Fruit News and Research

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Flies reveal immune cell response to tumour and tissue damage

Research with fruit flies has revealed more in common between simple cuts and scratches and the growth of tumours than might have been expected.

17 Sep 2008

Pathways to clinical goals speeds cancer therapy approval

Although cancer remains a leading cause of death in America, it can take up to 12 years to bring a new anti-cancer agent before the FDA and the success rate for approval is only five to 10 percent. That means many research hours and dollars are wasted chasing avenues that will not bring fruit.

15 Sep 2008

Honolulu Advertiser examines diabetes prevalence among native Hawaiians, Asian-American/Pacific islanders

Native Hawaiians have higher rates of diabetes than other Asian-American/Pacific Islanders and are more likely to die at earlier ages from the disease and its complications than whites, the Honolulu Advertiser reports.

9 Sep 2008

Campaign to rid food of artificial colours hits the road in Australia and New Zealand

The on-going debate about artificial colours which are commonly added to foods has been a controversial topic in the U.S. and Britain for a number of years with groups lobbying for the practice to be banned.

9 Sep 2008

Effectiveness of Mediterranean diet confirmed for chronic disease prevention

It is effective in chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, hypertension or osteoporosis. Experts have insisted that it is possible to prevent 80% cardiovascular diseases and 40% different types of cancer through diet, physical exercise and other healthy habits. Scientists of the UGR are specifically analysing how cells react against aggressions which cause pancreatic alterations and result in cancer.

7 Sep 2008

British supermarkets guilty of promoting unhealthy foods

British supermarkets have been accused of promoting 'fatty' and unhealthy foods in order to attract customers during the credit squeeze.

1 Sep 2008

Many people mistaken about the causes of cancer

A large international survey for the International Union Against Cancer (UICC) has revealed that many people have misconceptions about what causes cancer.

27 Aug 2008

Blue Cross Blue Shield plans consider consolidation amid tightening managed-care market

Some Blue Cross Blue Shield not-for-profit organizations are considering either merging or converting to for-profit status to help them compete with larger insurers in an "increasingly concentrated managed-care industry," the Wall Street Journal reports.

26 Aug 2008

Global survey highlights need for cancer prevention campaigns to correct misbeliefs

Many people hold mistaken beliefs about what causes cancer, tending to inflate the threat from environmental factors that have relatively little impact while minimizing the hazards of behaviours well established as cancer risk factors, according to the first global survey on the topic.

26 Aug 2008

Could a substance from the jasmine flower hold the key to an effective new therapy to treat cancer?

Prof. Eliezer Flescher of The Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University thinks so. He and his colleagues have developed an anti-cancer drug based on a decade of research into the commercial applications of the compound Jasmonate, a synthetic compound derived from the flower itself.

25 Aug 2008

U.S. spinach and lettuce to be irradiated to stop outbreaks of foodborne bacteria

Following an increasing number of outbreaks of foodborne illnesses over the last few years, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States is about to allow food producers to irradiate spinach and iceberg lettuce to kill foodborne bacteria.

25 Aug 2008

Bath researchers study how cancer cells come unstuck

Scientists in the Department of Biology & Biochemistry at the University of Bath have started a three year study into the junctions that hold cells together, giving insight into how cancer cells can break off and spread to other parts of the body.

21 Aug 2008

Drugs and fruit juices - a combination to avoid

It has been common knowledge for a number of years that grapefruit juice can influence the absorption of certain drugs, potentially turning normal doses into toxic overdoses.

20 Aug 2008

Hendra horse virus scare puts another vet in hospital

The Australian Hendra horse virus is still causing concern since the initial outbreak in July as a female veterinarian who euthanised a racehorse infected with the potentially deadly virus is now being monitored in hospital after an accidental needle stick injury.

20 Aug 2008

New reasons to avoid grapefruit juice when taking certain drugs

Scientists and consumers have known for years that grapefruit juice can increase the absorption of certain drugs - with the potential for turning normal doses into toxic overdoses.

19 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

Losing weight after diabetes diagnosis prevent related disease

People who lose weight soon after a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes have better control of their blood pressure and blood sugar, and are more likely to maintain that control even if they regain their weight, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published online in Diabetes Care, the American Diabetes Association journal.

12 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

COMT gene variation affects fear processing, anxiety

Inborn differences may help explain why trauma gives some people bad memories and others the nightmare of post-traumatic stress. Scientists in Germany and the United States have reported evidence linking genes to anxious behavior. The findings appear in the August issue of Behavioral Neuroscience, published by the American Psychological Association.

10 Aug 2008

Research compares organic food with food grown with pesticides and chemicals

New research in the latest issue of the Society of Chemical Industry's (SCI) Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture shows there is no evidence to support the argument that organic food is better than food grown with the use of pesticides and chemicals.

10 Aug 2008