The progressing AIDS epidemic has prompted a revival of interest in pneumocytosis, a respiratory infection which appears only in immunodepressed humans and can be fatal if treatment is not given. The agent responsible is a microscopic fungus, albeit usually non-pathogenic, which lives in the pulmonary alveoli. Searching for possible sources of human contamination in animal reservoirs proved negative: only the species specific for humans, Pneumocystis jirovecii, can trigger pneumonia in humans. This w

Blocking a molecule that rids cells of potentially toxic molecules might make chemotherapy for leukemia more effective, but it could also leave healthy stem cells more vulnerable to toxic cancer treatment drugs

Inactivating a protective molecule in leukemic cells to make them more vulnerable to chemotherapy might also make healthy blood-forming cells more sensitive to the toxic effects of those same drugs. These findings have been published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry by in

Experiments reverse cells’ developmental course

In experiments with fruit flies, Johns Hopkins scientists have restored the insect’s sperm-making stem cells by triggering cells on the way to becoming sperm to reverse course. The unexpected findings are described in the May 13 issue of Science.

Like all stem cells, the fruit fly’s sperm-making stem cells can renew themselves or can develop into more specialized cells — eventually sperm in this case. While a few types of fai

Johns Hopkins researchers have developed the basis of an inexpensive, simple urine test that identifies impending kidney failure or rejection following transplant surgery. Their work, presented this week in a special invited lecture to the American Transplant Congress in Boston, Mass., is based on proteins found in urine, and could lead to a urine test kit that may allow many patients to skip painful biopsies.

“This has the potential to radically change the way transplant patients are manage

While-you-wait medical tests that screen patients for thousands of disease markers could be possible with compact-disk technology patented by Purdue University scientists.

A team led by physicist David D. Nolte has pioneered a method of creating analog CDs that can function as inexpensive diagnostic tools for protein detection. Because the concentration of certain proteins in the bloodstream can indicate the onset of many diseases, a cheap and fast method of detecting these biological

Less expensive production method reduces the costs on the consumer and society

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and the Belgian institute VIB (Flander Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology) have developed a new, efficient method for producing plant-derived compounds in cell cultures. Such compounds are for example used for expensive special pharmaceuticals. The new method will provide a more inexpensive and efficient method for producing anti-cancer drugs in the near fut

A team led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis is one step closer to understanding the function of a protein linked to an inherited form of the movement disorder dystonia.

The protein, torsinA, is defective in patients with DYT1 dystonia, an inherited condition that causes uncontrollable movements in the limbs and torso. Learning what torsinA does could be an important step toward developing a treatment for the disorder.

“The hope is that underst

Scientists identify a key mechanism to recognize misfolded proteins

Scientists at McGill University’s Faculty of Medicine have discovered a key step that will provide new targets for treatments of many degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Cystic Fibrosis and Diabetes. Dr. David Thomas, Chair of Biochemistry, Dr. John Bergeron, Chair of Anatomy and Cell Biology and colleagues have identified a mechanism by which misfolded proteins are recognized in the cell. This is a c

’Reaper’ genes essential for cell death

In what may be the cellular equivalent of watching the Grim Reaper in action, University of Utah School of Medicine researchers have shown that two “death activator” genes are essential for cell death when Drosophila (fruit flies) metamorphose from larvae to adults. Death of obsolete larval tissue is critical in insect metamorphosis.

The two genes–reaper (rpr) and hid (head involution defective)–act by overcoming the protec

Scientists have uncovered new evidence about a critical cellular pathway that makes tumor blood vessels resistant to radiation therapy. The research, published in the May issue of Cancer Cell, may have significant clinical applications, as a better understanding of this mechanism may open new avenues for enhancing the effectiveness of radiation therapy.

Tumor growth and survival is completely dependant upon having an adequate blood supply. In fact, the sensitivity of a tumor’s blood ve

A new in-depth report published today concludes there is no justification for the idea that current standards of home cleaning and home hygiene are a factor in the rise in allergies.

The report represents the first detailed review by infectious disease and hygiene specialists of the ‘hygiene hypothesis’ – the idea that having fewer childhood infections, because of cleaner homes and smaller families, may be responsible for more children developing allergies and asthma.

The report fin

Microwaving the heart may soon become a routine procedure for the treatment of heart rhythm disorders, a common cause of heart attack and stroke, reports Marina Murphy in Chemistry & Industry magazine.

The new device will selectively ‘cook’ areas of the human heart at 55°C. The procedure, which takes just a few seconds, produces a lesion that blocks abnormal electrical signals. ‘This is exactly the same as the way a microwave oven heats meat . . . the difference is that the microwave exposu

High levels of troponin I (TNI) protein in the blood helps identify possible heart damage after cancer treatment, according to a report in today’s rapid access issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

The report also suggests that tracking TNI levels can help doctors form a heart disease prevention plan for some chemotherapy patients. “Damage to the heart is one of the most worrisome long-term side effects of high-dose chemotherapy,” said lead author Daniela Card

A disintegrin-metalloproteinase prevents amyloid plaque formation and hippocampal defects in an Alzheimer disease mouse model

Alzheimer Disease (AD), a progressive neurological disorder, is characterized by the presence of amyloid plaques in the brain. These plaques are comprised of aggregates of amyloid beta-peptides (AB peptides), which are believed to play a central role in disease development. Most strategies to prevent AD have been aimed at reducing the generation of amyloid beta

The brain’s center of reasoning and problem solving is among the last to mature, a new study graphically reveals. The decade-long magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study of normal brain development, from ages 4 to 21, by researchers at NIH’s National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) shows that such “higher-order” brain centers, such as the prefrontal cortex, don’t fully develop until young adulthood.

A time-lapse 3-D movie that

By carefully matching the estimated function of kidneys from deceased donors with the needs of potential recipients, surgeons can successfully transplant kidneys that would otherwise be discarded, according to a report from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. The center was able to double its transplant volume within a year.

In addition, a second report concludes that age alone shouldn’t prohibit older adults from being organ donors – or having a kidney transplant themselves