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AIDS drugs from sunflowers

Sunflowers can produce a substance which prevents the AIDS pathogen HIV from reproducing, at least in cell cultures. This is the result of research carried out by scientists at the University of Bonn in cooperation with the caesar research centre.

9 Jan 2006

Tekes takes part in an extensive stem cell project

Tekes has allocated three million euros to financing a project by the Tampere-based Regea Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the goal of which is to use stem cells in tissue-related technological applications.

6 Jan 2006

New human embryonic stem cells grown in animal cell-free cultures

Scientists working at the WiCell Research Institute, a private laboratory affiliated with the University of Wisconsin-Madison, have developed a precisely defined stem cell culture system free of animal cells and used it to derived two new human embryonic stem cell.

2 Jan 2006

Micro-gyroscopes could detect, monitor and provide therapy guidance on cancer

A vibrating disc no bigger than a speck of dust could help to diagnose and monitor common types of cancer and provide specialists with information about the most appropriate therapy.

22 Dec 2005

Discovery reveals how malaria infects humans

Researchers at the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) in India and a unit of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in France have made a key discovery about a molecule that helps the malaria parasite infect human cells.

22 Dec 2005

New discovery may improve treatment of neurodegenerative diseases and type 2 diabetes

Proteins are large molecular chains that move around cells carrying vital information on the activity of the organism. The role of each protein depends largely on the form it takes, but the proteins occasionally lose this form when they collide and bind with other proteins.

15 Dec 2005

Cancer, genes and broccoli

People who gain less protection from cancer by eating broccoli may be able to compensate for the difference in their genetic make-up by eating 'super broccoli', a variety with higher levels of the active plant chemical sulforaphane, or by eating larger portions.

7 Dec 2005

Intervention in immune regulation can prevent onset of type-1 diabetes

Some forms of diabetes could feasibly be prevented. Scientists at the German Research Centre for Biotechnology (GBF) in Braunschweig recently were able to do just that in experiments with mice.

6 Dec 2005

Exploiting biology's own chemical toolbox...

Exploiting biology's own chemical toolbox, researchers have developed a new technique that will allow them to modify specific sequences within a DNA molecule. The approach will not only help reveal the impact of biochemical alterations to DNA, but could have far-reaching implications for DNA-based medical diagnosis and nanobiotechnology.

28 Nov 2005

MRI to detect magnetic probes of tiny iron oxide particles successfully tracks implanted cells in cancer patients

By using MRI to detect magnetic probes of tiny iron oxide particles, an international research team for the first time has successfully tracked immune-stimulating cells implanted into cancer patients for treatment purposes.

28 Nov 2005

New door opens for anti-aging research in humans

A counterintuitive experiment has resulted in one of the longest recorded life-span extensions in any organism and opened a new door for anti-aging research in humans.

26 Nov 2005

World first trial grows blood vessels from patient's own skin

A team of American scientists have successfully implanted blood vessels grown entirely from a patient's own cells.

16 Nov 2005

Large portions push people to overeat

According to a new Cornell University study, when moviegoers were served stale popcorn in big buckets, they ate 34 percent more than those given the same stale popcorn in medium-sized containers.

14 Nov 2005

Human umbilical cord blood cells may widen treatment window for stroke

An experimental treatment that spares disability from acute stroke may be delivered much later than the current three-hour treatment standard – a potential advance needed to benefit more stroke victims.

13 Nov 2005

Important breakthrough in developing the drugs of the future

Their work on targeting individual genes for more effective and cheaper drug testing opens the way to treatments for a huge range of diseases including diabetes and atherosclerosis, which leads to strokes and heart attacks.

3 Nov 2005

Trigger discovered that causes stem cells embryos to start developing into organs

They have apparently discovered the chemical trigger that causes stem cells from embryos to start developing into organs, raising the possibility of parts of the body being able to repair their own damage.

30 Oct 2005

FDA approves first transplant of fetal stem cells into human brains

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the first transplant of fetal stem cells into human brains, a procedure that if successful could pave the way to treating a host of neural disorders.

24 Oct 2005

A DNA-based vaccine could be a potent weapon against bird flu

Researchers scrambling to combat a virulent form of bird flu that could mutate into a form easily spread among humans should consider developing vaccines based on DNA, according to British biochemical engineers.

19 Oct 2005

Discovery could lead to tests for the clinic or battlefield to diagnose ailments with just a few drops of blood

A way to detect fragments of broken brain cells that leak into the bloodstream may help doctors more quickly and precisely treat people with severe head injuries or brain diseases, say researchers at the University of Florida's McKnight Brain Institute.

17 Oct 2005

dnaJP1 - novel drug for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine have announced successful completion of Phase II clinical trials of a novel drug for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), one that works without suppressing the patient's immune system.

16 Oct 2005