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New genetic clues to treatment of hypertension

An international research team has identified a number of unsuspected genetic variants associated with systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and hypertension (high blood pressure), suggesting potential avenues of investigation for the prevention or treatment of hypertension.

12 May 2009

Closer to an effective treatment for gum disease in smokers

Scientists in the USA have discovered why smokers may be more prone to chronic gum disease (periodontitis). One of the bacteria responsible for this infection responds to cigarette smoke - changing its properties and the way it infects a smokers mouth.

11 May 2009

New tag could enable more detailed structural studies of mammalian proteins

To say our genes are resourceful is a gross understatement. Through ingenious combinations of a paltry 20 amino acids, the basic building blocks of life, genes engineer all of the tissues and organs that are the marvel of our working bodies.

6 May 2009

New DEAR1 gene predicts local recurrence in early-onset breast cancer

A newly discovered gene known as DEAR1 is mutated in breast cancer and is an independent predictor of local recurrence-free survival in early-onset breast cancer, a research team headed by scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reports in the journal PLoS Medicine.

5 May 2009

Black women in Virginia more likely than others to experience infant mortality

Black women in Virginia are two-and-a-half times more likely than women of other races to experience infant mortality, according to the state Department of Health, the Newport News Daily Press reports.

5 May 2009

A more potent vaccine technology

Virginia Tech virologist Chris Roberts' goal is to develop a platform for a flu vaccine that allows rapid modifications to meet new strains of flu.

4 May 2009

Stem cell focus for inflammatory bowel disease wound healing

Scientists at The University of Nottingham are investigating whether stem cell markers could have a role to play in speeding up wound healing in patients suffering from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

30 Apr 2009

Nanoneedle introduces minimal intrusiveness in penetrating cell membranes

Researchers at the University of Illinois have developed a membrane-penetrating nanoneedle for the targeted delivery of one or more molecules into the cytoplasm or the nucleus of living cells.

30 Apr 2009

Matrix protein key to fighting viruses

Researchers from Durham University's Centre for Bioactive Chemistry are developing methods that show how proteins interact with cell membranes when a virus strikes.

30 Apr 2009

Research may bring drugs with triple the absorbing power and lower toxic risks

Drug makers might be able to triple the absorbing power of some medications and lower toxic risks of others, as a result of a study at the University of Maryland, Baltimore on how bile acids travel through the gut.

29 Apr 2009

Dendrimers as synthetic gene vectors

In a recent issue of The Journal of Chemical Physics , published by the American Institute of Physics (AIP), a group of researchers at the University of California, Berkeley and Los Alamos National Laboratory describe the first comprehensive, molecular-level numerical study of gene therapy.

29 Apr 2009

Drugs needed to preserve eggs for reproduction need to be given in stages

Cryoprotectants needed to preserve eggs for reproduction need to be given in stages, albeit rapid ones, say scientists who have developed a mathematical model that predicts optimal time for loading and unloading these drugs.

29 Apr 2009

Discovery of novel protein which, when over-expressed, leads to a dramatic increase in the generation of A-beta

A defining hallmark of Alzheimer's disease is the accumulation of the amyloid beta protein (A-beta), otherwise known as "senile plaques," in the brain's cortex and hippocampus, where memory consolidation occurs.

27 Apr 2009

New understanding of 3D structure of bacterial secretion proteins

New details of the composition and structure of a needlelike protein complex on the surface of certain bacteria may help scientists develop new strategies to thwart infection.

26 Apr 2009

Researchers discover that gene switches on during development of epilepsy

A discovery made by researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine while studying mice may help explain how some people without a genetic predisposition to epilepsy can develop the disorder.

23 Apr 2009

Why an effective vaccine for HIV has proven so elusive

Some 25 years after the AIDS epidemic spawned a worldwide search for an effective vaccine against the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), progress in the field seems to have effectively become stalled.

22 Apr 2009

Discovery of two important molecules that underlie the pathology of lupus, particularly kidney disease

Kidney damage associated with the autoimmune disease lupus is linked to a malfunction of immune cells that causes them to congregate in and attack the organs, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered in a mouse study.

22 Apr 2009

A nanoscale motor in the ear

Utah and Texas researchers have learned how quiet sounds are magnified by bundles of tiny, hair-like tubes atop "hair cells" in the ear: when the tubes dance back and forth, they act as "flexoelectric motors" that amplify sound mechanically.

22 Apr 2009

Improved medical ultrasounds

A key part of a medical ultrasound scanner is the transducer probe used to convert sound waves to electrical signals and vice versa.

22 Apr 2009

New information on molecular biology of KRas protein

KRas is one of the usual suspects in cancer. It is a protein that is mutated in 30% of human tumors and has been implicated in the regulation of many cell signalling pathways.

20 Apr 2009