Cellular Biology News and Research

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Chemotherapy causes delayed severe neural damage

Cancer treatment with chemotherapeutic agents is often associated with delayed adverse neurological consequences - an occurrence often referred to as "chemobrain" - that may compromise the quality of life of a proportion of cancer survivors.

21 Apr 2008

Discovery of fundamental mechanism of how tumour cells communicate

A new fundamental mechanism of how tumour cells communicate has just been discovered by the team of Dr. Janusz Rak at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) in collaboration with Dr Guha from the University of Toronto.

21 Apr 2008

New method for testing treatments for Chagas' disease

Chagas' disease is a tropical parasitic sickness that currently affects more than 16 million people, with a staggering 100 million at risk, largely in the tropical areas of South and Central America. And yet the main drug used to treat the disease is highly toxic and causes serious side effects.

20 Apr 2008

Chronic inflammation triggers cell fusions that could protect neurons

Chronic inflammation triggers bone marrow-derived blood cells to travel to the brain and fuse with a certain type of neuron up to 100 times more frequently than previously believed, according to a new study from the Stanford University School of Medicine.

20 Apr 2008

Cutting-edge surgical training facility to open at the University of Sydney

A new facility for the training of the next generation of microsurgeons in both molecular biology and advanced surgical techniques will be officially opened by the Governor of NSW, Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir AC CVO, at the University of Sydney on Tuesday 22 April.

17 Apr 2008

The mechanism of phosphorus as a cardiovascular risk factor in chronic kidney disease

The estimated 19 million Americans living with chronic kidney disease (CKD) face a high risk of death from cardiovascular disease. Recent studies have shown that a main source of this cardiovascular risk is CKD patients' high levels of blood phosphate.

17 Apr 2008

Scientists solve arsenic's cancer paradox

Cancer Research UK scientists have discovered how arsenic works as an effective treatment for leukaemia - according to a report in Nature Cell Biology.

15 Apr 2008

Discovery of gene involved in blood stem cell replication, movement

Researchers at the Joslin Diabetes Center have identified a gene that is responsible for the division and movement of marrow-derived, blood-forming stem cells, a finding that could have major implications for the future of bone marrow and blood cell transplantation.

10 Apr 2008

Researchers identify gene involved in blood stem cell replication, movement

10 Apr 2008

Research using human embryonic stem cells reveals earliest step in human development

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have uncovered the molecular underpinnings of one of the earliest steps in human development using human embryonic stem cells.

10 Apr 2008

Solving the Z ring's mysteries may lead to new antibiotics

A team led by Johns Hopkins researchers has solved important puzzles concerning how certain proteins guide the reproduction of bacteria, discoveries that could lead to a new type of antibiotics.

9 Apr 2008

New nano-engineered gel inhibits for spinal cord injury

A spinal cord injury often leads to permanent paralysis and loss of sensation below the site of the injury because the damaged nerve fibers can't regenerate.

3 Apr 2008

Discovery of new type of retinal cell

Harvard University researchers have discovered a new type of retinal cell that plays an exclusive and unusual role in mice: detecting upward motion.

31 Mar 2008

Researchers examine human embryonic stem cell genome

Stem cell researchers from UCLA used a high resolution technique to examine the genome, or total DNA content, of a pair of human embryonic stem cell lines and found that while both lines could form neurons, the lines had differences in the numbers of certain genes that could control such things as individual traits and disease susceptibility.

31 Mar 2008

PET confirmed as valuable cancer diagnostic and disease-staging tool

The recent release of data by the National Oncologic PET Registry (NOPR) showing that positron emission tomography (PET) produced scans revealing disease at a molecular level, which then caused physicians to change treatment plans for more than one-third of participating patients, has corroborated decades of nuclear medicine research.

28 Mar 2008

Discovery about fertilization points way to possible malaria vaccine

International investigations of an organism that one UT Southwestern Medical Center researcher calls a “silly little green scum” have led to key insights into the basic mechanisms of reproduction.

26 Mar 2008

Microbes in the guts of carpenter ants could lead to better drugs

Scientists have discovered two key proteins that guide one of the two groups of pathogenic bacteria to make their hardy outer shells -- their defense against the world.

26 Mar 2008

REST protein protects embryonic stem cells' versatility and self-renewal

A protein known as REST blocks the expression of a microRNA that prevents embryonic stem cells from reproducing themselves and causes them to differentiate into specific cell types, scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report in the journal Nature.

25 Mar 2008

Researchers reveal hidden properties of an on-off switch that governs cell growth

Investigators at the Duke Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy have revealed the hidden properties of an on-off switch that governs cell growth.

25 Mar 2008

Researchers discover signaling system that halts the growth of a childhood brain cancer

A discovery by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists suggests a safer way to treat medulloblastoma, a rare but often fatal childhood brain tumor.

17 Mar 2008