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Now significantly easier to search long stretches of DNA for genetic changes associated with disease

The researchers developed a method called direct genomic selection that accelerates the transition between family or population-based studies of disease inheritance patterns and identification of genetic variations that may contribute to disease.

6 Jan 2005

Protein discovery with medical implications

It was a transforming moment. Researchers could barely believe their eyes. A molecular blob of a protein reshaped itself into a molecular Pacman in order to free new viruses from the inside of a bacterial cell.

6 Jan 2005

Mutated gene may provide better idea of how cancer develops and progresses

Scientists are taking the first steps to find out how a gene that is mutated in many cancer cells functions in healthy cells.

6 Jan 2005

Gene sequencing explains why natural bioremediation 'bug' has big appetite for chlorinated pollutants

"The born-to-dechlorinate bug" is what Cornell University researchers called Dehalococcoides ethenogenes Strain 195 when they found the bacterium obligingly detoxifying the pollutant PCE, or perchloroethylene (a chlorinated solvent used for dry cleaning), in sludge from an Ithaca, N.Y., sewage treatment plant.

6 Jan 2005

Antibiotics protect nerves in mice by turning on genes

A family of antibiotics that includes penicillin may help prevent nerve damage and death in a wide variety of neurological diseases, including Lou Gehrig's disease, dementia, stroke, and epilepsy, Johns Hopkins researchers have found.

6 Jan 2005

New protein discovered holds promise for use in medicine and nanoscience

Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have succeeded in discovering and isolating a new protein from the poplar tree with special structural and qualitative characteristics that could have consequences for development of future nanocapsules for drug delivery to cancer cells.

5 Jan 2005

Technology that could double the effectiveness of cancer drugs

To identify the best treatment for recurrent ovarian cancer, researchers at Yale School of Medicine are studying a technology called the Yale apoptosis assay in combination with another technology called the ChemoFX assay, which could double the response rate to existing drugs.

4 Jan 2005

Genomics tools provide clues to what causes 400 million cases of gastrointestinal disease each year

In a study that could benefit medical and food-safety research, scientists have used comparative genomics tools to find clues about why some strains of the bacterium Campylobacter – which each year cause more than 400 million cases of gastrointestinal disease – are more virulent than others.

4 Jan 2005

For uncomplicated colds antibiotics are not necessary

If a runny nose and congested chest have you thinking of antibiotics, think again.

3 Jan 2005

New findings clarify the role of NOD2, a key molecular player in Crohn's Disease

This week, researchers report new findings that clarify the role of NOD2, a key molecular player in Crohn's Disease, in the cellular signaling pathways that control inflammatory responses. NOD2's clinical relevance is clear from the fact that it is encoded by a Crohn's Disease susceptibility gene.

28 Dec 2004

High levels of a blood protein called mannose-binding lectin associated with lower risk of heart attack

High levels of a blood protein called mannose-binding lectin (MBL) are associated with lower risk of heart attack, particularly among diabetics, report Saevardottir and colleagues.

28 Dec 2004

Seafood research will bring healthier lifestyle

The biggest research project ever sponsored by the EU in the seafood sector will help to meet the consumer demand for more healthy products.

23 Dec 2004

Shape of a protein on the surface of pneumonia bacteria helps germs invade the human bloodstream

Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have discovered that the shape of a protein on the surface of pneumonia bacteria helps these germs invade the human bloodstream.

23 Dec 2004

Bacteria can use a sonar-like system to spot other cells

For the first time, scientists have found that bacteria can use a Sonar-like system to spot other cells (either normal body cells or other bacteria) and target them for destruction.

23 Dec 2004

Evidence suggests that changes in the bacteria and fungi in the gastrointestinal tract can intensify the immune system's reaction to common allergens

If you want to avoid allergies or asthma, scientists at the University of Michigan Medical School suggest you start paying more attention to what's in your gut.

23 Dec 2004

Jumping genes help explain immune system's remarkable ability

A team led by Johns Hopkins scientists has found the first clear evidence that the process behind the human immune system's remarkable ability to recognize and respond to a million different proteins might have originated from a family of genes whose only apparent function is to jump around in genetic material.

22 Dec 2004