Foxd3 joins the small, but growing list of stem cell regulating genes

In the search to understand the nature of stem cells, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have identified a regulatory gene that is crucial in maintaining a stem cell’s ability to self-renew. According to their findings, the Foxd3 gene is a required factor for pluripotency – the ability of stem cells to turn into different types of tissue – in the mammalian embryo. Their research is

For the first time, researchers have shown that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can predict the risk of heart attacks or cardiac deaths in coronary heart disease patients, according to a report in today’s rapid access issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

MRI can be used to locate tissue damage in a heart attack or pinpoint blockages, but it has not been used to predict heart attacks.

“This study is the first to determine that MRI is a strong prognos

Serious streptococcus infections is the theme of a major EU project to be coordinated and led by researchers from Lund University. Associate Professor Claes Schalen and researcher Aftab Jasir, both at the Department of Medical Microbiology, Dermatology, and Infections, Section for Bacteriology, are the coordinator and project leader, respectively. Group A streptococci (GAS) are also called killer bacteria since serious GAS infections can develop with dramatic rapidity.

“Since the late 1980s

The changing attitude of European society to research in food and agriculture demands that researchers pay more attention to the concerns of the public and other stakeholders

Today in Brussels, the annual Euragri conference, entitled “Science for Society – Science with Society” and sponsored by the European Commission, addressed European consumers’ concerns and proposed new goals, roles and rules to respond better and quicker to the needs of society. Research Commissioner Philippe Bu

Women who drink alcohol during pregnancy may put their daughters at a higher risk of breast cancer, according to researchers at Lombardi Cancer Center at Georgetown University Medical Center. Their findings were reported at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Cancer Prevention meeting in Boston.

“Previous studies have shown a strong link between alcohol consumption and increased breast cancer risk, and this may be caused by alcohol increasing levels of circulating estrogen,”

Mouse studies indicate successful pain relief, University of Pittsburgh researchers say

By “programming” a herpes simplex virus to deliver a gene-mediated pain-blocking protein at the cellular level, University of Pittsburgh researchers have been able to significantly reduce cancer-related pain in mice with tumors, the researchers report in the November issue of the journal Annals of Neurology. The paper, “Herpes vector-mediated expression of proenkephalin reduces bone cancer pain,” i