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Antivirulence drugs may fight infection and suppress resistance

Antivirulence drugs disarm pathogens rather than kill them, and although they could be effective in theory, antivirulence drugs have never been tested in humans. A new study to be published in the online journal mBio- on Tuesday, October 18 reveals these drugs have the potential to fight infection while avoiding the pitfalls of drug resistance.

11 Oct 2011

Novel link between cell surface sugars, Darwinian sexual selection, and immune function

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine say that losing the ability to make a particular kind of sugar molecule boosted disease protection in early hominids, and may have directed the evolutionary emergence of our ancestors, the genus Homo.

11 Oct 2011

Aquaporin AQP10 retains transport ability even when carbohydrate structure is removed

Water channels exist not only in nature - microscopical water channels are also present in the cells of the body, where they ensure that water can be transported through the protective surface of the cell. Scientists at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have discovered that one type of the body's water channels can be modified such that it becomes more stable, which may be significant in the treatment of several diseases.

11 Oct 2011

Receptor tyrosine kinases control PI3K signaling in human KRAS mutant colorectal cancers

Some cancers can be effectively treated with drugs inhibiting proteins known as receptor tyrosine kinases, but not those cancers caused by mutations in the KRAS gene. A team of researchers led by Jeffrey Engelman, at Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Boston, has now identified a potential way to effectively use receptor tyrosine kinases inhibitors to treat individuals with KRAS mutant colorectal cancers - combine them with inhibitors of the MEK/ERK signaling pathway.

11 Oct 2011

Tantalizing glimmers about roles of CCR2 gene, Th17 cell and a missing monocyte

An estimated 1.3 million people in the United States suffer from rheumatoid arthritis. The causes behind this chronic disease — which can exhibit itself as pain, swelling, stiffness, deformation, and loss of function in the joints — have eluded scientists for centuries. A new study by UNC researchers offers tantalizing glimmers about the roles of a gene called CCR2, an immune system cell called Th17 cell, and a missing monocyte.

11 Oct 2011

Roche NimbleGen launches pre-capture multiplex target enrichment protocol

With the decreasing cost and increasing throughput of sequencing, researchers require a high-performance, cost-effective sample preparation pipeline for targeted sequencing. To enable researchers to more readily match targeted sequencing sample preparation throughput to the ever increasing throughput of next-generation sequencing, Roche NimbleGen announces the imminent launch of a pre-capture multiplex target enrichment protocol.

11 Oct 2011

World class scientist presents fourth Environmental Microbiology Lecture

World class scientist Professor Willem M. de Vos will explain next Monday how the microbes that are closest to our hearts - gut microbes - could underpin a new way of thinking about human biology. As well as looking at our own genes, we can now include those of our microbes in studies of human health and disease. This is a significant shift in the way we approach human biology.

11 Oct 2011

New mechanism to enhance restoration of blood flow in ischemic diseases

In Nature, VIB-K.U.Leuven researchers describe a new mechanism to enhance the restoration of the blood flow in ischemic diseases, which are among the leading causes of death worldwide.

11 Oct 2011

WTSI announces new technique to reprogramme human cells

Researchers from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute today announce a new technique to reprogramme human cells, such as skin cells, into stem cells. Their process increases the efficiency of cell reprogramming by one hundred-fold and generates cells of a higher quality at a faster rate.

11 Oct 2011

Nexcelom to distribute FCS Express 4 Cytometry Software

De Novo Software, a leading provider of flow and image cytometry data analysis solutions, and Nexcelom Bioscience, a leading supplier of cell counting and analysis products for bioresearch and drug discovery, announced today a licensing agreement enabling Nexcelom to distribute De Novo Software's flagship product, FCS Express 4 Software.

11 Oct 2011

Study to examine legal, ethical issues of providing genetic research results to relatives

A team of researchers, Gloria Petersen, Ph.D., of Mayo Clinic, Barbara Koenig, Ph.D., of the University of California, San Francisco, and Susan Wolf, J.D., of the University of Minnesota, have received a five-year, $2.5 million grant from the National Cancer Institute and the National Human Genome Research Institute to study the ethical and legal implications of providing genetic research results, such as DNA test results, from tissue donated to research bio banks to relatives of the donor.

11 Oct 2011

Scripps Research receives NIH grant to determine how HCV induces liver cancer

The Scripps Research Institute has been awarded a $2.2 million grant by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to determine how the hepatitis C virus (HCV) induces liver cancer.

11 Oct 2011

Roche's gantenerumab removes amyloid plaques from the brain of patients with AD

Roche today announced the publication of a study demonstrating that its monoclonal antibody gantenerumab removes amyloid plaques from the brain of patients with Alzheimer's disease. The study "Mechanism of amyloid removal in patients with Alzheimer disease treated with gantenerumab" is published today in the October issue of Archives in Neurology.

11 Oct 2011

Gantenerumab appears to reduce brain amyloid levels in patients with AD

Although it is a small study and more clinical trials are needed, treatment with the medication gantenerumab appeared to result in a reduction in brain amyloid levels in patients with Alzheimer disease, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

11 Oct 2011

Normal Htt protein regulates formation of cellular structures in mouse model of HD

Huntington disease is a devastating neurogenerative disorder that causes a progressive loss of functional capacity and reduced life span. It is an inherited condition caused by a mutant HTT gene. Although this has been known for many years, the functions of the normal Htt protein and the mechanisms by which the mutant protein generated from the mutant HTT gene causes disease are not well understood.

11 Oct 2011

Sirt1 protein enhances skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity in calorie-restricted mice

The number of individuals with type 2 diabetes is reaching epidemic proportions. One of the main risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes is resistance of cells in the body (particularly liver, fat, and skeletal muscle cells) to the effects of the hormone insulin.

11 Oct 2011

Genetics & IVF Institute now offers 24 Chromosome Microarray

The Genetics & IVF Institute is now offering 24 Chromosome Microarray, which is a new, comprehensive test used as part of an IVF cycle to evaluate the number of chromosomes present in an embryo before it is transferred to the mother.

11 Oct 2011

CXCL12 protein can inhibit metastasis of colon and melanoma cancers

Researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin have shown that a protein can inhibit metastasis of colon and melanoma cancers. The findings are published in the October 10, 2011 issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

11 Oct 2011

New information about effects of aging on the brain

Research by biologists at the University of York and Hull York Medical School has revealed important new information about the way the brain is affected by age.

11 Oct 2011

Four-gene signature may predict patients at higher risk of OSCC recurrence

Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC) is responsible for nearly a quarter of all head and neck cancers. It is one of the leading causes of cancer death - largely due to the failure of current histological procedures in predicting the recurrence of the disease. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Cancer shows that a four-gene signature may accurately predict which patients are at higher risk of OSCC recurrence.

11 Oct 2011