White blood cells are the principle mediators of immune system function, yet efforts to influence their role in illness have been hampered due to a lack of understanding of the surface structure of these cells – until now. Dartmouth Medical School researchers characterize the structure of white blood cells and challenge assumptions about how a certain immunodeficiency disorder affects the white blood cell surface in the September 1 issue of Blood, the journal of the American Society of Hematolog

Scientists have capitalized on genomic data to define novel diagnostic tests and to gain insight into the evolutionary and genetic history of the deadly pathogen Bacillus anthracis (anthrax).

Researchers at Northern Arizona University (NAU), the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) and The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR) used nearly 1000 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to define the genetic and evolutionary types of several anthrax isolates with extremely h

Research runs counter to Darwin’s theory of natural selection

A team of biochemists from UC Riverside published a paper in the June 11 issue of the Journal of Molecular Biology that gives one explanation for why humans and primates are so closely related genetically, but so clearly different biologically and intellectually.
It is an established fact that 98 percent of the DNA, or the code of life, is exactly the same between humans and chimpanzees. So the key to what it mea

A team of scientists has found that a protein involved in a congenital neurological disorder also plays a role in DNA damage repair and thus cancer prevention. The research appears as the “Paper of the Week” in the August 13 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, an American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology journal.

Primary microcephaly is a rare neurological disorder that results in an abnormally small head due to improper brain formation and growth. Children

Bone marrow derived stem cells can give rise to heart muscle cells. This plasticity concept – the ability of bone marrow cell to transdifferentiate into heart muscle cell – is supported by experimental and clinical data. Another possibility is to replace the missing function by causing transdifferentiation of existing cells. Transdifferentiation means converting one sort of cell, e.g. fibroblast, into another, e.g. muscle cell. There is real hope that we may be able to control this unique phenomenon

Myocardial infarction, caused by coronary artery occlusion, can lead up to loss of muscle tissue of the heart and functional detriment, even at times where rapid reperfusion strategies like PTCA or thrombolysis are at hand. In the study presented here, we investigated embryonic endothelial progenitor cells as therapy for ischemia reperfusion injury in a large animal model (pig). This model, which induces an infarct of predictable size in a pig heart, was used to test the cardioprotective potential

Study finds antibiotics do not prevent heart attacks

Results from landmark PROVE IT-TIMI 22 trial suggest clinicians should use proven therapies, such as high-dose statin therapy, to reduce cardiovascular disease risk factors.

Previous studies have found Chlamydia pneumoniae, a common bacterium that causes respiratory illness, may also be a risk factor for atherosclerosis and other cardiovascular diseases. Researchers and clinicians had hoped that treating C. pneumoniae wit

An under-recognized and usually asymptomatic condition called subclavian artery stenosis – an obstruction of arteries located under the clavicle, or collarbone – is important in the diagnosis and treatment of high blood pressure, according to a study by researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine and Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.

Published in the August 4, 2004 issue of the Journal of the American College of Card

Body tissues such as blood vessels, cartilage and skin—even whole organs such as kidneys, livers and hearts—could become more widely available for transplants as a result of a patent issued recently to Organ Recovery Systems of Chicago for a method to chill body tissues and organs well below freezing without forming ice crystals. The new process for tissue “vitrification”—-chilling tissue and organs to a disordered, glass-like solid without ice formation—-was developed with support from the Nationa

Work emphasizes need for stronger regulations of herbal drugs

In work that emphasizes the need for stronger regulations of herbal drugs, an international team of MIT scientists and colleagues has unraveled the yin and the yang of ginseng, or why the popular alternative medicine can have two entirely different, opposing effects on the body.

Conflicting scientific articles report that ginseng can both promote the growth of blood vessels (key to wound healing) and stymie tha

The risk of cancer mortality from a single full-body computed tomography (CT) scan is modest, but not negligible, and the risks resulting from elective annual scans are much higher, according to a study published in the September issue of the journal Radiology.

The increasing popularity of elective, or self-referred, full-body CT screening has raised concerns regarding the radiation-related cancer mortality risk associated with full-body CT radiation exposure. Based on anecdotal evidence, t

Immune cells transform into blood-vessel cells in ovarian cancer

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine discovered that in ovarian cancer immune cells can change into blood-vessel cells, and eventually promote the life-sustaining vasculature of the tumor. These findings were initially observed in a mouse model of ovarian cancer that the investigators generated and then confirmed in human ovarian cancer. This work may lead to new approaches to fighting solid

An enzyme found in nearly all animal and human cells acts as a natural brake to prevent potentially deadly runaway inflammation, UCSF scientists have discovered. The discovery in research with mice suggests a promising target for treating a range of inflammatory diseases in which the body’s immune reaction to bacterial invasion spirals out of control, the researchers report.

The enzyme, known as A20, controls the first step in the series of signals that unleash immune system sold

Does estrogen help cognition? Many women ponder that question as a quality-of-life issue while deciding on estrogen therapy since it has been linked to potential disease complications. Now, a new study at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign suggests that the stress of any given task at least partially determines if hormones will help the mind.

Reporting in the August issue of Behavioral Neuroscience, four researchers show the introduction of a single stressor — water temp

Canadian researchers identify new player in breast cancer

Canadian researchers at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (Montreal, QC) and McMaster University (Hamilton, ON) have identified a new player in breast cancer. This gene, beta1-integrin, has been shown to be critical in the initiation of tumour growth and development in a mouse model of cancer.

“We are the first to demonstrate the requirement for beta1-integrin in the induction breast can

On behalf of the Steering Committee of the American-Australian-African trial with DronedarONe In atrial fibrillation or flutter patients for the maintenance of Sinus rhythm

ADONIS trial findings presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Munich

The findings of the “American-Australian-African trial with DronedarONe In atrial fibrillation or flutter patients for the maintenance of Sinus rhythm” (ADONIS) trial, announced today at the annual meeting of the Europ