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Researchers shed light on a key molecular switch in T helper cells

Defects in immune system cells called T helper cells may lead to diseases characterized by a faulty inflammatory response such as autoimmunity and asthma. Understanding the molecular steps involved in how T helper cells mature may help researchers develop treatments for these diseases.

17 Oct 2005

WWOX gene finding could lead to a new strategy for treating lung cancer

The research focused on a gene known as WWOX, which is lost or silenced in a large majority of lung cancers, and in cancers of the breast, ovary, prostate, bladder, esophagus and pancreas. The work was led by scientists at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute.

17 Oct 2005

New treatment for the pediatric eye cancer retinoblastoma

Investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have demonstrated in laboratory studies a new treatment for the pediatric eye cancer retinoblastoma that appears to be more effective than the current standard therapy, and more likely to prevent the recurrence of this cancer. A report on their work appears in the October 15 issue of Clinical Cancer Research.

17 Oct 2005

New findings on brain tumors called ependymomas

Brain tumors called ependymomas that occur in different parts of the central nervous system appear to arise from subpopulations of stem cells called radial glia cells (RGCs), according to investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The discovery explains why some identical-looking ependymomas are actually distinctly different diseases, the researchers said.

17 Oct 2005

Antibiotic moxifloxacin as a new treatment for tuberculosis

Moxifloxacin is currently approved in more than 100 countries, including the United States, as a treatment for bacterial respiratory infections, such as bronchitis, sinusitis and pneumonia.

17 Oct 2005

Greece and Croatia test for bird flu, while Europe gets more jittery

While authorities in Greece anxiously await test results on eight dead birds found in the northeastern Evros River delta, in another main migratory route, Croatia had also started testing dead birds found by citizens.

17 Oct 2005

Cannabis boosts brain power in rats

Scientists now say that Cannabis, the third most popular recreational drug after alcohol and tobacco, could boost brain power.

17 Oct 2005

Approval sought in the U.S. for 20 minute home HIV test

Authorities in the U.S. are considering the approval of the first rapid home testing kit for HIV.

17 Oct 2005

dnaJP1 - novel drug for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine have announced successful completion of Phase II clinical trials of a novel drug for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), one that works without suppressing the patient's immune system.

16 Oct 2005

Strain of avian influenza highly resistant to Tamiflu

An avian influenza virus isolated from an infected Vietnamese girl has been determined to be resistant to the drug oseltamivir, the compound better known by its trade name Tamiflu, and the drug officials hope will serve as the front line of defense for a feared influenza pandemic.

16 Oct 2005

Discovery could help make cellular immunotherapy safer

Researchers at the University of Michigan's Comprehensive Cancer Center have discovered the secret weapon behind the most powerful form of cancer immunotherapy known to medicine.

16 Oct 2005

E-cadherin, that cellular touch so important in cancer

E-cadherin is a molecule involved in adhesion between epithelial cells that also seems to have a protective role in cancer, since its loss is associated with tumour progression and metastases formation in a series of different cancers.

16 Oct 2005

Cannabis boosts brain power in rats

Scientists now say that Cannabis, the third most popular recreational drug after alcohol and tobacco, could boost brain power.

16 Oct 2005

Europe frantically prepares for possible bird flu pandemic

The confirmation by British laboratory tests that the H5N1 deadly strain of bird flu had reached mainland Europe for the first time, has prompted Romanian authorities to slaughter poultry and send in doctors.

16 Oct 2005

Research points way to more effective delivery of medicine around the body

New research showing how drugs stick to a key protein in the bloodstream could help to create drugs that are delivered more effectively to organs in the body.

13 Oct 2005

New technique could provide a long jump forward in spotting athletes' use of banned substances

A new technique could provide a long jump forward in spotting athletes' use of banned substances, according to research published today in the journal Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry.

13 Oct 2005

No shred of evidence that HIV-positive men who lose fat in their legs reciprocally gain fat in their bellies

There is no syndrome that causes increased belly fat and decreased facial and limb fat among HIV-positive men who take antiretroviral drugs, according to a study by researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center and the University of California, San Francisco.

13 Oct 2005

Nanobombs to eradicate cancer

University of Delaware researchers are opening a new front in the war on cancer, bringing to bear new nanotechnologies for cancer detection and treatment and introducing a unique nanobomb that can literally blow up breast cancer tumors.

13 Oct 2005

Chromosomes in the nucleus of the cell carry the material of heredity, or genes

Abnormal cell division that yields cells with an extra set of chromosomes can initiate the development of tumors in mice, researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have shown, validating a controversial theory about cancer causation put forth by a scientific visionary nearly 100 years ago.

12 Oct 2005

Fijiian seaweed shows potential to kill cancer cells, bacteria and the HIV virus

Researchers have discovered 10 new molecular structures with pharmaceutical potential in a species of red seaweed that lives in the shallow coral reef along the coastline of Fiji in the south Pacific Ocean.

12 Oct 2005