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Scientists decipher mechanism behind antimicrobial 'hole punchers'

In the battle against bacteria, researchers have scored a direct hit.

21 Sep 2007

Two genes in mammalian cells act as gatekeepers for cellular longevity

In everything from yeast to primates, a significant decrease in calories can extend lifespan by as much as one-third. But getting under the hood of the molecular machinery that drives this longevity has remained elusive.

21 Sep 2007

Process of necrosis redefined in landmark study

A new study led by investigators from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine demonstrates that the process of necrosis, long thought to be a chaotic, irreversible pathway to cell death, may actually be triggered as part of a regulated response to stress by a powerful protein, SRP-6, that can potentially halt necrosis in its path.

21 Sep 2007

Heat shock proteins are co-opted for cancer

A Jekyll-Hyde mechanism that both protects healthy cells and enables cancer cells could be the basis for new cancer-fighting drugs.

21 Sep 2007

Controlling for size may also prevent cancer

Scientists at Johns Hopkins recently discovered that a chemical chain reaction that controls organ size in animals ranging from insects to humans could mean the difference between normal growth and cancer.

21 Sep 2007

Cell-surface sugar defects may trigger nerve damage in multiple sclerosis patients

Defects on cell-surface sugars may promote the short-term inflammation and long-term neurodegeneration that occurs in the central nervous system of multiple sclerosis patients, according to University of California, Irvine researchers.

21 Sep 2007

Ancient mechanism for coping with stresses also gives cancer a boost

An ancient mechanism for coping with environmental stresses, including heat and toxic exposures, also helps cancerous tumors survive, reveals a new report in the Sept. 21, 2007, issue of Cell, a publication of Cell Press.

21 Sep 2007

Heat shock proteins are co-opted for cancer

A Jekyll-Hyde mechanism that both protects healthy cells and enables cancer cells could be the basis for new cancer-fighting drugs.

20 Sep 2007

Some cancer cells mimic stem cells to evade chemotherapy

Anti-cancer treatments often effectively shrink the size of tumors, but some might have an opposite effect, actually expanding the small population of cancer stem cells believed to drive the disease, according to findings presented in Atlanta, Georgia at the American Association for Cancer Research's second International Conference on Molecular Diagnostics in Cancer Therapeutic Development.

20 Sep 2007

Nerve growth factor positively related with liver cancer - potential therapy target

Nerve growth factor (NGF), as the name says, is an essential peptide factor for the growth and differentiation of neuronal cells.

20 Sep 2007

Study looks at mitochondrial variation in sperm traits and sperm competitive ability

University of Nevada, Reno researchers Jeanne and David Zeh of the Department of Biology have received a five-year, $650,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to investigate the effects of natural mitochondrial variation on sperm traits and sperm competitive ability.

20 Sep 2007

Testes offer a promising new source of stem cells

After a decade of research, Howard Hughes Medical Institute scientists have succeeded in reprogramming adult stem cells from the testes of male mice into functional blood vessels and contractile cardiac tissue.

20 Sep 2007

Hydrogen sulfide limits severe heart attack damage

Administering hydrogen sulfide (H2S) directly into the heart during a simulated heart attack significantly reduces the tissue and cell damage often seen in oxygen-starved organs, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham

20 Sep 2007