Stem Cell Research
A discovery by researchers at UQ's Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology will enable better methods to grow stem cells for use in cancer research and regenerative medicine. News
Scientists have found at least one key reason why blood stem cells are susceptible to developing the genetic mutations that can lead to adult leukemia. Item
It's an enduring complaint about human embryonic stem cell research, often but not exclusively voiced by people opposed on moral grounds: If this research is so promising, why is it taking so long to produce treatments? The long-term answer may emerge in a human clinical trial of a stem-cell therapy for spinal cord injuries--a therapy developed from a line of cells first cultured in Wisconsin. Article
Genetics
Sequenom said Monday it will open a genetic testing laboratory in La Jolla late this year, just in time to start processing samples from a new clinical trial of the company's experimental test for Down syndrome in unborn babies. News
New evidence shows your genetic immune system may predetermine if you will have Parkinson's disease later in life. Story
A scraggly beard and bulbous schnoz aren't the only characteristics the North American moose shares with grandpa. Most moose, it turns out, also suffer from arthritis. "Moose guy" scientist Rolf Peterson thinks that learning about the arthritis that affects thousands of the animals on a remote island in the middle of Lake Superior can help us do something about our own arthritis. Item
Cancer Research
At present the chemotherapy drug paclitaxel, also known by its brand names Paxol and Abraxane, is often prescribed to shrink ovarian tumors by stopping cancer cells dividing. But some ovarian cancers are resistant to such drugs, known as taxanes, which are derived from the yew tree. Now British and American researchers, partly funded by Cancer Research UK, believe they have opened up a new route after identifying a key protein. Article
The National Institutes of Health named a committee on Monday to help guide research into the environmental and genetic causes of breast cancer. Story