Speaking at Experimental Biology 2004, Dr. Mina Bissell describes research showing how manipulation of the extracellular matrix (a network of fibrous and globular proteins that surrounds breast cells) of non-malignant breast cells can lead to genomic instability via oxidative damage. She describes how manipulation of the microenvironment can allow malignant breast cancer cells to revert to normal cells again. She also describes how the tissue culture of the extracellular matrix affects the cancerous
In the first known study of the absorption and anti-tumor effects of green and black tea polyphenols in human tissue, researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles were able to detect tea polyphenols in prostate tissue after a very limited consumption of tea.
More importantly, the scientists found that prostate cancer cells grew more slowly when placed in a medium containing blood serum of men who had consumed either green or black tea for five days compared to serum collected
Researchers find drug that may suppress genetic mutation using a novel screening approach
Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital have developed a way of identifying promising new drugs that may get around a major challenge in drug discovery. In the May issue of Nature Biotechnology the team from the MGH Cardiovascular Research Center (CVRC) describes using an animal model to screen for a compound that suppresses a serious genetic mutation. Their success did not rely on first i
New target blocks B-ALL, boosts Gleevec’s effectiveness against CML in mice
Three years ago, using the first of a new class of drugs known as “small molecule kinase inhibitors,” medicine slammed shut a door used by cancer. Researchers at The Jackson Laboratory just found another door that kinase inhibitors may close to cancer.
The gene BCR-ABL1 causes two types of leukemia: chronic myelogeneous leukemia (CML) and B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL). In both canc
Study demonstrates improved mobility, less pain, in patients with osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a progressive, degenerative joint disease estimated to affect more than 21 million individuals in the United States. The Arthritis Foundation reports that arthritis is the leading disability of Americans resulting in over 39 million medical visits per year and $65 billion in medical expenses and lost wages. This condition is characterized by erosion of articular cartilage, caused by
The phrase “biological clock” has expanded from scientific observation to American slang. When we hear this phrase, many of us assume it refers to the amount of time left for a woman to start a family. For the scientist, the biological clock refers to a process that took millions of years to evolve – the conditioning of plants and animals by a light cycle that starts with dawn and ends with sunset.
The cycle of dawn and dusk changes with the seasons everywhere in the world (except at the eq
Numerous studies have been published showing that consuming alcohol increases the risk for breast cancer. That’s what makes a new research finding from Portugal so intriguing. The study has determined that certain compounds found in wine, beer (and tea) have contributed to a significant decrease in breast cancer cell proliferation.
Background
Numerous studies have found that regular, moderate use of alcohol affects the levels of important female hormones, especially for
An animal study finds a link in genetics that determines our sleep patterns
Are you annoyed by cheerful “morning people?” Do you ever wonder how “night owls” can keep going? Most of us ask these questions because we are in between these two extremes, and take a while to get going early in the morning and tire long before midnight. This entire spectrum reflects the broad, normal variation in sleep patterns in humans that is rooted in the very genetic foundations of how our body works.
Patients with inflammatory diseases such as arthritis, chronic infections and some types of cancer, often become anemic – a condition called anemia of chronic disease (ACD). While ACD rarely kills patients, it can make their lives miserable. A discovery at EMBL, in collaboration with researchers at Children’s Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School, now links the gene HFE to ACD. The HFE gene is mutated in patients suffering from the common iron overload disease hemochromatosis. This finding gives
Scientists have found that the way spiders stick to ceilings could be the key to making Post-it® notes that don’t fall off – even when they are wet. A team from Germany and Switzerland have made the first detailed examinations of a jumping spider’s ‘foot’ and have discovered that a molecular force sticks the spider to almost anything. The force is so strong that these spiders could carry over 170 times their own body weight while standing on the ceiling. The research is published today (Monday 19 Apr
Researchers have found perforated shells that appear to be beads dating back 76,000 years ago, causing the development of language and symbolic communication to be older than previously thought by 30,000 years.
The 41 tick shells, punctured with holes of roughly one centimetre across in the same place, were found at Blombos Cave site, 300 km east of Cape Town, South Africa, by Christopher Henshilwood, a professor at the Centre for Development Studies of the University of Bergen in Norway,
For the first time, Imperial College London researchers at the Hammersmith Hospital studying a rare bone marrow disease have found an association between ’telomere shortening’ – changes in the lengths of DNA repeats at the end of chromosomes – and the time of development and severity of disease symptoms in patients.
Reporting in Nature Genetics today (18 April 2004), the Hammersmith team, collaborating with scientists at the Washington University School of Medicine in the USA, is
Nightmares of doctors or dentists with oversized hypodermic needles could soon be a thing of the past. A new painless way of delivering drugs through the skin is described in the journal BMC Medicine this week – and needles are not involved.
The technique, called microscission, uses a stream of gas to bombard small areas of the skin with tiny crystals of inert aluminium oxide. The sharp particles remove the rough surface-layer of the skin, and create tiny holes, known as microconduits, in t
Polar clouds are known to play a major role in the destruction of Earth’s protective ozone layer, creating the springtime “ozone hole” above Antarctica. Now, scientists have found that polar clouds also play a significant role in removing meteoric iron from Earth’s mesosphere. The discovery could help researchers refine their models of atmospheric chemistry and global warming.
Using a sensitive laser radar (lidar) system, laboratory experiments and computer modeling, researchers from the Uni
First it was Yuppies, then DINKS – couples with Double Incomes and No Kids. Now it’s time for TINS – couples who have Two Incomes but No Sex. According to some estimates, as many 50 per cent of modern men and women just don’t have time for sex – or are too stressed out to enjoy intimate relations when the opportunity arises.
The McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) is hosting a public information session to discuss issues surrounding sexuality and a too-busy lifestyle.
“It is pos
A breast cancer treatment based on MIT radar research that was originally aimed at detecting space-borne missiles is showing promise in the final phase of clinical testing.
Preliminary results to be presented on Wednesday, April 21 at the 9th International Congress on Hyperthermic Oncology in St. Louis show that women with early-stage breast cancer who received the MIT treatment prior to lumpectomy had a 43 percent reduction in the incidence rate of cancer cells found close to the surgica
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