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Model for new generation of blood vessels challenged

In-growth and new generation of blood vessels, which must take place if a wound is to heal or a tumor is to grow, have been thought to occur through a branching and further growth of a vessel against a chemical gradient of growth factors. Now a research team at Uppsala University and its University Hospital has shown that mechanical forces are considerably more important than was previously thought.

1 Jun 2009

Computer model predicts how brain tumors grow and evolve

Researchers from Brown University and other institutions have developed a computational computer model of how brain tumors grow and evolve.

18 May 2009

Research points to a new way to protect kidneys threatened by insufficient blood or toxins

Better treatments for acute renal failure may be possible by blocking the mitochondrial fragmentation that occurs when kidneys don't get enough blood or are exposed to toxins, researchers at the Medical College of Georgia report in the may issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

18 May 2009

Oxford BioTherapeutics and GSK form alliance to develop cancer therapeutic antibodies

Oxford BioTherapeutics (OBT) today announced a strategic alliance with GlaxoSmithKline to discover, develop and commercialise novel, therapeutic antibodies for the treatment of primary, metastatic and recurring forms of cancer.

18 May 2009

Saffron could stop blindness and cure eye disease

Italian scientists say they have found that saffron may hold the key to stopping vision loss as people age and in treating some eye diseases.

17 May 2009

aPKC enzyme tells stem cells which way to divide

Driving Miranda, a protein in fruit flies crucial to switch a stem cell's fate, is not as complex as biologists thought, according to University of Oregon biochemists. They've found that one enzyme (aPKC) stands alone and acts as a traffic cop that directs which roads daughter cells will take.

13 May 2009

Discovery of molecular defect involved in hearing loss

Scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have elucidated the action of a protein, harmonin, which is involved in the mechanics of hearing.

13 May 2009

New device could track tumor's growth

Surgical removal of a tissue sample is now the standard for diagnosing cancer. Such procedures, known as biopsies, are accurate but only offer a snapshot of the tumor at a single moment in time.

13 May 2009

Smoking makes it harder for brain blood flow to recover from long-term heavy drinking

Alcohol-use disorders (AUDs) can damage the brain, particularly the frontal and parietal cortices, although this damage is at least partially reversible with sustained abstinence from alcohol. Chronic smoking is extremely common among individuals with AUDs.

12 May 2009

New genetic clues to treatment of hypertension

An international research team has identified a number of unsuspected genetic variants associated with systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and hypertension (high blood pressure), suggesting potential avenues of investigation for the prevention or treatment of hypertension.

12 May 2009

Closer to an effective treatment for gum disease in smokers

Scientists in the USA have discovered why smokers may be more prone to chronic gum disease (periodontitis). One of the bacteria responsible for this infection responds to cigarette smoke - changing its properties and the way it infects a smokers mouth.

11 May 2009

New tag could enable more detailed structural studies of mammalian proteins

To say our genes are resourceful is a gross understatement. Through ingenious combinations of a paltry 20 amino acids, the basic building blocks of life, genes engineer all of the tissues and organs that are the marvel of our working bodies.

6 May 2009

New DEAR1 gene predicts local recurrence in early-onset breast cancer

A newly discovered gene known as DEAR1 is mutated in breast cancer and is an independent predictor of local recurrence-free survival in early-onset breast cancer, a research team headed by scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reports in the journal PLoS Medicine.

5 May 2009

Black women in Virginia more likely than others to experience infant mortality

Black women in Virginia are two-and-a-half times more likely than women of other races to experience infant mortality, according to the state Department of Health, the Newport News Daily Press reports.

5 May 2009

A more potent vaccine technology

Virginia Tech virologist Chris Roberts' goal is to develop a platform for a flu vaccine that allows rapid modifications to meet new strains of flu.

4 May 2009

Stem cell focus for inflammatory bowel disease wound healing

Scientists at The University of Nottingham are investigating whether stem cell markers could have a role to play in speeding up wound healing in patients suffering from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

30 Apr 2009

Nanoneedle introduces minimal intrusiveness in penetrating cell membranes

Researchers at the University of Illinois have developed a membrane-penetrating nanoneedle for the targeted delivery of one or more molecules into the cytoplasm or the nucleus of living cells.

30 Apr 2009

Matrix protein key to fighting viruses

Researchers from Durham University's Centre for Bioactive Chemistry are developing methods that show how proteins interact with cell membranes when a virus strikes.

30 Apr 2009

Research may bring drugs with triple the absorbing power and lower toxic risks

Drug makers might be able to triple the absorbing power of some medications and lower toxic risks of others, as a result of a study at the University of Maryland, Baltimore on how bile acids travel through the gut.

29 Apr 2009

Dendrimers as synthetic gene vectors

In a recent issue of The Journal of Chemical Physics , published by the American Institute of Physics (AIP), a group of researchers at the University of California, Berkeley and Los Alamos National Laboratory describe the first comprehensive, molecular-level numerical study of gene therapy.

29 Apr 2009