By mimicking a molecular switch that triggers cell death, researchers have killed cells grown in the laboratory from one of the most resilient and aggressive cancers – a virulent brain cancer known as glioblastoma. The new approach to tricking the cell-death machinery could be applied to a wide range of cancers where this pathway, known as apoptosis, has been inactivated.

The researchers — led by Xiaodong Wang, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator at the University of Tex

New ’ring of life’ points to mergers and acquisitions between cells

According to a new report, complex cells like those in the human body probably resulted from the fusion of genomes from an ancient bacterium and a simpler microbe, Archaea, best known for its ability to withstand extreme temperatures and hostile environments. The finding provides strong evidence that complex cells arose from combinations of simpler organisms in a symbiotic effort to survive. Jim Lake and

Many cancers, including colon, prostate, and leukemia, continue to grow unchecked because they do not respond to a signal to die and stop proliferating from Transforming Growth Factor-beta (TGF-b). The cause of this signaling disruption of the normal cell cycle has not been fully understood. For the first time, scientists at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center have discovered the biologic function of the cytoplasmic form of the Promyelocytic Leukemia protein (PML), and identified it as an essenti

New technology will open doors in biophysical research and education

The 4Pi-Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope is world’s most advanced light-based microscope-capable of revealing the structure of genetic material within a cell in three dimensions. The first such instrument is now coming to the United States, thanks to a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to a Maine interdisciplinary biophysical research program.

The Institute for Molecular Biophysics (IMB) brings t

Physical symptoms (such as headache, back pain, stomach problems, joint or muscle pains, and dizziness) are nearly as common in depression as emotional symptoms and are the predominant complaint depressed patients present with in the primary care setting.

A study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine examined the prevalence, impact on quality of life, and outcome of physical symptoms in depressed patients during nine months of antidepressant therapy. While physical sy

A program that targets allergens and tobacco smoke in the home resulted in fewer asthma symptoms in children participating in the intervention than in those who were not, according to a new study sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in seven metropolitan areas nationwide. Children taking part in the intervention had 21 fewer days of asthma symptoms over the one-year course of intervention.

The study–co-funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Dis

But first study of indoor air before and after a smoking ban finds carcinogens eliminated by smoke-free laws

The level of cancer-causing particles is much higher in the air of smoke-filled bars and casinos than on truck-choked highways and city streets, according to the first published comparison of indoor air quality before and after smoke-free workplace legislation. The study, conducted in a casino, six bars and a pool hall in Wilmington, Delaware, is published in the September 2

Study demonstrates effectiveness of the antidepressant duloxetine for improving symptoms and relieving pain

Fibromyalgia is a chronic, incapacitating musculoskeletal disorder. Nearly six times more common in women than in men, fibromyalgia is marked by widespread body pain and muscle tenderness, often accompanied by headaches, sleep disturbances, and fatigue. While its cause remains a mystery, fibromyalgia has been linked to abnormalities in the brain’s neurotransmitters, seroto

Researchers from the University of Chicago and Stanford University found that one of the new programs to increase the number of kidneys available for transplantation has disadvantages for candidates with blood type O who are waiting for an organ from a deceased donor. The researchers’ findings appear in the Sept. 15, 2004, issue of Transplantation.

Through a process called list-paired exchange, a person waiting for a kidney transplant gets a higher priority on the wait list for

Cancer-causing soil pollution from herbicide residues may be avoided in future thanks to researchers from Exeter University, who have identified bacteria which can break down a widely used toxic chemical, scientists will announce tomorrow (Thursday, 09 September 2004) at the Society for General Microbiology’s 155th Meeting at Trinity College Dublin.
Herbicide residues leaking into water sources, or remaining in agricultural soil and landfills, pose a serious threat of cancer to adults and

Upset stomachs and gut diseases are a common problem amongst our increasingly elderly population, but now help may be on hand using friendly bacteria isolated from the intestines of healthy elderly individuals, according to scientists speaking today (Wednesday, 08 September 2004) at the Society for General Microbiology’s 155th Meeting at Trinity College Dublin.

Giving elderly patients antibiotics often causes nearly as many problems as it cures, by wiping out the protective bacteria

Scientists have traced the first steps in the way some new diseases emerge, and how harmless bacteria living in insects become dangerous disease-causing bugs which can affect humans, like the plague or anthrax. Researchers from the University of Bath are presenting their results today (Wednesday, 08 September 2004) at the Society for General Microbiology’s 155th Meeting at Trinity College Dublin.

The scientists believe that because of the similarities between human and insect immune

For the first time, scientists have found a direct relationship between global warming and the evolution of contemporary wildlife. A research team led by Stanford University biologist Elizabeth A. Hadly published its findings in the Sept. 7 online edition of the journal PloS Biology.

“We think we know a lot about how animals might respond to global warming, but we really have very little idea about their actual genetic response to environmental change,” said Hadly, an assistant pro

Novel Gene Therapy for Bladder Cancer Shows Strong Results in Animal Studies HOUSTON – Gene therapy that causes the bladder to act like a “bioreactor” to produce and secrete the anti-cancer agent interferon-alpha has shown dramatic benefits in preclinical tests, say researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

The researchers say their findings, published in the September issue of Molecular Therapy, suggest this gene therapy strategy holds much promise for tr

A mixed epigenetic and genetic and mixed de novo and inherited model may explain most cases of autism

Researchers have proposed a new hypothesis on the cause of autism, suggesting a mixed epigenetic and genetic and mixed de novo and inherited (MEGDI) model. Their hypothesis, and evidence to support it, will be published September 8, 2004 in the online edition of the American Journal of Medical Genetics Part A, and will be available via Wiley InterScience at http://www.interscience.w

Dangerous multi-drug-resistant bacteria are also developing immunity to hospital disinfectants and antiseptics, according to new research presented today (Wednesday, 08 September 2004) at the Society for General Microbiology’s 155th Meeting at Trinity College Dublin.

Some of the most worrying microbes around, the drug-resistant bacteria known as MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) have been discovered in heavily disinfected hospital locations such as catheters and on