The presence of a protein known as Stat5 prevents laboratory-grown breast cancer cells from becoming invasive and aggressive, according to new research from Georgetown University. The research, which appears in the January 27 issue of Oncogene, could one day lead to advanced therapies for breast cancer patients.
“This new insight is significant because it is the invasive behavior of breast cancer cells that leads to the formation of metastatic cancer, the most advanced and seriou
Genomics, the study of all the genetic sequences in living organisms, has leaned heavily on the blueprint metaphor. A large part of the blueprint, unfortunately, has been unintelligible, with no good way to distinguish a bathroom from a boardroom, to link genomic features to cell function.
A national consortium of scientists led by BIATECH, a Seattle-area non-profit research center, and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, a Department of Energy research institution in Richland,
Researchers have identified a promising new target in their fight against a dangerous bacterium that sickens people in hospitals, especially people who receive medical implants such as catheters, artificial joints and heart valves.
A substance found on the surface of Staphylococcus epidermidis has, for the first time, been shown to protect the harmful pathogen from natural human defense mechanisms that would otherwise kill the bacteria, according to scientists at the Rocky Moun
The brewing of tea formed a crucial component of a project which successfully took traditional paper laboratory books and moved them to digital formats. Now that knowledge and experience is being put to use in a subsequent project by University of Southampton computing researchers who are aiming to apply similar techniques to Bioinformatics.
The eScience project, which could revolutionize the way in which scientists share information, is appropriately called myTea. It has received f
Rush is Only Chicago Medical Center Among 20 U.S. Sites in Clinical Study
Individuals with moderate to severe chest pains (angina) who have not found relief from medication may benefit from a new gene therapy approach being used by cardiologists at Rush University Medical Center to grow new blood vessels in the heart.
The phase II clinical research study uses vascular endothelial growth factor-2 (VEGF-2) in the form of a solution containing a DNA plasmid that is delivered
A University of Michigan research team has found that introducing a growth factor protein into a mouth wound using gene therapy helped generate bone around dental implants, according to a new paper in the February issue of the journal Molecular Therapy.
In a patient with a sizeable mouth wound, replacing a tooth takes more than simply implanting a new one—the patient also needs the bone structure to anchor the new tooth in place. Such reconstructive surgery today involves
Researchers have discovered an important chemical in the brain’s neuronal machinery that triggers some of the withdrawal symptoms of opioid drugs like morphine and heroin.
They believe that drugs to inhibit the chemical–called a transporter–could relieve some of the early physical symptoms of withdrawal, such as teeth-chattering, uncontrolled shaking, and jumpiness. Such drugs could become part of the arsenal of medicines and behavioral techniques aimed at helping add
Among the principal obstacles to regenerating spinal cord and brain cells after injury is the “braking” machinery in neurons that prevents regeneration. While peripheral nerves have no such machinery and can readily regenerate, central nervous system (CNS) neurons have their brakes firmly in place and locked.
Now, two groups of scientists have independently found a new component of that braking machinery, adding to understanding of the regulation of neuronal regeneration and of
The star-nosed mole gives a whole new meaning to the term “fast food.”
A study published this week in the journal Nature reveals that this mysterious mole has moves that can put the best magician to shame: The energetic burrower can detect small prey animals and gulp them down with a speed that is literally too fast for the human eye to follow.
It takes a car driver about 650 milliseconds to hit the brake after seeing the traffic light ahead turn red. The star-nosed mol
Errant neuro-developmental gene responsive to a potent vitamin A derivative
A gene that’s normally silenced after contributing to brain development was found to be expressed in cells from medulloblastoma, the most common form of pediatric brain malignancy in children, scientists report in an article published in the February 1 issue of the journal Cancer Research.
In their study, the scientists discovered that multiple extra copies of the gene, called OTX2, had be
Like the gaudy peacock or majestic buck, the bachelor fruit fly is in a race against time to mate and pass along its genes. And just as flashy plumage or imposing antlers work to an animal’s reproductive advantage, so, too, do the colored spots that decorate the wings of a particular male fruit fly.
To the ladies, the spots – waved frenetically by suitors in the fruit fly courtship ritual – connote sex appeal.
To a team of Wisconsin scientists, however, the origin of
Attracting a mate can be a costly endeavor, according to a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill scientist, but new experiments he helped lead show that some male animals economize on courting when the chance of success seems low.
Dr. Keith W. Sockman, assistant professor of biology in UNC’s College of Arts and Sciences, studies mating behavior in songbirds and the songs that play such a central role in their reproduction. “From people to praying mantises, individuals invest ev
A team of chemists at the University of Reading, led by Professor Howard Colquhoun, have designed a system in which a tweezer-like molecule is able to recognise specific monomer sequences in a linear copolymer. As a result, and for the first time ever, sequence-information in a synthetic polymer has been ‘read’ by a mechanism which mirrors one of the processes on which life itself is based.
The discovery is described in two papers: Recognition of polyimide sequence information by
The proteins actin and myosin have a firm place in the muscles where they are responsible for contraction. While recent investigations have shown that they are also found in the nucleus, it has been unclear to date just what they are doing there. Now an international team of investigators headed by Professor Dr. Ingrid Grummt, head of the Division of Molecular Biology of the Cell II of the Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (German Cancer Research Center, DKFZ), has shown that the muscle proteins
May offer new approach to smallpox treatment
In a finding that represents an entirely new approach to treating viral diseases such as smallpox, scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and collaborating institutions have shown that infections can be stymied by interfering with signals used by viruses to reproduce in human cells.
The results, reported in the February issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, point to a possible strategy for broadly treating acut
They started with a bare room and an idea. Now, after five years of painstaking, sophisticated tests, scientists at the University of Virginia Health System have discovered that a compound, derived from a rare South American plant, stops the growth of human breast cancer cells in laboratory cultures.
U. Va. Health System scientists Deborah Lannigan and Jeffrey Smith hope that, after further testing, their discovery could translate into a successful drug for the treatment of breast
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