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Scientists find structure of critical Ebola virus protein

Scientists at the Scripps Research Institute have uncovered the structure of a critical protein from the Ebola Virus that allows viral entry in human cells.

23 Jul 2008

Notch protein helps human embryonic stem cells 'decide' their own fate

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have discovered that the Notch protein helps human embryonic stem cells 'decide' their own fate, a finding which may eventually be useful in programming cells for the development of stem cell therapies. Their results are reported in the May 2008 issue of Cell Stem Cell.

22 Jul 2008

Radical new technology could end drilling and filling misery at the dentist

Radical new dental technology could mean the end of the drilling and filling misery many endure at the dentists.

22 Jul 2008

Abiraterone new drug for aggressive prostate cancer the best thing in 70 years

Scientists say a new drug which treats aggressive prostate cancer is possibly the most significant development in the field for 70 years.

22 Jul 2008

Tobacco plant vaccine a cure for cancer?

Scientists in the U.S. say the tobacco plant could be used to "grow" key components of a cancer vaccine; they suggest that the same plant which is responsible for causing cancer may offer a way to treat the disease.

22 Jul 2008

Laser treatment the best fix for wrinkles

According to dermatologists in the U.S. laser treatment is a more effective way of removing wrinkles than some newer procedures.

22 Jul 2008

Suspect protein HMGB1 found to promote DNA repair, prevent cancer

An abundant chromosomal protein that binds to damaged DNA prevents cancer development by enhancing DNA repair, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science.

21 Jul 2008

Genetic mechanisms at play in blood cells important in Parkinson’s disease

What does the genetics of blood cells have to do with brain cells related to Parkinson's disease? From an unusual collaboration of neurologists and a pharmacologist comes the surprising answer: Genetic mechanisms at play in blood cells also control a gene and protein that cause Parkinson's disease.

21 Jul 2008

Viral recombination another way HIV fools the immune system

When individuals infected with HIV become infected with a second strain of the virus, the two viral strains can exchange genetic information, creating a third, recombinant strain of the virus. It is known that the presence of multiple viral strains, called superinfection, frequently leads to a loss of immune control of viral levels.

21 Jul 2008

Evolutionary back-and-forth for humans and viruses

For millennia, humans and viruses have been locked in an evolutionary back-and-forth - one changes to outsmart the other, prompting the second to change and outsmart the first.

21 Jul 2008

Fluoroquinolones can enhance gene-silencing tool

A way to turn off one gene at a time has earned acceptance in biology laboratories over the last decade. Doctors envision the technique, called RNA interference, as a tool to treat a variety of diseases if it can be adapted to humans.

20 Jul 2008

Stem cell chicken and egg debate moves to unlikely arena: the testes

Logic says it has to be the niche. As air and water preceded life, so the niche, that hospitable environment that shelters adult stem cells in many tissues and provides factors necessary to keep them young and vital, must have emerged before its stem cell dependents.

20 Jul 2008

A glimpse of ancient RNA

Some bacterial cells can swim, morph into new forms and even become dangerously virulent - all without initial involvement of DNA. Yale University researchers describe Friday in the journal Science how bacteria accomplish this amazing feat - and in doing so provide a glimpse of what the earliest forms of life on Earth may have looked like.

19 Jul 2008

Potentially new biomarkers for Alzheimer's

Every aging baby boomer listens for the footsteps of Alzheimer's, and for good reason: It's estimated that 10 million American boomers will develop the disease. The need to develop preventative strategies, ideally long before Alzheimer's destructive, clinical symptoms appear, is critical.

19 Jul 2008

Expert opinion on eating tilapia and catfish

Tilapia and catfish are examples of lower-fat fish that have fewer omega-3s than the oily fish listed above, but still provide more of these heart-healthy nutrients than hamburger, steak, chicken, pork or turkey.

18 Jul 2008

Could arthritis wonder drugs provide clues for all disease?

Drugs that have helped treat millions of rheumatoid arthritis sufferers may hold the key to many more medical conditions, including atherosclerosis - a leading cause of heart disease - says the researcher who jointly invented and developed them.

From The University of Manchester 17 Jul 2008

New discovery on Candida infections

Scientists here have found that certain substances from bacteria living in the human intestine cause the normally harmless Candida albicans fungus to become highly infectious.

17 Jul 2008

Gene variation increases risk of elevated triglycerides in Asians

A genetic variant found almost exclusively in individuals of Asian descent increases the risk of elevated triglycerides over four-fold, reports a comprehensive study in the August Journal of Lipid Research.

17 Jul 2008

Researchers find better way to distinguish melanoma from some benign moles

University of Rochester Medical Center researchers found a new protein produced excessively in malignant melanoma, a discovery that is particularly relevant as skin cancer rates climb dramatically among young women.

17 Jul 2008

Genetic resistance to HIV

Some people may be naturally resistant to infection with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. The results of a study conducted by Dr. Nicole Bernard of the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) bring us closer to a genetic explanation. Her study findings were published on July 16 in the journal AIDS.

17 Jul 2008