A team of researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center has discovered an entirely new mechanism of action for a novel pharmacological agent currently in clinical trials in patients – the kinase inhibitor BAY 43-9006 – which was designed to disrupt the survival pathways of tumor cells.
“This agent was originally designed to inhibit the Raf-1 pathway, which is frequently mutated in many types of cancers, including leukemia,” said Steven Grant, M.D., Mas
Both nanotubes and airborne particles cause platelets to clump together
Carbon nanoparticles – both those unleashed in the air by engine exhaust and the engineered structures thought to have great potential in medical applications – promote blood-clotting, scientists report in an upcoming edition of the British Journal of Pharmacology.
Researchers from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and Ohio University examined the impact of various forms of ca
Cardiac arrests, however, appear more common in senior centers
A greater percentage of high schools had automated external defibrillators (AEDs) — devices that can be used to treat cardiac arrest victims — than senior centers, despite the fact that cardiac arrests appear more common in senior centers, according to a study by University of Iowa researchers.
The study, published in the October issue of the medical journal Prehospital Emergency Care, raises questions abou
New scientific evidence that may shed light on why men are more likely than women to develop aggressive forms of skin cancer has been published today in Carcinogenesis. The research carried out by scientists in UCD Conway Institute of Biomolecular & Biomedical Research shows that a gene found only in men is altered by a chemical process, which is in turn linked to aggressive forms of melanoma.
Dr William Gallagher, UCD School of Biomolecular & Biomedical Science and UCD Conway Insti
Due to the 2005 Nobel Prize in physiology and medicine received by Robin Warren and Barry Marshall, the name of the Helicobacter pylori bacterium is now a buzz word. According to contemporary overview, the bacterium gets into the stomach with food and water. In adverse conditions (stress, malnutrition, genetic factors, etc.), the bacterium invades the wall of the stomach or the duodenum under the mucous membrane and produces toxins destroying the walls. This is how gastritis originates, turnin
According to Dr. Jesús García-Foncillas, Director of the Department of Oncology at the University Hospital (University of Navarra), molecular studies in cancer of the colon will contribute to the establishment of more efficient and less toxic treatments.
A deep understanding of the tumour process facilitates knowledge of the molecular mechanisms that need to be activated in order to reverse the cancerous process. The following step is to look for new therapeutic strategies base
The European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products (EMEA) has designated, as an orphan medicine, one of the 18 patents of the Centro de Investigación Médica Aplicada (CIMA) at the University of Navarre. This approval, achieved by the Digna Biotech biotechnological company, will facilitate the clinical development of its p144 peptide in the treatment of two symptoms of skin disease: local and systemic scleroderma.
The aim of Digna Biotech (www.dignabiotech.com) is the d
A new antifreeze protein discovered in tiny snow fleas by Queen’s University researchers may lengthen the shelf life of human organs for transplantation.
Drs. Laurie Graham and Peter Davies, from the Department of Biochemistry, found that the potent protein produced by the fleas to protect themselves against freezing is capable of inhibiting ice growth by about six Celsius degrees. This would allow organs to be stored at lower temperatures, expanding the time allowed between removal
Researchers from Johns Hopkins have discovered the presence of functional ion channels in human embryonic stem cells (ESCs). These ion channels act like electrical wires and permit ESCs, versatile cells that possess the unique ability to become all cell types of the body, to conduct and pass along electric currents.
If researchers could selectively block some of these channels in implanted cells, derived from stem cells, they may be able to prevent potential tumor development.
FSU researcher developing numerous uses for extraordinary ’buckypaper’
Working with a material 10 times lighter than steel — but 250 times stronger — would be a dream come true for any engineer. If this material also had amazing properties that made it highly conductive of heat and electricity, it would start to sound like something out of a science fiction novel. Yet one Florida State University research group, the Florida Advanced Center for Composite Technologies
One of the first things we learn in chemistry class is that solids conduct heat better than liquids. But a new study suggests that in nanoscale materials, this is not necessarily the case.
Using computer simulations, researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have found that heat may actually move better across interfaces between liquids than it does between solids. The findings, which were published online Oct. 11 in the journal Nano Letters, provide insights that could p
Berkeley Scientists Synthesize Cheap, Easy-to-Make Ultra-thin Photovoltaic Films
Imagine a future in which the rooftops of residential homes and commercial buildings can be laminated with inexpensive, ultra-thin films of nano-sized semiconductors that will efficiently convert sunlight into electrical power and provide virtually all of our electricity needs. This future is a step closer to being realized, thanks to a scientific milestone achieved at the U.S. Department of Energy
Using laser pulses that last just 70 femtoseconds (quadrillionths of a second), physicists have observed in greater detail than ever before what happens when atoms collide. The experiments at JILA, a joint institute of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Colorado at Boulder, confirm a decades-old theory of how atoms–like tennis balls–briefly lose form and energy when they hit something. The results will help scientists study other atomic-scale processes
Chains of 1 million magnetic nanoparticles have been assembled and disassembled in a solution of suspended particles in a controlled way, scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) report. Such particles and structures, once their properties are more fully understood and can be manipulated reliably, may be useful in applications such as medical imaging and information storage.
The NIST work, scheduled to be featured on the cover of an upcoming issue
Take an LED that produces intense, blue light. Coat it with a thin layer of special microscopic beads called quantum dots. And you have what could become the successor to the venerable light bulb.
The resulting hybrid LED gives off a warm white light with a slightly yellow cast, similar to that of the incandescent lamp.
Until now quantum dots have been known primarily for their ability to produce a dozen different distinct colors of light simply by varying the size of th
Eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables could be a good defense against prostate cancer, according to a Case Western Reserve University study published in the October online issue of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Journal.
Previous studies have suggested that increased intake of flavonoids which are common in fruits and vegetables may be associated with a reduced risk of prostate cancer, according to Sanjay Gupta, Ph.D., an assistant professor in t
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