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Study reveals current multi-component vaccines may need reworking

Current strategies for designing vaccines against HIV and cancers, for instance, may enable some components in multi-component vaccines to cancel the effect of others on the immune system, eliminating their ability to provide protection, according to an article to be published shortly in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

7 May 2009

Wistar Institute obtains U.S. patent for a novel synthetic vaccine technology

The Wistar Institute today obtained a U.S. patent for a novel synthetic vaccine technology with the potential for further development into a universal flu vaccine which could eliminate the need for annual flu shots and protect against future flu pandemics.

6 May 2009

Protein kinase JNK1 identified as treatment target for retinopathy in premature babies

Results of a study in mice by researchers at the University of California, San Diego strongly suggest that the protein kinase JNK1 plays a key role in the development of retinopathy in premature infants.

4 May 2009

A universal vaccine to protect against pandemic influenza a step closer

An influenza vaccine that protects against death and serious complications from different strains of flu is a little closer to reality, Saint Louis University vaccine researchers have found.

30 Apr 2009

New sequencing technique looks at medical potential of King Kong toxin

King Kong toxin, a component of the venom in some poisonous marine snails, has a peculiar power to go with its peculiar name.

29 Apr 2009

Discovery of novel protein which, when over-expressed, leads to a dramatic increase in the generation of A-beta

A defining hallmark of Alzheimer's disease is the accumulation of the amyloid beta protein (A-beta), otherwise known as "senile plaques," in the brain's cortex and hippocampus, where memory consolidation occurs.

27 Apr 2009

Hybrid metal and organic nanoparticles for targeting, imaging, and treating cancer

Using a set of three biocompatible polymers and a nanoparticle containing gadolinium, a team of investigators at the Colorado School of Mines has created a nanoparticle platform that has the potential to target, image, and treat cancer.

27 Apr 2009

Mitochondrial peptide Humanin linked to neuronal cell survival and regulation of glucose metabolism

Recent studies have shown that the mitochondrial peptide Humanin (HN) protects against neuronal cell death such as happens in Alzheimer's disease.

22 Apr 2009

New insights into protein p75's role Alzheimer's disease

New research at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies casts the role of a neuronal growth factor receptor - long suspected to facilitate the toxic effects of beta amyloid in Alzheimer's disease - in a new light, suggesting the molecule actually protects the neuron in the periphery from beta amyloid-induced damage.

21 Apr 2009

Brain manufactures proteins that act like marijuana

U.S. and Brazilian scientists have just proven that one of Bob Dylan's most famous lines - "everybody must get stoned" - is correct.

20 Apr 2009

Nanoparticles combined with scorpion venom slow spread of brain cancer

By combining nanoparticles with a scorpion venom compound already being investigated for treating brain cancer, University of Washington researchers found they could cut the spread of cancerous cells by 98 percent, compared to 45 percent for the scorpion venom alone.

16 Apr 2009

Alzheimer's controversy solved

For a decade, Alzheimer's disease researchers have been entrenched in debate about one of the mechanisms believed to be responsible for brain cell death and memory loss in the illness.

15 Apr 2009

Type 1 diabetes controlled by stem cell transplants therapy

Scientists in the United States have found that stem cell transplants enabled people with type 1 diabetes to manage for as long as four years without needing insulin injections and to maintain good glycemic control - such patients typically need daily insulin therapy to control their diabetes.

15 Apr 2009

Stem cell transplantation helps patients with diabetes become insulin free

The majority of patients with type 1 diabetes who underwent a certain type of stem cell transplantation became insulin free, several for more than three years, with good glycemic control, and also increased C-peptide levels, an indirect measure of beta-cell function, according to a study in the April 15 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.

14 Apr 2009

Mutations that help HIV hide undermine the virus's ability to replicate

When HIV infects a cell, a complex of human immune proteins called HLA (short for human leukocyte antigen) alert killer T cells by displaying bits of the virus on the surface of the cell. The T cells recognize these HIV fragments and mobilize an attack.

13 Apr 2009

Deficiency in vitamin D may exacerbate autoimmune disease

Deficiency in vitamin D has been widely regarded as contributing to autoimmune disease, but a review appearing in Autoimmunity Reviews explains that low levels of vitamin D in patients with autoimmune disease may be a result rather than a cause of disease and that supplementing with vitamin D may actually exacerbate autoimmune disease.

9 Apr 2009