From cadaveric insulin-producing cells

Scientists at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), have induced human insulin-producing cells of the pancreas to revert to islet precursor cells. These precursor cells are capable of expansion and appear to naturally and efficiently differentiate into clusters of islet-like cells. This work may help to clarify the natural lifecycle of the beta cell and

Scientists are one step closer to deciphering the molecular signaling process controlling innate immunity with the discovery that a molecule called IRAK1 regulates the expression of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10. Because atherosclerosis patients often have elevated IL-10 levels, IRAK1 may be a viable target for developing therapeutics for atherosclerosis. The research appears as the “Paper of the Week” in the December 3 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, an American Society f

Scientists have identified a new, longer species of amyloid â-peptide that has the potential to be a new target for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. The research appears as the “Paper of the Week” in the December 3 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, an American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology journal.

One of the characteristic features of Alzheimer’s disease is the deposition of amyloid â-peptides in the brain. These amyloid â-peptides ar

Researchers at the universities of Helsinki and Tampere (Finland) have developed a new virtual microscopy system, which allows users digitize entire microscope glass slide specimens, and then create a virtual slide with the quality and resolution similar to the original glass slide viewed on a microscope. The results are high-resolution digital images viewable through a standard web browser, independent of a microscope.

The slide scanning microscope and an image web server devel

A protein that the heart produces during its development could be redeployed after a heart attack to help the organ repair itself, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas have found.

The mouse-study findings could eventually lead to new treatments for heart disease in humans and could even change the way healthcare providers respond to people suffering from heart attacks. The research appears today’s edition of Nature and is available online. “If the protein ha

Stem cell source is disposable umbilical cord blood

A new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine confirms that stem cells derived from the umbilical cords of newborn babies are a viable and effective transplant source for thousands of leukemia patients who have no other treatment option.

“As many as 16,000 leukemia patients diagnosed each year require a bone marrow transplant, but have no matched relative or can’t find a match in the national bone m

The sterilization of Britain’s endoscopes is revealed as haphazard and lacking, in a survey unveiled today by the Patients Association to MPs and Peers in the House of Commons.

The poll, among healthcare professionals, reveals that five per cent of those questioned didn’t clean their instruments between patients; more than a half reuse the sterilising fluid; many endoscopes never make it to the Central Sterile Department at the end of each clinic; and there are no uniform gui

A multidisciplinary paediatrics research team has been awarded the “Amagoia” prize by the Sociedad Vasco-Navarra de Pediatría for its work, “Study of bone mass and its determinant factors in female children and adolescents affected by eating habit disorders”. The research was led by Dr. Cristina Azcona, responsible for the Paediatric Endocrinology Unit at the Department of paediatrics at the University Hospital in Navarre.

The patients affected by eating habit disorders are at g

For the first time anywhere, scientists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and from Germany have succeeded in producing self-assembled spider web fibres under laboratory conditions, outside of the bodies of spiders. This fibre is significantly stronger than the silk fibre made by silkworms.

The achievement by the research team, described in an article in the Nov. 23 issue of Current Biology, opens the way to commercial development of this spider fibre for numerous industrial

Together with an international research team, researchers from VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland have developed an effective method for the screening and identification of genes that under normal conditions suppress cancer growth. The method enabled the discovery of a new cancer gene, which, when damaged, may promote prostate cancer. Prostate cancer is the most diagnosed form of cancer in men; it is also becoming increasingly common. Thus, this finding may have great significance for

Biology Letters

Temperature-dependent sex ratio in a bird by Dr A Göth and Dr DT Booth

Incubation temperature is known to determine sex ratios in reptiles, but not in birds. We show that incubation temperature affects sex ratios in megapode birds, which are exceptional because they use environmental heat sources for incubation. In a megapode species, the Australian brush-turkey (Alectura lathami), more males hatch at low and more females hatch at high incubation

Duke University Medical Center geneticists have discovered new proteins that help the olfactory system in mammals organize properly. Thus the proteins are key to the ability of mammals, including humans, to detect and respond appropriately to chemicals in the environment via their sense of smell. The finding in mice paves the way for scientists to unravel the underlying code that allows the brain to interpret smells, according to the researchers.

Using genetic manipulations, th

Johns Hopkins researchers say there is growing evidence that stem cells gone awry in their efforts to repair tissue damage could help explain why long-term irritation, such as from alcohol or heartburn, can create a breeding ground for certain cancers.

At the heart of their argument, outlined in the Nov. 18 issue of Nature, are two key chemical signals, called Hedgehog and Wnt (“wint”), that are active in the stem cells that repair damaged tissue. Recently and unexpectedly, the

Researchers have discovered that individual fibroblast cells contain independent, self-sustaining circadian (ca. 24 hr) clocks. Circadian clocks are important for synchronizing many physiological and behavioral processes to the day/night cycle.

For decades it has been known that a tiny cluster of brain cells known as the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) is required for expression of circadian rhythms in mammals. When clock genes were identified in the late ’90s, they were found

Scientists have glimpsed the three-dimensional structure of a protein that protects the ends of human chromosomes, a function that is essential for normal cell division and survival. By visualizing the protein as it surrounds the end of a chromosome, the scientists have learned how the protein homes in on a specific DNA sequence and acts like a protective cap to prevent erosion of chromosome ends.

The researchers, led by Howard Hughes Medical Institute President Thomas R. C

Discovery offers hope for a pharmaceutical intervention to treat some forms of retinitis pigmentosa

Gene mutations that impair the ability of photoreceptor cells to properly dispose of waste – and as a result cause the blinding eye disease retinitis pigmentosa – have been identified by vision researchers at the University of Utah’s Moran Eye Center. The discovery raises concerns that carbonic anhydrase inhibitors (medications often used to treat both heart and eye diseases) ma