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New dimension discovered in body clock rhythm

Research on what makes the body clock tick has led Dr Michael Hastings of the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge to discover a new and unanticipated cog in the human body clock. A patent for the compound involved has been filed by MRC Technology. The results, published in Science, could lead to therapies for people whose sleep is disrupted by shift work or old age.

18 May 2008

Human cytomegalovirus mimics human protein to hijack cell division machinery

Viruses are masters of deception, duping their host's cells into helping them grow and spread. A new study has found that human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) can mimic a common regulatory protein to hijack normal cell growth machinery, disrupting a cell's primary anti-cancer mechanism.

8 May 2008

The design of a vaccine against Leishmaniasis

The parasitology team at the "Severo Ochoa" Molecular biology centre (CSIC-UAM) has focused its research efforts on the search for a vaccine capable of activating immunity against the parasite that causes leishmaniasis.

7 May 2008

Epidermal growth factor receptor protects cancer cells from starving

A growth factor receptor found abundantly on the surface of cancer cells and long known to fuel cancer growth also protects tumor cells from starvation by a newly identified mechanism, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report in the May 5 issue of Cancer Cell.

5 May 2008

BioAlliance Pharma announces preliminary results from U.S. phase III trial for Loramyc

BioAlliance Pharma SA today announced the preliminary positive results for its US pivotal Phase III clinical trial with Loramyc (miconazole Lauriad), Mucoadhesive Buccal Tablets (MBT) developed for the treatment of OroPharyngeal Candidiasis in immunocompromised population. This trial was conducted to support an NDA filing to market the product in the US.

21 Apr 2008

New clues to risk of Hodgkin lymphoma discovered

A long-term study of twins has led University of Southern California (USC) researchers to find potential links between Hodgkin lymphoma and levels of an immune response protein (interleukin-12).

2 Apr 2008

New method to determine the “selective signature” of a gene

Scientists at MIT have come up with a mathematical approach for analyzing a protein simultaneously in a set of ecologically distinct species to identify occurrences of natural selection in an organism's evolution.

19 Mar 2008

Toddlers affected most by secondhand smoke exposure at home

Secondhand smoke in the home appears to induce markers for heart disease as early as the toddler years, researchers reported at the American Heart Association's 48th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention.

14 Mar 2008

New research provides dynamic visualization of simplest circadian clock

Scientists have acquired a more dynamic picture of events that underlie the functions of a bacterial biological clock.

14 Mar 2008

Novel link between excessive nutrient levels and insulin resistance

For quite some time now, scientists suspected the so-called hexosamine pathway - a small side business of the main sugar processing enterprise inside a cell - to be involved in the development of insulin resistance.

22 Feb 2008

Link between excessive food intake and insulin resistance

22 Feb 2008

Discovery of possible target for prevention and treatment of pneumonia

Researchers at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC have identified a key protein target that may be a crucial factor in the development of a vaccine to prevent and new therapies to treat pneumonia, the leading killer of children worldwide.

12 Feb 2008

Discovery of protein that stops the growth of melanomas

One might call it a tale of two melanocytes. Given the same genetic mutation, why does one melanocyte shut down growth and become a relatively benign mole, while another rages out of control and develops into deadly melanoma"

8 Feb 2008

Weakness found in anthrax bacterium

MIT and New York University researchers have identified a weakness in the defenses of the anthrax bacterium that could be exploited to produce new antibiotics.

25 Jan 2008

Evolutionary 'battle scars' identify enhanced antiviral activity

Rapid evolution of a protein produced by an immunity gene is associated with increased antiviral activity in humans, a finding that suggests evolutionary biology and virology together can accelerate the discovery of viral-defense mechanisms, according to researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

25 Jan 2008

Cell death suppression increases efficacy of M2 vaccines

Significant public attention has recently been focused on the development of new anti-influenza (flu) vaccines that provide protection against a broad spectrum of viral strains.

17 Jan 2008

New understanding of actin networks

Dynamic networks of growing actin filaments are critical for many cellular processes, including cell migration, intracellular transport, and the recovery of proteins from the cell surface.

4 Jan 2008

Preventing transfusion-transmitted infections through improved blood screening methods

The blood transfusion community should consider pathogen inactivation methods as an alternative way to assure the safety and availability of the nation's blood supply, a pathologist wrote in the December issue of the American Journal of Clinical Pathology (AJCP).

2 Jan 2008

Plant constituent with selective effect on cancer cells

The substance wogonin triggers the death program apoptosis in tumor cells, while it has virtually no effect on healthy cells.

18 Dec 2007

Intracellular bacterial communities in cystitis; rifapentine cures TB in mouse model; and more

A study published this week in the open access journal PLoS Medicine presents convincing evidence that intracellular bacterial communities (IBCs) commonly exist in women with bladder infections and may contribute to the recurrence of these infections.

18 Dec 2007