Stem Cell Research
Scientists are using stem cells to treat incontinence. Report
Fear of federal audits has inspired researchers in Boston to mark each piece of lab equipment that is approved for use on embryonic stem cell projects. Report
Teng Ma, an associate professor of chemical and biomedical engineering at the Florida A&M University-FSU College of Engineering, and two colleagues have received an $824,000, four-year grant from the U.S. Department of Defense to research ways of generating bone cells in a laboratory that then could be transplanted into human patients. Release
UC Irvine neurobiologist Hans Keirstead and his research team has launched a project to develop stem cell lines that genetically match human patients. Release
The University of Wisconsin-Madison is establishing a new Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center. Release
Cancer Research
The biotech company Viralytics is funding a study to determine if a cold virus can kill cancer cells in humans. Australian researchers say that the approach has worked in animal models. Scientists say that the coxsackie virus can kill cancer cells in a test tube in six to 12 hours while leaving normal cells alone. Report
New research into the p53 gene, which researchers believed helped eliminate cancer cells, indicates that p53 may actually help some cancers make a comeback. Report
New research in lymphatic cancer shows that bacteria can cause cancer to be more aggressive. Patients with skin lymphoma may benefit from antibiotic treatments used for bacteria-infections. Release
Researchers in the U.K. say that LHRH agonists, which includes the drug Zoladex, can stop the production of female hormones that can encourage a tumor to grow. Report
In a new study published online May 16 in the journal Nature, a team of scientists at The Wistar Institute and the University of California, San Diego, report identification of an important new gene-silencing mechanism, one that blocks the cellular machinery responsible for translating messenger RNA into proteins at specific genes. Release
ALSO
Researchers are exploring ways to develop "DNA computers" that can diagnose disease and trigger therapies. Report
By comparing mice that had been given Prozac with mice given an alternate drug, researchers from Rockefeller University have identified a new class of chemicals that could offer better control over serotonin and more effective treatments for the debilitating mental illness. Release
Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have regenerated hair in mice using molecular processes similar to embryonic development. The research points to a possible cure for baldness. Report
Single-tablet combinations of drugs may be what it takes to get blood pressure under control, even in people with moderate hypertension, according to results from a new international study involving more than 10,700 people with high blood pressure. Release
A new Brown University study shows that nerve cells grown in three-dimensional cultures use 1,766 genes differently compared to nerve cells grown in standard two-dimensional petri dishes. Release
A venture capital gathering in Glasgow has inspired a new report outlining the economic impact of 590 organizations employing 30,000 people in Scotland's life sciences sector. Scotland is a leader in stem cell research. Report
A new study has shown that modified bone marrow cells can help recovery in an animal model of multiple sclerosis. Harald Neumann and colleagues from the University of Bonn modified myeloid precursor cells to express a protein, which is normally made by microglia--a cell from the nervous system--and injected these TREM2-expressing cells into the veins of mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. Release
Rheumatology researchers have discovered that a well-known cell receptor sends a signal to dampen the immune system. Release
An ongoing effort to identify the microorganisms that make us sick has discovered a new virus potentially linked to unexplained respiratory infections. Release
Chemists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have designed a powerful analytical tool capable of measuring molecular structures quickly and accurately enough to catch moving proteins in mid-fold and see the shapes of intermediate steps. As described in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the first applications of the technique offer a glimpse into the contorted form of a human protein that is implicated in type II diabetes. Release
Recent evidence suggests that therapy currently used to treat Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection, a major cause of upper gastrointestinal disorders, is unsuccessful in around 25 percent of cases. A new study, published in The American Journal of Gastroenterology, finds that adding a bovine protein called lactoferrin to the existing treatment may yield more effective results, with fewer of the side effects associated with common antibiotic treatment. Release
Scientists have created two mouse strains that will permit researchers to trace, in a live animal, the activity of an enzyme believed to play a crucial role both in the normal immune response as well as autoimmunity and B cell tumor development. Release
Anti-psychotic drugs do most of their work in the brain, but they also leave behind in the bloodstream a trail of hundreds of chemicals that may be used in the future to direct better treatment for schizophrenia and other psychiatric conditions, say Duke University Medical Center researchers. Release
Implanting dopamine generators (dopaminergics) in brain cells has produced improvement in the symptoms in Parkinson's, according to the results of tests carried out with monkeys by the Navarra University Hospital. Release