Knowledge could lead to new vaccines and treatments for UTI
Anyone who thinks scientists lead a glamorous, exciting life should talk to Jennifer Snyder, a graduate student at the University of Maryland’s School of Medicine. During July of 2003, while all her friends were out enjoying themselves, Snyder spent 10 days trying to get 40 laboratory mice to urinate into little plastic tubes. Snyder’s goal was to extract enough genetic material from mouse urine to determine which of th
Scientists are launching a research study to check the effectiveness of a new type of flu vaccine that is made differently than the conventional vaccine, which is grown in eggs. The experimental vaccine instead relies on a cell line drawn from insects known as silk moths, which are better known for their role as pests attacking crops such as corn, cotton, barley and alfalfa.
The study of FluBlOk, made by Protein Sciences Corp. of Meriden, Ct., was initiated by flu expert John
Babraham Institute and Cancer Research UK scientists have discovered that certain enzymes with a key activity in the immune system may be important in stem-cell development, but may also work against us by contributing to the occurrence of cancer.
The usual targets
A family of enzymes known as DNA deaminases beneficially mutates the genetic code of antibodies to improve their ability to recognise foreign bodies. The usual target for the enzymes’ activity is cytosine (C
Beneficial bacteria have fast-tracked evolution to solve some of our pollution problems, according to an article in the November 2004 issue of Microbiology Today, the quarterly magazine of the Society for General Microbiology. Using the same mechanisms that have allowed hospital superbugs to survive in the presence of antibiotics, many bacteria have changed their behaviour and now use our toxic chemicals as a source of food.
Researchers at the University of Wales Bangor have studied the
Researchers have identified a new gene that causes a common form of inherited Parkinson’s disease (PD) and whose understanding they believe “will impact not only patients and their families but will open novel avenues of research aimed at identifying and ultimately halting the molecular events that lead to PD.”
The international research team reported finding the gene in a mutant form in five families from Spain and the United Kingdom. They have named the protein “dard
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory have found a new way to study individual living bacteria cells and analyze their chemistry.
In research published today in Science, the scientists used high-energy X-ray fluorescence measurements for mapping and chemical analyses of single free-floating, or planktonic, and surface-adhered, or biofilm, cells of Pseudomonas fluorescens. The results showed differences between the planktonic and adhered
Estrogen treatment had less beneficial effect on memory in female mice that raced on running wheels and played with other toys than in mice raised in non-stimulating environments, according to a Yale study published this month.
“We saw no beneficial effect of estrogen in the animals in cognitively and physically stimulating environments (also known as enriched environments),” said Karyn Frick, assistant professor of psychology and principal investigator on the study. “This fi
Study Helps Explain Why Albuterol Benefits Some Asthma Patients More Than Others
Genes affect how asthma patients respond to albuterol, according to results of a new study of adults with mild asthma. Researchers in the Asthma Clinical Research Network (ACRN) of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health, found that over time, how participants responded to daily doses of inhaled albuterol differed depending on which form of
Researchers at Cedars-Sinai’s Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute have described an immune-disruptive process driven by an enzyme that is overexpressed in the cells of many types of tumors, including malignant brain tumors called gliomas.
Blocking the enzyme’s expression in laboratory tests interrupted the series of cell-level events and led to the development of cells capable of launching an immune response. This finding supports the suggestion that medications attacking the enzyme
Human primitive spinal cord cells delayed symptoms and paralysis by a week when implanted in the spinal cord of rats destined to develop amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s disease, researchers from Johns Hopkins report.
The human neuronal stem cells were obtained from embryos by scientists at biotech company Neurostem Inc., transferred to Hopkins and implanted into the lower part of the rats’ spinal cords about a month before the animals usually develop
In an animal model of Parkinson’s, exercise prevents degeneration of nerve cells that are normally impaired or destroyed by the disease, according to University of Pittsburgh researchers. Based on their work, which was presented today at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in San Diego, a small pilot study has been initiated in patients with Parkinson’s to determine if regular exercise has an impact on the progression of their disease.
In Parkinson&#
A research team led by The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center has found a potential new protein marker for prognosis of breast and ovarian cancer.
In the November, 2004 issue of the journal Nature Medicine, the researchers report tumor cells that “overexpress” the protein Rab25 are more aggressive and associated with poorer outcome. Thus, Rab25 could represent a novel therapeutic target or marker of tumor behavior, they say.
The researchers matched tumor sa
High levels of a protein called LRP6 can make cancer cells more aggressive, according to Washington University researchers affiliated with the Siteman Cancer Center. The protein’s ability to enhance tumor development suggests that the gene that codes for LRP6 is an oncogene–a gene that contributes to tumor development when overactivated.
“Because no one has ever connected LRP6 to proliferation in tumors, we believe we may have identified a new oncogene,” says Guojun Bu, Ph.
There is a patent demand in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and chemical industry for new alternative testing in order to assess the acute toxicity of new drugs, cosmetic ingredients or industrial chemical products that have to be in contact with humans or the natural environment.
The aim is to reduce the time for and cost of studies for the development of new active elements and reduce the number of experimental animals. Equally, these tests enable direct work on human cell lines i
Scientists have identified crucial elements necessary for repairing damaged DNA – the blueprint for all living cells.
The breakthrough will further our understanding of how diseases that are associated with DNA instability, such as cancer, arise. The findings also point to how new drug therapies could be developed for treating cancer.
Dr Aidan Doherty, a reader in biochemistry at the University of Sussex’s Genome Damage and Stability Centre, led a collaboration of
Nearly all organisms need iron to survive, even mould. For people with a weakened immune system such fungi pose a deadly threat. Scientists from Innsbruck (Austria) have now been able to genetically block the iron metabolism of Aspergillus fumigatus mould and thus render it harmless to humans. This discovery opens up completely new paths for developing drugs against fungal infections.
The Aspergillus fumigatus mould is commonly found in compost, green bins, potting compost and
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