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Aptamer-targeted nanoparticles collect and detect cancer cells

Using magnetic and fluorescent nanoparticles capable of binding tightly to molecules found only on the surface of cancer cells, a team of investigators at the University of Florida has developed a method for collecting and detecting multiple cancer cells from biological samples.

14 Jun 2007

Quantum dots outline brain tumors for surgical removal

Although surgical removal of a tumor can be the most effective way of treating brain cancer, neurosurgeons are often faced with the dilemma of determining the exact border between a tumor and the healthy tissue that surrounds it.

14 Jun 2007

Nanoprobes with near-infrared persistent luminescence for in vivo imaging

In a new take on use of luminescent nanoparticles as cancer imaging probes, a team of investigators from several research institutes in Paris, France, has developed new metal-containing nanoparticles that emit light for several hours after they are initially excited.

14 Jun 2007

Nanoparticle-enabled peptide delivery triggers tumor regression

Cells possess a variety of ways of dealing with mutations that can cause them to grow uncontrollably and eventually form a tumor. The tumor suppressor gene p53 plays a critical role in these cancer prevention processes, largely by triggering a form a cell death known as apoptosis.

14 Jun 2007

Interfacing silicon nanowires with mammalian cells

A research team at the University of California, Berkeley, has achieved a significant step toward one of the futuristic goals of nanomedicine and nanobiology-developing technology for "wiring" together individual cells.

14 Jun 2007

Trial shows nanoparticle-enabled thermal therapy safe for treating cancer

Several types of metal nanoparticles are capable of converting energy, such as that carried by near-infrared light or an oscillating magnetic field, into heat at a level high enough to kill tumors.

14 Jun 2007

Double-duty nanoparticles overcome drug resistance in tumors

Cancer cells, like bacteria, can develop resistance to drug therapy. In fact, research suggests strongly that multidrug resistant cancer cells that remain alive after chemotherapy are responsible for the reappearance of tumors and the poor prognosis for patients whose cancer recurs.

14 Jun 2007

Researchers create first 3-D optical images of human breast cancer in patients based on tissue fluorescence

Fluorescence diffuse optical tomography, or FDOT, relies on the presence of fluorophore molecules in tissue that re-radiate fluorescent light after illumination by excitation light of a different color.

14 Jun 2007

Newspaper articles on organ transplantation mostly positive

A content analysis of newspaper stories about organ and tissue donation, conducted by researchers at the University at Buffalo, found an almost 4:1 ratio of positive-to-negative articles on the subject.

14 Jun 2007

Stressed at work? Your boss needs enlightening

The chances are your working environment today is a far more complex place than it was 20 years ago.

14 Jun 2007

Can you forget a language you once knew?

Learning a foreign language late in life can be rewarding but hard work. One of the challenges is a lack of familiarity with unfamiliar sounds.

14 Jun 2007

CPAP is the best treatment for sleep apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a major public health problem that, if untreated, can be deadly.

14 Jun 2007

Nurses who work the night shift more likely to have poor sleep habits

Nurses who work the night shift are more likely to have poor sleep habits, a practice that can increase the likelihood of committing serious errors that can put the safety of themselves as well as their patients at risk, according to research presented at SLEEP 2007, the 21st Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS).

14 Jun 2007

Diets rich in fruits and vegetables best for breast cancer survival

A new study in the "Journal of Clinical Oncology" reinforces existing evidence showing that women with breast cancer can greatly reduce their risk of recurrence by eating a healthy plant-based diet rich in fruits and vegetables and making other healthy lifestyle choices, according to nutrition experts with The Cancer Project.

14 Jun 2007

Mild cognitive disorder often an early symptom of Alzheimer's disease

Using new MRI techniques to analyze tissue composition and structure in the brain, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and the National Institute on Aging successfully detected mild cognitive disorder (MCI), a condition in which patients suffer mild memory problems and is often an early symptom of Alzheimer's disease (AD).

14 Jun 2007

Injected neural stem cells reduce Parkinson's symptoms in primates

Primates with severe Parkinson's disease were able to walk, move, and eat better, and had diminished tremors after being injected with human neural stem cells, a research team from Yale, Harvard, the University of Colorado, and the Burnham Institute report in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

14 Jun 2007

Myelin and Huntington's disease

Last month, Dr. George Bartzokis, director of the UCLA Memory Disorders and Alzheimer's Disease Clinic, suggested in the journal Alzheimer's & Dementia that the breakdown of a type of myelin that develops late in life promotes the buildup of toxic amyloid plaques long associated with Alzheimer's disease.

14 Jun 2007