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Findings point to the hippocampus as critical to the process of recollection

For millennia, the process of memory and remembering has intrigued scholars and scientists. In 350 B.C., Aristotle, in his seminal treatise on the subject, described it as having two forms: familiarity and recollection. Of these, he considered recollection to be a purely human condition.

8 Sep 2004

Autism may arise from a mixture of sources that include a few genes and epigenetics

Autism, a serious developmental disorder in children, may arise from a mixture of sources that include a few genes and alterations in the factors that regulate genes (epigenetics) that may be inherited or occur as a new event, said researchers from Baylor College of Medicine.

8 Sep 2004

Studies of human genetic variation have found strong evidence for the action of natural selection

One of the most comprehensive studies of the forces that have shaped patterns of human genetic variation has found strong evidence for the action of natural selection, which may help explain why certain people are at risk for a variety of conditions and others are not.

8 Sep 2004

Cancers, including colon, prostate, and leukemia, continue to grow unchecked

Many cancers, including colon, prostate, and leukemia, continue to grow unchecked because they do not respond to a signal to die and stop proliferating from Transforming Growth Factor-beta (TGF-b).

8 Sep 2004

Gene therapy holds much promise for treating aggressive human superficial bladder cancer

Gene therapy that causes the bladder to act like a “bioreactor” to produce and secrete the anti-cancer agent interferon-alpha has shown dramatic benefits in preclinical tests, say researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

8 Sep 2004

Researchers uncover how HIV causes abnormalities in antibody-producing cells

HIV wreaks much of its damage by targeting the “orchestra conductor” of the immune system, a key class of T cells—CD4+ T cells—whose destructive relationship with HIV has been well-studied by AIDS researchers.

8 Sep 2004

Japanese research lab to use an IBM supercomputer for protein research

IBM announced today that AIST, a leading Japanese research laboratory, will use an IBM BlueGene/L supercomputer to advance their research in proteins, potentially accelerating breakthroughs in drug design. The BlueGene/L supercomputer has been ranked as the fourth largest supercomputer in the world.

8 Sep 2004

Advances in gene silencing on the agenda

Recent advances in using 'RNA interference' (RNAi) to improve plant, animal and human health will be the major focus of the CSIRO-hosted Horizons in Livestock Sciences Conference on the Gold Coast from 12-15 September.

8 Sep 2004

Friendly bacteria helps control upset stomachs and gut diseases amongst elderly population

Upset stomachs and gut diseases are a common problem amongst our increasingly elderly population, but now help may be on hand using friendly bacteria isolated from the intestines of healthy elderly individuals

8 Sep 2004

Controlling diarrhoea and constipation in autistic children without using antibiotics

Scientists checking bacteria which live in the intestines of autistic children may have found a way to control gut problems, such as diarrhoea or constipation, without using antibiotics

8 Sep 2004

Pigs and other farm animals are harbouring major reservoirs of antibiotic-resistant bacteria

The scientists were concerned about the effects that decades of use of antibiotics to treat infections, prevent diseases, or promote growth, have had on the spread of antibiotic resistance genes in common farm bacteria.

8 Sep 2004

Pig tissue may help reduce the damage and disability of stroke

A tiny capsule containing tissue that secretes a cocktail of brain-nourishing neurotrophic factors may one day help reduce the damage and disability of stroke, according to research published in the September issue of Stroke.

7 Sep 2004

Sinovac completes dosing in phase 1 human clinical testing of SARS vaccine

Sinovac Biotech Ltd. has announced that all 36 subjects of the Phase I human clinical trial for its inactivated SARS vaccine have now been vaccinated with two doses of either SARS vaccine or placebo.

7 Sep 2004

Phico Therapeutics secures funding to tackle superbug

Phico Therapeutics Ltd, a Cambridge-based company that has developed a unique anti-bacterial technology to treat the hospital superbug, MRSA, has raised £550,000 with the help of Oxfordshire Investment Opportunity Network, Europe’s leading technology business angel network.

6 Sep 2004

Hair growing stem cells may one day provide treatments for human hair conditions

Researchers at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at The Rockefeller University have isolated stem cells from the skin of a mouse, and showed, for the first time, that an individual stem cell can renew itself in the laboratory and then be used in grafts to produce skin, hair and oil glands.

5 Sep 2004