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Scientists have discovered a new and potent anti-cancer compound in beans

Scientists have discovered a new and potent anti-cancer compound in everyday food. The collaborative study led by UCL (University College London) shows that the compound - inositol pentakisphosphate - found in beans, nuts and cereals inhibits a key enzyme (phosphoinositide 3-kinase) involved in tumour growth.

19 Sep 2005

Molecular pathway in mice that makes prostate cells vulnerable to cancer-causing oxygen damage

Scientists from Maryland and New Jersey have identified a molecular pathway in mice that makes prostate cells vulnerable to cancer-causing oxygen damage.

19 Sep 2005

Lowering blood sugar levels could reduce the risk of coronary heart disease

Lowering blood sugar levels could reduce the risk of coronary heart disease in both diabetics and non-diabetics, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and other institutions.

19 Sep 2005

RNAi therapeutic successful for treatment of SARS respiratory virus in Rhesus Macaque

Intradigm Corporation announced today its collaboration with Chinese academic and biotech groups has achieved clear evidence of prophylactic and therapeutic effects of siRNA (small interfering RNA) agents in Rhesus monkey to treat SARS coronavirus (SCV) respiratory infection.

12 Sep 2005

Transplantation of organs from animals to humans could soon be a reality

Speaking at the BA Festival of Science in Dublin, Dr Anthony Warrens, discussed how xenotransplantation, the process of transplanting organs from one species into another, could soon be a reality, easing the current shortage of organs for transplantation.

10 Sep 2005

Inhaled-insulin drug Exubera - monitoring programme to be launched by Pfizer

Drug company Pfizer says it is all set to launch a patient-monitoring scheme in order to assess the safety of its novel inhaled-insulin drug Exubera, if the product is approved for use.

10 Sep 2005

Smokers twice as likely to lose their sight - calls for warnings on cigarette packets

Experts are warning smokers that they are twice as likely as non-smokers to lose their sight in later life.

10 Sep 2005

Call for more donations of brains to help researchers discover new treatments for neurological disorders

Speaking at the BA Festival of Science, at Trinity College, Dublin, Dr Kirstin Goldring from Imperial College London and Charing Cross Hospital is calling for more donations of brains to help researchers discover new treatments for neurological disorders.

7 Sep 2005

Researchers uncover how the inhaled form of anthrax disarms bacteria-fighting white blood cells before they can fend off the disease

The lethal toxin in anthrax paralyzes neutrophils, the white blood cells that act as the body's first defense against infection, by impairing how they build tiny filaments that allow them to crawl throughout the body and eat invading bacteria.

6 Sep 2005

Killer secondhand smoke campaign flares up in the UK

According to new research by the National Health Service (NHS), 60 per cent of smokers light up and smoke without asking for permission, despite the fact that most non-smokers mind if other people are smoking nearby.

6 Sep 2005

Exposure to secondhand smoke kills as many women in China as does smoking

The study estimated that in 2002, 48,400 women in China died from lung cancer and ischemic heart disease attributed to passive smoking compared with 47,300 lung cancer and heart disease deaths from "active" smoking.

6 Sep 2005

Osteopontin protein found to be more common in patients with lung fibrosis

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a scarring disease without a cure, irreparably damaging the ability of the tissue to transfer oxygen into the bloodstream.

6 Sep 2005

Health groups file brief urging tougher remedies in tobacco lawsuit

The six public health organizations that intervened in the federal government's tobacco lawsuit filed a brief last Wednesday urging the judge to strengthen the remedies proposed by the government

6 Sep 2005

Amnioinfusion does not reduce the risk of meconium aspiration syndrome

An international randomized trial, funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), has revealed that amnioinfusion, the infusion of saline into the uterus, does not reduce the risk of meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS), as previously believed.

6 Sep 2005

Giving patients both chemotherapy and radiation in the beginning of treatment may help cancer patients live longer

While researchers have learned in the last decade that combining chemotherapy with radiation is better than radiation alone for treating non-small cell lung cancer patients with locally advanced disease - cancer confined to the lungs - finding the right combination of drugs - and the best timing of treatment - has been tricky.

6 Sep 2005

Total smoking ban in public places only viable option in the UK

Doctors, nurses and charities in the UK have renewed demands for a total ban on smoking in public places, and are warning that government plans to allow smoking in some pubs would increase health inequalities.

6 Sep 2005

Phase II clinical study of ularitide

The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) today highlighted results of a Phase II clinical study of ularitide, a synthetic form of a natriuretic peptide synthesized in the kidney for patients with acute decompensated congestive heart failure (ADHF).

5 Sep 2005

Heart failure patients are "a country" in Europe, there are so many

The number of hospitalizations for heart failure is about the same as for acute myocardial infarction. Our knowledge over acute heart failure patients treated at hospitals for heart failure is based on surveys. In Europe the information is still scarce but emerging especially through the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Euroheart survey program.

5 Sep 2005

Researchers discover one of the reasons why melanoma is so ruthless

About 60,000 Americans will be diagnosed with melanoma this year, says the American Cancer Society, and 10,000 of those cases will be fatal. If not caught in the early stages, melanoma can be a particularly virulent form of cancer, spreading through the body with an efficiency that few tumors possess.

5 Sep 2005

Lack of exposure to dirt and common viral infections among children could be behind the rise in the levels of asthma

Scientists believe that knowing exactly which type of dirt provides the best 'education' for the immune system, could be key to providing new treatments for diseases such as asthma.

4 Sep 2005