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Researchers describe novel antiviral property of cholesterol-25-hydroxylase

A team of UCLA-led researchers has identified a protein with broad virus-fighting properties that potentially could be used as a weapon against deadly human pathogenic viruses such as HIV, Ebola, Rift Valley Fever, Nipah and others designated "priority pathogens" for national biosecurity purposes by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease.

13 Feb 2013

Abnormal TDP-43 protein causes death of astrocytes in motor neurone disease

A discovery using stem cells from a patient with motor neurone disease could help research into treatments for the condition. The study used a patient's skin cells to create motor neurons - nerve cells that control muscle activity - and the cells that support them called astrocytes.

13 Feb 2013

Exposure to harmful quantities of lead may lead to juvenile delinquency

Lead is a common element but is found in old paints (including those once used on children's toys), soil, old piping, water, and the atmosphere from lead-containing vehicular fuels, even drinking vessels. At high dose it is lethal but also causes seemingly trivial symptoms such as headaches. However, in children lead can also lead to irreversible damage to the organs, the kidneys in particular, and the nervous system including the brain.

13 Feb 2013

University of Utah geneticists engineer mice that develop clear cell sarcoma

Geneticists led by University of Utah Nobel Prize Laureate Mario R. Capecchi, Ph.D., have engineered mice that develop clear cell sarcoma (CCS), a significant step in better understanding how this rare and deadly soft tissue cancer arises. The mouse model also can potentially speed the development of drugs to target genes that must be activated for the cancer to form.

13 Feb 2013

RNAi effective in treating cancer patients

The new study published in Cancer Discovery, the flagship journal of the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR), involving three Spanish and six American research centres, presents significant results in treating cancer patients with nanoparticles containing ribonucleic acid interference (RNAi) molecules.

13 Feb 2013

New research to rewrite textbooks on how ovaries are formed

New research from the University of Adelaide will rewrite the textbooks on how an ovary is formed, as well as providing new insights into women's health and fertility.

13 Feb 2013

GSK, Vanderbilt partner to develop and commercialize new therapies for severe obesity

Vanderbilt University announced today that it has signed a collaboration agreement with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) for the discovery, development and commercialization of novel therapies for severe obesity.

13 Feb 2013

Combining synthetic and natural toxins could disarm cancer, drug-resistant bacteria

Cancer researchers from Rice University suggest that a new man-made drug that's already proven effective at killing cancer and drug-resistant bacteria could best deliver its knockout blow when used in combination with drugs made from naturally occurring toxins.

13 Feb 2013

Interleukin 6 variant associated with developmental problems after preterm birth in females

In a study to be presented on February 14 between 1:15 p.m., and 3:30 p.m. PST, at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting -, in San Francisco, researchers will report that variation in a gene involved in inflammation is associated with developmental problems after preterm birth in females, but not males.

13 Feb 2013

Boston College biologist receives $2.7M NIH grant to continue HIV and AIDS research

Boston College biologist Ken Williams, whose research focuses on the role of immunological cells in a range of illnesses that strike people living with HIV and AIDS, has been awarded a five-year, $2.7 million grant from the NIH's National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

12 Feb 2013

Berkeley Lab researchers resolve EGFR activation mystery

Researchers with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California (UC) Berkeley have provided important new details into the activation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), a cell surface protein that has been strongly linked to a large number of cancers and is a major target of cancer therapies.

12 Feb 2013

Blood vessels play an important role in preventing spread of tumour cells

A lack of the protein endoglin in the blood vessels of tumour-bearing mice enables the spread of daughter tumours, according to researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Lund University in Sweden in a study published in the scientific periodical The Journal of Experimental Medicine. Given that the tumour vasculature constitutes an important barrier to the spread of cancer cells, the team suggests that drugs should be developed to strengthen the blood vessels' protective function.

12 Feb 2013

Developing tiny probes for research and brain-related medical applications

Developing tiny probes for research and brain-related medical applications - that is the goal of the project NeuroSeeker, launched in February 2013 with a kick-off event in Leuven, Belgium.

12 Feb 2013

Two different mechanisms trigger early-onset prostate cancers

While prostate cancer is the most common cancer in elderly Western men it also, but more rarely, strikes patients aged between 35 and 50. Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, in collaboration with several other research teams in Germany, have discovered that such early-onset prostate cancers are triggered by a different mechanism from that which causes the disease at a later age.

12 Feb 2013

Enzyme therapy slows progression of Batten disease in dogs

Batten disease is a rare, fatal genetic disorder that affects children. Currently, no effective treatment exists for the disease, which ultimately kills all who are affected. Dachshunds also suffer from Batten disease, and now researchers from the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine and School of Medicine, in collaboration with BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc., have developed a treatment for the disease that has significantly delayed the onset and progression of symptoms in the Dachshunds.

12 Feb 2013

RNF20 protein required for MLL-rearranged leukemia amplification

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is an aggressive blood cancer that is currently incurable in 70% of patients. In a bold effort, CSHL scientists are among those identifying and characterizing the molecular mechanisms responsible for this cancer in order to generate potential new therapeutics.

12 Feb 2013

AB SCIEX releases new testing method for laboratories to detect DCD in dairy products

AB SCIEX today announced the release of a new testing method for laboratories to screen for and quantify dicyandiamide ‒ known as DCD ‒ in dairy products and other protein-rich foods.

12 Feb 2013

Southampton scientists create new method to generate bone cells

Scientists at the University of Southampton have created a new method to generate bone cells which could lead to revolutionary bone repair therapies for people with bone fractures or those who need hip replacement surgery due to osteoporosis and osteoarthritis.

12 Feb 2013

Study shows effects of maternal obesity on fetuses

In a study to be presented on February 15 between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. PST, at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting -, in San Francisco, California, researchers from Tufts Medical Center will present findings showing the effects of maternal obesity on a fetus, specifically in the development of the brain.

11 Feb 2013

Researchers identify miR-506 as potential therapeutic candidate for metastatic ovarian cancer

Researchers employed an extensive analysis of genomic information to identify a new, high-risk cohort of ovarian cancer patients, characterize their tumors, find a potential treatment and test it in mouse models of the disease.

11 Feb 2013