Cell News and Research

RSS

Explanation for the random selection of X chromosome based on thermodynamics

A University of Warwick physicist has uncovered how female cells are able to choose randomly between their two X chromosomes and why that choice is always lucky.

15 Jun 2007

Aptamer-targeted nanoparticles collect and detect cancer cells

Using magnetic and fluorescent nanoparticles capable of binding tightly to molecules found only on the surface of cancer cells, a team of investigators at the University of Florida has developed a method for collecting and detecting multiple cancer cells from biological samples.

14 Jun 2007

Nanoparticle-enabled peptide delivery triggers tumor regression

Cells possess a variety of ways of dealing with mutations that can cause them to grow uncontrollably and eventually form a tumor. The tumor suppressor gene p53 plays a critical role in these cancer prevention processes, largely by triggering a form a cell death known as apoptosis.

14 Jun 2007

Hybrid gold-dendrimer nanoparticles target and image tumors

Dendrimer nanoparticles, made of spherical, highly branched polymers, have shown promise as drug delivery vehicles capable of targeting tumors with large doses of anticancer drugs.

14 Jun 2007

Double-duty nanoparticles overcome drug resistance in tumors

Cancer cells, like bacteria, can develop resistance to drug therapy. In fact, research suggests strongly that multidrug resistant cancer cells that remain alive after chemotherapy are responsible for the reappearance of tumors and the poor prognosis for patients whose cancer recurs.

14 Jun 2007

Scientists observe cell migration

Johns Hopkins researchers have found a way to directly observe cell migration -- in real time and in living tissue. In a report in Developmental Cell, the scientists say their advance could lead to strategies for controlling both normal growth and the spread of cancer, processes that depend on the programmed, organized movement of cells across space.

14 Jun 2007

Diets rich in fruits and vegetables best for breast cancer survival

A new study in the "Journal of Clinical Oncology" reinforces existing evidence showing that women with breast cancer can greatly reduce their risk of recurrence by eating a healthy plant-based diet rich in fruits and vegetables and making other healthy lifestyle choices, according to nutrition experts with The Cancer Project.

14 Jun 2007

Newly found antibodies may be body's natural defense against Alzheimer's

In an important advance in the battle against Alzheimer's disease, physician-scientists at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center have identified naturally occurring antibodies in human blood that may help to defend against this form of dementia as well as other neurodegenerative diseases.

14 Jun 2007

Injected neural stem cells reduce Parkinson's symptoms in primates

Primates with severe Parkinson's disease were able to walk, move, and eat better, and had diminished tremors after being injected with human neural stem cells, a research team from Yale, Harvard, the University of Colorado, and the Burnham Institute report in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

14 Jun 2007

Myelin and Huntington's disease

Last month, Dr. George Bartzokis, director of the UCLA Memory Disorders and Alzheimer's Disease Clinic, suggested in the journal Alzheimer's & Dementia that the breakdown of a type of myelin that develops late in life promotes the buildup of toxic amyloid plaques long associated with Alzheimer's disease.

14 Jun 2007

Malaria and Epstein-Barr virus in Africa

Endemic Burkitt lymphoma is a form of cancer that accounts for up to 74% of malignant disorders in children in equatorial Africa.

14 Jun 2007

Cholesterol causes changes in gene expression

Experts from the University of Granada carried out research on atherosclerosis from its earliest stages to discover the origin of atheromatous plaques, fatty deposits gradually and irregularly formed in the main arteries, causing the narrowing of the blood vessel.

14 Jun 2007

Anticonvulsant medication gabapentin effective for fibromyalgia pain

New research supported by the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) shows that the anticonvulsant medication gabapentin, which is used for certain types of seizures, can be an effective treatment for the pain and other symptoms associated with the common, often hard-to-treat chronic pain disorder, fibromyalgia.

14 Jun 2007

California gun laws reduce illegal gun purchases

The potential for gun shows to serve as places where criminals obtain firearms can be curbed through increased regulation without adversely affecting attendance or business, according to a pioneering study published this week in Injury Prevention, an international peer-reviewed journal for health professionals.

14 Jun 2007

FDA releases report on Human Tissue Task Force

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released a report that concludes there are no significant industrywide problems in the recovery of human tissues used for transplantation.

14 Jun 2007

Priority review granted for oral formulation of HYCAMTIN (topotecan)

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has announced that its new drug application (NDA) for ORAL HYCAMTIN (topotecan) capsules, a treatment for relapsed small cell lung cancer (SCLC), has been granted Priority Review by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

14 Jun 2007

Isradipine shown to slow down Parkinson's disease

Northwestern University researchers have discovered a drug that slows and may even halt the progression of Parkinson's disease.

14 Jun 2007

A single cancer stem cell is sufficient to initiate and maintain a malignant tumor

At the heart of most, if not all cancers, lie a handful of wayward stem cells that feed the ever growing tumor mass, but their scarcity make it difficult for scientists to study them. Now, times of plenty may lie ahead as a breast cancer cell line , established long ago , turned out to behave a lot like cancer stem cells.

14 Jun 2007

What makes people susceptible to rheumatoid arthritis?

Peter K. Gregersen, MD, stares at x-rays of hands, searching out the telltale signs of inflamed joints and wrists from his research subjects with rheumatoid arthritis. With these clinical features at his side, he turns to the basic building blocks of life , the human genome , to figure out what makes these people susceptible to the disabling inflammatory condition.

14 Jun 2007

Study compares cord blood to bone marrow for transplants

Umbilical cord blood transplants may offer blood cancer patients better outcomes than bone marrow transplants, according to an analysis of outcome data performed at the Statistical Center, Center for Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR), Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.

14 Jun 2007