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MicroRNA play a significant role in some human cancers

A new study demonstrates that microRNAs can modulate the expression of well known tumor-specific oncogenic translocation proteins and may play a significant role in some human cancers. The research, published by Cell Press in the June issue of the journal Cancer Cell, is likely to lead to new strategies for treating some specific lymphomas and leukemias.

9 Jun 2008

Genetic variation linked to earlier onset of Alzheimer's symptoms

Investigators at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified a genetic variation associated with an earlier age of onset in Alzheimer's disease.

9 Jun 2008

Cell phones interfere with teen sleep

Teenagers who excessively use their cell phone are more prone to disrupted sleep, restlessness, stress and fatigue, according to a research abstract that will be presented on Monday at SLEEP 2008, the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS).

9 Jun 2008

Scientists identify a key regulator of DNA mutations

As a general rule, your DNA is not something you want rearranged. But there are exceptions - especially when it comes to fighting infections. Since the number of microbes in the world far surpasses the amount of human DNA dedicated to combat them, specialized cells in the immune system have adopted an ingenious, if potentially disastrous, strategy for making antibodies. These cells, called B lymphocytes, intentionally mutate their own DNA to ward off invaders they have never seen before.

9 Jun 2008

Nose stem cells used to treat Parkinson's

Scientists in Queensland, Australia have made a major breakthrough in research into Parkinson's disease.

9 Jun 2008

Australia to enter the race to clone human embryo cells for stem-cell research

Melbourne's Monash University may be granted the first licence in Australia to clone human embryo cells for stem-cell research.

9 Jun 2008

Complex synapses drove brain evolution

One of the great scientific challenges is to understand the design principles and origins of the human brain. New research has shed light on the evolutionary origins of the brain and how it evolved into the remarkably complex structure found in humans.

8 Jun 2008

Measuring the footprint of cells

Even the slightest differences are important in competitive sport: To improve a ski jumper's performance, the trainer can analyze the jump very accurately using force sensors.

8 Jun 2008

Scientists demonstrate feasibility of preventing malaria parasite from becoming sexually mature

Researchers have demonstrated the possibility of preventing the human malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, which is responsible for more than a million malaria deaths a year, from becoming sexually mature.

5 Jun 2008

Talking to cells

For an organism to develop and function, the individual cells must exchange information, or communicate, with each other. Is it possible to learn their language and "talk to" the cells? Yes it is: Cameron Alexander and George Pasparakis at the University of Nottingham (UK) have been able to facilitate a conversation between bacterial cells and artificial polymer vesicles.

5 Jun 2008

Role of breastfeeding in preventing infant death, HIV infection in developing countries

In many poor countries, mothers with HIV face a stark choice: to nurse their infants, and risk passing on HIV through their breast milk - or to formula feed, and deprive their infants of much of the natural immunity needed to protect against fatal diseases of early infancy. Now, two studies supported by the National Institutes of Health offer insights into preventing early death and HIV infection among breastfeeding infants of mothers with HIV in these countries.

5 Jun 2008

Public funding impacts progress of human embryonic stem cell research

Bolstered by supportive policies and public research dollars, the United Kingdom, Israel, China, Singapore and Australia are producing unusually large shares of human embryonic stem cell research, according to a report from the Georgia Institute of Technology in the June 2008 issue Cell Stem Cell.

5 Jun 2008

Enzyme plays key role in cell fate

The road to death or differentiation follows a similar course in embryonic stem cells, said researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston in a report that appears online today in the journal Cell Stem Cell.

5 Jun 2008

Discovery of new signal pathway important to diabetes research

Scientists at Karolinska Institutet and Miami University have discovered that cells in the pancreas cooperate - signal - in a way hitherto unknown. The discovery can eventually be of significance to the treatment of diabetes.

4 Jun 2008

Saving teeth by using periodontal ligament regeneration

Teeth may fall out as a result of inflammation and subsequent destruction of the tissues supporting the teeth. Dutch researcher Agnes Berendsen has investigated a possible solution to this problem. At the Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA), she has studied the regeneration of the periodontal ligament by use of tissue engineering.

4 Jun 2008

Synthetic molecules developed by Hebrew University researchers hold promise for new family of anti-cancer drugs

Synthetic molecules designed by two Hebrew University of Jerusalem researchers have succeeded in reducing and even eliminating the growth of human malignant tissues in mice, while having no toxic effects on normal tissue.

4 Jun 2008

Prostate Cancer Foundation 'beefs up' cancer research

The Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) has committed more than $19 million in new research funding for scientific investigations focused on discovering new treatments for recurrent prostate cancer. A total of eight programs representing 18 leading research institutions and 36 researchers were selected as part of the foundation's 2008 Challenge Awards. The funded programs will receive the first of three annual payments, ranging between $500,000 and $1.0 million per program, this week.

4 Jun 2008

New Filton Blood Centre to open in July

When the new Filton Blood Centre opens on 8th July, the National Blood Service will be pleased to name it a centre of excellence and the largest blood processing centre in the world.

4 Jun 2008

Human stem cells show promise against fatal children's diseases

Scientists have used human stem cells to dramatically improve the condition of mice with a neurological condition similar to a set of diseases in children that are invariably fatal, according to an article in the June issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell.

4 Jun 2008

New molecular mechanism for colorectal cancer

Scientists in Portugal just found a new molecular mechanism behind colorectal cancer in which a mutated and a normal, but over-expressed, gene cooperate and are both needed to create the disease.

4 Jun 2008