Genetics
Jack W. Szostak, a Harvard Medical School genetics professor, is sharing this year's Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for work which has had a broad impact on cancer and aging research. Story
The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute is providing $64 million to fund a DNA sequencing and molecular profiling study that will probe heart, lung, and blood diseases. Report
Residents in training at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston plan to start taking personal genetic tests available to the public to help gain a better understanding of a technology that's being broadly marketed in the U.S. "We can bury our head in the sand and pretend it's not happening, we can suppress the information and tell patients not to go near it, or we can figure out strategies to play a constructive role as this new era of genomic and personalized medicine rolls out,'' said Dr. Mark Boguski, an associate professor of pathology at Harvard Medical School. Report
Cancer
Scientists at the University of York have identified and successfully silenced a gene that appears essential to cancer cell survival. Release
Scientists have achieved a better understanding of the role the NEDD8 molecule plays in fighting cancer. Drugs that block by blocking NEDD8 turn on the p53 gene, which in turn triggers the death of cancer cells. And that insight should help spur the development of new therapies. Report
The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has won $40 million in grant money from the country's stimulus package. A big part of that is being earmarked to study the effectiveness of cancer diagnostic tools, tests and treatments. Story
Stem Cell Research
The Scientist looks at how nanoparticles could play a big role in new stem cell therapies. Article
The Maryland Stem Cell Commission is offering researchers three grants worth up to a million dollars. Report
A scientist at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies says that umbilical cord blood cells could be banked at centers around the world and used in place of embryonic stem cells. Story