Contrary to what some scientists have suggested, key intracellular particles known as ribosomes serve as mechanical matchmakers or readout devices rather than acting chemically to speed up reactions in the body the way enzymes do, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers and colleagues have discovered.

A report on the findings by Drs. Annette Sievers and Richard Wolfenden of the UNC School of Medicine appears in the new issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Scien

In an unusual but useful example of cellular flip-flop, a new research study demonstrates that multiple cell types have the ability to temporarily switch into renin-secreting cells when they are needed to stabilize blood pressure. The research, published in the May issue of Developmental Cell, demonstrates that the recruited cells are direct descendants of cells that expressed renin at one time during development.

Renin is a hormone released into the blood by specialized cells in the walls

Viagra affects growth of the male sex organ of plants, by intensifying the effect of nitric oxide during plant fertilization. This discovery, made by the Plant Development team at the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência (IGC), in Portugal, will be published in Development, in June. The study, led by José Feijó, takes a step further in understanding fertilization in plants, a complex process but an absolutely essential one for the survival and evolution of species.

Pollen grains, which contain t

atugen AG, The Gene Silencing Company, announced today that it has demonstrated, in vivo, proof-of-concept in functional delivery of its highly stable siRNA therapeutics. In a series of repeat studies to test glucose tolerance in normal rodents, atugen’s siRNA therapy was shown to be effective in regulating blood sugar levels.

In the study, treatment with stabilized siRNA molecules (atuRNAi) through clinically-relevant i.v. infusion led to downregulation of a target which plays a significan

Researchers have recently confirmed a set of indicators that, alone and in combination, identify shingles patients who have an increased risk of developing persistent pain after the shingles rash heals. Results and implications of their study will be presented in the May 11 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Shingles (herpes zoster) has the highest incidence of all neurological diseases, affecting approximately half a million Americans annually.

A new guideline developed by the American Academy of Neurology evaluates the use of transcranial Doppler ultrasonography (TCD) to determine when use of the test leads to better informed decisions by doctors and improved patient outcomes. A TCD is an ultrasound test that uses reflected sound waves to evaluate blood as it flows through the brain. TCD is mainly used to evaluate patients with cerebrovascular disease.

The guideline, which is published in the May 11 issue of Neurology, the scienti

Tests to diagnose endometrial hyperplasia, a condition where the uterus lining becomes overgrown, are more accurate than experiments have suggested. A study published this week in BMC Medicine shows that delays in verifying test results have led to underestimates of test accuracy. Researchers from Birmingham Women’s Hospital systematically reviewed all the published research on the accuracy of diagnostic tests for endometrial hyperplasia. They found that if researchers waited more than

This release is being distributed on behalf of Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development, L.L.C.

It is one of man’s most common, underestimated sexual problems: Ejaculating earlier than desired. More common than erectile dysfunction, this condition can affect men at any point in their lives, and one in four men experience poor control over ejaculation on a frequent basis. According to published research, 20%-30% of men worldwide are commonly affected by premature ej

Researchers at the University of Warwick have for the first time been able to detail how and why specific neurons in the brain control the hunger response. They have revealed a set of pacemaker nerve cells in the brain that appear to underlie the drive to feed which itself feeds on a complex web of signals. The level of complexity they have found is such that the system could be much more at risk of serious repercussions from a single error in how those signals are processed than anyone had previousl

The bacterium, Helicobacter pylori, which infects the stomach, causes duodenal ulcer disease and is thought to cause stomach cancer. The question of why the bacteria are only found in the stomach has puzzled scientists for many years. Researchers at the Conway Institute and the Children’s Research Centre at Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children, Dublin in collaboration with workers at The National Centre for Sensor Research, Dublin City University and The University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK have di

The family of bacteria that causes tuberculosis (TB) and leprosy are notoriously sturdy. And although the diseases they cause have been held in check for the past 50 years by antibiotics, some strains are becoming increasingly resistant to existing therapy.

Now, however, a new chink has been found in the cellular armor that makes these infectious diseases difficult to treat. The discovery, reported today (May 9) in the online editions of the journal Nature Structural & Molecular Biology by

Plant chemicals created during the preparation of some vegetables could kill colon cancer cells in a similar way to some cancer drugs.

Scientists at the Institute of Food Research (IFR) have found that natural chemicals sabotage the uncontrolled cell division of colon cancer cells. Cancer cells are immortal because they divide indefinitely, unlike healthy cells which commit suicide at the end of their lifecycle as part of a constant process of renewal.

The plant chemical all

The main role in new findings about neovessel formation is played by a protein called tissue factor. This factor turns out to have both a stimulatory function and an inhibitory function in the generation of blood vessels. Normally these two functions neutralize each other, but in diseases like retinopathy – where unwanted blood vessels grow into the retina – this balance is disturbed. The research team shows this in an article in the May issue of Nature Medicine.

Tissue factor is found in th

Moscow researchers have solved the most challenging problem: they made E. coli synthesize one of the most toxic elements of cobra’s poison. It was no simpler a task than keeping a terrarium. The scientists’ efforts were supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research and INTAS.

Natural poisons have always been an attraction for researchers, but it is very hard to study them as poisons are multi-componential and each of them affects cells in its own specific way. Such are alpha-neuroto

Findings presented at the annual meeting of the American Urological Association (AUA) indicate that prostate cancer could be detected as many as five years earlier than it is currently being diagnosed by testing for a protein in tissue that indicates the presence of early disease. The University of Pittsburgh researchers suggest that testing for the protein, called early prostate cancer antigen (EPCA), could serve as an adjunct to the current diagnostic approach to patients with elevated levels of pr

Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers have demonstrated the ability to identify kidney cancer, including localized (stage I) cancer, in the urine of affected patients. What’s more, urine tests were repeated following the removal of the cancerous kidney and none of the tests showed DNA evidence of disease. These research findings were presented at the American Urological Association Annual Meeting May 8-13, 2004 in San Francisco.

As with other cancers, an early diagnosis of kidney cancer