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Squalenoyl nanomedicines as potential therapeutics

Nucleoside analogs such as cytarabine and gemcitabine are powerful anticancer agents, but a simple chemical modification that causes them to assemble into stable nanoparticles could make them even more valuable in the treatment of a wide variety of cancers.

23 Oct 2006

Functionalization of individual ultra-short single-walled carbon nanotubes

While most research aimed at developing carbon nanotubes as tumor-targeting drug and imaging agent delivery vehicles has focused on full-length nanotubes, Lon Wilson, Ph.D., and his colleagues at Rice University have been working with ultra-short nanotubes that cells appear to take up more efficiently than their longer counterparts.

23 Oct 2006

$74 million allocated to study environmental causes of disease

As part of the new Exposure Biology Program, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, a component of the National Institutes of Health, today announced $74 million in grant opportunities for the development of new technologies that will improve the measurement of environmental exposures that contribute to human disease.

19 Oct 2006

A nanoplasmonic molecular ruler for measuring nuclease activity and DNA footprinting

The interactions between proteins and nucleic acids play a critical role in some of life’s most crucial biochemical processes, including gene expression and protein production, and some promising anticancer agents exert their effects by interfering with these interactions.

16 Oct 2006

Key parameters for encapsulating drugs in nanoparticles

One of the early, successful uses of nanoparticles has been to develop delivery vehicles capable of ferrying large amounts of water-insoluble drugs to tumors.

2 Oct 2006

Smart nanoscale bioreactors for drug delivery

In a powerful demonstration of how to build a multifunctional, smart nanoscale drug delivery system, researchers at the University of Basel have created a drug-loaded nanocontainer that targets specific cells and releases its payload when receiving a specific physiological signal.

2 Oct 2006

Spinach now safe but FDA still worried

Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is now saying it is safe to eat spinach and that they believe all the E. Coli-tainted spinach produced by the San Juan Bautista, California-based Natural Selection Foods company has been recalled, the FDA still has concerns.

2 Oct 2006

Roche to transfer technology for Saquinavir to three generic drug companies in Africa

Switzerland-based pharmaceutical company Roche on Friday said it will provide three generic drug companies in sub-Saharan Africa assistance in producing the protease inhibitor saquinavir under its Technology Transfer Initiative, Reuters South Africa reports (Reuters South Africa, 9/22).

26 Sep 2006

Nanocantilever biosensors detect multiple genes

Using nanoscale cantilevers in a microfluidics device, a team of European researchers has developed a portable biosensor capable of detecting specific genetic sequences.

19 Sep 2006

Detecting cancer with silica nanoparticles

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha is a widely accepted biomarker for cancer, but the minute amounts of this protein circulating in blood makes detecting the molecule and measuring its concentration accurately a technological challenge.

19 Sep 2006

Cell detachment model for an antibody-based microfluidic cancer screening system

In the quest to detect more types of cancers at ever earlier stages, researchers have been stymied by a lack of cell surface markers that distinguish in a clear-cut manner between healthy and malignant cells.

19 Sep 2006

Cisplatin nanoliposomes for cancer therapy

Cisplatin is one of the most powerful and effective drugs for treating a wide variety of cancers, but many tumors develop resistance to this drug, ultimately limiting its benefits for cancer patients.

19 Sep 2006

Could quantum dots hold the cure to cancer?

Review of quantum dot technologies for cancer detection and treatment.

13 Sep 2006

Inconclusive evidence suggests practical avoidance: Canadian Cancer Society statement on Tsawwassen power line project

The Canadian Cancer Society and Yukon Division, has submitted a letter to the Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) and the B.C. Utilities Commission (BCUC) to clarify its position on electric and magnetic fields (EMF) and its possible link to cancer.

12 Sep 2006

Synthetic low-density lipoprotein-like nanoparticles target brain tumors

Low-density lipoprotein, better known as LDL, is one of the chief villains involved in the development of coronary artery disease.

12 Sep 2006

New screening method shows how nanoparticles interact with human cells

Scientists at the Brookhaven National Laboratory have developed a screening method to examine how newly made nanoparticles interact with human cells following exposure for various times and doses. Using this new method, the investigators have been able to visualize how human cells interact with some specific types of carbon nanoparticles.

12 Sep 2006

New information on how to design nanoparticles that avoid macrophage uptake

Few researchers doubt the potential for nanoparticles to revolutionize the way anticancer drugs and imaging agents are delivered to tumors.

12 Sep 2006

New data on Federal funding for HIV/AIDS to states

Statehealthfacts.org has just updated FY 2005 data on federal funding streams for HIV/AIDS.

11 Sep 2006

GPS the latest tool in fight against avian influenza

Wearing light solar-powered GPS satellite transmitters, wild swans from Mongolia are winging their way across Eurasia, while land-bound scientists tracking the birds' journeys on computers say that these unique studies will shed light on how wild birds may be involved in the spread of avian influenza.

6 Sep 2006

Quantum dot nanodevice that can detect and image apoptosis

Aiming to help researchers get a better handle on how - and if - anticancer agents are triggering cell death, investigators at the University of Twente in The Netherlands have developed a quantum dot nanodevice that can detect and image apoptosis, also known as programmed cell death.

5 Sep 2006