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Scientists find distinct kind of stem cells in the pituitary gland

A team of researchers led by scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory have for the first time identified stem cells that allow the pituitary glands of mice to grow even after birth.

28 Apr 2008

New route discovered for attacking the human immunodeficiency virus

A research group supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has uncovered a new route for attacking the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that may offer a way to circumvent problems with drug resistance. In findings published today in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers report that they have blocked HIV infection in the test tube by inactivating a human protein expressed in key immune cells.

28 Apr 2008

Smokers more prone to depression

Researchers in Spain suggest that smokers are significantly more at risk of suffering depression than non-smokers.

28 Apr 2008

Research links low-frequency hearing to shape of the cochlea

Shape matters, even in hearing. Specifically, it is the shape of the cochlea - the snail-shell-shaped organ in the inner ear that converts sound waves into nerve impulses that the brain deciphers - which proves to be surprisingly important.

27 Apr 2008

Scientists discover 4th major set of common genetic variants linked to risk of estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer

Scientists from deCODE genetics report the discovery of two common single-letter variants (SNPs) on chromosome 5 of the human genome that are associated with risk of estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer.

27 Apr 2008

Gene therapy restores vision in patients with rare congenital blindness

In a clinical trial at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, researchers from The University of Pennsylvania have used gene therapy to safely restore vision in three young adults with a rare form of congenital blindness.

27 Apr 2008

Extreme nausea and vomiting varies among pregnant women from different countries

Mothers born in India and Sri Lanka are three times more likely to suffer from extreme nausea and vomiting in pregnancy (hyperemesis gravidarum) than ethnic Norwegians.

27 Apr 2008

Epigenetic research uncovers new targets for modification enzymes

Enzymes regulating genetic expression can be just as important as the genome itself, increasing evidence shows.

27 Apr 2008

Maitake mushrooms lead to breakthrough in protein research

Using an enzyme of the Japanese mushroom Grifola frondosa (Maitake or dancing mushroom), proteins can be identified without knowing the organism's genetic composition.

26 Apr 2008

Breast cancer subtypes are different diseases

There is a biological distinction between breast cancers that depend on hormones and those that do not, according to research published in PLoS Genetics (Friday).

26 Apr 2008

New insight into how the nervous system processes sensory information

The Stowers Institute's Yu Lab has published the results of large-scale imaging experiments examining how social signals are represented in the sensory system.

24 Apr 2008

New insights into early history of human populations before they moved out of Africa

A team of Genographic researchers and their collaborators have published the most extensive survey to date of African mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA).

24 Apr 2008

Breast cancer subtypes originate from different biological pathways

There is a biological distinction between breast cancers that depend on hormones and those that do not, according to research published Friday, April 25th in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics.

24 Apr 2008

Metabolic genes tied to inflammatory predictor of heart disease and stroke risk

Two new studies provide evidence that differences in people's blood levels of C reactive protein (CRP) stem in part from natural variation in known metabolic genes. The researchers report their findings in the May American Journal of Human Genetics, a publication of Cell Press.

24 Apr 2008

Smokers more depressed

The risk of suffering depression increases 41% in smokers, in comparison with non-smokers. This was the conclusion of a study undertaken with 8,556 participants by scientists of the University of Navarra, in collaboration with the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and the Harvard School of Public Health (USA), and which demonstrates in a pioneering way the direct relationship between tobacco use and this disease.

24 Apr 2008

New discovery on how memory is stored

Researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine are the first to show that the location of protein-destroying "machines" in nerve cells in the brain may play an important role in how memories are formed - a finding with potential implications for treating Alzheimer's and other brain diseases. The research is published in the current issue of Learning & Memory.

23 Apr 2008

Scientists determine molecular structures of bacterial AlkB protein and its corresponding human protein, ABH2

A team of University of Chicago scientists has shown how two proteins locate and repair damaged genetic material inside cells.

23 Apr 2008

Discovery of gene behind clefting disorder Branchio-Oculo-Facial syndrome

In a collaborative effort, researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have discovered that deletions or mutations within the TFAP2A gene (Activating Enhancer-Binding Protein) result in the distinctive clefting disorder Branchio-Oculo-Facial syndrome (BOFS).

23 Apr 2008

Breakthrough in stem cell research

Dutch researchers at University Medical Center Utrecht and the Hubrecht Institute have succeeded in growing large numbers of stem cells from adult human hearts into new heart muscle cells.

23 Apr 2008

Discovery of primary driver of tumor development in the stomach

In a discovery that could lead to the development of new treatments for gastric cancer, scientists at the Melbourne Branch of the international Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR) have discovered what appears to be the primary driver of tumor development in the stomach.

22 Apr 2008