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CSP analogues may attenuate S. pneumoniae virulence, resistance

The spread of virulent, antibiotic-resistant strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae may be controllable through the use of competence-stimulating peptide analogues, US researchers believe.

24 Mar 2014

New method can identify cancer's visible precursors with 97% certainty

Pancreatic cancer is often detected at a late stage, which results in poor prognosis and limited treatment options. Researchers at The University od Gothenburg, Sweden, have now developed a method which identifies the cancer's visible precursors with 97% certainty. The method, which is expected to aid in the early discovery of the cancer as well as minimize the risk of unnecessary surgery, may be introduced in patient care within five years.

24 Mar 2014

Cumulative amount of specific gene products affects changes in cell fate, say researchers

Johns Hopkins biologists have discovered that when biological signals hit cells in rhythmic waves, the magnitude of the cells' response can depend on the number of signaling cycles — not their strength or duration. Because such so-called “oscillating signaling cycles” are common in many biological systems, the scientists expect their findings in single-celled organisms to help explain the molecular workings of phenomena such as tissue and organ formation and fundamental forms of learning.

24 Mar 2014

DUF1220 protein domain also linked to severity of autism

The same gene family that may have helped the human brain become larger and more complex than in any other animal also is linked to the severity of autism, according to new research from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.

24 Mar 2014

Drugs fail to "wake up" dormant reservoirs of HIV inside immune system T cells

Scientists at Johns Hopkins report that compounds they hoped would "wake up" dormant reservoirs of HIV inside immune system T cells - a strategy designed to reverse latency and make the cells vulnerable to destruction - have failed to do so in laboratory tests of such white blood cells taken directly from patients infected with HIV.

24 Mar 2014

Researchers find stress can delay pregnancy and double risk of infertility

Having difficulty getting pregnant can be an incredibly stressful experience for any couple. Now, for the first time, researchers have data that suggests preconception stress might play a role in infertility.

24 Mar 2014

Scientists develop unique cells to repair patient's defective and diseased bladder

For the first time, scientists have succeeded in coaxing laboratory cultures of human stem cells to develop into the specialized, unique cells needed to repair a patient's defective or diseased bladder.

24 Mar 2014

Investigators find group of drugs to treat heart attacks and cancer metastasis

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators may have found a way to solve a problem that has plagued a group of drugs called ligand-mimicking integrin inhibitors, which have the potential to treat conditions ranging from heart attacks to cancer metastasis.

24 Mar 2014

Researchers uncover cause of rare type of ovarian cancer that strikes girls and young women

The cause of a rare type of ovarian cancer that most often strikes girls and young women has been uncovered by an international research team led by the Translational Genomics Research Institute, according to a study published online today by the renowned scientific journal, Nature Genetics.

23 Mar 2014

Biogen Idec's ALPROLIX gets Health Canada approval for hemophilia B

Today Biogen Idec announced that Health Canada has approved ALPROLIX [Coagulation Factor IX (Recombinant), Fc Fusion Protein], for the control and prevention of bleeding episodes and routine prophylaxis in adults, and children aged 12 and older, with hemophilia B.

21 Mar 2014

Scientists produce antibiotic whose biological activity can be controlled with light

Scientists of the KIT and the University of Kiev have produced an antibiotic, whose biological activity can be controlled with light. Thanks to the robust diarylethene photoswitch, the antimicrobial effect of the peptide mimetic can be applied in a spatially and temporally specific manner.

21 Mar 2014

WTC first responders at higher risk for obstructive sleep apnea, PTSD

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai researchers have linked high levels of exposure to inhaled particulate matter by first responders at Ground Zero to the risk of obstructed sleep apnea and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), both conditions that may impact cardiovascular health.

21 Mar 2014

Misplaced protein provides promising drug target for kidney cancer

The shortage of oxygen, or hypoxia, created when rapidly multiplying kidney cancer cells outgrow their local blood supply can accelerate tumor growth by causing a nuclear protein called SPOP-which normally suppresses tumor growth-to move out of the nucleus to the cytoplasm, where it has the opposite effect, promoting rapid proliferation.

21 Mar 2014

Researchers identify steps by which cell removes RNA from cytoplasm

RNA encodes the proteins that play a key role in cellular reproduction, but the manner in which cells regulate its removal once these proteins are synthesized remains a mystery. One piece of this mystery has been solved as researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who have identified the steps by which a cell removes RNA from the cytoplasm.

21 Mar 2014

New treatment could halt progression of dementia

Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have discovered a way to potentially halt the progression of dementia caused by accumulation of a protein known as tau.

21 Mar 2014

NIH awards $28M grant to establish new center for excellence to find treatment for Ebola virus

The National Institutes of Health has awarded a five-year, $28 million grant to establish a new center for excellence to find an antibody "cocktail" to fight two types of viruses that cause severe hemorrhagic fever, including the deadly Ebola virus. The project involves researchers from 15 institutions, including Kartik Chandran, Ph.D., and Jonathan Lai, Ph.D., at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. Einstein will receive approximately $4 million of the total grant.

21 Mar 2014

Proteins that regulate energy metabolism are essential for stem cell formation

Proteins that regulate energy metabolism are essential for stem cell formation, University of Washington researchers find.

21 Mar 2014

NSCLC gene fusion testing, targeted crizotinib – not yet cost effective

Genomic fusion testing for echinoderm microtubule-associated protein-like 4 and anaplastic lymphoma kinase genes plus targeted first-line crizotinib is not a cost effective treatment strategy for patients with advanced non-squamous non-small-cell lung cancer, shows a Canadian analysis.

20 Mar 2014

New tool pinpoints genetic sources of disease

Many diseases are the result of either variations in the genome or reversible chemical changes to DNA, known as the epigenome. New data obtained by Johns Hopkins scientists show a connection between genetic variants and epigenetic information.

20 Mar 2014

Investigational vaccine reduces number of tumors in mice with lung cancer

Researchers at UC Davis have found that the investigational cancer vaccine tecemotide, when administered with the chemotherapeutic cisplatin, boosted the immune response and reduced the number of tumors in mice with lung cancer.

20 Mar 2014