The following news tip is based on abstracts to be presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO), October 19 – 23, 2003 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Like bacteria that resist common antibiotics, cancer cells can survive chemotherapy and radiation. Radiation oncologists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center report they have found a gene “silencer” that blocks a cancer cell’s ability to repair itself after drugs and radiation

Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers have learned that a common, cancer-linked gene thought to control blood vessel growth may not turn out to be useful as an effective target for cancer drug development. Their research, published in the October issue of Cancer Cell found that results of previous studies that pinned hope on the Id1 gene may not hold up in a mouse model thought to more accurately represent how humans get cancer.

The scientists began their study attempting to confir

In July 2001, scientists at Cedars-Sinai’s Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute published their findings that one “isoform” or variant of a specific gene was significantly upregulated in high-grade, malignant brain tumors called glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). They theorized that this increased activity might be a critical step in the development, progression and spread of these highly aggressive tumors.

Now, in laboratory experiments designed to mimic the environment of a brain tumor

Currently, voice rehabilitation of larynx cancer patients is performed by inserting a one-way shunt valve between trachea and oesophagus that prevents food and liquid from entering the trachea. Pressing the tracheal opening with a finger forces exhaled air through the shunt valve to the oesophagus, where soft tissue structures serve as a substitute voice. However, the voice is in many cases of poor quality and the process creates a mental barrier during speaking, as patients have to literally point a

A specific enzyme that is a central part in the regulation of body temperature has been identified by a research team at Linkoping University, Sweden. The enzyme is a potential target in the development of new and selective fever reducing drugs.
Professor Anders Blomqvist, MD David Engblom and co-authors are publishing their findings in Nature Neuroscience.

Fever is caused when small, easily diffusible molecules known as prostaglandin E2 are bonded to receptors on deep neural structures

The aim of this PhD is to study the retention of transition metals by humic substances. Transition metals are essential for life but, depending on their concentration in the environment, they can prove to be toxic and provoke serious environmental impact.

Humic substances are, on the other hand, macromolecules arising from the physical, chemical and microbiological transformation (humification) of biomolecules, explains Álvarez Puebla. Their importance is fundamental as they make up the mos

Johns Hopkins scientists investigating nitric oxide (NO) – the molecular messenger that contributes to body functions as wide-ranging as cell death, new blood vessel growth and erections – have figured out how it can block blood vessel inflammation and prevent clotting, a process that has long stumped biologists.

Reporting in the Oct. 17 issue of the journal Cell, cardiologist Charles J. Lowenstein, M.D., and his team observed that NO has the power to inhibit endothelial cells lining blood

Students Who Built Instrument Are Finalists in National Collegiate Inventors Competition

When the birth of a baby does not proceed smoothly, how much force should a doctor or midwife apply? If a complicated delivery takes too long, the child could suffocate, yet pulling too hard could injure the child.

To address this dilemma, Johns Hopkins University biomedical engineering students have invented an unobtrusive device that measures the amount of force a doctor or midwife use

Research news from The Cochrane Library

Surgeons and other experts have long regarded mechanical bowel preparation to be an essential preventative measure before colorectal surgery. Recent evidence in The Cochrane Library, however, reveals that mechanical bowel cleansing does not significantly decrease the risk of anastomotic leakage or other complications.

Researchers reviewed six studies performed over the last thirty years into the relationship between mechanical bowel cl

Scientists at the University of Michigan Medical School have identified two genes responsible for an important, yet often overlooked difference between the sexes.

One of the less evident physiological differences between males and females resides in the liver. Male and female livers express different subsets of genes, which affect the organ’s ability to metabolize certain drugs and hormones. This in turn impacts numerous processes, such as reproduction. While the sexual dimorphism of t

Rare find on central Florida beaches

More than 500 remnants of prehistory – fossilized ghost crabs – have been found in the sand between Melbourne Beach and Satellite Beach. Although picked up for decades by beachcombers, these specimens were taken between 1992 and 2000. The find has been documented by Richard Turner, biological sciences, and published in the Journal of Crustacean Biology.

The Holocene and Pleistocene specimens, between 7,000 and 110,000 years-old, had been

In 1998, scientists found the mammalian version of a gene, known as timeless, which in flies is crucial for the biological clock. However, all but one of the research groups involved determined that timeless did not have such a role in mammals. Now that research group says timeless is indeed a key timekeeper in mammals.

In a new complex molecular study of rats, published in the Oct. 17 issue of Science, researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign blocked the functional abi

With its antioxidant properties, addition of oregano to frying oil makes crisps healthier.

Cottonseed oil containing oregano oxidizes less during frying, leaving crisps with fewer free radicals and greater stability through storage periods. The recent study is published in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture.

Diets high in fat are known to produce harmful free radicals, molecules that damage cells within the body. Build-up of these free radicals can result in

Broccoli loses as much as 97% of some antioxidants when microwaved.

Certain methods of preparation and cooking can cause vegetables to lose their cancer-fighting compounds according to new evidence published in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture.

A study investigating various cooking methods of broccoli concluded that microwaving is the clear loser: microwaved broccoli had lost 97%, 74% and 87% of three major antioxidant compounds*. By stark comparison, steam

Patients who have difficulty swallowing food may also be more likely to suffer from constipation, according to a preliminary study published this week in BMC Gastroenterology. The research suggests that patients with achalasia of the oesophagus, associated with a loss of nerve cells in the muscle surrounding the oesophagus, may also lose nerve cells from the muscle surrounding the rectum. This may cause an increased incidence of constipation in this population.

Patients who suffer from acha

Research published in this week’s issue of THE LANCET highlights the substantial increased survival for people with HIV-1 since the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in 1997. However the study also shows a shift in risk profiles compared with earlier data-people over 45 years no longer appear to have reduced survival compared with younger people, and individuals who acquire HIV-1 infection from injecting drug use have mortality rates four times greater than infection acquir