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How male puberty begins

Scientists from Monash University have uncovered a new understanding of how male puberty begins.

14 Mar 2011

New analytic method suggests tumors grow in punctuated, staccato-like bursts

A new method of analyzing cancerous tumors developed by scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory suggests that tumors may not evolve gradually, but rather in punctuated or staccato-like bursts.

14 Mar 2011

Brain implant surgery can improve life for people with cervical dystonia

Implanting electrodes into a pea-sized part of the brain can dramatically improve life for people with severe cervical dystonia - a rare but extremely debilitating condition that causes painful, twisting neck muscle spasms - according to the results of a pilot study led by Jill Ostrem, MD and Philip Starr, MD PhD at the University of California, San Francisco.

9 Mar 2011

Two studies show how laminin plays a central role in breast cancer development

Laminin, long thought to be only a structural support protein in the microenvironment of breast and other epithelial tissues, is "famous" for its cross-like shape.

8 Mar 2011

Scientists detail role of TDP-43 in ALS pathology

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, known as ALS or more popularly, Lou Gehrig's disease, is a notorious neurodegenerative condition characterized by the progressive deterioration of brain and spinal cord neurons, resulting in the gradual but catastrophic loss of muscle control and ultimately, death.

5 Mar 2011

Scientist discovers new mechanism for regulation of gene expression

Dr. David Levin, Professor of Molecular & Cell Biology at Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine and Professor of Microbiology at Boston University School of Medicine discovered recently a novel, evolutionarily conserved mechanism for the regulation of gene expression.

4 Mar 2011

Researchers demonstrate potential neurochemical mechanism of weight loss

An interdisciplinary group of researchers at the University of Pennsylvania has, for the first time, identified the neurological and cellular signaling mechanisms that contribute to satiety - the sensation of feeling full - and the subsequent body-weight loss produced by drugs used to treat type 2 diabetes. More comprehensive knowledge of these mechanisms could form the basis for anti-obesity medications.

4 Mar 2011

Feet first? Old mitochondria might be responsible for neuropathy in the extremities

The burning, tingling pain of neuropathy may affect feet and hands before other body parts because the powerhouses of nerve cells that supply the extremities age and become dysfunctional as they complete the long journey to these areas, Johns Hopkins scientists suggest in a new study. The finding may eventually lead to new ways to fight neuropathy, a condition that often accompanies other diseases including HIV/AIDS, diabetes and circulatory disorders.

3 Mar 2011

International consortium of researchers genetically characterise Spanish Fanconi anaemia patients

A consortium of thirty-two researchers worldwide, led by Dr Jordi Surrallés, professor of the Department of Genetics and Microbiology at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) and member of the Centre for Biomedical Network Research on Rare Diseases (CIBERER), genetically and clinically characterised almost all Spanish patients suffering from Franconi anaemia, a rare disease affecting one in every 500,000 persons and which is characterised by severe anaemia in children, congenital malformations and a high predisposition to cancer.

3 Mar 2011

New personalized therapy fools cancer cells into killing themselves

A Wayne State University School of Medicine physician-researcher has developed a personalized therapy to treat a wide range of cancers. The treatment is based on a naturally occurring human enzyme that has been genetically modified to fool cancer cells into killing themselves.

1 Mar 2011

PACAP hormone levels linked to post-traumatic stress disorder

High blood levels of a hormone produced in response to stress are linked to post-traumatic stress disorder in women but not men, a study from researchers at Emory University and the University of Vermont has found.

25 Feb 2011

BRI and Eureka Genomics form strategic alliance to advance cancer treatments

Baylor Research Institute (BRI), the research arm of Baylor Health Care System, and bioinformatics pioneer Eureka Genomics (EG) have formed a strategic alliance to achieve a better understanding of the causes of colorectal cancer, potentially leading to advancements in the disease's prevention, management and treatment.

24 Feb 2011

Progeria-derived iPS cells may treat aging-related disease in children

The current pace of population aging is without parallel in human history but surprisingly little is known about the human aging process, because lifespans of eight decades or more make it difficult to study. Now, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have replicated premature aging in the lab, allowing them to study aging-related disease in a dish.

24 Feb 2011

New study provides insight into brain activity of depressed women responding to crying infants

Mothers who are depressed respond differently to their crying babies than do non-depressed moms. In fact, their reaction, according to brain scans at the University of Oregon, is much more muted than the robust brain activity in non-depressed moms.

23 Feb 2011

Intrinsic initiates enrollment in Barricaid device clinical trial

Intrinsic Therapeutics, Inc., a developer of novel lumbar spine anulus closure devices, announced today that it has enrolled the first patient, December 17, 2010, in a Randomized Clinical Trial of its Barricaid device.

18 Feb 2011

Deactivation of tau gene may help reverse memory loss in Alzheimer disease

Amyloid-beta and tau protein deposits in the brain are characteristic features of Alzheimer disease. The effect on the hippocampus, the area of the brain that plays a central role in learning and memory, is particularly severe. However, it appears that the toxic effect of tau protein is largely eliminated when the corresponding tau gene is switched off.

16 Feb 2011

Research: MEF2D protein in mitochondria appears to contribute early steps in Parkinson's disease

For the last several years, neurologists have been probing a connection between Parkinson's disease and problems with mitochondria, the miniature power plants of the cell.

15 Feb 2011

Researchers use computers to capture chemical signal structure that triggers metastatic cancer

In cancer and other pathological diseases, researchers are discovering that packaging is important: specifically, how DNA - about two meters long when unwound and stretched - coils up and compacts neatly inside the nucleus of a cell.

15 Feb 2011

Alexion fourth quarter net product sales of Soliris increases to $156.0 million

Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced financial results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2010. For the three months ended December 31, 2010, Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. reported net product sales of Soliris® (eculizumab) of $156.0 million, reflecting strong additions of new patients, compared to $110.6 million for the same period in 2009.

10 Feb 2011

Physicist creates technology that may enhance pharma industry's early drug discovery capabilities

A Purdue physicist has created technology to detect motion inside three-dimensional tumor spheroids, which may enhance the pharmaceutical industry's early drug discovery capabilities.

10 Feb 2011