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Resveratrol concentration impacts cancer risk mitigation: Study

Agricultural Research Service (ARS) chemist Thomas Wang, who specializes in cancer prevention research, has reported evidence that for some dietary compounds, length of exposure over time may be key to whether or not ingestion leads to a beneficial, or detrimental, effect.Scientists do not know exactly why one person develops cancer and another does not. But they do know that certain nutrients might increase or decrease cancer risk. There are "layers" of factors involved in the development of cancer, and Wang is studying the layers involving peoples' diet complexity and gene expression.

17 Jul 2010

Cage type affects laboratory mice brain

Researchers at the University of Colorado's Anschutz Medical Campus have found the brains of mice used in laboratories worldwide can be profoundly affected by the type of cage they are kept in, a breakthrough that may require scientists to reevaluate the way they conduct future experiments.

17 Jul 2010

Study examines HIV-positive patients' death risk at CD4 counts above 350

"Having HIV appears to be associated with a greater risk of death, even when the immune system is relatively robust and patients have not started treatment," according to a study published Friday in the Lancet, MedPage Today reports (Smith, 7/15).

17 Jul 2010

Epizyme publishes two new review papers on epigenetics

Epizyme, Inc., a company leading the discovery and development of first-in-class, targeted cancer therapeutics against epigenetic targets, announced today the publication of two new review papers in the area of epigenetics. Together, the articles provide an overview of the major epigenetic enzyme classes, as well as chemical biology approaches for discovering small molecule inhibitors of these epigenetic enzymes, and demonstrate Epizyme's scientific leadership in the area of epigenetics.

17 Jul 2010

Researchers discover potential way to stop tumor growth

Washington State University researchers have discovered a way to help cancer cells age and die, creating a promising avenue for slowing and even stopping the growth of tumors. "Hopefully, we can make cancer cells die like normal cells," says Weihang Chai, an assistant professor in the WSU School of Molecular Biosciences and WWAMI medical education program in Spokane. "Basically, you make the cancer cell go from immortal to mortal."

17 Jul 2010

NEOP receives stockholder approval to increase company shares to 205 milliion

Neoprobe Corporation (OTCBB: NEOP), a diversified developer of innovative oncology surgical and diagnostic products, announced at its 2010 Annual Meeting of Stockholders that it received the approval of its stockholders to increase the number of authorized shares of the Company from 155 million to 205 million. In addition, stockholders re-elected Neoprobe President and CEO David C. Bupp, and elected for the first time, Brendan A. Ford and Eric K. Rowinsky, M.D. as Directors of the Company for terms ending at the 2013 Annual Meeting. Stockholders also approved the appointment of BDO Seidman, LLP to act as the Company's independent registered public accounting firm for 2010.

17 Jul 2010

Research findings may help identify human TOR kinase inhibitors

A parasite estimated to afflict as many as 12 million people worldwide relies on a family of genes that should make it vulnerable to compounds developed to treat cancer and other disorders, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found.

17 Jul 2010

An overview of AAPM annual meeting

AAPM is the premier organization in medical physics, a broadly-based scientific and professional discipline encompassing physics principles and applications in medicine and biology. Its membership includes medical physicists who specialize in research that develops cutting-edge technologies and board-certified clinical medical physicists who apply these technologies in community hospitals, clinics, and academic medical centers.

16 Jul 2010

Lab-on-Bead technology helps researchers cut years from drug development

New research accepted by the Journal of Molecular Recognition confirms that a revolutionary technology developed at Wake Forest University will slash years off the time it takes to develop drugs - bringing vital new treatments to patients much more quickly.

16 Jul 2010

Human impact on health of soil, and impact of unhealthy soil on society are intertwined, says LSU researcher

It may sound counterintuitive, but LSU Associate Professor of Chemistry Robert Cook has made a career out of studying the ways organic materials found in the environment, including soils, can either get dirty or stay clean. In fact, the National Science Foundation, or NSF, was so impressed with his efforts that the funding institute awarded Cook one of its most prestigious awards - the NSF CAREER award.

16 Jul 2010

Bioethics through the lens of literature

What if I were grown only so that my organs could be harvested, and I had to care for others whose organs are being taken, too, while I wait for my own death? What if doctors cut off a piece of the tumor that killed me and grew it in a lab for the next sixty years? What if scientists discovered a gene that would ensure my happiness no matter what life throws at me?

16 Jul 2010

Study on how cellular defence systems keep themselves in check from damaging cells themselves

When cells are attacked by bacteria they use all means at their disposal to defend themselves. But cellular defence systems can damage the cells themselves and so need to be kept tightly in check. Recent results help us to understand how this is done and give pointers to new ways of combating disease. Matthias Farlik in the group of Thomas Decker at the Centre for Molecular Biology of the University of Vienna (Max F. Perutz Laboratories) and Mathias Müller of the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna have published these findings in the current issue of the journal "Immunity".

16 Jul 2010

Study compares denture stomatitis genes with whole transcriptome for salivary biomarker analysis

The goal of the study was to compare whole-transcriptome, mucosal gene expression in Candida albicans (a parasitic fungus that can infect the mouth) associated chronic denture stomatitis to that of healthy oral mucosa and perform proteomic analyses of potential salivary biomarkers. Denture stomatitis is a condition in which the mucosa underneath a denture becomes inflamed and sometimes painful.

16 Jul 2010

Researchers develop new strategy for treating multiple myeloma

Multiple myeloma is one of the most common blood cancers, and at present considered to be incurable. In a new study from Uppsala University, researchers now present a conceptually new model for the development and progression of multiple myeloma. The study was done in collaboration with Vrije Universitet Brussels and is published in the July edition of the on-line journal PLoS ONE.

16 Jul 2010

Restricted diet can extend lifespan: Study

New research being presented this week is giving scientists new insight into why a restricted diet can lead to a longer lifespan and reduced incidence of age-related diseases for a wide variety of animals. Scientists have known for some time that a restricted diet can extend the lifespan of certain animals but this work shows how it affects ageing mechanisms - and significantly has also shown that the effects occur even if the restricted diet is adopted later in life.

16 Jul 2010

WPI researchers measure molecular forces that enable cranberry juice to fight off urinary tract infections

Revealing the science behind the homespun advice, a team of researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) has identified and measured the molecular forces that enable cranberry juice to fight off urinary tract infections in people.

16 Jul 2010

Studying retrovirus assembly can help new drug development for infection control

How a retrovirus, like HIV, reproduces and assembles new viruses is different than previously thought, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers. Understanding the steps a virus takes for assembly could allow development of a way to prevent the spread of retroviral diseases. The team studied a chicken virus called Rous sarcoma virus that causes cancer in chickens and is similar to HIV.

16 Jul 2010

Penn researchers reverse cognitive decline in fruit flies with Alzheimer's gene mutation

Investigators have found that fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) males -- in which the activity of an Alzheimer's disease protein is reduced by 50 percent -- show impairments in learning and memory as they age. What's more, the researchers were able to prevent the age-related deficits by treating the flies with drugs such as lithium, or by genetic manipulations that reduced nerve-cell signaling.

16 Jul 2010

Study results to help researchers better understand cancer genetics, improve treatment regimens

The largest study to correlate genetics with response to cancer drugs releases its first results today. The researchers behind the study, based at Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, describe in this initial dataset the responses of 350 cancer samples to 18 anticancer therapeutics.

16 Jul 2010

DNA copying error in autism sufferers discovered

Rubicon winner Dalila Pinto discovered a copying error in the DNA of trial subjects who suffered from autism or a similar condition. Some segments of their DNA were copied either once too often or missed out of the copying process. This is a highly promising result from the world's largest investigation into autism. The top journal Nature placed the results online on 9 June.

16 Jul 2010