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Researchers analyze gene expression profiles to understand molecular mechanisms behind various diseases

Over the past decades, researchers seeking to understand molecular mechanisms underlying various diseases, notably cancer, have taken advantage of DNA microarrays to interrogate tissues specimen of patients for the expression status of thousands of genes at once.

9 May 2011

Breast cancer linked to lifestyle & three new genes

According to the latest research as many as 20,000 British women could avoid developing breast cancer if they took more exercise, drank less and ate better. The World Cancer Research Fund recommends taking half an hour of physical exercise a day, limiting alcohol consumption to just one drink daily and losing weight.

8 May 2011

Scientists to identify host bacteria that colonize different hybrids

Literature tells us that "no man is an island entire unto itself," but science reveals that we are in fact a walking, talking colony of microscopic creatures.

7 May 2011

Breast cancer cells utilize tissue stem cell EMT for tumor metastasis

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, after isolating normal stem cells that form the developing placenta, have given them the same properties of stem cells associated with an aggressive type of breast cancer.

7 May 2011

Researchers find temperature-sensing protein in immune cells

Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute have found a temperature-sensing protein within immune cells that, when tripped, allows calcium to pour in and activate an immune response.

7 May 2011

Spotlight on the NDM-1 “superbug” highlights the long-standing but increasingly alarming situation of antibiotic resistance globally

At the world’s largest conference on infectious diseases – the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) which opens today – a special Symposium on NMD-1 (New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase) will focus on the implications of the increasing detection of this gene, which makes bacteria highly resistant to almost all known antibiotics. This is part of an alarming trend of antibiotic resistance that threatens to turn back the clock on years of progress following the discovery of antimicrobials, which revolutionised human health globally.

6 May 2011

Study offers means of activating T cells to fight disease without antigenic triggers

For much of the time our T cells-the white blood cells that act as the police of the immune system-are in what immunologists call a "quiescent state," a sort of standby mode. For years, scientists have wondered if quiescence occurred by default or whether T cells need to work at remaining silent.

6 May 2011

UT Southwestern researcher measures estrogen's effect on breast cancer cells

A UT Southwestern Medical Center researcher has identified the most comprehensive measurement to date of estrogen's effect on breast cancer cells, showing for the first time how immediate and extensive the effect is.

6 May 2011

Scientists use new technologies to identify genetic cause of Kufs disease

Scientists from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute and the University of Melbourne have used innovative new technologies to identify the gene responsible for a rare but fatal hereditary brain disorder. The discovery will make it possible to diagnose the disease through a blood test rather than a brain biopsy.

6 May 2011

Researchers identify unexpected triple-negative breast cancer marker

German researchers have identified an unexpected molecular marker that predicts how sensitive hard-to-treat triple-negative breast cancers are to chemotherapy.

5 May 2011

Two breast cancer genomic tests produce broadly similar results for high and low-risk patients

Two multi-gene tests designed to predict the risk of disease progression and response to chemotherapy in breast cancer produce broadly similar results for high- and low-risk patients, but do not always agree in their predictions for those at intermediate risk, a new analysis shows.

5 May 2011

Genome epigenetic analysis reveals new ways to detect and treat breast cancer

The most comprehensive analysis yet of the epigenetic modifications present in breast cancer has revealed potentially important new ways to detect and treat the disease, Belgian researchers have reported.

5 May 2011

Clinical study: Celecoxib drug may treat breast cancer

The anti-inflammatory drug celecoxib may be a useful additional treatment for people with breast cancer, Dutch researchers report at the IMPAKT Breast Cancer Conference in Brussels.

5 May 2011

BUSM research shows how heparan sulfate interacts with growth factor proteins

When the human genome project produced a map of human genes, the number of genes in humans turned out to be relatively small, approximately the same number as in primitive nematode worms.

5 May 2011

Virginia Tech receives NIH grant to develop new systems biology approaches for cell study

The National Institutes of Health has awarded Virginia Tech researchers a $2.13 million grant to develop new systems biology approaches to study cells, one of the most basic units of life.

5 May 2011

UCSF scientists elected as members of National Academy of Sciences for excellence in biomedical research

Alexander D. Johnson, PhD, and Shinya Yamanaka, MD, PhD, have been elected as members of the National Academy of Sciences for their excellence in original scientific research. It is one of the highest honors bestowed on a scientist or engineer in the United States.

5 May 2011

Researchers discover new mechanism by which BRCA1 gene mutations can induce breast cancer

Two researchers from the Centre for Genomic Regulation in Barcelona have discovered a new mechanism by which mutations in gene BRCA1 can induce breast cancer.

5 May 2011

ChipDX identifies gene expression signature in early-stage breast tumors

ChipDX LLC, a New York-based molecular diagnostics and personalized medicine research company, has discovered a gene expression signature present in the cells of early-stage breast tumors that indicates the chance of the tumor recurring within 10 years.

4 May 2011

Fat-loss leads to earlier death in mice

Since the 1930s scientists have proposed food restriction as a way to extend life in mice. Though feeding a reduced-calorie diet has indeed lengthened the life spans of mice, rats and many other species, new studies with dozens of different mouse strains indicate that food restriction does not work in all cases.

4 May 2011

New USDA funded, research-based program to combat child obesity

A five-year $4.5 million USDA grant to University of Illinois researchers will establish the Illinois Transdisciplinary Obesity Prevention Program, an innovative research-based program that will combine a Ph.D. with a master's in public health degree focused on child obesity prevention.

4 May 2011