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Researchers discover mechanism that prevents stem cell from becoming another cell type

Johns Hopkins researchers have determined why certain stem cells are able to stay stem cells.The report in the June 4 issue of Cell Stem Cell reveals that an enzyme that changes the way DNA is packaged in cells allows specific genes to be turned on and off, thereby preventing a stem cell from becoming another cell type.

10 Sep 2010

UK researchers discover new tactic used by cancer cells to cheat death

Cancer Research UK scientists have uncovered a new strategy that could be used by cancer cells to side step the body's normal safety checks and become immortal a key step for a cancer cell according to a study published in Nature today (Thursday).

10 Sep 2010

New melanoma drug in the pipeline from Plexxikon and Roche

Researchers from biotech company Plexxikon have found that their candidate drug for skin cancer melanomas can be administered more effectively in early stages of the disease.

9 Sep 2010

Researchers discover first compound to activate enzyme telomerase in human body

Sierra Sciences, in collaboration with TA Sciences, Geron Corporation, PhysioAge, and the Spanish National Cancer Research Center (CNIO), has announced the first compound ever discovered that activates the enzyme telomerase in the human body - a critical prerequisite for technology that could arrest or reverse the aging process in humans.

9 Sep 2010

Major contributing factor to maternal age-associated increase in aneuploidy identified

University of Pennsylvania biologists studying human reproduction have identified what is likely the major contributing factor to the maternal age-associated increase in aneuploidy, the term for an abnormal number of chromosomes during reproductive cell division.

9 Sep 2010

Aethlon Hemopurifier captures immunosuppressive exosomes from individuals with metastatic melanoma.

Aethlon Medical, Inc., the pioneer in developing therapeutic filtration devices to address infectious disease and cancer, announced today that its researchers have demonstrated the ability of the Aethlon Hemopurifier® to capture immunosuppressive exosomes derived from individuals with metastatic melanoma.

9 Sep 2010

Scientists discover sensor in dendritic cells that recognizes HIV

Dendritic cells are the grand sentinels of the immune system, standing guard 24/7 to detect foreign invaders such as viruses and bacteria, and bring news of the invasion to other immune cells to marshal an attack. These sentinels, however, nearly always fail to respond adequately to HIV, the virus causing AIDS. Now a team of scientists at NYU Langone Medical Center has discovered a sensor in dendritic cells that recognizes HIV, spurring a more potent immune response by the sentinels to the virus.

9 Sep 2010

IMF and CHPF join to promote awareness of myeloma in China

The International Myeloma Foundation (IMF), the oldest and largest foundation dedicated to improving the life and care of myeloma patients, today announced plans to sign a cooperative agreement with the Chinese Health Promotion Foundation (CHPF), an agency that operates under the Chinese Ministry of Health, to promote awareness of myeloma in China and to encourage measures to prevent and combat the disease.

9 Sep 2010

Johns Hopkins Children's Center urges new screening program to improve sickle cell trait

The Johns Hopkins Children's Center top pediatrician is urging a "rethink" of a new sickle cell screening program, calling it an enlightened but somewhat rushed step toward improving the health of young people who carry the sickle cell mutation.

9 Sep 2010

Hormone treatment with chemotherapy results in deadly side-effect in neuroblastoma children

Children given a hormone growth factor alongside chemotherapy for the aggressive cancer neuroblastoma are less likely to suffer a potentially deadly side-effect, according to a major international study published today (Tuesday) in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

9 Sep 2010

Two genes linked to ovarian clear cell carcinoma

Scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center have identified two genes whose mutations appear to be linked to ovarian clear cell carcinoma, one of the most aggressive forms of ovarian cancer. Clear cell carcinoma is generally resistant to standard therapy.

9 Sep 2010

Zebrafish DCs discovery provide researchers to investigate mammalian immune system

Scientists from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified dendritic antigen presenting cells in zebrafish, opening the possibility that the tiny fish could become a new model for studying the complexities of the human immune system.

9 Sep 2010

Scientists discover molecular gatekeeper for arthritis

Elimination of a molecular gatekeeper leads to the development of arthritis in mice, scientists report in a study published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine. The newly discovered gatekeeper is a protein that determines the fate survival or death of damaging cells that mistakenly attack the body's own tissues and lead to autoimmune disorders such as arthritis.

9 Sep 2010

Scientists suggest aggressive forms of breast cancer develops from intermediary cells

A UK research team has taken an important step forward in improving our understanding of the origins of breast cancer. Scientists at the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Centre at The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) in London have found evidence suggesting that aggressive forms of breast cancer are likely to develop from intermediary slightly more developed cells, rather than from stem cells.

9 Sep 2010

Bilirubin identified in Bird of Paradise plant

A research team led by Cary Pirone from the Department of Biological Sciences at Florida International University has identified bilirubin in the popular Bird of Paradise plant. The breakthrough study, published in the September 2010 issue of the American Society for Horticultural Science's journal HortScience, provides new insights into color production in this iconic tropical plant.

9 Sep 2010

Researchers unveil protection mechanism of telomeres from DNA repair

In the latest issue of the journal Nature, Miguel Godinho Ferreira, Principal Investigator at the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência (IGC) in Portugal, lead a team of researchers to shed light on a paradox that has puzzled biologists since the discovery of telomeres, the protective tips of chromosomes: while broken chromosome ends generated by DNA damage (such as radiation or cigarette smoke) are quickly joined together, telomeres are never tied to each other, thus allowing for the correct segregation of the genetic material into all cells in our body.

9 Sep 2010

Researchers demonstrate how insulin prepares cells for glucose uptake

Using high-resolution microscopy, researchers at the National Institutes of Health have shown how insulin prompts fat cells to take in glucose in a rat model. The findings were reported in the Sept. 8 issue of the journal Cell Metabolism.

9 Sep 2010

Researchers reveal surface protein alteration mechanism of mycoplasma bacteria

Pathogenic bacteria have evolved a variety of mechanisms to avoid being killed by the immune systems of the humans and animals they invade. Among the most sophisticated is that practised by mycoplasmas, which regularly change their surface proteins to confuse the immune system. Recent work in the group of Renate Rosengarten and Rohini Chopra-Dewasthaly at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna has revealed surprising new details of the way they do so and at the same time raised important evolutionary questions.

9 Sep 2010

Micro-RNAs programmed cells can lead to malignant growth

Cancer becomes life threatening when tumor cells start leaving their primary site. They travel through the lymph and blood streams to other tissues where they grow into metastases. This transition to malignancy is associated with characteristic changes in the cancer cells. The activity of several genes is reprogrammed and, thus, the production of proteins anchoring cells to a tissue is reduced. On the other hand, the amount of surface markers which make a cancer cell mobile increases.

9 Sep 2010

Scientists discover natural mechanism to discard amyloid protein

Chemists at the University of California, San Diego, have identified how a protein that accumulates in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease interferes with the ability of cells to get rid of debris. They also found a natural mechanism by which this protein, amyloid beta, itself may be discarded.

9 Sep 2010