Researchers at The University of Queensland’s (UQ) Centre for Immunology and Cancer Research (CICR), based at the Princess Alexandra Hospital, have pioneered a new approach for the treatment of cervical cancer.

Lead researcher Dr Nigel McMillan said the finding was based on the method of “gene silencing”, a novel technique to target and turn off single genes in a cell.

“Our research shows not only can we stop cervical cancer cells from growing in the test tube, but

A common anti-seizure drug may be effective against certain conditions associated with lupus, according to animal research at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

The drug, valproic acid (Depakote), prevents skin disease and reduces the severity of kidney disease in a mouse model of lupus, said Nilamadhab Mishra, M.D., a rheumatologist at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

“Valproic acid may be a potential cost-effective disease-modifying agent in lupu

University of Sydney researchers at Westmead Millennium Institute develop an accurate and rapid method of diagnosing bacterial meningitis.

Several hundred serious cases of bacterial meningitis are diagnosed in Australians every year. Bacterial meningitis is a medical emergency that requires immediate diagnosis and treatment, however doctors have always faced difficulty in diagnosis, both in children and adults.

Professor Tania Sorrell and her team at Westmead Millen

Study suggests even small amount of regular activity may help

Both black women and white women who regularly exercise have a decreased risk of breast cancer compared to women who do not exercise, according to researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California.

Numerous studies have linked physical activity to lower breast cancer risk in white women, but the Keck School study-published in the Nov. 16 issue of the Journal of the National

Clinical laboratories are becoming an important tool in understanding some of the effects of drugs, chemicals, and diseases on the creativity exhibited by a variety of artists

Illnesses, drugs and chemicals have influenced the artistic achievements of many of the world’s best-known composers, classical painters, authors and sculptors. The associations between these elements and art may be close and many, and the tools of modern technology, including the use of clinical labo

Voice control supports the physician during interventions with the Siemens Angiography System Minimally-invasive procedures require technical skill and concentration on the part of the physician who has to focus on both the patient and the Angiography system. Since he continually operates the unit during the procedure, the new voice control option, which Siemens Medical Solutions (Med) introduced at Medica 2005 in Düsseldorf, will help eliminate some of the manual work. Applying de

Innovative solutions in “Proven Excellence” quality

At a modern production center, pre-owned medical systems – from x-ray, to computed tomography, to ultrasound – are refurbished, given the “Proven Excellence” quality seal, and then resold worldwide. Siemens Medical Solutions showcased this concept at the Medica 2005.

For more than five years, medical systems have been accepted for trade-in, refurbished, and resold. Most of these systems come from Siemens customers pa

They’re but a tiny speck, existing in a variety of forms: particles, tubes, shells, even a soccerball-like shape. They also share a common prefix: “nano,” connoting their size, a billionth of a meter or roughly 25-millionth of an inch.

Today, cancer researchers are exploring the potential of such nanostructures to exquisitely target cancer cells without harming surrounding tissue, and to image the formation of tumors long before they have a chance to become life-threaten

Vitamin A deficiency has been associated with the development of lung cancer in laboratory studies. However, clinical trials of natural and synthetic derivatives of vitamin A, called retinoids, for the prevention of lung cancer have been largely unsuccessful in the general population. A new study in the November 16 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute finds that targeting a previously unknown variant of a common retinoid receptor may restore the beneficial effects of retinoids in

American Thoracic Society journal news tips for November 2005 (second issue)

Biomedical scientists have revealed a new and promising antibody profiling technique that provides a high degree of early diagnostic accuracy for non-small cell lung cancer cases.

Their research was reported in the second issue of November 2005 of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, published by the American Thoracic Society.

Li Zong, Ph.D. of the Division

Scientists thought sickle and thalassemia traits would be potent combination; instead, they cancel each other out

Two genetic conditions–sickle cell trait and a mild version of the blood disorder known as thalassemia–that by themselves give millions of Africans natural protection against malaria, can be rendered essentially useless when they occur together, according to a new study of Kenyan children that is to be discussed today at the Fourth Multilateral Initiative on Malaria

A protein that plays an important regulatory role in heart failure in the heart also exerts powerful effects on the adrenal gland, Jefferson Medical College researchers have found. The protein, GRK2, is a potential drug target for heart failure.

Walter Koch, Ph.D., director of the Center for Translational Medicine in the Department of Medicine at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, and his co-workers had showed previously that GRK2, or G-pro

New Saint Louis University study of twins examines quality of life issues

You can blame your parents for your hair that frizzes in high humidity and for your short stature. And now researchers at Saint Louis University School of Public Health say your genetic makeup partly dictates how physically and mentally healthy you feel.

Their study, which was funded by the National Institute of Aging, which is part of the National Institutes of Health, found that genetics are about

Nesting preferences important to accidentally imported ants

Many insects enter the United States accidentally, as hitchhikers on various plants imported in commerce, but how many really stay?

Conventional thinking says the answer is in the numbers of both insects and times they enter, but new findings to be published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggest that opportunity alone is no guarantee of a successful invasion.

Of 232 species of a

Breast cancer associated gene 2 is key

Researchers at Sunnybrook and Women’s College Health Sciences Centre have found a new protein marker linked to positive outcome in patients with breast cancer.

The research published today in Cancer Research is the first to show that patients with high levels of the protein BCA2 are less likely to experience breast cancer re-occurrence than patients with low levels of BCA2.

“For the first time we have been able to sh

Eating a low carbohydrate diet improves metabolic syndrome and may therefore decrease the risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease associated with it. In an article published today in the open access journal Nutrition & Metabolism, Jeff Volek and Richard Feinman review the literature and show that the features of metabolic syndrome are precisely those that are improved by reducing carbohydrates in the diet. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of health signs that may occur together and