Researchers from The Rockefeller University have uncovered specific mechanisms by which cells that are genetically programmed to commit suicide stimulate growth in surrounding cells. The research, published online in Developmental Cell, provides new information about how normal, healthy tissues are maintained and may shed some light on a pathway that may contribute to tumor growth.

It has been known for some time that cells that die as a result of injury-provoked programmed cell deat

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2004 “for the discovery of ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation” jointly to

Aaron Ciechanover
Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel,

Avram Hershko
Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel and

Irwin Rose
University of California, Irvine, USA

They have discovered how useless proteins are labelled wit

The first draft of the bovine genome sequence is now freely available to biomedical and agricultural researchers around the world.

CSIRO Livestock Industries is a partner in the U.S. $53 million dollar international effort to sequence the genome of the cow (Bos taurus).

“CSIRO has invested in the research to increase understanding and utilisation of the bovine genome which is a major focus for our livestock portfolio development both now and into the future,” CSIRO Livesto

Testosterone -– the hormone responsible for a man’s sex drive -– may help him recover from a stroke, according to preliminary animal research at Saint Louis University.

Researchers will present their findings at the annual meeting of the American Neurological Association in October. “It looks like testosterone speeds up the recovery from a stroke,” said Yi Pan, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of neurology at Saint Louis University School of Medicine and principal investigator

Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers examine wait times and outcomes

Men who wait as long as three months after their prostate cancer diagnosis to receive radiation treatment do not fare worse than those who have treatment sooner. That is the result of a new study by researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center presented today at the 46th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology in Atlanta, Ga.

“The time between initial diagnosis and extern

Lower sensitivity of mammography in women aged 40 to 49 years compared with older women can be largely explained by greater breast density and rapid tumor growth in the younger women, according to a new study in the October 6 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Because mammography is imperfect for women in their 40s, there has been controversy over whether and how often these women should be screened. Mammographic sensitivity–that is, the percentage of cancers det

Heart patients are more than twice as likely to die during their first 30 days of hospitalization if they receive a blood transfusion to treat blood loss or anemia, according to a new analysis by cardiologists at the Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI).

Additionally, such patients are more than three times as likely to suffer a heart attack within 30 days, when compared to those who did not receive a transfusion.

These findings — which emerged after a retrospective

Patients with heart failure undergoing major non-cardiac surgical procedures are almost twice as likely to die as other patients, according to researchers at the Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI).

In their analysis of Medicare data, the researchers also found, to their surprise, that the outcomes after major non-cardiac surgery were similar in patients with coronary artery disease and those with no heart disease.

The findings about heart failure patients are signifi

Young women at low risk for coronary heart disease and cardiovascular diseases have a lower long-term death rate from these diseases and all other causes compared with those with higher risk levels, according to an article in the Oct. 6 issue of The Journal of the American Medicine.

Cardiovascular risk factors include high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol level, high body mass index, diabetes and cigarette smoking.

Studies have shown that young adult men and middle-age

Women who take the hormone therapy estrogen plus progestin have double the risk for venous thrombosis, a type of blood clot, according to an article in the October 6 issue of JAMA. Venous thrombosis (VT) is a common disorder, according to background information in the article.

Mary Cushman, M.D., M.Sc., of the University of Vermont, Colchester, Vt., and colleagues examined the effects of postmenopausal hormone therapy on VT in the presence of other thrombosis risk factors, such a

Treating benign tumors outside the brain with CyberKnife Frameless Radiosurgery resulted in significant improvement in symptoms and minimal toxicity, according to a study by University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine researchers presented today at the 46th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) in Atlanta.

“While stereotactic radiosurgery for the treatment of benign brain tumors has become widely accepted, our knowledge about the use o

Childhood predictors of self-reported chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis in adults: national birth cohort study BMJ Online First

Sedentary children have a higher risk of developing chronic fatigue syndrome in later life than children who regularly play sport in their spare time, finds new research published on bmj.com today.

Chronic fatigue syndrome or myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) is a common disabling condition characterised by persistent unexplained

Mechanical loading through exercise builds bone strength and this effect is most pronounced during skeletal growth and development, according to Charles H. Turner, professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and director of orthopaedic research at the Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis.

Exercise that puts the “best” kind of mechanical load to strengthen bones, especially during childhood and adolescence, Turner says, involves impact or high rates of load such

The “fight or flight” mechanism is one of the best-known physiological responses. It increases our ability to respond to stressful situations. One way to look at exercise – physiologically — is as a non-life-threatening example of a stressful situation. Think about it: When we exercise, our heart and breathing rates rise rapidly and blood vessels in our limbs dilate in order to deliver more oxygenated blood to our working muscle cells. The rapid rise in blood flow to the periphery — especially to

University of Michigan researchers are testing a new procedure in which they can take a tiny piece of a person’s mouth lining, grow it into a dollar-bill sized piece of tissue and graft that expanded piece into the donor’s mouth to heal a wound.

Dr. Stephen Feinberg is leading a team that is currently working with five patients to treat small mouth wounds with the grafts. These five patients are part of what is called a proof of concept study for the Food and Drug Admin

Autistic children often do not interact well with the world around them; being unable to understand events in their immediate surroundings and lacking any sense of an ability to control or direct events. This inability to interact inhibits their mental development; precisely the problem that MEDIATE was designed to help overcome.

The MEDIATE environment is a six-sided module about five metres across, which acts as a multi-sensory interactive environment for children. Designed for au