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Predictors for sickle-cell-anemia complications

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have determined that the level, or saturation, of oxygen in blood could be used to identify children with sickle cell anemia who are at an increased risk of stroke.

6 Mar 2008

Researchers discover molecular pathway in blood vessels that controls blood pressure and vascular function

University of Iowa researchers have identified a molecular pathway in blood vessels that controls blood pressure and vascular function and may help explain why certain drugs for type II diabetes also appear to lower patients' blood pressure.

6 Mar 2008

PET/CT planning beneficial for head and neck cancer patients

Using a combination of positron emission tomography (PET) and computed tomography for radiation therapy treatment planning in head and neck carcinoma patients provides for excellent, local and regional disease control when compared to CT alone, according to a study in the March 1 issue of the International Journal for Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, the official journal of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology.

6 Mar 2008

ISG15 protein inhibits Ebola from reaching out to infect neighboring cells

Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine have identified a protein, ISG15, that inhibits the Ebola virus from budding, the process by which viruses escape from cells and spread to infect neighboring cells.

6 Mar 2008

Neural progenitor cells as reservoirs for HIV in the brain

Impaired brain function is a prominent and still unsolved problem in AIDS.

6 Mar 2008

Molecular alliance that sustains embryonic stem cell state

One of the four ingredients in the genetic recipe that scientists in Japan and the U.S. followed last year to persuade human skin cells to revert to an embryonic stem cell state, is dispensable in ES cells, thanks to the presence of a molecular alliance between a specific group of key proteins known as transcription factors, a research team led by the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) under the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) reports in the current issue of Nature Cell Biology.

6 Mar 2008

MIT cell-based sensor technology quickly detects airborne pathogens

Researchers at MIT Lincoln Laboratory have developed a powerful sensor that can detect airborne pathogens such as anthrax and smallpox in less than three minutes.

6 Mar 2008

Genetic mutations involved in IGF-I signaling pathway influence life span

Mutations in genes governing an important cell-signaling pathway influence human longevity, scientists at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have found.

6 Mar 2008

Chemotherapy with chemoradiation for pancreatic cancer has small survival benefit

The addition of the drug gemcitabine with chemoradiation for the treatment of patients who had surgery for pancreatic cancer was associated with a survival benefit, although this improvement was not statistically significant, according to a study in the March 5 issue of JAMA.

6 Mar 2008

Rimonabant weight-loss drug might fight alcoholic fatty liver

The cannabinoid receptors best known for delivering the psychological effects of marijuana also explain the connection between chronic alcohol use and a buildup of fat in the liver, according to a report in the March issue of Cell Metabolism, a publication of Cell Press.

6 Mar 2008

Bioniche receives fast track for bladder cancer therapy

Bioniche Life Sciences Inc. has announced that it has received notice from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that its therapy for first-line non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer meets the criteria for Fast Track designation.

6 Mar 2008

Drinking black tea might help combat type 2 diabetes

In an unexpected discovery Scottish scientists have found that black tea may help combat type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease.

5 Mar 2008

Watery pools in bone marrow key to psoriatic arthritic damage

Researchers have learned more about how a leading drug prevents certain types of arthritis from eating away at bone, according to a study published in the March edition of the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

4 Mar 2008

Experimental cancer drug MI-219 promising in preclinical studies

Researchers have long searched for a novel cancer drug that activates a certain protein to kill tumor cells.

4 Mar 2008

Cell proteins could offer a future drug target against weight gain

Two cell proteins that relax the gut and help accommodate a big meal have been identified by UCL (University College London) scientists.

4 Mar 2008

Carrying a cell phone may cause some college students - especially women - to take risks with their safety

A survey of 305 students at one campus found that 40 percent of cell phone users said they walked somewhere after dark that they normally wouldn't go.

4 Mar 2008

Stem cell funding for Parkinson’s disease

The Parkinson's Disease Society (PD) has announced funding of £170k to the University of Bristol for research into how to make stem cells produce dopamine and live longer after they have been transplanted into animals.

4 Mar 2008

How variants of a specific gene, CAPON or NOS1AP, can disrupt normal heart rhythm

A research team from the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute, Johns Hopkins University and China Medical University and Hospital in Taiwan have described for the first time the mechanisms by which variants of a specific gene, CAPON or NOS1AP, can disrupt normal heart rhythm.

4 Mar 2008

Protein in embryonic stem cells control malignant tumor cells

A protein that governs development of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) also inhibits the growth and spread of malignant melanoma, the deadliest skin cancer, Northwestern University researchers have discovered.

4 Mar 2008

Tiny RNA molecule found to help create skin's protective barrier

Every minute, 30,000 of our outermost skin cells die so that we can live. When they do, new cells migrate from the inner layer of the skin to the surface of it, where they form a tough protective barrier.

4 Mar 2008