry and its immediate supply chain. It goes beyond what is currently achieved through regulation, recognizing the significant contribution made by voluntary initiatives.
Ten environmental Indicators of Performance have been selected to monitor th
A crippling condition that can result in sufferers losing their fingers is to be investigated by scientists in one of the most detailed studies into the genetic causes of the disease ever carried out.
Dupuytren’s disease or contracture, a condition that affects the hands and sometimes the feet and penis, occurs gradually, beginning with a small, sometimes tender lump in the palm.
Over time, tough bands of tissue or cords can form that force the fingers, most commonly t
Jenny Billings, Research Fellow in the Centre for Health Services Studies at the University of Kent, has responded to the current controversy surrounding the legal challenge to a law that allows young girls to have abortions without parental knowledge by saying, ‘Confidentiality is at the forefront of teenagers’ minds when they are using sexual health services.’
Billings, an experienced researcher and lecturer with a special interest in health service research and evaluation, p
Eating a low carbohydrate diet improves metabolic syndrome and may therefore decrease the risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease associated with it. In an article published today in the open access journal Nutrition & Metabolism, Jeff Volek and Richard Feinman review the literature and show that the features of metabolic syndrome are precisely those that are improved by reducing carbohydrates in the diet. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of health signs that may occur together and
Robots that ’feel’ objects and their texture could soon become a reality thanks to the innovative and interdisciplinary research of the AMouse, or artificial mouse, project.
But even more important, perhaps, are the lessons researchers learned about robot design and artificial intelligence. The project funded by the Future and Emerging Technologies initiative of the IST programme even developed new insights into biological brain function.
Researchers from Italy, Ge
The University of York is to lead a new group set up to explore the potential of products from the biosphere to reduce the global economy’s dependence on fossil reserves and oil.
Bioscience for Business, a Knowledge Transfer Network, chaired by Professor Dianna Bowles, Director of CNAP, is a combination of research expertise and commercial know-how, bringing together members with interests in micro-organisms, land plants and marine and freshwater organisms, and their industria
Domesticated cattle in central and northern Europe are more closely related on the father’s side with the primordial oxen that once populated Europe than with the cattle that the first farmers brought with them up through Europe during the Great Migration. This provides a new picture of the transition from a hunting and gathering society to agrarian culture. The findings are being presented in an article by research from Uppsala University in Sweden in the latest issue of Proceedings of the Royal So
Feedback
