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Measurement of metal strontium found in bird feathers could provide bird flu clues

Measurements of different forms of the metal strontium found in bird feathers could unravel mysteries of their migration patterns and help predict the arrival of avian carried diseases such as bird flu.

15 Mar 2007

First 3-D structure from key influenza protein revealed

In 1918, 50 million people died during a worldwide influenza pandemic caused by mutation of a bird-specific strain of the influenza virus. Recently H5N1, another highly infectious avian strain has caused outbreaks of bird flu around the world.

27 Feb 2007

Quantum rods and dots image cancer cells

Brightly fluorescent quantum dots and quantum rods are quickly becoming important tools for identifying specific molecules and cells in living systems. Two new reports demonstrate some of the ways in which cancer researchers are using these nanoscale imaging agents.

26 Feb 2007

Smoking produces biochemical changes in human brain

New research shows for the first time that smoking produces long-lasting biochemical changes in the human brain similar to those changes previously seen in the brains of animals that used cocaine, heroin, and other illicit drugs.

20 Feb 2007

ViroPharma receives orphan drug designation for Maribavir

ViroPharma Incorporated today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted orphan drug designation for maribavir for prevention of cytomegalovirus (CMV) viremia and disease in the populations at-risk.

7 Feb 2007

Scientists tackle huntingtin protein

McMaster scientists are very close to defining small molecule drugs that should be able to redirect the huntingtin protein from accumulating in the wrong place within brain cells, which could potentially translate to a therapy for Huntington's Disease (HD).

29 Jan 2007

SH2B1 protein plays a key role in controlling body weight, response to insulin and leptin

A single protein in brain cells may act as a linchpin in the body's weight-regulating system, playing a key role in the flurry of signals that govern fat storage, sugar use, energy balance and weight, University of Michigan Medical School researchers report.

29 Jan 2007

RNA used to turn on genes to alleviate disease

A new technique that employs RNA, a tiny chemical cousin of DNA, to turn on genes could lead to therapeutics for conditions in which nudging a gene awake would help alleviate disease, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center say.

28 Jan 2007

Abnormal hair development and apparent follicular transformation to mammary gland in the absence of Hedgehog signaling

One single molecule determines how stem cells in the hair follicle develop. A study at the Sahlgrenska Academy at Göteborg University in Sweden has shown that cells that should give rise to hair can instead give rise to mammary gland cells in mice who lack this molecule.

8 Jan 2007

Renegade ribonucleic acid

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have discovered that a tiny piece of genetic code apparently goes where no bit of it has gone before, and it gets there under its own internal code.

3 Jan 2007

A central thermogenic-like mechanism in feeding regulation

During periods of fasting, brain cells responsible for stimulating the appetite make sure that you stay hungry.

2 Jan 2007

New treatment for lower back pain using patient's own stem cells

A University of Manchester researcher has developed a treatment for lower back pain using the patient's own stem cells, which could replace the use of strong painkillers or surgery that can cause debilitation, neither of which addresses the underlying cause.

From The University of Manchester 2 Dec 2006

High dopamine transporter levels not linked to attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder

Results from a brain-imaging study conducted at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory in collaboration with Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York indicate that levels of a brain protein proposed as a diagnostic marker for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are not positively correlated with the disease.

2 Dec 2006

Insulin receptor stops progression of Alzheimer's disease

Stimulation of a receptor in the brain that controls insulin responses has been shown to halt or diminish the neurodegeneration of Alzheimer's disease, providing evidence that the disease can be treated in its early stages, according to a study by researchers at Rhode Island Hospital and Brown Medical School.

21 Sep 2006

Fat droplets play protective role inside cells

Too much body fat may be a bad thing, but there is increasing evidence that too little fat also may have some surprisingly negative consequences.

19 Sep 2006

Protection for nerve cells - eating up defective proteins

Nerve cells in the Central Nervous System can defend against and recover from damage by proteinlike clusters which are associated with neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington's Chorea.

13 Sep 2006

Molecular chaperones protect cells

Falsely folded proteins and their aggregations in neurons are considered to be the cause of neurodegenerative diseases, among them Chorea Huntington.

13 Sep 2006

Mature muscle fibers can revert to become cancerous

Mature muscle fibers, rather than their less-developed neighbors, are the tissues that turn malignant in a soft-tissue cancer that strikes children and teens, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center and Children's Medical Center Dallas have found.

4 Sep 2006

Parkinson's symptoms alleviated by electrical stimulation to the brain

A new study has shown that electrical stimulation to parts of the brain are more effective at alleviating the symptoms of Parkinson's disease than drugs alone.

31 Aug 2006

Mitochondrial DNA sequencing tool updated

High-tech laboratory tools, like computers, are often updated publicly as their analytical capabilities expand. In the September issue of the Journal of Molecular Diagnostics, NIH grantees report they have developed a second generation "lab on a silicon chip" called the MitoChip v2.0 that for the first time rapidly and reliably sequences all mitochondrial DNA.

30 Aug 2006