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Researchers identify peptide that spurs cargo transport in nerve cells

For the first time, researchers have identified a peptide that can spur cargo transport in nerve cells, a discovery that could help scientists better understand nerve cell function and test possible therapies for neurodegenerative diseases.

24 Oct 2006

Scientists explain how transport proteins can move in cells without bumping into or sticking to anything

Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG) in Dresden, along with a colleague from the University of Florida in the United States, have been carrying out research into how transport proteins can move in cells without bumping into or sticking to anything.

24 Oct 2006

1,500 animal species practice homosexuality

Homosexuality is quite common in the animal kingdom, especially among herding animals. Many animals solve conflicts by practicing same gender sex.

23 Oct 2006

Evolutionary connection between food supply and brain size

In a study of orangutans living on the Indonesian islands of Borneo and Sumatra, scientists from Duke University and the University of Zurich have found what they say is the first demonstration in primates of an evolutionary connection between available food supplies and brain size.

23 Oct 2006

Quantum dots help cancer imaging studies

One of the more difficult diagnostic tasks an oncologist faces is determining if cancer has spread to the lymphatic system, particularly when it is necessary to assess lymphatic drainage from two separate drainage basins.

23 Oct 2006

Multivalent effects of RGD peptides obtained by nanoparticle display

While a growing body of literature has shown that nanoparticle targeting can improve drug delivery and tumor imaging, there have been few systematic studies examining the net positive effect of nanoparticle targeting.

23 Oct 2006

Squalenoyl nanomedicines as potential therapeutics

Nucleoside analogs such as cytarabine and gemcitabine are powerful anticancer agents, but a simple chemical modification that causes them to assemble into stable nanoparticles could make them even more valuable in the treatment of a wide variety of cancers.

23 Oct 2006

Functionalization of individual ultra-short single-walled carbon nanotubes

While most research aimed at developing carbon nanotubes as tumor-targeting drug and imaging agent delivery vehicles has focused on full-length nanotubes, Lon Wilson, Ph.D., and his colleagues at Rice University have been working with ultra-short nanotubes that cells appear to take up more efficiently than their longer counterparts.

23 Oct 2006

Scientists discover why some bacteria are naturally magnetic

Scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) and Purdue University have shed light on one of microbiology's most fascinating mysteries--why some bacteria are naturally magnetic.

20 Oct 2006

Co-delivery of drugs and DNA from cationic core-shell nanoparticles self-assembled from a biodegradable copolymer

Efforts to treat cancer using genes and other oligonucleotides, such as short interfering RNA (siRNA), that turn off the biochemical processes that trigger malignancies have been hindered by difficulties in delivering nucleic acids to tumors.

16 Oct 2006

A nanoplasmonic molecular ruler for measuring nuclease activity and DNA footprinting

The interactions between proteins and nucleic acids play a critical role in some of life’s most crucial biochemical processes, including gene expression and protein production, and some promising anticancer agents exert their effects by interfering with these interactions.

16 Oct 2006

Membrane targeted chemotherapy with hybrid liposomes for colon tumor cells leading to apoptosis

One of the unusual properties of tumor cells is that their cell membranes are more fluid and less rigid than those of normal cells.

16 Oct 2006

Phase separation of lipid membranes analyzed with high-resolution secondary ion mass spectrometry

Understanding the chemical composition and organization of cell membranes - what components reside next to each other, how many of each there are and how they respond to their environment - may reveal the secret lives of cells in both health and disease.

9 Oct 2006

Photochemistry creates drug-trapping nanoparticles

Many of the most potent anticancer agents are poorly soluble in water, presenting a challenge for medicinal chemists who must develop methods of delivering these drugs in the watery environment of the human body.

9 Oct 2006

Novel attachment method provides boost to biosensor development

A versatile method for attaching precise amounts of biomolecules and even cells to electrically conductive surfaces could lead to a new generation of nanoscale biosensors with broad applicability in cancer diagnostics and basic research.

9 Oct 2006

Built-in blocker - drug and antidote in the same molecule

In cases of serious side effects or overdoses of medications, it can be vital to have a fast-acting antidote on hand.

2 Oct 2006

Simultaneous synthesis and screening in a microfluidics device

In the quest for new methods to synthesize large numbers of drug leads, medicinal chemists are increasingly turning to microfluidics as a means of performing dozens of chemical reactions using minute quantities of chemical reagents.

From Siemens Healthineers 2 Oct 2006

Key parameters for encapsulating drugs in nanoparticles

One of the early, successful uses of nanoparticles has been to develop delivery vehicles capable of ferrying large amounts of water-insoluble drugs to tumors.

2 Oct 2006

Temperature-sensitive nanoparticle boosts drug antitumor activity

Using temperature-sensitive, lipid- and polymer-based nanoparticles with a polymer coating, researchers in Korea have created an anticancer drug delivery vehicle that may provide a significant boost to the therapeutic efficacy of anticancer agents, particularly when used in conjunction with hyperthermia.

2 Oct 2006

Smart nanoscale bioreactors for drug delivery

In a powerful demonstration of how to build a multifunctional, smart nanoscale drug delivery system, researchers at the University of Basel have created a drug-loaded nanocontainer that targets specific cells and releases its payload when receiving a specific physiological signal.

2 Oct 2006