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Lipid that accumulates in brain cells drives cell death, says research

The lipid that accumulates in brain cells of individuals with an inherited enzyme disorder also drives the cell death that is a hallmark of the disease, according to new research led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators.

13 Nov 2009

Novel breakthrough may lead to new methods for sterilizing food and medical equipment

Got food poisoning? The cause might be bacterial spores, en extremely hardy survival form of bacteria, a nightmare for health care and the food industry and an enigma for scientists. Spore-forming bacteria, present almost everywhere in our environment, can also cause serious infectious diseases, such as tetanus, anthrax, and botulism.

12 Nov 2009

New micronail chip to enable electronics and biological cells communicate with each other

IMEC presents a unique microchip with microscopic nail structures that enable close communication between the electronics and biological cells. The new chip is a mass-producible, easy-to-use tool in electrophysiology research, for example for fundamental research on the functioning and dysfunctioning of the brain. Each micronail structure serves as a close contact-point for one cell, and contains an electrode that can very accurately record and trigger in real-time the electrical activity of an individual electrogenic cell in a network.

9 Nov 2009

Antiviral protein produced by immune system can tame HIV and other viruses, show researchers

Researchers have shown how an antiviral protein produced by the immune system, dubbed tetherin, tames HIV and other viruses by literally putting them on a leash, to prevent their escape from infected cells.

30 Oct 2009

Medicines used for lowering blood cholesterol may be effective in the treatment of cancer

Millions of people around the world use medicines based on statins to lower their blood cholesterol, but new research from the University of Gothenburg, published in the prestigious journal PNAS, shows that statins may also be effective in the treatment of cancer.

27 Oct 2009

Mechanisms to control protein organization and cell-cell interaction in the immune system discovered

In a process essential to the immune system's response to infection, dendritic cells responsible for identifying pathogens communicate with the T-cells that destroy the infectious agents. To achieve this, the dendritic cells must be correctly activated and migrate to the lymph nodes where they must adhere firmly to T-cells.

27 Oct 2009

New mechanism of bone formation may help fight osteoporosis

The natural cycle of building bone to maintain skeletal strength and then breaking it down for the body's calcium needs is delicately balanced, but diseases like osteoporosis break down too much bone without adequate bone replacement, leading to bone fractures.

8 Oct 2009

NEDD9 protein stimulates aggressive metastatic breast cancer

Researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center have demonstrated that a protein called NEDD9 may be required for some of the most aggressive forms of breast cancer to grow. Their findings, based on the study of a mouse model of breast cancer, are presented in a recent issue of Cancer Research, available on-line now.

3 Oct 2009

Molecular mechanisms of BN108 and timosaponin AIII described in a journal

Bionovo, Inc. today announced the publication in the peer-reviewed, open-access journal Public Library of Science One (PLoS ONE) of a paper describing the molecular mechanisms underlying the selective cytotoxic activity of its drug candidate BN108 and its active compound, timosaponin AIII.

2 Oct 2009

NIH awards DiscoveryBioMed a Phase 2 SBIR grant for research on hypertension and cystic fibrosis

DiscoveryBioMed, Inc. (DBM) today announced that it has been awarded a $750,000 Small Business Innovations Research (SBIR) Phase 2 grant by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to continue the research into the discovery and development of small molecules to alleviate multiple chronic human diseases including cystic fibrosis (CF), hypertension and chronic kidney diseases with hypertension.

28 Sep 2009

An overview on nanoparticles

At SINTEF scientist both exploit the benefits of the nanotechnology and try to discover how tiny particles could behave hazardous in nature.

28 Sep 2009

Preventing nerve cell death in diabetics

Dennis Paul, PhD, Associate Professor of Pharmacology, and Harry Gould, MD, PhD, the Tom Benson Professor of Neurology at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, have been awarded one of two scientific research grants made in 2009 by The Neuropathy Association. The $80,000 grant will fund research to learn how to prevent nerve cell death in people with uncontrolled or untreated diabetes resulting in neuropathy.

23 Sep 2009

Disruption of the spectrin-actin network leads to lens cell in the eye to lose their shape: Study

A network of proteins underlying the plasma membrane keeps epithelial cells in shape and maintains their orderly hexagonal packing in the mouse lens, say Nowak et al. The study will appear in the September 21, 2009 issue of the Journal of Cell Biology (online September 14).

15 Sep 2009

Vivakor completes third-party validation testing of its VivaBlend nutraceutical product

Vivakor™, Inc. (OTCBB: VIVK) today announced the results of independent, third-party validation testing of its VivaBlend™ nutraceutical product. VivaBlend is a powerful extract developed by the scientists at Vivakor and is derived from over 18 highly bioactive fruits, vegetables and legumes. Through a proprietary formulation and extraction process, Vivakor scientists have maximized the health benefits of VivaBlend by creating an optimum blend of super-antioxidants and powerful plant phenolics and flavonoids.

14 Sep 2009

New findings may help identify treatments for diabetes and hyperinsulinemia

By investigating a rare and severe form of diabetes in children, University of Iowa researchers have discovered a new molecular mechanism that regulates specialized pancreatic cells and insulin secretion. The mechanism involves a protein called ankyrin, which UI researchers previously linked to potentially fatal human heart arrhythmias.

9 Sep 2009

TRAF6 protein plays a role in cell growth and carcinogenesis, says researchers

The mainstay immune system protein TRAF6 plays an unexpected, key role activating a cell signaling molecule that in mutant form is associated with cancer growth, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report in the Aug. 28 edition of Science.

2 Sep 2009

New gene therapy vector developed for transferring therapeutic DNA to a cell's nucleus

A research report featured on the cover of the September 2009 print issue of The FASEB Journal describes how Australian scientists developed a new gene therapy vector that uses the same machinery that viruses use to transport their cargo into our cells. As a result of this achievement, therapeutic DNA can be transferred to a cell's nucleus far more efficiently than in the past, raising hopes for more effective treatment of genetic disorders and some types of cancers.

1 Sep 2009

TRAF6 protein can activate a cell signalling molecule associated with cancer

28 Aug 2009

Researchers reveal that genes contributing to drug resistance in NSCLC disease could be predicted

The genes that may contribute to drug resistance in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) can be predicted. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Cancer found good correlation between genes believed to be involved in drug sensitivity and resistance and actual in vitro chemosensitivity.

26 Aug 2009

Researchers develop new ways for splitting dangerous pair of cancer proteins

A research team led by U of T Mississauga scientists has developed a new way to split up a dangerous pair of cancer proteins, a finding that could ultimately lead to chemotherapy that is more effective and has fewer side effects.

21 Aug 2009