Bone marrow stromal cells release a blood vessel-dilating hormone found in the brain — a finding that suggests the hormone may be tapped to help with recovery from stroke or other neurological injuries disrupting blood flow to the central nervous system, researchers at the University of South Florida and James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital report for the first time. The hormone is known as brain natriuretic peptide.

The laboratory study was published in the January 2004 issue of the jou

Killing the disease without killing the patient is an old dilemma for doctors fighting cancer and some of the tougher microorganisms such as fungal infections in individuals with suppressed immune systems. Drugs have little effect when a patient’s own immune system isn’t available to help, and these fungi can resist external radiation that would kill even a perfectly healthy human. But they can be easily killed by a very small dose of radiation inside their cells.

Monoclonal antib

For the first time, scientists at the University of Virginia Health System have engineered cells that produce the pathological hallmark found in the brain cells of all patients with Parkinson’s disease – Lewy bodies, tiny balls of damaged protein, found only in the brain and discovered more than ninety years ago.

The U.Va. research on Lewy bodies means that scientists now have a model of the pathological changes found in Parkinson’s disease “in a dish” and can use this cellular model for ex

A team of researchers from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, lead by Professor Jordi Alberola, has demonstrated the efficacy and safety of a new type of antibiotic, belonging to the family called antimicrobial peptides, for treating canine leishmaniasis, which is a disease that also affects humans. It is the first time that these antibiotics have been demonstrated to be useful against parasitic diseases in real clinical situations. The antibiotic can also improve treatment of other infections, p

In the largest study of its kind, researchers have shown that diabetes can cause chronic liver disease and cancer of the liver. Researchers from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the National Institutes of Health report their findings in the February issue of Gastroenterology, the journal of the American Gastroenterological Association.

The prospective cohort study was comprised of 173,643 patients with diabetes and 650,620 patients without diabetes who were discharged from VA hos

Researchers at the School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee have made an exciting new discovery on how cells regulate themselves and prevent cancer as reported in Nature tomorrow (Wednesday). Dr Tomo Tanaka and his team members, Drs Hilary Dewar and Kozo Tanaka have uncovered a tug of war that cells use to collect their full complement of correct chromosomes. The absence of this tug of war leads to irregular cells, tumours, cancer and congenital disorders such as Down syndrome. How all d

Starving a cancerous tumor of its blood supply might stop its growth while other treatments aim to kill it.

“Nutrient depletion” is how Dr. Ed Harris, Texas A&M University biochemist, describes the process in the February issue of Nutrition Reviews. His article traces how independent studies around the world led researchers to consider copper, a trace mineral in the human diet, for its potential in controlling cancerous growth.

“The idea is to deprive a selective nutrient f

Coating DNA with a topical steroid might make for more effective therapeutic gene delivery, according to bioengineers at the University of Pennsylvania. The researchers have shown that a common anti-inflammatory steroid, wrapped around a strand of DNA, can prevent the immune responses commonly associated with gene-transfer techniques.

Studies of the technique, performed in animal models, are presented in the Feb. 15 issue of the journal Gene Therapy, available online now.

“The st

Scientists at Scripps research create single, clonable strand of DNA that folds into an octahedron

A group of scientists at The Scripps Research Institute has designed, constructed, and imaged a single strand of DNA that spontaneously folds into a highly rigid, nanoscale octahedron that is several million times smaller than the length of a standard ruler and about the size of several other common biological structures, such as a small virus or a cellular ribosome.

Making the

European researchers launch 10 million Euro collaborative technology project: EMBL-Hamburg coordinates a four-year integrated research project within the 6th Framework Programme of the European Commission:

The European Commission has given Europe a huge boost in the field of Structural Genomics, awarding the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and its partners 10 Million Euro for an integrated project called “BIOXHIT.” The project aims to create a common platform throughout Europe f

Losing weight and exercising regularly slows progression of chronic liver disease in those who are overweight, indicates a study in Gut.

Being overweight is bad for the liver. And non-alcoholic fatty liver is increasingly being diagnosed in those who are overweight, diabetic, or who have insulin resistance syndrome, a precursor to diabetes. Overweight and obesity are also recognised risk factors for the progression of other chronic liver diseases, such as hepatitis C.

Once conside

A group of scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have provided strong evidence that a popular hypothesis concerning the origins of a genetic mutation common among Caucasians of Northern European descent that protects against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is wrong.

The hypothesis suggests that the mutation conferred resistance against bubonic plague in the Middle Ages, much as it does against HIV today. This idea was based on the fact that the mutation first appeared around the s

New research – published by Science Magazine within the Science Express Web site and released today at the 2004 AAAS Annual Meeting — may be a first step toward methods for treating diabetes, osteoarthritis, Parkinson’s and other diseases, by producing replacement cells unlikely to trigger immune-system rejection.

Transplantation medicine based on stem cells remains a distant hope for now, Science editors cautioned. But, the Science study describes intriguing early results:

Diamonds are getting bigger, more colorful and cheaper, thanks to chemistry. A favorite gem at Valentine’s Day is getting a makeover with synthetic diamond making processes, according to the Feb. 2 issue of Chemical & Engineering News, the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society.
The diamond-making business has been around for years and although synthetic diamonds had many important uses, including saw blades, drill bits and exfolian

The sinking of the Prestige and the resulting leakage of petroleum oil, just over a year ago, provoked a real catastrophe. A significant number of research groups were prompted to set to work to clean up the remains of this oil slick. One year after, the first results of those researches are being known. They want to use bacteria that eat petroleum oil, extracted from the proper petroleum oil.

Certain bacteria are able to feed off petroleum oil which is, in fact, full of these kinds of bact

Finding mice suggests that abnormalities of this beta-catenin protein underlie certain muscle diseases in human

The organization and stability of growing muscles in both embryonic and adult mice depends on the ability of a protein called Ozz to direct the timely destruction of membrane-bound â-catenin, according to scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. â-catenin is one of the key proteins that orchestrates this process. Ozz directs destruction of â-catenin by assem