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Researchers discover that tumors secrete fatty acids which inhibit the cytotoxic T lymphocytes' ability to kill tumor cells

Researchers have discovered that tumors release fatty acids that interfere with the cells that are trying to kill them. Consequently, strategies that reduce the amount of fatty acids surrounding the tumors may give a boost to anti-cancer therapeutics.

11 Aug 2005

Preliminary molecular diagram of the early stages of embryo formation

A team of genomic researchers headed by biologists at New York University's Center for Comparative Functional Genomics, in collaboration with researchers at Harvard University, the Max Planck Institute, and Cenix Biosciences, has mapped out a preliminary molecular diagram of the early stages of embryo formation, offering for the first time a global look at how a single cell begins its path into a multi-cellular organism.

11 Aug 2005

Cancer causing potential of the sex hormones

The cancer causing potential of the sex hormones used in hormone therapy has been known since the 1930s, say researchers and women's health advocates in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

11 Aug 2005

Excessive alcohol consumption increases risk of certain cancers

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a new chemical analysis method that has assisted researchers at the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), National Institutes of Health, in demonstrating a potentially important chemical link between alcohol consumption and cancer.

11 Aug 2005

Vestibular organs provide an on-line movement guidance system

Anyone who's had to find his or her way through a darkened room can appreciate that nonvisual cues play a large role in our sense of movement. What might be less apparent is that not all such cues come from our remaining four senses.

10 Aug 2005

Despite warnings about sun exposure, skin cancer rates on the rise in under 40's

Researchers in the U.S. say that among women under age 40, there has been triple the number of cases of skin cancers reported.

10 Aug 2005

Curry spice may help fight oesophageal cancer

Welsh researchers apparently believe a spice used in curry may possibly prevent people from developing cancer of the gullet.

10 Aug 2005

Important breast cancer discovery

Scientists at the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) have made an important discovery that will advance our understanding of how the female hormone estrogen causes growth of breast cancer cells. The research, in collaboration with scientists at the Institut de Recherches Cliniques de Montreal (IRCM) identifies 153 genes that respond to estrogen and one in particular that can be used to halt the growth of breast cancer cells.

10 Aug 2005

Endorphin system may hold the key to understanding and treating bulimia nervosa

The role of the brain's opioid receptor system - or endorphin system - may hold the key to understanding and treating bulimia nervosa, according to research reported in the Society of Nuclear Medicine's August issue of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

9 Aug 2005

Gene therapy used to successfully treat haemophilia in dogs

Progress in gene therapy to treat haemophilia has been impressive in the past few years. Gene therapy has been used to successfully treat haemophilia in dogs.

9 Aug 2005

Firefly protein lets researchers monitor molecule known as IKK (for IKappa kinase) linked to cancer

Scientists have used a glowing protein from fireflies to observe the activity of a molecule that is an important target for new drugs to treat cancer, autoimmune diseases and several other disorders.

9 Aug 2005

Researchers identify protein called EMP-1 that is present in the tumors of patients who fail to respond to treatment with gefitinib

By the time the human genome was mapped, cancer researchers had already begun investigating the proteins that were encoded by these newly identified genes.

9 Aug 2005

Researchers look at how we understand visual images

The figure is famous: a deceptively simple line drawing that at first glance resembles a vase and, at the next, a pair of human faces in profile. When you look at this figure, your brain must rapidly decide what the various lines denote. Are they the outlines of the vase or the borders of two faces? How does your brain decide?

9 Aug 2005

Drinking a cup of cocoa can prevent potentially fatal blood clots

Throughout history, cocoa has been described as a medicine for many ailments. New research suggests that cocoa may also have a beneficial effect on heart disease and stroke.

9 Aug 2005

Enzyme involved in blood pressure regulation may also influence how the body responds to exercise

New research suggests why some older adults who exercise have better physical function than others. Surprisingly, researchers found that an enzyme involved in blood pressure regulation may also influence how the body responds to exercise.

9 Aug 2005

Researchers use diffusion magnetic resonance imaging to monitor ultrasound uterine

Johns Hopkins researchers have, for what is believed to be the first time, used a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique called diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI), a technique that images the movement, or diffusion, of water molecules in tissues, to successfully determine the effectiveness of high-intensity focused ultrasound for treating uterine fibroids.

9 Aug 2005

The ultimate get out for men, can't hear you - and my brain is to blame!

Oh come on - it's the ultimate get out for men!...scientists say they have now discovered that women's voices are more difficult for men to listen to, and process information from, than the voices of other men.

9 Aug 2005

Leading UK charity offers to fund research which could save many lives

A leading medical charity in the UK is offering grants worth more than £380,000 for research which could save many lives.

9 Aug 2005

MicroRNAs play an important role in regulating oogenesis

Researchers at Northwestern University and Carnegie Mellon University have found that a recently described class of molecules called microRNAs (miRNAs) play an important role in regulating oogenesis, the process by which females make eggs.

9 Aug 2005

Researchers develop new diagnostic methods to better detect future monkeypox or smallpox outbreaks

The research also sheds new light on the 2003 monkeypox outbreak in the Midwest - monkeypox is closely related to smallpox. This new information suggests that the 2003 outbreak was larger than the 72 cases reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

9 Aug 2005