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Viruses lead to discovery of security system in host cells

Viruses have led scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis to the discovery of a security system in host cells.

18 Nov 2010

New findings suggest novel approach to targeted treatment of cancer

New research that provides potential for exciting new approaches to targeting diseases such as cancer has been announced by an international team of academics.

17 Nov 2010

New investigational drug improves lung function in CF patients

An investigational drug targeting a defective protein that causes cystic fibrosis has been shown to improve lung function in a small study of CF patients, according to findings published Nov. 18, 2010, in the New England Journal of Medicine.

17 Nov 2010

Both appearance and genes needed to identify species

Linnaean taxonomy is still a cornerstone of biology, but modern DNA techniques have erased many of the established boundaries between species. This has made identifying species difficult in practice, which can cause problems, as shown by a researcher from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

17 Nov 2010

Duke awarded $52.8M federal grant to oversee external quality assurance programs for HIV/AIDS labs

The National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), has awarded Duke University Medical Center up to $52.8 million over the next seven years to support the development, implementation and oversight of external quality assurance programs that monitor laboratories involved in HIV/AIDS research and vaccine trials around the world.

17 Nov 2010

Study finds phenotypic plasticity among melanoma cells

University of Michigan researchers have determined that most types of melanoma cells can form malignant tumors, providing new evidence that the deadliest form of skin cancer does not conform to the increasingly popular cancer stem cell model.

17 Nov 2010

Targeted therapies could treat a broad range of cancers: Research

Targeted cancer therapies such as trastuzumab (Herceptin), gefitinib (Iressa) and erlotinib (Tarceva) could be used to treat a wider range of cancers than previously thought, according to new research presented today (Wednesday) at the 22nd EORTC-NCI-AACR [1] Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics in Berlin.

17 Nov 2010

New cellular pathway could help develop therapeutic treatments for obesity-related disorders

Cardiac researchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC) have found a new cellular pathway that could help in developing therapeutic treatments for obesity-related disorders, like diabetes and heart disease.

17 Nov 2010

Adult children of mothers with Alzheimer's at increased risk

A family history of Alzheimer's disease significantly increases the risk for developing this disorder, but a new study in Biological Psychiatry suggests that which of your parents has the disease is very important.

17 Nov 2010

Scientists uncover minute mechanism of nuclear pore complexes at molecular level

Dr. Joseph Glavy at Stevens Institute of Technology studies the smallest and most basic elements of life. The Assistant Professor of Chemical Biology runs the Glavy Lab, where advanced student scientists study the nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) in cells, observing the minutest mechanisms of life as they unfold during mitosis. The Glavy Lab's formal purpose is to study the NPC at the molecular level in the pursuit of the unknown or unexpected in the well-studied but not always well-understood nuclei of living cells.

17 Nov 2010

Garvan Institute professor receives 2010 Prime Minister's Prize for Science

Professor John Shine AO FAA, Executive Director of Sydney's Garvan Institute of Medical Research, received the 2010 Prime Minister's Prize for Science, the nation's most highly respected award for scientific achievement, in Parliament House tonight.

17 Nov 2010

Research on CBS protein may lead to new drug design for homocystinuria disorder

University of Michigan researchers have solved the structure of a protein that is integral to processes responsible for maintaining a healthy heart and nervous system.

17 Nov 2010

Never-smokers have better chance of surviving head and neck cancer

Patients with head and neck cancer who have never smoked have much better survival rates after radiation therapy than patients with a history of smoking, new research from UC Davis Cancer Center has found.

17 Nov 2010

Pharmigene receives patent for methods to detect genetic alleles in SJS and TENS

Pharmigene, a leader in advancing personalized medicine and reducing severe adverse reactions to drugs through genetic-based diagnostic solutions, announced it has been granted patents in the United States, Europe, Australia, Singapore and Taiwan. The patents cover methods to detect the presence of key genetic alleles in individual patients being considered for treatment with drugs that have been linked to the development of adverse drug reactions including Stevens-Johnson Syndrome and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis.

17 Nov 2010

Researchers suggest that genetic screening may predict heart attack risk

Testing for 11 specific genetic variations in hundreds of people with no history of heart disease provided information that led to revision of their estimated heart attack risk, say Mayo Clinic researchers.

17 Nov 2010

New OncoMap technique can detect point mutation in ovarian cancer

Researchers have shown that point mutations mis-spellings in a single letter of genetic code that drive the onset and growth of cancer cells can be detected successfully in advanced ovarian cancer using a technique called OncoMap. The finding opens the way for personalised medicine in which every patient could have their tumour screened, specific mutations identified, and the appropriate drug chosen to target the mutation and halt the growth of their cancer.

17 Nov 2010

ALLOZYNE's AZ17 antagonist shows positive data for treatment of autoimmune diseases

ALLOZYNE Inc. announced today positive data from preclinical studies evaluating AZ17 which is a novel bispecific Th17 antagonist that inhibits the differentiation and effector function of human Th17 cells in vivo.

17 Nov 2010

Two-dimensional crystals from DNA origami tiles

DNA is more than just a carrier for our genetic information; DNA is also an outstanding nanoscale building material, as researchers led by Ned Seeman discovered thirty years ago. Seeman and his colleagues at the New York University (USA) have now used cross-shaped DNA tiles to produce an amazingly large grid structure that resembles woven fabric. As the researchers report in the journal Angewandte Chemie, these two-dimensional crystals attain dimensions of about 2×3 micrometers.

16 Nov 2010

New findings help identify impact of prenatal environment on early parental care on brain

New findings released today help identify the long-term impact of the prenatal environment and early parental care on the brain. Using animals as models, researchers help explain why early inflammation and a mother's exposure to drugs such as nicotine and high doses of pain killers have lasting consequences for children and even future generations.

16 Nov 2010

PubDNA Finder search engine links biomedical articles to nucleic acid sequences

Researchers from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid's Biomedical Informatics Group based at the Facultad de Informática have created a tool called PubDNA Finder. This tool is the first search engine specialized in linking biomedical articles to nucleic acid sequences.

16 Nov 2010