The young biotech start up company PRIMACYT has developed a long-term human hepatocyte culture system that may be used as a biosensor for the analysis of drugs, food additives, and chemicals. The entrepreneur team has developed serum-free long-term culture techniques for hepatocytes. Currently, several other companies are validating this culture technique in a multi-center study. The technology is presented on international conferences in San Francisco, USA April 2006 and Linz, Austria June 20

A type of protein linked to cancer prevention in humans may also play a role in ageing, according to findings published in the journal Science today (2 June). The internationally funded research, carried out at the Buck Institute in the USA and the University of Manchester in the UK, found that proteins which prevent cancer in humans by stopping damaged cells from dividing, also determine lifespan in microscopic worms.

The findings raise the question of whether genetic variations

The Spaniards may have been right all along – a siesta after a hearty lunch is natural, new research suggests.

Scientists at The University of Manchester have for the first time uncovered how brain cells or ‘neurons’ that keep us alert become turned off after we eat.

The findings – published in the scientific journal Neuron this week – have implications for treating obesity and eating disorders as well as understanding levels of consciousness.

“It has been known f

Glycobiology is a hot new topic, a science that has arrived and blossomed in the last decade.

The latest issue of The Biochemist puts glycobiology in perspective with an authoritative article on its origin by Professor Raymond Dwek and with reports from the cutting edge of this fascinating and vitally important new discipline. Read how it is making significant discoveries in the fields of molecular biology and in the fight against disease.

Also: the discovery of muscle bi

Jefferson Scientists Identify Gene Mutation Potentially Involved in Breast Cancer Initiation

Researchers at Jefferson Medical College and the Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia and at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York have found evidence suggesting that a mutation in a gene that normally helps block the formation of breast tumors could play a role in the initiation of a major form of breast cancer.

The team, led by cell b

Scientists investigating the genetic makeup of rhesus macaque monkeys, a key species used in biomedical research, have found the rhesus in Nepal may provide a suitable alternative to alleviate a critical shortage of laboratory animals used in work to develop vaccines against diseases such as HIV/AIDS.

Writing in the cover story of the current issue of the American Journal of Primatology, researchers headed by Randall Kyes of the University of Washington report that the Nepali

Researchers found that they could eliminate the rewarding effect of cocaine on mice by genetically manipulating a key target of the drug in the animal’s brain.

While the researchers aren’t suggesting that these genetic modifications be made in humans, the work brings to light the key protein that controls cocaine’s effects in the body, which may help scientists develop medications that achieve the same results and therefore help addicts overcome their dependence.

For the first time, scientists describe the busy microbial world inside

For the first time, scientists have defined the collective genome of the human gut, or colon. Up to 100 trillion microbes, representing more than 1,000 species, make up a motley “microbiome” that allows humans to digest much of what we eat, including some vitamins, sugars, and fiber.

In a study published in the June 2 issue of Science, scientists at The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR) and their c

Researchers from the MUHC have found that elderly patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma who take medication to prevent their attacks face an increased risk of developing cataracts. Their findings, which looked at a large group of Quebecers, are released today in the June issue of the European Respiratory Journal. “We found that people over the age of 65 who take a cortisone-like medication called inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) to lower their risk of asthma or

When Dr Javier Marco checks his patients he often uses a computer with a videoconferencing link. Many of his elderly patients live in remote villages in the foothills of the Spanish Pyrenees and no longer travel to where he works. “They’re very satisfied. There is less inconvenience and the quality of care is better,” he says.

Dr Marco is one of several specialists in Spain, Italy and Denmark who began using a telecounselling service last year developed by HEALTH OPTIMUM, a groundbreaking

The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO), two of the world’s leading oncology societies, today released a joint Consensus Statement on Quality Cancer Care for patients across the globe. The 10-point statement outlines goals to provide access to and continuity of quality cancer care worldwide and will be published jointly in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO) and the Annals of Oncology.

“Despite the growing advanc

Any owner of a freshwater aquarium likely has had guppies (Poecilia reticulata), those small brightly colored fish with a propensity for breeding. Now guppy populations manipulated in natural habitats in Trinidad have taught researchers an evolutionary lesson on the survival of a rare genetic trait. Reporting in the June 1 issue of the journal Nature, scientists from six institutions detail how male guppies with the most colorful – and most rare – patterns are more likely than their more c

One of the body’s basic survival mechanisms is the neural machinery that triggers the hungry brain to the alertness needed for seeking food. That same machinery swings the other way after a hearty meal, as exemplified by the long and honored custom of the siesta. However, scientists have understood little about how the basic energy molecule, glucose, regulates such wakefulness and other energy-related behaviors.

Now, in an article in the June 1, 2006, Neuron, Denis Burdakov of t

Researchers identify common sequence differences in human DNA that confer genetic susceptibility to lung cancer

In the largest genome-wide scan for lung cancer-susceptibility genes to date, scientists from The Institute of Cancer Research have identified 64 gene variants that may predispose some individuals to lung cancer. These genetic variants are known as “low-penetrance alleles” because they only occasionally stimulate tumor development. The study, which appears today in the sc

“Printing” on the micrometer scale is the technology of the future for the production of the electronic components used for such things as flat-screen monitors or (bio)sensors. Metal surfaces a few tens of square centimeters in size can already be structured without much experimental difficulty through a combination of microcontact printing and an etching process. Researchers are currently working to develop a simple production technology that is also broadly applicable for large surfaces. A team a

Researchers have discovered the genetic controls that cause trees to stop growing and go dormant in the fall, as well as the mechanism that causes them to begin flowering and produce seeds – a major step forward in understanding the basic genetics of tree growth.

The findings were made by scientists from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Oregon State University and two other institutions, and published in the journal Science. They represent a significant fundamental