DNA Damage News and Research

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Study looks at effects of smoking and breathing second-hand smoke along with drinking

Tobacco smoke-filled air is bad for cardiovascular health, and drinking alcohol at the same time only makes it worse, according to researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).

21 Nov 2007

Carbon monoxide counteracts one side-effect of an anti-cancer drug

Doxorubicin (DOX) is a red-colored anticancer drug that carries serious side effects for the heart, including cardiac muscle deterioration (cardiomyopathy) and scar tissue accumulation in the heart (fibrosis).

21 Nov 2007

Melatonin could actually be hurting you at night!

What do you do when a naturally occurring hormone in your body turns against you? What do you do when that same hormone - melatonin - is a popular supplement you take to help you sleep?

16 Nov 2007

Manipulation of MOF enzyme may make tumors more sensitive to radiation therapy

To make tumors more sensitive to the killing power of radiation is a key aspiration for many radiation oncologists. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have uncovered new information that leads them closer to that goal.

5 Nov 2007

Chemical peroxynitrite tolerates pain

The repeated use of opiate drugs such as morphine to relieve chronic pain results in individuals having to take higher and higher doses of the drug to achieve equivalent pain relief (they are said to exhibit antinociceptive tolerance).

2 Nov 2007

Extract from broccoli protects skin sun damage

U.S. researchers have discovered that as well as being healthy food, broccoli also helps skin cells fight off damage caused by harmful ultraviolet radiation.

23 Oct 2007

Sex once a day... on doctors orders!

The latest research into male fertility has the news all men want to hear - the more sex a man has the more fertile he becomes - at least in some cases!

17 Oct 2007

Enhanced DNA-repair mechanism can cause breast cancer

Although defects in the "breast cancer gene," BRCA1, have been known for years to increase the risk for breast cancer, exactly how it can lead to tumor growth has remained a mystery.

16 Oct 2007

Chlamydia makes men infertile

One of the most common sexually transmitted diseases may be damaging the fertility of British males.

15 Oct 2007

Cancer researchers investigate free radicals

The University of Leicester has been selected as the hub of a worldwide network of researchers to investigate one of the causes of cancer.

11 Oct 2007

How cells protect themselves (or not) from DNA damage caused by UV rays

It's well known that overexposure to ultraviolet rays from the sun can cause major skin problems, ranging from skin cancer to sunburns and premature wrinkles.

2 Oct 2007

Worm study sheds light on how the human body ages

Microscopic worms used for scientific research are living longer despite cellular defects, a discovery that is shedding light on how the human body ages and how doctors could one day limit or reverse genetic mutations that cause inherited diseases, according to a new University of Colorado at Boulder study.

2 Oct 2007

DNA damage response confers a barrier for viral tumorigenesis

Kaposi's sarcoma herpesvirus (KSHV) is a human tumor virus and an etiological agent for Kaposi's sarcoma (KS).

27 Sep 2007

Scientists say fewer calories equals longer life

Even though scientists already knew at least as far as animals are concerned, that reducing the calorie intake was linked to longevity, they never really knew why.

24 Sep 2007

Scientists synthesize DNA-based memory loop in yeast cells

Harvard Medical School researchers have successfully synthesized a DNA-based memory loop in yeast cells, findings that mark a significant step forward in the emerging field of synthetic biology.

17 Sep 2007

Vitamin C inhibits the growth of some tumors

Nearly 30 years after Nobel laureate Linus Pauling famously and controversially suggested that vitamin C supplements can prevent cancer, a team of Johns Hopkins scientists have shown that in mice at least, vitamin C - and potentially other antioxidants - can indeed inhibit the growth of some tumors ¯ just not in the manner suggested by years of investigation.

11 Sep 2007

Bad news for disease-causing bacteria!

Scientists have what could be some very bad news for disease-causing bacteria. All three major classes of antibiotics that kill infectious bacteria do so in part by ramping up the production of harmful free radicals, researchers report in the September 7, 2007, issue of Cell, a publication of Cell Press.

10 Sep 2007

New anti-cancer drug made from corn lillies kills brain tumor stem cells

A drug that shuts down a critical cell-signaling pathway in the most common and aggressive type of adult brain cancer successfully kills cancer stem cells thought to fuel tumor growth and help cancers evade drug and radiation therapy, a Johns Hopkins study shows.

30 Aug 2007

FDA grants orphan drug designation to TREANDA

Cephalon, Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Office of Orphan Products Development granted orphan drug designation for the company's investigational therapy, TREANDA (bendamustine HCl), for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

29 Aug 2007

Clemson scientists improve longevity of fluorescent nanoparticles

Clemson University chemists have developed a method to dramatically improve the longevity of fluorescent nanoparticles that may someday help researchers track the motion of a single molecule as it travels through a living cell.

22 Aug 2007