Cell News and Research

RSS

Scientists identify a possible lead in treatment of two childhood leukemia subtypes

Research led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists has identified a possible lead in treatment of two childhood leukemia subtypes known for their dramatic loss of chromosomes and poor treatment outcomes.

21 Jan 2013

Mature CD4+ helper T lymphocytes can be re-programed to gain killing functions

The fate of mature T lymphocytes might be a lot more flexible than previously thought. New research from the RIKEN Center for Allergy and Immunology (RCAI) in Japan and La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology (LIAI) in the USA shows for the first time that mature CD4+ helper T lymphocytes can be re-programed to become killer-like CD8+ T lymphocytes and gain killing functions.

21 Jan 2013

Study refocuses on how neuroblastoma tumors evolve in response to medicine and other factors

An extensive genomic study of the childhood cancer neuroblastoma reinforces the challenges in treating the most aggressive forms of this disease. Contrary to expectations, the scientists found relatively few recurrent gene mutations—mutations that would suggest new targets for neuroblastoma treatment. Instead, say the researchers, they have now refocused on how neuroblastoma tumors evolve in response to medicine and other factors.

21 Jan 2013

G-quadruplexes also exist within the human genome

In 1953, Cambridge researchers Watson and Crick published a paper describing the interweaving 'double helix' DNA structure - the chemical code for all life.

21 Jan 2013

New study: Loneliness can harm overall health

New research links loneliness to a number of dysfunctional immune responses, suggesting that being lonely has the potential to harm overall health.

20 Jan 2013

Stage IV cancer cells even more susceptible to grape seed extract than stage II

When the going gets tough, grape seed extract gets going: A University of Colorado Cancer Center study recently published in the journal Cancer Letters shows that the more advanced are colorectal cancer cells, the more GSE inhibits their growth and survival. On the other end of the disease spectrum, GSE leaves healthy cells alone entirely.

19 Jan 2013

Researchers report novel charge zipper principle used by proteins to form functional units

Membrane proteins are the "molecular machines" in biological cell envelopes. They control diverse processes, such as the transport of molecules across the lipid membrane, signal transduction, and photosynthesis. Their shape, i.e. folding of the molecules, plays a decisive role in the formation of, e.g., pores in the cell membrane.

19 Jan 2013

EMA adopts positive opinion for Pfizer’s bosutinib conditional approval in the EU

Pfizer Inc. announced today that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency has adopted a positive opinion regarding the conditional marketing authorization of bosutinib in the European Union for the treatment of adult patients with chronic phase (CP), accelerated phase (AP), and blast phase (BP) Philadelphia chromosome positive chronic myelogenous leukemia previously treated with one or more tyrosine kinase inhibitor(s) (TKIs) and for whom imatinib, nilotinib and dasatinib are not considered appropriate treatment options.

19 Jan 2013

New method may help predict response to chemotherapy for bowel cancer

Scientists at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) and Beaumont Hospital have developed a new method of predicting which patients with bowel (colorectal) cancer will respond effectively to chemotherapy. The results of this study are published in the current issue of the prestigious Cancer Research journal.

19 Jan 2013

Cancer Targets & Therapeutics Conference to take place from Feb. 25-26 in Las Vegas

With the rapid progression of molecular biology and genetics, and the subsequent emergence of many new targets, emerging targets & therapeutics provides new opportunities for the prevention and treatment of several major disease systems.

19 Jan 2013

Scientists figure out how to dodge HPV-triggered cancers by vaccination

In 2009, more than 30,000 people in the U.S. learned they had cancer linked to the human papillomavirus, or HPV. This virus is best known for causing cervical cancer, but it's also the culprit behind many cancers of the mouth, throat, anus, and genitals. Unlike many forms of cancer, for which we lack the knowledge and tools to prevent, scientists have figured out how to dodge HPV-triggered cancers — by HPV vaccination.

19 Jan 2013

Possible connection between mitochondrial CYP2D6 and Parkinson's

With a new insight into a model of Parkinson's disease, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine have identified a novel target for mitigating some of the disease's toll on the brain.

19 Jan 2013

Scientists compare neuronal network connections in 2 worm species

Researchers in the group of Ralf Sommer at the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in Tuebingen, Germany, have for the first time been able to identify neuronal correlates of behaviour by comparing maps of synaptic connectivity, or "connectomes", between two species with different behaviour.

19 Jan 2013

New model of tau pathology spread

Brain diseases associated with the misformed protein tau, including Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal lobar degeneration with tau pathologies, are characterized by neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) comprised of pathological tau filaments.

19 Jan 2013

Leprosy bacteria able to change the make-up of Schwann cells

A discovery about the way in which bugs spread throughout the body could help to develop stem cell treatments.

19 Jan 2013

CRF to sponsor 8th International Conference on Cell Therapy for Cardiovascular Disease

The final agenda for the Eighth International Conference on Cell Therapy for Cardiovascular Disease, sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation, is now available online.

19 Jan 2013

Calcium receptor – potential drug target for sleeping sickness

While its common name may make it sound almost whimsical, sleeping sickness, or African trypanosomiasis, is in reality a potentially fatal parasitic infection that has ravaged populations in sub-Saharan Africa for decades, and it continues to infect thousands of people every year.

19 Jan 2013

Researchers identify molecular mechanism that regulates autophagy

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified a molecular mechanism regulating autophagy, a fundamental stress response used by cells to help ensure their survival in adverse conditions.

19 Jan 2013

New math model may help predict colon cancer resistance to chemotherapy

Scientists may be able to better predict which patients with colorectal cancer will respond to chemotherapy using a new mathematical model that measures the amount of stress required for a cancer cell to die without harming healthy tissue. The results of this study are published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

19 Jan 2013

Researchers identify signaling pathway used by malarial parasites to destroy host cells

One of the most insidious ways that parasitic diseases such as malaria and toxoplasmosis wreak their havoc is by hijacking their host's natural cellular processes, turning self against self.

18 Jan 2013