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SOCS1 molecule prevents cancer-causing activity of cytokines, discover researchers

Canadian researchers have discovered a novel molecular mechanism that prevents cancer. In the December 11 edition of the prestigious journal Molecular Cell, scientists from the Universit- de Montr-al and the Universit- de Sherbrooke explain how they found that the SOCS1 molecule prevents the cancer-causing activity of cytokines, hormones that are culprits in cancer-prone chronic inflammation diseases such as Crohns, in smokers and people exposed to asbestos.

12 Dec 2009

Fertility experts announce new research findings on reproductive medicine

Reproductive medicine is one of today's most exciting scientific and clinical areas. Every month brings announcements of research developments, medical 'firsts', new rulings by regulatory bodies, or ethical controversies.

11 Dec 2009

Brandeis researchers reveal the hidden, transient life of protein between active states

Understanding the incredibly speedy atomic mechanisms at work when a protein transitions from one shape to another has been an elusive scientific goal for years, but an essential one for elucidating the full panoply of protein function.

11 Dec 2009

Study may help in treating sex differentiation disorders in children

Is it a boy or a girl? Expecting parents may be accustomed to this question, but contrary to what they may think, the answer doesn't depend solely on their child's sex chromosomes.

11 Dec 2009

University of California now has an innovative stem cell core facility

Kornberg Associates | Architects has converted part of an existing building (Keen Hall), including a previously unused covered open area, into an innovative stem cell core facility for the University of California, Riverside. Ken Kornberg, president and founder, made the announcement.

11 Dec 2009

Winner of the 2010 Avanti Young Investigator Award in Lipid Research

Sarah L. Keller, a professor of chemistry and adjunct professor of physics at the University of Washington, has been named the winner of the 2010 Avanti Young Investigator Award in Lipid Research for her innovative and cutting-edge studies on membrane lipids.

11 Dec 2009

Rice, TMC team wins stimulus funds for nanoparticle standardization

One of the promises of nanomedicine is the design of tiny particles that can home in on diseased cells and get inside them. Nanoparticles can carry drugs into cells and tag cells for MRI and other diagnostic tests; and they may eventually even enter a cell's nucleus to repair damaged genes. Unfortunately, designing them involves as much luck as engineering.

11 Dec 2009

UT researchers identify new molecule that slows ALS progression in mice

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found that a molecule produced naturally by muscles in response to nerve damage can reduce symptoms and prolong life in a mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

11 Dec 2009

Study may lead to improved, targeted therapies for cancer patients

A team of Princeton University scientists has produced a systematic listing of the ways a particular cancerous cell has "gone wrong," giving researchers a powerful tool that eventually could make possible new, more targeted therapies for patients.

11 Dec 2009

NIH awards $14.6M for Eukaryotic Pathogen Genome Database Resource expansion

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Georgia have been awarded a five-year, $14.6 million contract from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the US National Institutes of Health, to expand and extend work on the Eukaryotic Pathogen Genome Database Resource, http://EuPathDB.org.

11 Dec 2009

Scientists explore new potential therapies for Parkinson's disease

Following up on their previous work showing the rescue of dopamine neurons by chemicals that interact with the retinoid X receptor (RXR), researchers have now investigated the potential of these chemicals, known as RXR ligands, for the treatment of Parkinson's disease.

11 Dec 2009

Phosphatases can prevent inflammation and formation of blood clots

Polyphosphate from blood platelets plays a key role in inflammation and the formation of blood clots, scientists from the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet have shown. The study, which is presented in the prestigious scientific journal Cell, describes how this mechanism can be used in treatment.

11 Dec 2009

microRNA-206 plays crucial role in the progression of ALS

miRagen Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on improving patients' lives by developing innovative microRNA-based therapeutics for cardiovascular and muscle disease, today announced the publication of data demonstrating that microRNA-206 (miR-206) plays a crucial role in the progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease) and in neuromuscular synaptic regeneration in mice.

11 Dec 2009

Stroke drug kills cancer cells and leaves normal cells intact, report researchers

A never-approved drug developed to prevent the death of nerve cells after a stroke can efficiently kill cancer cells while keeping normal cells healthy and intact, an international team led by a Tel Aviv University researcher is reporting in the journal Breast Cancer Research.

11 Dec 2009

Nobel Prize discovery opens new perspectives for detection and prevention of age-related diseases

This year's Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to three American scientists Elizabeth Blackburn, Carol Greider and Jack Szostak for the discovery of "how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase”. The research contributed to the understanding of how telomeres protect chromosomes from degradation and identified telomerase, the enzyme that preserves telomere length and integrity.

11 Dec 2009

Prize4life partners with Jackson Laboratory on AML research

Prize4Life, an organization dedicated to finding a cure for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease), is partnering with The Jackson Laboratory to help more researchers identify treatment candidates that increase the lifespan of mice that model ALS.

11 Dec 2009

Humidifiers may help in reducing flu virus

A newly-released scientific white paper suggests humidifiers may play an important role in reducing the survival of the flu virus on both surfaces and in the air.

11 Dec 2009

Researchers identify new biological pathway of H1N1 transmission to human population

A new biological pathway by which the H1N1 flu virus can make the jump from swine to humans has been discovered by researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California, Berkeley. Early test results indicate that a heretofore unknown mutation in one of the H1N1 genes may have played an important role in transmitting the virus into humans.

11 Dec 2009

Winners of the 2010 ASBMB-Merck Award

James A. Wells, professor and chairman of the department pharmaceutical chemistry at the University of California, San Francisco, and director of UCSF's small molecule discovery center, has been named the winner of the 2010 American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology-Merck Award for his pioneering studies in the field of protein engineering.

11 Dec 2009

Researchers discover new explanation for differences in severity of mental illness in males

Researchers have discovered a new explanation for differences in the severity of mental illness in males. The more excess copies of a certain gene, the more serious the handicap. The genetic defect is situated on the X-chromosome; and it is suspected that it is the amount of copies of the GDI1 gene that is responsible.

11 Dec 2009