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Multiple sclerosis drug natalizumab may reduce immunity

A drug used to treat multiple sclerosis might make some patients vulnerable to brain infection by reducing the number of immune cells there, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.

16 Dec 2008

Archived blood from infant heel stick tests could lead to discoveries about diseases that have roots in perinatal period

Van Andel Institute (VAI) researchers are the first to apply a new technology to measure on a large scale the presence of genes in blood spots - the blood drawn from newborn infants to screen for health-threatening conditions.

16 Dec 2008

Pigs and dogs can bridge gap between mice and humans in developing new therapies

Human and veterinary medicine could receive a big boost through use of larger animals, especially pigs and dogs, in research, with Europe at the forefront.

16 Dec 2008

Top public health award for Sydney researcher

Australia's leading national public health award, the Sidney Sax Public Health Medal, has been awarded to Sydney University's Professor of Public Health and long-time tobacco campaigner and researcher, Professor Simon Chapman.

16 Dec 2008

Exercising at work - who's it good for?

Exercising at work is supposed to make you more 'productive', although there is very little research to support this. A new study seeks to answer whether people perform better in their jobs on days they exercise.

16 Dec 2008

UC Davis team refines cancer treatments to reduce potential nerve damage

While radiation treatments deliver precise doses of high-energy X-rays to stop cancer cells from spreading or to shrink tumors, oncologists have become increasingly concerned about inadvertent exposures during head and neck cancer treatments to nerves responsible for upper body mobility.

15 Dec 2008

Tracking the molecular pathway to mixed-lineage leukemia

Infants and adults with the blood cancer mixed-lineage leukemia (MLL) typically have a poor prognosis, and most infants die before their first birthdays.

15 Dec 2008

New bone and tissue regeneration technique

Using stem cell lines not typically combined, researchers at Columbia University Medical Center have designed a new way to "grow" bone and other tissues.

15 Dec 2008

Study to identify best rehabilitation therapies for patients with traumatic brain injuries

Rush University Medical Center and 10 other healthcare facilities in the U.S. and Canada have been awarded a $4.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to identify which rehabilitation therapies, or combination of therapies, can best help victims of traumatic brain injuries.

15 Dec 2008

Researchers stop ovarian cancer cell cycle in its tracks

Ovarian cancer cells are "addicted" to a family of proteins produced by the notorious oncogene, MYC, and blocking these Myc proteins halts cell proliferation in the deadliest cancer of the female reproductive system, according to a presentation by University of California, Berkeley scientists at the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) 48th Annual Meeting, Dec. 13-17, 2008 in San Francisco.

15 Dec 2008

Researchers simplify creation induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells

Bryce Carey, an MIT graduate student working in the lab of Whitehead Member Rudolf Jaenisch, spearheaded the effort by joining in tandem the four reprogramming genes through the use of bits of DNA that code for polymers known as 2A peptides. Working with others in the lab, he then manufactured a so-called polycistronic virus capable of expressing all four reprogramming genes once it is inserted into the genomes of mature mouse and human cells.

15 Dec 2008

Shared survival mechanism explains why 'good' nerve cells last and 'bad' cancer cells flourish

Cancer cells and nervous system neurons may not look or act alike, but both use strikingly similar ways to survive, according to new research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine.

15 Dec 2008

Discovery of link between inflamed gums and heart disease

The next person who reminds you to floss might be your cardiologist instead of your dentist. Scientists have known for some time that a protein associated with inflammation (called C-reactive protein) is elevated in people who are at risk for heart disease.

15 Dec 2008

Discovery of promising new target in the battle against colorectal cancer

University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston researchers have identified a promising new target in the battle against colorectal cancer - a biochemical pathway critical to the spread of tumors to new locations in the body.

15 Dec 2008

Researchers create new family of fluorescent probes called hydrocyanines to detect reactive oxygen species in vivo

Researchers have created a new family of fluorescent probes called hydrocyanines that can be used to detect and measure the presence of reactive oxygen species.

15 Dec 2008

Receptor for prostaglandin-E2 plays key role in atherosclerosis development

Atherosclerosis - a disease that includes the buildup of fatty, cholesterol-laden lumps of cells inside the artery wall - is the underlying cause of heart attacks and strokes.

15 Dec 2008

Newly discovered esophagus stem cells grow into transplantable tissue

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have discovered stem cells in the esophagus of mice that were able to grow into tissue-like structures and when placed into immune-deficient mice were able to form parts of an esophagus lining.

15 Dec 2008

New imaging technique allows simultaneous tracking of gene expression and movement

Flies expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) in their retina cells or other tissues can be tracked by specially modified video cameras, creating a real time computer record of movement and gene expression.

15 Dec 2008

11 new genes linked to LDL, HDL cholesterols and triglycerides

A new study uncovers 11 gene variants associated with three blood lipids measured to determine cardiovascular disease risk: low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and triglycerides.

15 Dec 2008

Narrow-band imaging comparable to white light colonoscopy in differentiating colorectal polyps

Researchers from Yale University School of Medicine compared narrow-band imaging (NBI) without high magnification to standard white light colonoscopy in differentiating colorectal polyps during real-time colonoscopy and found that NBI was not more accurate than white light colonoscopy.

15 Dec 2008