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Stage IV cancer cells even more susceptible to grape seed extract than stage II

When the going gets tough, grape seed extract gets going: A University of Colorado Cancer Center study recently published in the journal Cancer Letters shows that the more advanced are colorectal cancer cells, the more GSE inhibits their growth and survival. On the other end of the disease spectrum, GSE leaves healthy cells alone entirely.

19 Jan 2013

Researchers report novel charge zipper principle used by proteins to form functional units

Membrane proteins are the "molecular machines" in biological cell envelopes. They control diverse processes, such as the transport of molecules across the lipid membrane, signal transduction, and photosynthesis. Their shape, i.e. folding of the molecules, plays a decisive role in the formation of, e.g., pores in the cell membrane.

19 Jan 2013

Study finds decline in spermatozoid concentration in young Spanish men

The first comparative study on the evolution of sperm quality in young Spanish men over ten years, headed by researchers at the University of Murcia, reveals that spermatozoid concentration in men between 18 and 23 years in the regions of Murcia and Almeria has dropped by an annual average of 2%.

19 Jan 2013

Intestinal bacteria can produce biochemicals and hormones that stop development of diabetes

All humans have enormous numbers of bacteria and other micro-organisms (10 to 14) in the lower intestine. In fact our bodies contain about ten times more bacteria than our own cells and these tiny passengers are extremely important for our health. They help us digest our food and provide us with energy and vitamins.

19 Jan 2013

New method may help predict response to chemotherapy for bowel cancer

Scientists at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) and Beaumont Hospital have developed a new method of predicting which patients with bowel (colorectal) cancer will respond effectively to chemotherapy. The results of this study are published in the current issue of the prestigious Cancer Research journal.

19 Jan 2013

Cancer Targets & Therapeutics Conference to take place from Feb. 25-26 in Las Vegas

With the rapid progression of molecular biology and genetics, and the subsequent emergence of many new targets, emerging targets & therapeutics provides new opportunities for the prevention and treatment of several major disease systems.

19 Jan 2013

Possible connection between mitochondrial CYP2D6 and Parkinson's

With a new insight into a model of Parkinson's disease, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine have identified a novel target for mitigating some of the disease's toll on the brain.

19 Jan 2013

UC Davis professor receives supplemental funds from Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy

Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy (PPMD) has awarded Dr. Craig McDonald of the University of California, Davis (UC Davis) $175,000 in supplemental funds to expand his ongoing study through the 20 CINRG (Cooperative International Neuromuscular Research Group) centers to better understand the progression of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (Duchenne) and determine the impact of the Duchenne standards of care established by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

19 Jan 2013

Scientists compare neuronal network connections in 2 worm species

Researchers in the group of Ralf Sommer at the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in Tuebingen, Germany, have for the first time been able to identify neuronal correlates of behaviour by comparing maps of synaptic connectivity, or "connectomes", between two species with different behaviour.

19 Jan 2013

New model of tau pathology spread

Brain diseases associated with the misformed protein tau, including Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal lobar degeneration with tau pathologies, are characterized by neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) comprised of pathological tau filaments.

19 Jan 2013

Leprosy bacteria able to change the make-up of Schwann cells

A discovery about the way in which bugs spread throughout the body could help to develop stem cell treatments.

19 Jan 2013

Calcium receptor – potential drug target for sleeping sickness

While its common name may make it sound almost whimsical, sleeping sickness, or African trypanosomiasis, is in reality a potentially fatal parasitic infection that has ravaged populations in sub-Saharan Africa for decades, and it continues to infect thousands of people every year.

19 Jan 2013

New insight into personality psychology

Extraversion does not just explain differences between how people act at social events. How extraverted you are may influence how the brain makes choices - specifically whether you choose an immediate or delayed reward, according to a new study. The work is part of a growing body of research on the vital role of understanding personality in society.

19 Jan 2013

Researchers identify molecular mechanism that regulates autophagy

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified a molecular mechanism regulating autophagy, a fundamental stress response used by cells to help ensure their survival in adverse conditions.

19 Jan 2013

Study confirms brain differences between people with BPD and those without

New work by University of Toronto Scarborough researchers gives the best description yet of the neural circuits that underlie a severe mental illness called Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), and could lead to better treatments and diagnosis.

19 Jan 2013

New math model may help predict colon cancer resistance to chemotherapy

Scientists may be able to better predict which patients with colorectal cancer will respond to chemotherapy using a new mathematical model that measures the amount of stress required for a cancer cell to die without harming healthy tissue. The results of this study are published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

19 Jan 2013

SPARC protein acts much like ibuprofen to heal tissues inflamed by tumors

Cancer researchers are increasingly aware that in addition to genetic mutations in a cancer itself, characteristics of the surrounding tissue can promote or suppress tumor growth. One of these important tissue characteristics is inflammation - most cancers prosper in and attach to inflamed tissue and so many cancers have developed ways to create it.

19 Jan 2013

Researchers identify signaling pathway used by malarial parasites to destroy host cells

One of the most insidious ways that parasitic diseases such as malaria and toxoplasmosis wreak their havoc is by hijacking their host's natural cellular processes, turning self against self.

18 Jan 2013

New method can visualize aging and tumor growth in real-time

In a study published in the January 18 issue of Cell, researchers from the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center have developed a new method to visualize aging and tumor growth in mice using a gene closely linked to these processes.

18 Jan 2013

Study examines consequences of muscle activity with surprising results

A study in The Journal of General Physiology examines the consequences of muscle activity with surprising results, indicating that the extracellular accumulation of potassium that occurs in working muscles is considerably higher than previously thought.

18 Jan 2013