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Brain protein called MC4R that plays a role in the urge to eat has now been found to influence appetite in a second way

A brain protein already known to play a central role in the "feast or fast" signaling that controls the urge to eat has now been found to influence appetite in a second way. The discovery identifies a potential new target for drugs against obesity.

19 Oct 2004

A new approach to controlling blood cholesterol levels may be a potential treatment for Alzheimer's disease

A new approach to controlling blood cholesterol levels that is already being investigated to prevent cardiovascular disease also may be a potential treatment for Alzheimer's disease.

13 Oct 2004

Researchers analyze the mechanisms and proteins that underlie mitochondria

New findings explaining the complicated process by which the "energy substations" of human cells split apart and recombine may lay the groundwork for new treatment approaches to a wide range of diseases, including some cancers and neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.

12 Oct 2004

Carbon nanotubes offer a new approach to gene therapy

Many genes that are related to particular diseases have now been identified. Scientists are trying to use this knowledge to treat diseases.

11 Oct 2004

Oxford University and NTT Europe collaborate in the field of bionanoscience

Oxford University and telecommunications company NTT Europe have announced a joint research initiative in the field of bionanoscience. The agreement was signed on Wednesday 6 October by the Vice-Chancellor Dr John Hood and Mr Kenji Sakata, Managing Director of NTT Europe.

6 Oct 2004

FDA fast tracks Genaera's drug for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration

Genaera Corporation has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track designation to squalamine, an intravenously administered, first in class, small molecule anti-angiogenic drug for the treatment of "wet" age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

4 Oct 2004

New technique offers efficient blood cleansing

Blood poisoning is fatal in almost half of all cases. Patients could be helped by efficient blood cleansing. Scientists are working on a new technique that will quickly and effectively retrieve toxic substances from the vital fluid without altering the blood count.

4 Oct 2004

New statement published on nonmalignant diseases related to asbestos exposure

In its first official statement since 1986 on the topic, the American Thoracic Society (ATS) has published a document entitled “Diagnosis and Initial Management of Nonmalignant Diseases Related to Asbestos.”

4 Oct 2004

Cancer vaccine based on listeria bacteria shows promise

An experimental cancer vaccine using defanged listeria bacteria is showing great promise in animal studies, successfully treating new cancers that have spread into the lungs of mice.

29 Sep 2004

Bacterium Haemophilus influenza has to secrete a glue-like protein

To stick to cells in the respiratory tract and start an infection, the bacterium Haemophilus influenza has to secrete a glue-like protein. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report this week that a study of the valve that lets out the glue has produced some surprising information.

29 Sep 2004

Discovery of key molecular step which allows cancer cells to move to different parts of the body

Researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have figured out a key molecular step by which a cancer cell can unhook itself from the mesh weave of other cancer cells in a tumor, and move away to a different part of the body - the process, known as metastasis, that makes cancer so dangerous.

27 Sep 2004

Researchers reduce the toxicity of water-soluble buckyballs by a factor of more than ten million

Researchers at Rice University's Center for Biological and Environmental Nanotechnology (CBEN) have demonstrated a simple way to reduce the toxicity of water-soluble buckyballs by a factor of more than ten million.

26 Sep 2004

Study is the first to show that lowering the levels of lipid in nerve terminals affects the efficiency of neurotransmission

Yale researchers demonstrate the crucial role of a membrane lipid called phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate (PtdIns (4,5)P2) in the communication of information between synapses in the brain, according to a study published this week in Nature.

26 Sep 2004

Lassa Fever, not seen in US for 15 years re-emerges

The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services reported today that a 38-year-old Mercer County man died on August 28 from an acute viral disease called Lassa fever, a condition that is rare in the U.S., but endemic to West Africa.

23 Sep 2004

Understanding how kidneys absorb protein from urine will help fight kidney disease in diabetics

A team of University of Queensland researchers led by Dr Philip Poronnik, a senior lecturer in the School of Biomedical Sciences, is unravelling the molecular processes in the kidney which retrieves proteins.

23 Sep 2004

Novel strategy for stimulating the production of utrophin

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine report a novel strategy for stimulating the production of utrophin – an important muscle protein in young mice – for muscular dystrophy therapy.

21 Sep 2004

Stress response proteins offer a promising target for a novel drug guidance system

Their study, published in the September issue of the journal Cancer Cell, demonstrates how researchers can find protein tags that are unique to cancer cells and then tweak a drug delivery system to zero in on those tags and destroy the cells.

21 Sep 2004

HER-2 cell surface receptors tun on genes associated with carcinogenesis

Researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center now have evidence that receptors found on tumors that were believed to function only on the surface of cells can actually switch on genes inside a cell's nucleus, thus promoting cancer development in two distinct ways.

21 Sep 2004

New culprit behind the brain injury suffered by stroke victims

Researchers have uncovered a new culprit behind the brain injury suffered by stroke victims. Their new study, published in the Sept. 17 issue of Cell, links brain cell damage to a rise in brain acidity following the oxygen depletion, or ischemia, characteristic of stroke.

18 Sep 2004

Further study is needed before link between gastroesophageal reflux disorder and otitis media can be firmly established

Does gastroesophageal reflux disorder (GERD) lead to middle ear infections in young children? Otitis media (OM) or ear infection, has the highest incidence, 62.9 percent, among all medical conditions in children younger than age five. Recent studies have suggested that GERD may cause OM.

18 Sep 2004

Membrane News and Research

Brain protein called MC4R that plays a role in the urge to eat has now been found to influence appetite in a second way

A new approach to controlling blood cholesterol levels may be a potential treatment for Alzheimer's disease

Researchers analyze the mechanisms and proteins that underlie mitochondria

Carbon nanotubes offer a new approach to gene therapy

Oxford University and NTT Europe collaborate in the field of bionanoscience

FDA fast tracks Genaera's drug for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration

New technique offers efficient blood cleansing

New statement published on nonmalignant diseases related to asbestos exposure

Cancer vaccine based on listeria bacteria shows promise

Bacterium Haemophilus influenza has to secrete a glue-like protein

Discovery of key molecular step which allows cancer cells to move to different parts of the body

Researchers reduce the toxicity of water-soluble buckyballs by a factor of more than ten million

Study is the first to show that lowering the levels of lipid in nerve terminals affects the efficiency of neurotransmission

Lassa Fever, not seen in US for 15 years re-emerges

Understanding how kidneys absorb protein from urine will help fight kidney disease in diabetics

Novel strategy for stimulating the production of utrophin

Stress response proteins offer a promising target for a novel drug guidance system

HER-2 cell surface receptors tun on genes associated with carcinogenesis

New culprit behind the brain injury suffered by stroke victims

Further study is needed before link between gastroesophageal reflux disorder and otitis media can be firmly established

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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