ALSO NOTED: Reprogramming mouse cells; Trounson takes top spot at Calif. institute;

Stem Cell Research

Researchers at UCSF Institute for Regeneration Medicine have advanced a technique for genetically reprogramming mouse cells to an embryonic state. The work builds on the breakthrough reported by Dr. Shinya Yamanaka and independently confirmed by MIT, Harvard and UCLA. The work accelerates a move to develop patient-specific stem cell therapies. Report

The choice of Alan Trounson to head up California's $3 billion stem cell initiative has spurred hopes that the Australian will also help spur the stem cell research field in his native country. Report

Researchers at Monash University in Victoria say they believe they know how to isolate stem cells from the lining of women's wombs, a process that could give rise to new therapies for gynecological conditions. Report

Cancer Research

Researchers at Emory University's Winship Cancer Institute are the first to discover a mechanism that plays a critical role in the multiple myeloma cell cycle and survival. Their research may result in identification of a new therapeutic target for treating multiple myeloma. Release

A tailored virus destroys brain tumor stem cells that resist other therapies and cause lethal re-growth of cancer after surgery, a research team has found. Release

Scientists say the more they learn about the genetic causes of cancer, the more complex their field becomes. Report 

Genetics

A genetic variation determines how women smell male sweat. The odor of androstenone will vary from urine to vanilla depending on that variation. Report

Variations in a gene linked to insulin production can create neonatal diabetes. Report 

An international team of scientists has identified the gene in mice necessary for binocular vision. Report

Advances in genetics are shedding new light on identifying which patients will respond to particular antihypertensive drugs. The research team published their findings in BMC Medical Genetics. Release

More Research

A major new cancer research program will create up to 100 new jobs at Dundee University. New money is being budgeted to develop research laboratories for David and Birgit Lane, and officials in the area say they will use this program to help create a bustling center of new life science research. Report

UT Southwestern Medical Center's obesity research team has received a $22 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to enhance its groundbreaking efforts to attack obesity from every angle, from studying fat cells to developing medicines. Release

Using an atomic force microscope, scientists for the first time captured footage of the interaction of an enzyme and a strand of DNA. The film, made on a nanoscale theater, shows a protective enzyme attacking the DNA of a virus. Article 

New insights on the role of specialized neurons in the brain could lead the way to restore brain functions lost to disease or accidents. Report

An international team of bioethics experts from the McLaughlin-Rotman Centre for Global Health in Toronto has identified the challenges faced by major science programs in developing countries. Release

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals and scientific collaborators from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology have published a study related to mechanisms for in vivo delivery of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), the molecules that mediate RNAi. Release

A human peptide that acts as a natural antibiotic against invading microbes can also bind to the body's own DNA and trigger an immune response in the absence of an infection, a research team led by scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reports in an early online publication in Nature. Release

Blood-sucking parasitic worms are being studied as a potential treatment for asthma and other allergic diseases. People with asthma and hay fever are being purposely infected with hookworms to test whether the parasites can control the allergic reactions that cause the conditions. Release

Zebrafish are overtaking mice as the animal-of-choice for studies involving human mitochondrial disease. Release