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Pulsed photoacoustic techniques can diagnose different cancer cell types

Researchers have developed multiple techniques and procedures to detect cancer cells during the earliest stages of the disease or after treatment. But one of the major limitations of these technologies is their inability to detect the presence of only a few cancer cells.

28 Mar 2012

Magnetic iron oxide nanoparticle-induced hyperthermia can kill cancer cells

Using nanoparticles and alternating magnetic fields, University of Georgia scientists have found that head and neck cancerous tumor cells in mice can be killed in half an hour without harming healthy cells.

28 Mar 2012

Placentophagia may offer benefits to human mothers

A paper by neuroscientists at the University at Buffalo and Buffalo State College suggests that ingestion of components of afterbirth or placenta -- placentophagia -- may offer benefits to human mothers and perhaps to non-mothers and males.

28 Mar 2012

Data supports links between AD and diabetes: New study

Alzheimer's disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States and the only cause of death among the top 10 in America without a way to prevent, cure or even slow its progression, according to the Alzheimer's Association. Today, 5.4 million Americans are living with the disease, and another American develops it every 69 seconds.

28 Mar 2012

Researchers identify genetic causes in nearly 1 in 5 patients with dilated cardiomyopathy

Researchers have identified genetic causes in nearly 1 in 5 patients who suffer a type of heart failure called dilated cardiomyopathy.

28 Mar 2012

Researchers use game theory to understand dynamics of cancer tumor evolution under stress

In search of a different perspective on the physics of cancer, Princeton University and University of California, San Francisco researchers teamed up to use game theory to look for simplicity within the complexity of the dynamics of cooperator and cheater cells under metabolic stress conditions and high spatial heterogeneity. In the context of cancer, cooperator cells obey the general rules of communal survival, while cheater cells do not.

28 Mar 2012

Non-HDL-C levels appear to increase risk of heart attack or stroke in statin-treated patients

Levels of non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-C) among statin-treated patients appears to be associated with the risk of developing a major cardiovascular event, such as a heart attack or stroke, as are levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and apolipoprotein B, according to a meta-analysis of data from previously published studies appearing in the March 28 issue of JAMA.

28 Mar 2012

New pre-clinical data on Rexahn's RX-3117 study to be presented at AACR meeting

Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical stage pharmaceutical company commercializing potential best in class oncology and CNS therapeutics, today announced that it will present new pre-clinical data on its oncology compound RX-3117 during a poster session at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) 103rd Annual Meeting being held in Chicago, Illinois, March 31 - April 4, 2012, at the McCormick Place Convention Center.

28 Mar 2012

Simple genetic test could help predict aggressiveness of rhabdomyosarcoma tumours

A study led by Dr Janet Shipley from The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) in London in collaboration with Dr Mauro Delorenzi from the SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics in Lausanne has shown that a simple genetic test could help predict the aggressiveness of rhabdomyosarcoma tumours in children

28 Mar 2012

New gene transfer technique can treat beta-thalassemia, sickle cell anemia

A team of researchers led by scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College has designed what appears to be a powerful gene therapy strategy that can treat both beta-thalassemia disease and sickle cell anemia. They have also developed a test to predict patient response before treatment.

28 Mar 2012

Cigarette smoke responsible for spread of cancer cells

Cigarette smoke cannot only cause cancer, but it's also responsible for the spread of it, according to research by UC Merced biochemistry Professor Henry Jay Forman.

28 Mar 2012

UT Southwestern researcher wins prestigious award from International Atherosclerosis Society

Dr. Helen Hobbs, a preeminent researcher on the genetics of cholesterol metabolism at UT Southwestern Medical Center, has won a prestigious award from the International Atherosclerosis Society.

28 Mar 2012

Starfruit-shaped nanorods for medical imaging, chemical sensing

They look like fruit, and indeed the nanoscale stars of new research at Rice University have tasty implications for medical imaging and chemical sensing.

28 Mar 2012

New microfluidic chip more effective in detecting flu outbreaks

The H1N1 flu pandemic in 2009 underscored weaknesses in methods widely used to diagnose the flu, from frequent false negatives to long wait times for results. Now Boston University researchers have developed a prototype of a rapid, low-cost, accurate, point-of-care device that promises to provide clinicians with an effective tool to quickly diagnose both seasonal and pandemic strains of influenza, and thus limit the spread of infection.

28 Mar 2012

CRG, Illumina partner for large-scale analysis of genetic variation and function

The Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) has recently signed a year-long collaboration agreement with Illumina, a leading developer and manufacturer of life sciences tools and integrated systems for large-scale analysis of genetic variation and function.

From Illumina, Inc. 28 Mar 2012

Gold nanoparticles used to introduce chemical residues into the immune system

Developing a drug or vaccine requires a delicate balancing act with the immune system. On one hand, medications need to escape detection by the immune system in order to perform their function. But vaccinations - de-activated versions of a disease or virus - need to do the reverse. They prompt the immune system to create protective antibodies.

27 Mar 2012

Previously unknown mechanism helps intestinal bacteria to affect formation of blood vessels

Researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have discovered a previously unknown mechanism which helps intestinal bacteria to affect the formation of blood vessels. The results, which are presented in Nature, may provide future treatments of intestinal diseases and obesity.

27 Mar 2012

Structural adaptations found in short-track speed skaters' brains

Specialized training of complex motor skills may induce sports-specific structural changes in the human brain

27 Mar 2012

Pfizer to present data on ADCs at AACR 2012

Pfizer Oncology will present data from a variety of preclinical and clinical studies of Pfizer's early-stage compounds, including data from Pfizer's investigational antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) portfolio and research evaluating several molecules targeting novel pathways that play a crucial role in basic cellular functions, at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2012 in Chicago, IL, from March 31-April 4.

27 Mar 2012

New method uses E. coli bacteria to engineer human therapeutic glycoproteins

Escherichia coli - a bacteria considered the food safety bane of restaurateurs, grocers and consumers - is a friend. Cornell University biomolecular engineers have learned to use E. coli to produce sugar-modified proteins for making pharmaceuticals cheaper and faster.

27 Mar 2012