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Is curry good for you?

There have been several news stories over the years reporting that curry may be good for us. Most of them refer to a chemical in curry, known as curcumin.

18 Jun 2012

Ascepion, Debiopharm partner to develop and commercialize ASP-08126 for solid tumors

Debiopharm Group, a global biopharmaceutical development specialist that focuses on serious medical conditions and particularly oncology, and Ascepion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately-held, biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of breakthrough small molecule drugs for the treatment of oncology and related diseases, have entered into an exclusive worldwide license agreement concerning the development and commercialization of ASP-08126 (called Debio 1144 by Debiopharm) a multikinase inhibitor currently in pre-clinical development.

18 Jun 2012

Researchers identify commensal bacteria in the human intestine

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital have identified commensal bacteria in the human intestine that produce a neurotransmitter that may play a role in preventing or treating inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn's disease.

18 Jun 2012

AMPK enzyme promotes survival of cancer cells: Research

A molecule thought to limit cell proliferation also helps cancer cells survive during initial tumor formation and when the wayward cells spread to other organs in the body, researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine have found.

15 Jun 2012

Third Rock Ventures announces formation of Global Blood Therapeutics

Third Rock Ventures, LLC today announced the formation of Global Blood Therapeutics, Inc. and its $40.7 million Series A financing of the company.

15 Jun 2012

Study unveils crystal structure of H. pylori's acid receptor

University of Oregon scientists have discovered how the bacterium Helicobacter pylori navigates through the acidic stomach, opening up new possibilities to inactivate its disease-causing ability without using current strategies that often fail or are discontinued because of side effects.

15 Jun 2012

Antibody that blocks programmed cell death benefits cancer patients

A national research collaboration of senior researchers, including a researcher from Moffitt Cancer Center, has found that 20 to 25 percent of "heavily pre-treated" patients with a variety of cancers who enrolled in a clinical trial had "objective and durable" responses to a treatment with BMS-936558, an antibody that specifically blocks programmed cell death 1 (PD-1).

14 Jun 2012

Researchers identify primary player of the biochemical bugle call

Researchers have identified the primary player of the biochemical bugle call that musters the body's defenders against viral infection.

14 Jun 2012

Western-style diets may increase risk of inflammatory bowel disease

Certain saturated fats that are common in the modern Western diet can initiate a chain of events leading to complex immune disorders such as inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) in people with a genetic predisposition, according to a study to be published early online in the journal Nature.

14 Jun 2012

Innovimmune receives $600,000 NIH grant to develop MIF inhibitors for RA

Specialty drug discovery company, Innovimmune Biotherapeutics, Inc. has been awarded a $600,000 Advanced Technology Small Business Innovation Research Grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

14 Jun 2012

New analogues effective in inhibiting NOS activity in Parkinson models

University of Granada researchers have tested melatonin analogues in rats as it inhibits the enzyme nitric oxide synthase (NOS), which is involved in the development of conditions as inflammatory bowel disease, septic shock or rheumatoid arthritis, as well as in neurodegenerative conditions as Huntington's disease, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

14 Jun 2012

New chemical-screening method can discover compounds against HIV

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have used a powerful new chemical-screening method to find compounds that inhibit the activity of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the virus that causes AIDS.

14 Jun 2012

MDA5 molecule plays a critical role in fighting viral infections

Researchers have identified the primary player of the biochemical bugle call that musters the body's defenders against viral infection.

14 Jun 2012

Compounds related to curcumin receive U.S. patent

A U.S patent issued today to the University of Rochester and two other entities for the use of compounds related to a popular spice in the fight against cancer, acne, baldness, and other medical conditions.

13 Jun 2012

Scientists decipher and block a molecular message that prompts unbridled cellular growth

What's good news in one setting might spell disaster in another. In cancer for instance, when a certain cell is commanded to grow and divide without restraint, it's a welcome message for the cell itself but a tragedy for the person who harbors this cell in his or her body. Weizmann Institute scientists have managed to decipher and block one type of molecular message that prompts unbridled cellular growth.

13 Jun 2012

HLA B-27 protein appears to confer ability to suppress HIV viral replication

The rare ability of some individuals to control HIV infection with their immune system alone appears to depend - at least partially - on specific qualities of the immune system's killer T cells and not on how many of those cells are produced.

13 Jun 2012

Scientists establish link between autoimmune diseases and nanoparticles

New groundbreaking research by scientists at Trinity College Dublin has found that exposure to nanoparticles can have a serious impact on health, linking it to rheumatoid arthritis and the development of other serious autoimmune diseases.

12 Jun 2012

Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases important targets for development of new drugs against major diseases

Researchers at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, are working to develop substances that can prevent parasites, bacteria and fungi from producing essential proteins, research that could, in the long term, lead to new drugs for several major diseases.

12 Jun 2012

Study documents altruistic behavior by human embryonic stem cells

When most groups of mammalian cells are faced with a shortage of nutrients or oxygen, the phrase "every man for himself" is more apt than "all for one, one for all." Unlike colonies of bacteria, which often cooperate to thrive as a group, mammalian cells have never been observed to help one another out. But a new study led by a researcher at the Stanford University School of Medicine has shown that certain human embryonic stem cells, in times of stress, produce molecules that not only benefit themselves, but also help nearby cells survive.

12 Jun 2012

Scientists discover new genetic information linked with shigellosis

Scientists have found new genetic information that shows how harmful bacteria cause the acute diarrheal disease shigellosis, which kills more than a million people worldwide each year.

12 Jun 2012