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The association alfa-enolase/plasmin is a new selective target for treating muscular pathologies

Researchers at the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) have described a new selective target in muscle regeneration. This is the association of alpha-enolase protein and plasmin.

19 Dec 2012

New antibiotic principle for fighting bacterial infections

Scientists at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have presented a new principle for fighting bacterial infections, in other words, a new type of antibiotic, in the FASEB Journal.

19 Dec 2012

MiR-122 plays a critical role in the life cycle of hepatitis C virus

Hepatitis C virus has evolved to invade and hijack the basic machinery of the human liver cell to ensure its survival and spread. Researchers at the University of North have discovered how hepatitis C binds with and repurposes a basic component of cellular metabolism known as a microRNA to help protect and replicate the virus.

19 Dec 2012

PRSS3 enzyme linked to aggressive prostate cancer

Researchers at Mayo Clinic's campus in Florida have identified an enzyme specifically linked to aggressive prostate cancer, and have also developed a compound that inhibits the ability of this molecule to promote the metastatic spread of the cancer.

18 Dec 2012

UCSD Moores Cancer Center offers insights into flavorful healthy foods

What's round, red, full of holiday cheer, and (dare we say it) good for you? It's the cranberry. Its powerful goodness, coupled with cruciferous vegetables- such as broccoli, bok choy, and kale- and festive seasonal fruits like persimmons, can change attitudes about "healthy" eating during the holidays. Gain some flavorful food insights in Food for Thought: Healing Foods to Savor, authored by nutritional experts at University of California, San Diego Moores Cancer Center.

18 Dec 2012

New MIT technology may help make cancer biomarker detection much easier

Finding ways to diagnose cancer earlier could greatly improve the chances of survival for many patients. One way to do this is to look for specific proteins secreted by cancer cells, which circulate in the bloodstream. However, the quantity of these biomarkers is so low that detecting them has proven difficult.

17 Dec 2012

Human nociception genes mapped out

Researchers have uncovered a “network map” of genes that are involved in pain perception, which they say may help identify new analgesic drugs.

17 Dec 2012

Study reveals how BRCA1 enzymatic activity may stop cancer cell growth

A new study by Georgetown University Medical Center researchers reveals how a well-known tumor suppressor gene may be functioning to stop cancer cell growth.

17 Dec 2012

Increased life expectancy not benefitting everybody equally: U of T

Global lifespans have risen dramatically in the past 40 years, but the increased life expectancy is not benefitting everybody equally, say University of Toronto researchers. In particular, adult males from low- and middle-income countries are losing ground.

17 Dec 2012

Scientists discover new gene mechanism that appears to regulate triglyceride levels

Scientists at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) at Tufts University have discovered a new gene mechanism that appears to regulate triglyceride levels.

15 Dec 2012

Scientists discover how Yersinia pestis avoids setting off immune system's early infection-alarm

The plague-causing bacteria Yersinia pestis evades detection and establishes a stronghold without setting off the body's early alarms.

14 Dec 2012

Study finds new evidence that vitamin D decreases risk of autism in children

A study just published online in the peer-reviewed journal Dermato-Endocrinology found additional evidence that vitamin D reduces the risk of developing autism.

14 Dec 2012

Researchers turn light into heat on the nanoscale to trigger biochemical reactions

Since Edison's first bulb, heat has been a mostly undesirable byproduct of light. Now researchers at Rice University are turning light into heat at the point of need, on the nanoscale, to trigger biochemical reactions remotely on demand.

14 Dec 2012

Scientists identify new mutation in a gene that causes Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency

Scientists have identified a new mutation in the gene that causes the inherited disease known as Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency (Alpha-1), which affects roughly one in 2,500 people of European descent.

14 Dec 2012

Scientists discover FAIM molecule as potential biomarker for bone marrow cancer

Singapore scientists have identified FAIM, a molecule that typically prevents cell death, as a potential biomarker to identify an incurable form of cancer in the bone marrow.

14 Dec 2012

Arginase, IDO could hold clues to help 79 million Americans with prediabetes

Two enzymes that are elevated in prediabetes could hold clues to helping the 79 million Americans with the condition avoid serious vascular complications and maybe even identify those most at risk for full-blown diabetes, researchers say.

13 Dec 2012

New way to effectively make designer drugs that hit collections of protein targets simultaneously

An international research collaboration led by scientists at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and the University of Dundee, in the U.K., have developed a way to efficiently and effectively make designer drugs that hit multiple protein targets at once.

13 Dec 2012

TKI-resistant human leukemia stem cells are the source of genomic instability

An international team of scientists, led by researchers from Temple University School of Medicine, has found that a source of mounting genomic chaos, or instability, common to chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) may lie in a pool of leukemia stem cells that are immune to treatment with potent targeted anticancer drugs.

12 Dec 2012

Inotuzumab ozogamicin selectively destroys malignant cells responsible for ALL in weekly dosing

A potent chemotherapy agent wrapped within a monoclonal antibody selectively destroys the malignant cells responsible for acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) in either weekly or monthly dosing, researchers report at the 54th ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition.

12 Dec 2012

Oncogene-induced senescence could play a key role in future cancer therapy

Cell aging, or cellular senescence, has an important role in the natural physiological response to tumor development. Activated oncogenes are able to induce senescence, and recent findings have suggested that oncogene-induced senescence (OIS) could play a key role in future cancer therapy.

12 Dec 2012