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Researchers find new mechanism potentially explaining evolution of signalling pathways

Cancer researchers at the University of Helsinki, in trying to find a novel tumor suppressor gene, instead found an important evolutionary change that occurred in a key developmental signalling pathway. The finding suggests a potential mechanism for evolution of complex intercellular signalling pathways.

7 Feb 2006

Discovery of the molecular mechanism that inhibits HCV replication in vitro

Since its discovery several decades ago, the insidious human pathogen has stymied the quest for anti-viral therapies by refusing to reproduce in test tubes for more than a few hours or days, denying scientists an efficient virus production and infection system for experimental research.

7 Feb 2006

Genesis bioventures announces worldwide distribution rights for rapid prion-detection technology

Genesis Bioventures, Inc. has announced that the Company has signed exclusive worldwide sales, marketing and distribution agreements with Prion Developmental Laboratories Inc. (PDL) to commercialize the recently patented Rapid Prion-Detection Assay tests developed by PDL.

7 Feb 2006

Hormone discovered in bird brains also plays major role in mammalian reproductive system

University of California, Berkeley, researchers have discovered a new actor in the mammalian reproductive system, a hormone that fills a role long suspected, but until now undetected.

7 Feb 2006

Can marriages be saved by treating snoring?

The husband snores. The wife nudges him to flip over. Both wake up feeling grouchy the next morning. It's a common occurrence that may have more of an impact on the marriage than most couples think.

7 Feb 2006

New insight into one of the fundamental features of evolution

By experimentally promoting rapid, small-scale evolution within a lab population of yeast, researchers have shed light on the kinds of genetic changes that may underlie the emergence of new species.

7 Feb 2006

Mediterranean diet may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in patients with metabolic syndrome

Nearly 50 million Americans have metabolic syndrome, a cluster of risk factors placing them at increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

7 Feb 2006

Soy's cardiovascular benefits may have been overestimated

Many soy food products carry health claims stating that they reduce the risk of heart disease. A review of the evidence, however, suggests that soy's cardiovascular benefits may have been overestimated by the early studies that formed the basis for its health claim.

7 Feb 2006

Mechanism of torpor - hibernation-like state

If doctors could put people in hibernation and pull them out at will, scientists think they could minimize damage from strokes, help recipients' bodies accept transplanted organs, perhaps even enable astronauts to travel in suspended animation until reaching distant destinations.

7 Feb 2006

Ice-templated fabrication shows promise for artificial bone

The next generation of artificial bone may rely on a few secrets from the sea. Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have harnessed the way seawater freezes to develop a porous, scaffolding-like material that is four times stronger than material currently used in synthetic bone.

7 Feb 2006

Engineered heart tissue offers insights into irregular heartbeats

Engineers who have induced heart cells in culture to mimic the properties of the heart have used the tissue to gain new insight into the mechanisms that spawn irregular heart rhythms.

7 Feb 2006

First description of female-specific Ischemia Syndrome

Although ischemic heart disease - the reduction of blood flow that can lead to heart attacks - is often considered a "man's disease," it takes the lives of more women than men each year. In fact, in 2000, about 60,000 more women than men died from cardiovascular disease.

5 Feb 2006

Fatty acids such as those found in corn oil turn on genes that stimulate tumor growth

Omega-6 fatty acids--such as those found in corn oil--caused human prostate tumors in cell culture to grow twice as quickly as tumors to which omega-6 fats had not been added, according to a study conducted at the San Francisco VA Medical Center.

5 Feb 2006

Diabetic heart muscle makes heart disease the most common killer of diabetics

The high-fat "diet" that diabetic heart muscle consumes helps make cardiovascular disease the most common killer of diabetic patients, according to a study done at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

5 Feb 2006

Scientists have determined the detailed structure of an essential piece of the telomerase enzyme

Scientists have determined the detailed structure of an essential piece of the telomerase enzyme, an important contributor to the vast majority of human cancers. Understanding the physical shape of the protein has led to a better understanding of how it acts to immortalize cells - and should help scientists design broadly effective cancer drugs.

5 Feb 2006

Researchers discover lowered sensitivity to smell when lying down

Before giving flowers or scattering rose petals on Valentine's Day, make sure your significant other has already gotten out of bed. In a study published recently in the journal Chemical Senses, researchers at the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) at McGill University discovered that sensitivity to rose odour is greater in subjects that are sitting than in those lying down.

2 Feb 2006

Researchers show how estrogen turns genes on and off during cancer progression

Ohio - A new study suggests that the hormone estrogen works in partnership with other proteins to activate or suppress gene activity in breast cancer cells.

2 Feb 2006

Hepatitis C recurs rapidly after liver transplant

When a diseased liver is removed from a patient with Hepatitis C (HCV), serum viral levels plummet. However, after receiving a healthy liver transplant, virus levels rebound and can surpass pre-transplant levels within a few days, according to a new study published in the February 2006 issue of Liver Transplantation, the official journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) and the International Liver Transplantation Society (ILTS).

2 Feb 2006

Study looks at placebo effect

The debate about the existence of a placebo effect has heated up over the past year as more and more lab experiments are detecting immediate physiological responses to placebos.

2 Feb 2006

Can rimonabant slow atherosclerosis?

Researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center has announced that they have launched a study to determine whether an experimental drug, rimonabant, can slow atherosclerosis, the fatty build-up in arteries that creates heart attack risk.

2 Feb 2006