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Surgery for prostate cancer appear to offer greatest survival chance

A study from Switzerland suggests that men who have surgery for prostate cancer appear less likely to die of the disease within 10 years than men who choose other treatment options, especially if they are younger or have cancers with certain tumor cell characteristics, according to a report in the Oct. 8 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

9 Oct 2007

Researchers create microvascular system to nourish growing tissues

One day soon, laboratories may grow synthetically engineered tissues such as muscle or cartilage needed for transplants.

9 Oct 2007

One injection of gene therapy spreads through brain in animal study

By targeting a site in a mouse brain well connected to other areas, researchers successfully delivered a beneficial gene to the entire brain - after one injection of gene therapy.

9 Oct 2007

In biology, polarization is a good thing

Using a molecular cellular compass, individual cells in complex organisms know which way is up or down, in epithelial cells known as apical-basal polarity.

9 Oct 2007

Link between woman's hips and daughter's risk of breast cancer

In a study of the maternity records of more than 6,000 women, David J.P. Barker, M.D., Ph.D., and Kent Thornburg, Ph.D., of Oregon Health & Science University discovered a strong correlation between the size and shape of a woman's hips and her daughter's risk of breast cancer.

9 Oct 2007

Gene may hold key to future cancer hope

Scientists may have discovered a new way of killing tumours in what they hope could one day lead to alternative forms of cancer treatments.

From The University of Manchester 9 Oct 2007

Sir Martin Evans wins Nobel prize for stem cell research

Medical Research Council funded scientist Sir Martin Evans, has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for 2007 alongside Mario R. Capecchi and Oliver Smithies for their discoveries of "principles for introducing specific gene modifications in mice by the use of embryonic stem cells".

9 Oct 2007

Wyeth Pharmaceuticals to acquire Haptogen

Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth has announced the signing of a definitive agreement under which it has acquired Haptogen Ltd., a Scottish company based in Aberdeen that is focused on the discovery of biopharmaceutical therapies.

8 Oct 2007

Carbon nanotubes show great potential for use as cellular probes

As "nanopipes" they can be used to transport liquids to or from cells and inject solutions or drugs directly into individual cells and individual organelles within the cells.

8 Oct 2007

HMMR gene emerges as a key player in breast cancer

Researchers in a multicenter international study have identified a new gene that, if mutated, may increase a woman's risk of breast cancer by more than a third.

8 Oct 2007

Completion of first clinical trial of Apatone for cancer treatment

In a significant advancement in the ongoing battle against cancer, a group of researchers from Summa Health System, IC-MedTech and other institutions have completed the first ever FDA-approved human clinical trial of Apatone®.

8 Oct 2007

Researchers report most complete list so far of the proteins present in the cerebral cortex

Researchers report in the October 2007 issue of Molecular & Cellular Proteomics the most complete list so far of the proteins present in the cerebral cortex – the outermost layer of the brain that plays a central role in memory, language, cognition, and consciousness.

8 Oct 2007

Improving diagnosis of cancer by detecting protein-sugar structures

Researchers report in the October 2007 issue of Molecular & Cellular Proteomics that they have developed a new way of detecting the abnormal presence of complexes of sugars and proteins in the blood of cancer patients, thus providing a new tool for cancer diagnosis.

8 Oct 2007

Fraunhofer pharmaceutical agent speeds drug development

It takes a great deal of time and money to develop a new drug. At Biotechnica in Hanover from October 9 to 11, the Fraunhofer Life Sciences Alliance will demonstrate how a pharmaceutical agent can make its way more quickly from the research laboratory to the pharmacy.

8 Oct 2007

Researchers create modular, multi-functional drug delivery system

There are two aspects to creating an effective drug: finding a chemical compound that has the desired biological effect and minimal side-effects and then delivering it to the right place in the body for it to do its job.

8 Oct 2007

Norepinephrine and emotional memories

Both extensive psychological research and personal experiences confirm that events that happen during heightened states of emotion such as fear, anger and joy are far more memorable than less dramatic occurrences.

4 Oct 2007

UF researchers test stem cell therapy for heart patients

University of Florida doctors on Wednesday (Oct. 3) treated their first patient enrolled in a new study designed to test whether injecting stem cells into the heart helps restore blood flow to the organ by prompting new blood vessels to grow.

4 Oct 2007

Improvements in cancer survival in Northern Ireland

There have been improvements in cancer survival in Northern Ireland between 1993 and 2004, according to a new report from the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry (NICR), launched at Queen’s today.

4 Oct 2007

How emotionally charged events leave their mark on memory

Researchers have uncovered new evidence in mice that may explain how emotionally charged situations can leave such a powerful mark on our memories.

4 Oct 2007

Human embryonic stem cells remain embryonic because of epigenetic factors

A human embryonic stem cell is reined in - prevented from giving up its unique characteristics of self-renewal and pluripotency - by the presence of a protein modification that stifles any genes that would prematurely instruct the cell to develop into heart or other specialized tissue.

4 Oct 2007