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Cranberry juice shows promise for urinary tract infections

For generations, people have consumed cranberry juice, convinced of its power to ward off urinary tract infections, though the exact mechanism of its action has not been well understood.

21 Jul 2008

First human tests of an injectable vaccine grown in genetically engineered plants

Plants could act as safe, speedy factories for growing antibodies for personalized treatments against a common form of cancer, according to new findings from the Stanford University School of Medicine. The findings came in the first human tests of an injectable vaccine grown in genetically engineered plants.

21 Jul 2008

Reduced dose anthracycline post-breast cancer surgery has no effect on outcome

Canadian researchers have discovered that there is a low risk of adverse effect from reducing post-op chemo by up to 25%, according to findings published in the online journal ecancermedicalscience.

20 Jul 2008

Fluoroquinolones can enhance gene-silencing tool

A way to turn off one gene at a time has earned acceptance in biology laboratories over the last decade. Doctors envision the technique, called RNA interference, as a tool to treat a variety of diseases if it can be adapted to humans.

20 Jul 2008

Stem cell chicken and egg debate moves to unlikely arena: the testes

Logic says it has to be the niche. As air and water preceded life, so the niche, that hospitable environment that shelters adult stem cells in many tissues and provides factors necessary to keep them young and vital, must have emerged before its stem cell dependents.

20 Jul 2008

A glimpse of ancient RNA

Some bacterial cells can swim, morph into new forms and even become dangerously virulent - all without initial involvement of DNA. Yale University researchers describe Friday in the journal Science how bacteria accomplish this amazing feat - and in doing so provide a glimpse of what the earliest forms of life on Earth may have looked like.

19 Jul 2008

Functional human blood vessels grown in mice using cells from adult human donors

For the first time, researchers have successfully grown functional human blood vessels in mice using cells from adult human donors - an important step in developing clinical strategies to grow tissue, researchers report in Circulation Research: Journal of the American Heart Association.

19 Jul 2008

HIV-I damages the immune system early than originally thought

New research into the earliest events occurring immediately upon infection with HIV-I shows that the virus deals a stunning blow to the immune system earlier than was previously understood. According to scientists at Duke University Medical Center, this suggests the window of opportunity for successful intervention may be only a matter of days - not weeks - after transmission, as researchers had previously believed.

19 Jul 2008

Standards in stem cell research

Standards in stem cell research help both scientists and regulators to manage uncertainty and the unknown, according to new research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. Efforts to standardise practices across different labs is, however, a balancing act where the autonomy of scientists and fragility of living material need to be weighed against the need for comparable data.

17 Jul 2008

New ultrasound imaging system spots early evidence of peripheral arterial disease

Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University have devised an ultrasound imaging technique that picks up subtle early evidence of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) that current conventional tests miss.

17 Jul 2008

New discovery on Candida infections

Scientists here have found that certain substances from bacteria living in the human intestine cause the normally harmless Candida albicans fungus to become highly infectious.

17 Jul 2008

Sale of liver disease therapeutic patents

IpAuctions, Inc. will auction the worldwide biotherapeutic patents previously owned by Cell Works Inc., a Maryland-based biotech company, and acquired by CellPoint Diagnostics, Inc., based in Mountain View, Calif. These patents primarily consist of organ-targeted drug delivery systems to combat liver disease.

17 Jul 2008

Researchers find better way to distinguish melanoma from some benign moles

University of Rochester Medical Center researchers found a new protein produced excessively in malignant melanoma, a discovery that is particularly relevant as skin cancer rates climb dramatically among young women.

17 Jul 2008

Genetic resistance to HIV

Some people may be naturally resistant to infection with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. The results of a study conducted by Dr. Nicole Bernard of the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) bring us closer to a genetic explanation. Her study findings were published on July 16 in the journal AIDS.

17 Jul 2008

Shared gene expression alterations in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder

Both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder can be disabling conditions, and both present clinically with significant mood and psychotic symptoms. These two illnesses also share genetic variants that might be involved in the predisposition to both disorders.

17 Jul 2008

EpiCept and GNI partner to develop anti-viral hepatitis drug in Asia

GNI Ltd and EpiCept Corporation have announced that they have reached agreement to develop a new therapeutic drug, EP1013, in Asia, Australia, and New Zealand, for late-stage viral infection-induced hepatitis. EpiCept will retain the rights in the rest of the world. GNI’s wholly owned subsidiary, Shanghai Genomics, will start preparation for pre-IND and clinical development in China immediately.

17 Jul 2008

Gene variant increases HIV risk in Africans

A genetic variation which evolved to protect people of African descent against malaria has now been shown to increase their susceptibility to HIV infection by up to 40 per cent, according to new research. Conversely, the same variation also appears to prolong survival of those infected with HIV by approximately two years.

17 Jul 2008

New therapies revealed for diabetes-induced microvascular disease

New findings from Bristol scientists could lead to future treatments to prevent lower limb amputations in diabetes - which currently affect 100 people a week in the UK (source Diabetes UK). The research from the University of Bristol is published online in Circulation Research and was funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and the European Vascular Genomic Network of Excellence (EVGN).

17 Jul 2008

Turning on hormone tap could aid osteoporosis fight

A potential new drug that 'opens the taps' for the release of useful hormones could stimulate new bone growth - and may eventually bring relief to osteoporosis sufferers.

From The University of Manchester 16 Jul 2008

New understanding of fetal hemoglobin regulation in patients with sickle cell disease

Although sickle cell disease is a single-gene disorder, its symptoms are highly variable. In a study published online July 14 by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists at Children's Hospital Boston and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI), in collaboration with the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, report five gene variants that could potentially be helpful in predicting sickle cell disease severity, perhaps even leading to better treatment approaches in the future.

15 Jul 2008