Cellular Biology News and Research

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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

Personal genomes may lead to personalized vitamin supplements

As the cost of sequencing a single human genome drops rapidly, with one company predicting a price of $100 per person in five years, soon the only reason not to look at your "personal genome" will be fear of what bad news lies in your genes.

2 Jun 2008

Tumor suppressor genes speed up and slow down aging in engineered mouse

Mayo Clinic researchers have developed an animal model that can test the function of two prominent tumor suppressor genes, p16 and p19, in the aging process. Scientists knew that both these genes were expressed at increased levels as humans and mice age, but their role in the aging process was not clear. Findings by the Mayo team show that p16 provides gas to accelerate cellular aging, while p19 stops that process.

1 Jun 2008

New cancer stem cell identified behind metastatic tumors

The molecular profile of cancer stem cells that initiate metastatic colon tumors is significantly different from those responsible for primary tumors, according to new research from a team at Weill Cornell Medical College.

28 May 2008

Intracellular antibody mops up mutant protein in Huntington's disease model

Scientists have created a tool for mopping up the clumps of mutant protein that drive neurodegeneration in Huntington's disease. Emory University researchers engineered a virus to make an intracellular antibody or "intrabody" against huntingtin, the protein whose mutant forms poison the brain cells of people with Huntington's.

26 May 2008

Discovery provides hope for patients with pancreatic cancer

This week researchers in the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) Oregon Stem Cell Center and the OHSU Digestive Health Center are shining a new ray of hope on patients with pancreatic cancer. They've developed new reagents, or antibodies, that can recognize this often lethal disease. This important discovery may one day lead to earlier detection and treatment.

22 May 2008

NCI scientists visualize gene regulation in living cells

A research team led by scientists at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has applied advanced imaging methods and computer simulations to be able to glance at the regulation of a cancer-related gene in a living cell. They found that the efficiency with which the components of the cell's gene reading machinery come together has an impact on gene expression, the process by which a gene translates its information into a new protein. The findings, published in the May 23, 2008 issue of Molecular Cell, shed new light on the means by which living cells regulate gene activity.

22 May 2008

Scientists reveal the genetic determinants of fat storage in cells

New research by the Gladstone Institutes of Cardiovascular Disease (GICD) and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), has revealed the genetic determinants of fat storage in cells, which may lead to a new understanding of and potential treatments for obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. While scientists have long understood that lipid droplets contribute to fat build up in cells, the genes involved in droplet biology have been a focus of extensive research.

21 May 2008

Scripps Research Institute awarded patent for revolutionary technology

The Scripps Research Institute has been awarded U.S. Patent No. US 7,375,234 B2, which covers a broad class of chemical reactions that mimic biological efficiency and opens the door to a new world of chemistry.

20 May 2008

Discovery of protein key to neuro-regeneration

Researchers at the Peninsula Medical School in the South West of England, University College London, the San Raffaele Scientific Institute in Milan and Cancer Research UK, have for the first time identified a protein that is key to the regeneration of damage in the peripheral nervous system and which could with further research lead to understanding diseases of our peripheral nervous systems and provide clues to methods of repairing damage in the central nervous system, according to a paper published this week in the Journal of Cell Biology.

20 May 2008

HIV/AIDS experts call for new ideas, increased funding on 25th anniversary of paper identifying virus

A novel strategy, new teams of researchers and increased funding are needed to revitalize the fight against HIV/AIDS worldwide, experts said Monday on the 25th anniversary of the release of the study that identified HIV, AFP/Google.com reports.

20 May 2008

Demand for alternative sweeteners are increasing by 8% a year

The demand for alternative sweeteners to sugar is increasing at a rate of 8% per year. The market is showing more and more interest in natural sweeteners compared to synthetic ones. This has been reflected in a study carried out by researchers at the Universidad Miguel Hernández (UMH) in Elche, Alicante.

12 May 2008

Fruit fly avoidance mechanism could lead to new ways to control pain in humans

At first, fruit flies eat like horses. Hatching inside over-ripe fruit where they were laid, they feed wildly in the sugar-rich environment until nature sends them an offer they can't refuse. To survive, they must leave the fruit, wander off and burrow into the earth where they avoid food as if it were poison. Only then can the larvae grow and hatch into flies that will take wing to lay their own eggs.

11 May 2008

Scientists identify key roadblock to gene expression

A team of scientists has provided, for the first time, a detailed map of how the building blocks of chromosomes, the cellular structures that contain genes, are organized in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. The work identifies a critical stop sign for transcription, the first step in gene expression, and has implications for understanding how the AIDS virus regulates its genes. The findings will be published in the 15 May 2008 issue of the journal Nature

8 May 2008

New key mechanism in cell division discovered

Scientists at the IFOM-IEO Campus have revealed the function of a protein that is indispensable for passing on an accurate copy of the genome from mother to daughter cells. This study, published in Cell, opens up new avenues of research to reduce the toxicity of chemotherapy in the treatment of cancer.

8 May 2008

Nitrates in vegetables protect against gastric ulcers

Vegetables that are rich in nitrates protect the stomach from damage. This takes place through conversion of nitrates into nitrites by the bacteria in the oral cavity and subsequent transformation into biologically active nitric oxide in the stomach. The Swedish researcher Joel Petersson has described the process, which also means that antibacterial mouthwashes can be harmful for the stomach.

7 May 2008

New study raises questions about prostate cancer therapies targeting insulin-like growth factor receptor

Therapies under development to treat prostate cancer by inhibiting the ability of insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) to activate its target receptor could have unexpected results especially if a major tumor suppressor gene - p53 - is already compromised, according to new research by investigators at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

1 May 2008

New drug added to chemo kills off residual breast cancer stem cells

New research says chemotherapy often fails to totally eliminate breast cancer because it does not knock out breast cancer stem cells.

30 Apr 2008

Getting to the roots of breast cancer

The lesson learned in eradicating dandelions from your yard could apply in treating breast cancer as well, said researchers from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston in a report that appears online today in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

29 Apr 2008

AMPK signaling helps explain how cell growth is inhibited when nutrients are low

A team of scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies think they know how many-if not most-living organisms answer this question. They recently showed that when food supplies dwindle, mammals, fruitflies, or frogs probably activate the same ancient cell signaling pathway in order to conserve energy.

24 Apr 2008