T Cell News and Research

Latest T Cell News and Research

Dendrimer-encapsulated camptothecins

With an eye toward developing a delivery vehicle for anticancer agents that are poorly soluble in water, a research team at Boston University and the Research Triangle Institute (RTI) has developed a biocompatible dendrimer that wraps itself around water-insoluble drugs.

8 Jan 2007

Democrats plan to introduce bills addressing stem cell research, Rx benefit

House Democrats plan to introduce bills that would reduce restrictions on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research and allow HHS to negotiate directly with pharmaceutical companies on prices for medications under the Medicare prescription drug benefit, incoming House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said on Wednesday, CQ Today reports.

7 Jan 2007

56% of adults support easing federal embryonic stem cell research funding restrictions

About 56% of U.S. adults support easing restrictions on federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research, according to an Associated Press-AOL poll conducted from Dec. 19, 2006, to Dec. 21, 2006, the AP/Washington Post reports (Superville, AP/Washington Post, 1/3).

7 Jan 2007

Blood levels of vitamin folate in women of childbearing age decreasing

From 1999 through 2004 there was an 8% to 16% decline in the level of the vitamin folate in the blood of U.S. women of childbearing age, according to a study published in the Jan. 5 issue of CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports (Stobbe, AP/Houston Chronicle, 1/4).

7 Jan 2007

Uric acid holds potential for central nervous system damage

Uric acid is commonly associated with the excruciatingly painful joint disease known as gout, but it can also play a crucial role in the treatment of spinal cord injury and other central nervous system disorders, such as stroke, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease, according to Rutgers' Bonnie Firestein.

3 Jan 2007

Sigma-Aldrich grants Pfizer license to use ddRNAi

Sigma-Aldrich has announced that it has granted Pfizer a worldwide non-exclusive research license to utilize DNA-directed RNAi (ddRNAi) technology. Applications of the ddRNAi technology for research activities have been licensed exclusively by Sigma- Aldrich from Benitec Limited of Australia.

3 Jan 2007

Herpes appears to play a role in bringing about Alzheimer's disease

A gene known to be a major risk factor for Alzheimer's disease puts out the welcome mat for the virus that causes cold sores, allowing the virus to be more active in the brain compared to other forms of the gene.

3 Jan 2007

Renegade ribonucleic acid

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have discovered that a tiny piece of genetic code apparently goes where no bit of it has gone before, and it gets there under its own internal code.

3 Jan 2007

A central thermogenic-like mechanism in feeding regulation

During periods of fasting, brain cells responsible for stimulating the appetite make sure that you stay hungry.

2 Jan 2007

Stem cells grown into brain cells on a new 3D scaffold of tiny protein fragments

An MIT engineer and Italian colleagues will report the invention-which may one day replace the ubiquitous Petri dish for growing cells-in PLoS ONE.

2 Jan 2007

Better magnetic nanoparticles

Using a polymer coating designed to resemble the outer surface of a cell membrane, a team of investigators led by Steve Armes, Ph.D., of the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom, has created a highly stable, biocompatible magnetic nanoparticle expected to improve the sensitivity of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

18 Dec 2006

Nanostructured calcium phosphates (NanoCaPs) for non-viral gene delivery

Though gene therapies hold great promise for treating cancer, it has proven difficult to deliver therapeutic genes efficiently into cancer cells.

18 Dec 2006

Dual-mode nanoparticle probes for high-performance magnetic resonance and fluorescence imaging of neuroblastoma

Nanoscale, inorganic fluorescent imaging agents such as quantum dots have become an important tool for researchers studying key biomolecules involved in cancer.

18 Dec 2006

Successful lung cancer surgery not enough to break nicotine dependence in many smokers

A new study has found that close to half of 154 smokers who had surgery to remove early stage lung cancer picked up a cigarette again within 12 months of their potentially curative operation, and more than one-third were smoking at the one year mark. Sixty percent of patients who started smoking again did so within two months of surgery.

12 Dec 2006

Exercise can reduce a smoker's lung cancer risk, but quitting smoking is still most important

In a study of more than 36,000 women, researchers observed that smokers can reduce their risk of developing lung cancer by being physically active. However, they strongly caution that any relative benefit is dwarfed by the benefits gained from quitting smoking.

12 Dec 2006

Mobile phones given a clean bill of health

A team of Danish researchers have found that using a cellular phone does not increase a person's risk of cancer.

6 Dec 2006

Vascular targeted nanoparticles for imaging and treatment of brain tumors

Combining two promising approaches to diagnosing and treating cancer, a multidisciplinary research team at the University of Michigan has created a targeted multifunctional polymer nanoparticle that successfully images and kills brain tumors in laboratory animals.

4 Dec 2006

High throughput quantification of protein expression of cancer antigens in tissue microarray using quantum dot nanocrystals

In attempt to identify biological markers, or biomarkers, that can signal the presence of cancer and help oncologists determine the best course of therapy when cancer is present, teams of investigators are scouring stored tissue samples obtained from thousands of cancer patients.

4 Dec 2006