Medical Science News

RSS

World's oldest bacteria

All cells decompose with time. But some cells are better than others to postpone the decomposing and thus delay ageing and eventually death. And there are even organisms that are capable of regenerating and thereby repair damaged cells.

28 Aug 2007

Computer simulation shows how evolution may have speeded up

Is heading straight for a goal the quickest way there? If the name of the game is evolution, suggests new research at the Weizmann Institute of Science, the pace might speed up if the goals themselves change continuously.

28 Aug 2007

Networking in living cells may hold key to fighting diseases

Scientists in Manchester are working to change the social habits of living cells an innovation that could bring about cleaner and greener fuel and help fight diseases such as cancer and diabetes.

From The University of Manchester 24 Aug 2007

Light may play a much more important role in bacterial life than has previously thought

The bacteria that cause brucellosis can sense light and use the information to regulate their virulence, according to a study in the August 24 issue of the journal Science.

24 Aug 2007

Nuclear nanocapsules to target tiny tumors

Rice University chemists have found a way to package some of nature's most powerful radioactive particles inside DNA-sized tubes of pure carbon -- a method they hope to use to target tiny tumors and even lone leukemia cells.

24 Aug 2007

Scientist uses novel mass spectrometer to weigh virus particle

With unprecedented sensitivity, Carnegie Mellon University's Mark Bier has characterized large viral particles and bulky von Willebrand factors using a novel mass spectrometer.

24 Aug 2007

In the junk lies treasure when it comes to DNA

Three micro RNA genes appear to be key partners of protective gene p53; their loss is linked to common type of lung cancer

24 Aug 2007

First finding of a metabolite in 1 sex only

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have discovered a chemical compound in male blue crabs that is not present in females -- the first time in any species that an entire enzyme system has been found to be activated in only one sex.

24 Aug 2007

Scientists investigate initial molecular mechanism that triggers neuronal firing

Carnegie Mellon University chemists have solved a decade-long molecular mystery that could eventually help scientists develop drug therapies to treat a variety of disorders, including epilepsy and Alzheimer's disease.

24 Aug 2007

All eukaryotic kinases share 1 common set of substrates

Kinase mediated phosphorylation is generally recognised as the major regulator of virtually all metabolic activities in eukaryotic cells including proliferation, gene expression, motility, vesicular transport and programmed cell death.

24 Aug 2007

Cell-based sensor for analysis of EGFR biomarker expression in oral cancer

Using a microfluidic device designed to capture and enrich cells from biological samples, a research team at The University of Texas at Austin has developed a test that can detect an important early marker for oral squamous cell carcinoma, which accounts for more than 90 percent of oral cancers. Oral cancer is the sixth most common cancer worldwide and is difficult to detect early enough to treat successfully.

22 Aug 2007

Antitumour drugs impede DNA uncoiling by topoisomerase I

The annoying bulges of an overwound telephone cord that shorten its reach and limit a caller's motion help explain why drugs called camptothecins are so effective in killing cancer cells, according to investigators led by Mary-Ann Bjornsti, Ph.D., at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and Nynke Dekker, Ph.D., at Delft Technology University.

22 Aug 2007

Near-infrared resonant nanoshells for combined optical imaging and photothermal cancer therapy

Using metal nanoshells designed to both absorb and scatter near-infrared light, a team of investigators at Rice University has shown that such nanoparticles can both image and treat tumors in animals. Their experiments revealed complete tumor destruction in more than 80 percent of animals treated with these nanoshells.

22 Aug 2007

Nanotubes offer new approach to cancer radiotherapy

Radioactive elements, or radionuclides, are well-established anticancer agents whose main limitation is that they kill healthy cells almost as easily as they do tumors. But because nanoparticles can be targeted to tumors, researchers have seized on the idea of using nanoparticles to deliver radionuclides to tumors, thus sparing healthy tissues from radiation-induced damage.

22 Aug 2007

Multifunctional nanoparticles for combining ultrasonic tumor imaging and targeted chemotherapy

A new targeted drug delivery method, which combines two nanoparticles into one larger one, uses ultrasound to image tumors and release the anticancer drug doxorubicin from "nanobubbles" into the same tumors.

22 Aug 2007

Targeted quantum dot conjugates for siRNA delivery

Take a quantum dot, add a coating of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), and attach a homing peptide and a piece of small interfering RNA (siRNA), and the result is a targeted nanoparticle that can stop the production of a specific protein by a targeted cell.

22 Aug 2007