Scientists have uncovered new evidence about a critical cellular pathway that makes tumor blood vessels resistant to radiation therapy. The research, published in the May issue of Cancer Cell, may have significant clinical applications, as a better understanding of this mechanism may open new avenues for enhancing the effectiveness of radiation therapy.
Tumor growth and survival is completely dependant upon having an adequate blood supply. In fact, the sensitivity of a tumor’s blood ve
’Reaper’ genes essential for cell death
In what may be the cellular equivalent of watching the Grim Reaper in action, University of Utah School of Medicine researchers have shown that two “death activator” genes are essential for cell death when Drosophila (fruit flies) metamorphose from larvae to adults. Death of obsolete larval tissue is critical in insect metamorphosis.
The two genes–reaper (rpr) and hid (head involution defective)–act by overcoming the protec
People who followed a low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet lost more weight than people on a low-fat, low-cholesterol, low-calorie diet during a six-month comparison study at Duke University Medical Center. However, the researchers caution that people with medical conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure should not start the diet without close medical supervision.
“This diet can be quite powerful,” said lead researcher Will Yancy, M.D., an assistant professor of medicine at Duke U
By carefully matching the estimated function of kidneys from deceased donors with the needs of potential recipients, surgeons can successfully transplant kidneys that would otherwise be discarded, according to a report from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. The center was able to double its transplant volume within a year.
In addition, a second report concludes that age alone shouldn’t prohibit older adults from being organ donors – or having a kidney transplant themselves
The brain’s center of reasoning and problem solving is among the last to mature, a new study graphically reveals. The decade-long magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study of normal brain development, from ages 4 to 21, by researchers at NIH’s National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) shows that such “higher-order” brain centers, such as the prefrontal cortex, don’t fully develop until young adulthood.
A time-lapse 3-D movie that
A disintegrin-metalloproteinase prevents amyloid plaque formation and hippocampal defects in an Alzheimer disease mouse model
Alzheimer Disease (AD), a progressive neurological disorder, is characterized by the presence of amyloid plaques in the brain. These plaques are comprised of aggregates of amyloid beta-peptides (AB peptides), which are believed to play a central role in disease development. Most strategies to prevent AD have been aimed at reducing the generation of amyloid beta
While sound can disrupt sleep, scents cannot. People cannot rely on their sense of smell to awaken them to the danger of fire, according to a new Brown University study.
Study participants easily detected odors when awake and in the early transition into sleep (Stage One sleep) but, once asleep, did not. The findings indicate a significant alteration of perceptual processing as a function of sleep.
“Human olfaction appears insufficiently sensitive and reliable to act as a sentinel s
Scientists identify a key mechanism to recognize misfolded proteins
Scientists at McGill University’s Faculty of Medicine have discovered a key step that will provide new targets for treatments of many degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Cystic Fibrosis and Diabetes. Dr. David Thomas, Chair of Biochemistry, Dr. John Bergeron, Chair of Anatomy and Cell Biology and colleagues have identified a mechanism by which misfolded proteins are recognized in the cell. This is a c
High levels of troponin I (TNI) protein in the blood helps identify possible heart damage after cancer treatment, according to a report in today’s rapid access issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
The report also suggests that tracking TNI levels can help doctors form a heart disease prevention plan for some chemotherapy patients. “Damage to the heart is one of the most worrisome long-term side effects of high-dose chemotherapy,” said lead author Daniela Card
A team led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis is one step closer to understanding the function of a protein linked to an inherited form of the movement disorder dystonia.
The protein, torsinA, is defective in patients with DYT1 dystonia, an inherited condition that causes uncontrollable movements in the limbs and torso. Learning what torsinA does could be an important step toward developing a treatment for the disorder.
“The hope is that underst
A smooth-talking washing machine may not be savvy enough to keep a user from mixing whites and darks, but it can open doors that the digital revolution has closed to the blind.
New generation appliances are sleek, high-tech – and incomprehensible if the user can’t see the dazzling array of LED displays.
But it’s a problem that can be talked through, literally. A team of engineering students at Michigan State University have figured out a way to cheaply modify household a
Microwaving the heart may soon become a routine procedure for the treatment of heart rhythm disorders, a common cause of heart attack and stroke, reports Marina Murphy in Chemistry & Industry magazine.
The new device will selectively ‘cook’ areas of the human heart at 55°C. The procedure, which takes just a few seconds, produces a lesion that blocks abnormal electrical signals. ‘This is exactly the same as the way a microwave oven heats meat . . . the difference is that the microwave exposu
A new in-depth report published today concludes there is no justification for the idea that current standards of home cleaning and home hygiene are a factor in the rise in allergies.
The report represents the first detailed review by infectious disease and hygiene specialists of the ‘hygiene hypothesis’ – the idea that having fewer childhood infections, because of cleaner homes and smaller families, may be responsible for more children developing allergies and asthma.
The report fin
Russian scientists are investigating the opportunity to bring wisents (Bison bonasus) back to the forests of Central Russia. Their effort has been funded by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research and the Federal Target Scientific and Technical Program called “Conservation of Rare Species”.
The story of rescuing wisents (Bison bonasus) which had been practically on the verge of extinction became classical and was included in schoolbooks. However, this does not mean that wisents are thrivin
Current achievements in molecular genetics allow scientists to look not only in the depths of genomes but also back to ancient times. By analysing fossil DNA, Russian biologists have reconstructed the picture of colonisation of the Russian Northern lands. The research was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research and the RF Ministry of Industry and Sciences.
Today’s molecular biology is capable of analysing DNAs extracted from an ancient material up to 100,000 years old. Ev
Untersuchungen zur Herstellung von Kohlenstoff-Nanomaterialien, um einen massentauglichen Herstellprozess für diese neuartigen Materialien zu entwickeln, sind Ziel einer neuen Bayreuther Forschungskooperation.
Untersuchungen zur Herstellung von Kohlenstoff-Nanomaterialien, um einen massentauglichen Herstellprozess für diese neuartigen Materialien zu entwickeln, werden jetzt im Rahmen eines Forschungskooperation zwischen dem Lehrstuhl für Chemische Verfahrenstechnik der Fakultät für Angewan
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