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Gleevec holds potential as first drug to successfully treat neurofibromatosis

Researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine report that the anti-cancer drug Gleevec holds out promise to become the first effective treatment for neurofibromatosis, a genetic disease that has resisted treatments until now.

30 Oct 2008

Cancer requires support from immune system to develop, researchers report

Tumors that grow around nerves in a rare genetic disease need cooperation from cells from the immune system in order to grow, reports a team of scientists, including researchers from UT Southwestern Medical Center.

30 Oct 2008

Sequencing thousand and one genomes

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in Tuebingen, Germany, reported the completion of the first genomes of wild strains of the flowering plant Arabidopsis thaliana. The entire genomes of two individuals of this species, one from Ireland, the other from Japan, have now been compared in great detail. They were found to be astonishingly different from each other, as Detlef Weigel and his colleagues write in Genome Research.

29 Sep 2008

Antidepressants need new nerve cells to be effective

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered in mice that the brain must create new nerve cells for either exercise or antidepressants to reduce depression-like behavior.

28 Aug 2008

New model for studying the genetics of Angelman syndrome

A model for studying the genetics of Angelman syndrome, a neurological disorder that causes mental retardation and other symptoms in one out of 15,000 births, has been developed by biologists at The University of Texas at Austin.

14 Aug 2008

Newly discovered molecular switch creates new path to study birth defects and cancer

Researchers have discovered a central molecular switch in fruit fly embryos that opens new avenues for studying the causes of birth defects and cancer in humans.

11 Aug 2008

Suprising finding on aging

Age may not be rust after all. Specific genetic instructions drive aging in worms, report researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Their discovery contradicts the prevailing theory that aging is a buildup of tissue damage akin to rust, and implies science might eventually halt or even reverse the ravages of age.

24 Jul 2008

A glimpse of ancient RNA

Some bacterial cells can swim, morph into new forms and even become dangerously virulent - all without initial involvement of DNA. Yale University researchers describe Friday in the journal Science how bacteria accomplish this amazing feat - and in doing so provide a glimpse of what the earliest forms of life on Earth may have looked like.

19 Jul 2008

100 percent oxygen resuscitation after brain injury may do more harm than good to children

The current standard practice of giving infants and children 100 percent oxygen to prevent brain damage caused by oxygen deprivation may actually inflict additional harm, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.

1 Jul 2008

Stem cell research from an ethical point of view

New Springer book debates the moral status of the human embryo with special regard to stem cell research and therapy.

1 Jul 2008

Hedgehog signaling is critical for maintenance of the adult coronary vasculature

A set of promising new anticancer agents could have unforeseen risks in individuals with heart disease, suggests research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

23 Jun 2008

New cancer stem cell identified behind metastatic tumors

The molecular profile of cancer stem cells that initiate metastatic colon tumors is significantly different from those responsible for primary tumors, according to new research from a team at Weill Cornell Medical College.

28 May 2008

Discovery provides hope for patients with pancreatic cancer

This week researchers in the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) Oregon Stem Cell Center and the OHSU Digestive Health Center are shining a new ray of hope on patients with pancreatic cancer. They've developed new reagents, or antibodies, that can recognize this often lethal disease. This important discovery may one day lead to earlier detection and treatment.

22 May 2008

Yeast cells used to screen for potential Lou Gehrig's disease drugs

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine are developing a novel approach to screen for drugs to combat neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease, using yeast cells.

17 Apr 2008

Beetle genome opens the door to developmental research

The whole DNA sequence of the red flour beetle, familiar to many as an unwelcome visitor to the kitchen flour jar, has been published in Nature .

28 Mar 2008

microRNA shown to reduce lung cancer growth

A small RNA molecule, known as let-7 microRNA (miRNA), substantially reduced cancer growth in multiple mouse models of lung cancer, according to work by researchers at Yale University and Asuragen, Inc., published in the journal Cell Cycle.

24 Mar 2008

Role for microRNAs in limb regeneration

In the March 15th issue of G&D, Dr. Kenneth Poss (Duke University Medical Center) and colleagues reveal that microRNA depletion is a necessary step in tissue regeneration - a discovery with interesting implications for their use in regenerative medicine.

17 Mar 2008