Cervical cancers that take up a lot of blood sugar, or glucose, are more resistant to treatment than those that are less glucose-hungry, according to research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The researchers also found that the high glucose-uptake tumors can be identified with PET scans, which are already routinely used to determine tumor size and lymph node involvement in cervical cancer patients.

PET scans monitor the amount of a radioactive glucose trace

It has been known for some time that silver is highly toxic to a wide range of bacteria, and silver-based compounds have been used extensively in bactericidal applications. This property of silver has caused great interest especially as new resistant strains of bacteria have become a serious problem in public health.

For example MRSA bacteria kill 5,000 hospital patients a year in the UK alone and any method of attacking them, not involving normal antibiotics, is becoming increasing

Talking about sex and fertility can be just as embarrassing for medical staff as for adolescent cancer patients, the 4th International Conference on Teenage and Young Adult Cancer Medicine heard today (Thursday 30 March).

However, Drs Allan Pacey and Adam Glaser warned the conference, organised by Teenage Cancer Trust, that if doctors failed to discuss the effect that the cancer or its treatment could have on their future fertility with their young patients, the patients would h

Scientists in the UK have found that a type of amoeba acts as an incubator for MRSA bacteria. As amoebae are often found in healthcare environments this discovery has implications for the infection control strategies adopted by hospitals.

The single cell amoeba, Acanthamoeba polyphagam, commonly eats and digests environmental bacteria. It also engulfs pathogens such as MRSA. However, instead of being digested by the amoeba, MRSA survives and replicates whilst inside the amoeba.

Using bioinformatics, scientists at Boston Biomedical Research Institute elucidate the kinome of a key model organism

The journal PLoS Genetics has published the findings of a team of scientists at the nonprofit Boston Biomedical Research Institute that provides a whole genome analysis of the protein kinases from a scientifically valuable model organism known as Dictyostelium.
Led by Dr. Janet Smith, this study offers important insights into the evolution of kinases, which

Doses of DNA-gene-coated gold particles protect mice against a protein implicated in Alzheimer’s disease, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.

By pressure-injecting the gene responsible for producing the specific protein – called amyloid-beta 42 – the researchers caused the mice to make antibodies and greatly reduce the protein’s build-up in the brain. Accumulation of amyloid-beta 42 in humans is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease.

Much of what scientists learn about the evolution of Earth’s first animals will have to be gleaned from spherical embryos fossilized under very specific conditions, according to a new study by Indiana University Bloomington and University of Bristol researchers in this week’s Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Purported animal embryo fossils have been reported continuously over the last 12 years, mainly by paleontologists working in China. Scientists di

Virginia Tech chemistry researchers have made a discovery about how ozone degrades organic surfaces such as biological surfactants and polymeric coatings.

The research will be presented at the 231st American Chemical Society (ACS) national meeting being held in Atlanta on March 26-30.

John Morris’ group is studying the reactions of small molecules found in pollution of surfaces. Morris, associate professor of chemistry in the College of Science, and his student

Using probes originally designed to detect and image topographical features on surfaces, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory have demonstrated the ability to initiate and spatially localize chemical reactions on the submicron scale. They have been able to reliably manipulate chemistry on a very, very small scale in contrast to normal beaker-type reactions carried out in bulk. Such “site-selective” chemistry, taken down to the molecule-by-molecule level,

In research that could help control contamination from the radioactive element uranium, scientists have discovered that some bacteria found in the soil and subsurface can release phosphate that converts uranium contamination into an insoluble and immobile form.

Based on laboratory studies, Georgia Institute of Technology researchers report promising results using bacterial species from three genera isolated from subsurface soils collected at a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)

A novel enzyme in corn helps the plants defend themselves from voracious caterpillars by disrupting the insects’ ability to digest food, and ultimately killing them, according to researchers. The enzyme could be used in tandem with other biological pesticides such as the Bt toxin to prevent the pests from developing resistance and making the toxin more effective.

“The enzyme is found in insect-resistant strains of corn, and it breaks down proteins and peptides in the inse

Michigan State University scientists have identified the genetic mutation that reduces grain shattering during rice domestication research that will improve production of the crop that feeds more than half of the world’s population.

In an article on the cover of the March 31 edition of Science Magazine, MSU scientists, led by Tao Sang, associate professor of plant biology, identify for the first time the genetic mutation for the reduction of shattering, a key step in the do

Findings point to possible novel ways to fight AIDS, immune disorders, sepsis

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine discovered that an HIV-1 accessory protein called Vpr destroys the host cell’s ability to survive by binding to a host receptor. This, in turn, keeps an important enzyme from activating the cell’s immune system. These findings refine an earlier understanding of Vpr HIV pathogenesis and imply new approaches to treating AIDS, inflamm

Antioxidants are believed to have substantial health benefits and raspberries in particular are a good source. In fact, raspberries may have 10 times more antioxidants than tomatoes or broccoli. Further, raspberries contain some specific antioxidants that are found almost nowhere else.

In a study published in a recent issue of BioFactors, researchers from Plant Research International, Wageningen, The Netherlands, discuss specific compounds found in the berry, some appropriate methods for as

In 1947-1949 a group of mental patients in Sweden were used as subjects in a full-scale experiment designed to bring about tooth decay. They were fed copious amounts of candy, and many of them had their teeth completely ruined. But, scientifically speaking, the experiment was a huge success.

The National Dental Service in Sweden was started in 1938. The dental health of Swedes at that time was atrocious, nearly everyone had cavities. It was suspected that diets rich in sugar caus

The simplest bacteria need almost twice as many genes to survive than scientists first believed, according to new research published in Nature (30 March 2006).

Bacteria are some of the simplest forms of life and have been studied by scientists trying to identify the smallest collection of genes – or minimal genome – that is needed for maintaining life.

Traditionally scientists have done this by removing, or ‘knocking out’, a series of individual genes from a bacterial g