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Researchers find mucus plays key role in cancer

Investigators at the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center in Boston became intrigued with the thick, slimy stuff when they learned that breast, lung, colon, and other tumor cells make more than 50 times more of a certain type of it than normal cells.

29 Apr 2004

Space technology may help fertility of a woman with cancer

Using technology borrowed from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), scientists at the University of Pittsburgh's McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine have taken the first steps toward successfully preserving ovarian tissue from rats and mice in culture, including immature egg follicles, according to a study in the current issue of the journal Tissue Engineering.

29 Apr 2004

New technique of identifying genes may help researchers developing drugs

A quick new technique able to identify genes that evolve rapidly as well as those that change slowly already has pinpointed new targets for researchers developing drugs against tuberculosis and malaria, and it could do the same for other infectious diseases, according to a paper in this week's Nature.

29 Apr 2004

Scientists have unraveled the behavior of one key component of bacteria

The researchers studied a mechanism of action they call the "magic spot" – an important regulator of gene expression. They describe their results in the current issue of the journal Cell.

29 Apr 2004

Mutation of a gene involved in non-small cell lung cancer linked to drug effectiveness

Mutation of a gene involved in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) increases the likelihood that the drug gefitinib (Iressa™) will show a beneficial response, researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) - part of the National Institutes of Health - and two other institutions announced today in the online version of Science.

29 Apr 2004

Mystery surrounding ageing, death and cancer is dispelled by new study

Scientists from Cancer Research UK and Breast Cancer Campaign have uncovered the first evidence of an entirely new system for holding the ravages of time at bay.

29 Apr 2004

Quarter of hospitals unlikely to comply safely with European Working Time Directive

The latest survey of acute hospitals in England and Wales shows that 23% will probably or definitely be unable to comply with the European Working Time Directive in August 2004. The Directive rules that junior doctors must not work more than 56 hours per week; must not work more than 13 hours in any 24; and must have an 11-hour break before and after a similar shift.

29 Apr 2004

Lou Gehrig’s disease gene discovered

A gene for a rare juvenile-onset form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease) has been isolated in families in the United States, Belgium and Austria, the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) announced today.

29 Apr 2004

A burst of brain energy depends more on a unique molecular cycle than on blood flow variation

A century old mystery is taking place in your head as you read these words. Blood vessels in regions of your brain are widening, bathing cells in an increased blood flow.

28 Apr 2004

A popular supplement, coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), may help prevent migraine

Migraine patients who took 100 mg three times a day of CoQ10—which acts as the body’s energy producer—had fewer attacks in three months than those who took a placebo. The participants taking CoQ10 also had fewer days with a headache and fewer days with nausea.

28 Apr 2004

Results look promising in Alzheimer’s gene therapy trial

Surgical placement of genetically modified tissue directly into the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease, an experimental approach to delaying brain cell loss associated with the disease, leads to increased metabolic activity in the brain, with cells apparently responding to the insertion of growth factor-producing grafts

28 Apr 2004

Scientists identify six genes associated with the most common form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

In a paper that will be published on Thursday, April 29, 2004 in the New England Journal of Medicine, a team of scientists from Stanford University and Applied Biosystems, an Applera Corporation business, describe the identification of six genes associated with survival in diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL), the most common form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

28 Apr 2004

The world's smallest computer made entirely of biological molecules

The world's smallest computer (around a trillion can fit in a drop of water) might one day go on record again as the tiniest medical kit.

28 Apr 2004

People with uncontrolled epilepsy have low levels of a certain fatty acid

Omega-3 fatty acids are crucial to the proper development and function of cell membranes in the brain. But one particular fatty acid, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), is found at abnormally low levels in patients with uncontrolled epilepsy, according to researchers at Emory University in Atlanta, GA.

28 Apr 2004

Researchers have discovered the cause of one form of retinitis pigmentosa, a type of genetically inherited blindness

Saint Louis University researchers have discovered the cause of one form of retinitis pigmentosa, a type of genetically inherited blindness.

28 Apr 2004

Carbohydrate-binding proteins are becoming extremely useful in curing various illnesses

Researchers are beginning to see the potential for breakthrough in healthcare through glycomics, which studies carbohydrates, proteins and their interactions. In fact, these carbohydrates are moving beyond their regular roles as sugar storage bins.

28 Apr 2004

Scientists get new motor neurons to migrate through the spinal cord

In experiments with rodents, Johns Hopkins scientists have used properly directed stem cells to successfully overcome what is thought to be a basic hurdle in restoring function to severely damaged central nervous systems

28 Apr 2004

Northern Ireland scientists target bowel cancer treatment

Cancer Research N. Ireland scientists are developing a way for doctors to predict which treatment will be most successful in individual bowel cancer patients.

28 Apr 2004

Sprouts and broccoli may reduce risk of high blood pressure

Glucoraphanin, also known as sulforaphane glucosinolate (SGS(TM)), a naturally-occurring compound found in broccoli sprouts and broccoli, may reduce risk of high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease and stroke, according to new research published in the May 4 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA.

28 Apr 2004

Improvement of Parkinson’s disease symptoms when neurorestorative molecule pumped to the center of the brain

A recent study has shown clinical improvement of Parkinson’s disease symptoms after long-term infusion of a neurorestorative molecule, pumped directly to the center of the brain. The study will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology 56th Annual Meeting in San Francisco, Calif., April 24 – May 1, 2004.

27 Apr 2004