Scientists from Maryland and New Jersey have identified a molecular pathway in mice that makes prostate cells vulnerable to cancer-causing oxygen damage. The pathway, which is also involved in human prostate cancer, may help determine how and whether antioxidants, such as certain vitamins or their products that reverse the damage, can prevent prostate cancer.
The researchers, from Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and The Cancer Institute of New Jersey, found that when the tu
U-M Kellogg Eye Center scientists are first to screen for multiple retinal disease genes on a single microchip — and it’s cost-effective
Rapid genetic testing for eye disease is becoming a reality, thanks to a technology developed at the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center. Scientists have created a first-of-its-kind test on a microchip array that will help physicians hone their diagnoses for patients with the blinding disease known as retinitis pigmentosa (RP). The
New freezing technique raises future hopes for human applications
Israeli scientists report today (Thursday 15 September) in Human Reproduction[1] that they have successfully transplanted whole frozen and thawed ovaries in sheep, retrieved oocytes from these ovaries and triggered them in the laboratory into early embryonic development.
Follow-up tests showed that the ovaries in the two sheep from which oocytes were recovered were still functioning normally three years lat
A new system for directing radiation to target cells has been developed in Melbourne, Australia. The new targeting system has the potential to specifically destroy cancer cells with minimal damage to healthy tissues.
Tom Karagiannis is a research officer from the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre where the system was devised. Tom has been selected for Fresh Science, a national competition where early-career researchers present their work to the public for the first time.
One o
Researchers at the University of Dundee have discovered new levels of complexity in the regulation of the tumour suppressor gene p53, findings which could have a significant impact on the identification of patients at risk of developing aggressive cancer and in determining more efficient drug treatments.
The research has been led by Professor Sir David Lane and Dr Jean-Christophe Bourdon of the Cancer Research UK Cell Transformation Group at the University of Dundee. Prof Lane
As a result of the joint working between teams of experts from the Iberia Ashland Chemical, S.A. company and the INASMET-Tecnalia Technological Centre, a solution has been found to prevent the serious disease caused by the bacteria known as “Legionella” and other similar disorders.
This achievement has meant a great advance for human health. It is based on the biocidal and bacteriostatic effect of the SONOXIDE system, used in refrigeration towers of factory buildings and installatio
The recent discovery of citrus greening (huanglongbing) in samples collected from trees in South Florida poses a definite threat to Florida’s $9 billion commercial citrus industry. Proper identification and eradication methods are needed to reduce the amount of crop loss caused by this disease, say plant pathologists with The American Phytopathological Society (APS). Citrus greening is a bacterial disease that affects the phloem system of citrus plants causing the infected trees to yellow, dec
Ames Laboratory researchers explore the new frontier of metabolomics
The biotech field of genomics gives scientists genetic roadmaps to link certain genes to diseases. The subsequent study of proteins produced by certain genes spawned the field of proteomics.
Now, a group of researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory at Iowa State University will use $1.02 million in DOE start-up funding to begin understanding the chemical processes that take place withi
Findings Could Lead To New Immune Therapy for Breast Cancer
A team from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine has shown that by using a cancer vaccine based on the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes, they can cure mice with established breast tumors. Cancer vaccines, which are more properly described as immunotherapy, work by boosting an immune response against tumor-associated antigens. Using Listeria, the researchers, led by Yvonne Paterson, PhD, Professor of Microb
Understanding macrophages could lead to ways to prevent HIV-associated dementia
Bacteria-eating cells that generally fight infection may cause dementia in HIV patients, University of Florida and University of California at San Francisco researchers have found.
Macrophages, long-living white blood cells often considered the scavengers of the immune system, actually may damage a part of the brain where many memories are stored in their attempt to attack the virus there, acc
In an effort to understand the biological function of the microRNA mir1, Drs. Nicholas Sokol and Victor Ambros (Darmouth Medical School) have studied the expression profile, transcriptional regulation and loss-of-function phenotype of Drosophila mir-1 (Dmir-1). Mir-1 is an evolutionarily conserved miRNA, whose expression in mouse and humans is limited to heart and skeletal muscle. Strikingly, their study shows that, in Drosophila embryos, mir-1 expression is not required for mesodermal cell fate d
A family of compounds found in cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower, and watercress, blocked lung cancer progression in both animal studies and in tests with human lung cancer cells, report researchers from Georgetown University Medical Center and the Institute for Cancer Prevention.
They say the results, published in a set of papers in the September 15 issue of Cancer Research, suggest that these chemicals — put into a veggie pill of sorts — might some day be u
The increased rate of cardiovascular complications in patients taking the cox-2 inhibitor painkiller rofecoxib (Vioxx) may result from a chemical imbalance, according to an animal study in the September Cell Metabolism. The findings suggest that low-dose aspirin might prevent the cardiac damage of such drugs and might also lead to the development of new anti-inflammatory drugs without the adverse side effects, the researchers said.
Earlier studies in humans have found that cox-2 inhibito
Crablike ’whale lice’ show how endangered cetaceans evolved
University of Utah biologists studied the genetics of “whale lice” – small crustaceans that are parasites on endangered “right whales” – and showed the giant whales split into three species 5 million to 6 million years ago, and that all three species probably were equally abundant before whaling reduced their numbers.
The five-year study, published in the October 2005 issue of the journal Molecular Ecology,
Using strands of genetic material, Purdue University scientists have constructed tiny delivery vehicles that can carry anticancer therapeutic agents directly to infected cells, offering a potential wealth of new treatments for chronic diseases.
The vehicles look nothing like delivery trucks, though that is their function once inside the body. Instead, these so-called nanoparticles, which are assembled from three short pieces of ribonucleic acid, resemble miniature triangles. The micr
Research could lead to treatment that would help stop a smallpox outbreak
Researchers at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology (LIAI) have made a major advancement toward protecting society against a smallpox outbreak by identifying an antibody in humans that quickly fights the smallpox virus.
“This is a very important finding because it has the potential to be an effective treatment for smallpox in humans and therefore could help quickly stop a smallpox outbre
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