Disease Research
Global Strategy Aims to Eradicate Polio by 2018
April 2, 2013 5:44 pm | by LAURAN NEERGAARD - AP Medical Writer - Associated Press | News | CommentsA new global plan aims to end most cases of polio by late next year, and essentially eradicate the paralyzing disease by 2018— if authorities can raise the $5.5 billion needed to do the work, health officials said.
Common Virus Model Used to ‘Fortify’ Adult Stem Cells
April 2, 2013 11:05 am | News | CommentsUsing the same strategy that a common virus employs to evade the human immune system, researchers have modified adult stem cells to increase their survival– with the goal of giving the cells time to exert their natural healing abilities.
3D Scaffolds Help Mimic Tumor Growth, Drug Response
April 2, 2013 10:37 am | News | CommentsResearchers reported that three-dimensional scaffolds used to culture Ewing’s sarcoma cells were effective at mimicking the environment in which such tumors develop.
New Brain Cancer Treatment Uses Bone Marrow Cells
April 2, 2013 10:22 am | News | CommentsIn a first-of-its-kind experiment using microvesicles generated from mesenchymal bone marrow cells (MSCs) to treat cancer, neurological researchers have discovered a novel approach for treatment of tumors.
Research Deciphers HIV Attack Plan
April 2, 2013 9:58 am | News | CommentsA new study defines previously unknown properties of transmitted HIV-1, the virus that causes AIDS.
How Cells Distinguish Friend from Foe
April 1, 2013 10:57 am | News | CommentsResearchers have shown how the innate immune system distinguishes between dangerous pathogens and friendly microbes.
Study Reveals Mutant Histone Mechanism in Brain Cancer
April 1, 2013 10:36 am | News | CommentsMost cancer treatments are blunt. In an attempt to eradicate tumors, oncologists often turn to radiation or chemotherapy, which can damage healthy tissue along with the cancerous growths. New research may bring scientists closer to designing cancer therapeutics that can target tumors with pinpoint accuracy.
Following the Body’s Own Prescription
April 1, 2013 10:22 am | by Cynthia Fox | Articles | CommentsAn intuitive approach, which co-opts the body’s own molecular machinery, has led to massive expansions of umbilical cord blood cells. It and other new approaches “will revolutionize all transplantation,” says University of Minnesota Blood and Marrow Transplantation Director John Wagner.
ALS Discovery Holds Promise for New Treatments
April 1, 2013 10:03 am | News | CommentsScientists said they have evidence from animal studies that a type of central nervous system cell other than motor neurons plays a fundamental role in the development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a fatal degenerative disease.
Questions in China on Deadly, Lesser-Known Bird Flu
April 1, 2013 7:34 am | by GILLIAN WONG - Associated Press - Associated Press | News | CommentsHealth officials say they still don't understand how a lesser-known bird flu virus was able to kill two men and seriously sicken a woman in China, but that it's unlikely that it can spread easily among humans. Two men in Shanghai became the first known human fatalities from the H7N9 bird flu after contracting it in February.
CDC: E. Coli Outbreak Linked to Frozen Foods
March 29, 2013 6:09 pm | by MIKE STOBBE - AP Medical Writer - Associated Press | News | CommentsHealth officials say at least 24 people have become sick from an outbreak of E. coli infections linked to frozen snack foods marketed to children. No one has died, but eight people, mostly kids or teens, were hospitalized.
Technique Detects ‘Sugar-coated’ Proteins in Blood
March 29, 2013 11:23 am | News | CommentsScientists have developed a new technique that could be used in blood tests to detect a range of age-related conditions such as diabetes, dementia and Alzheimer’s.
New Vaccine Approach Targets HIV, Other Fast-mutating Viruses
March 29, 2013 10:41 am | News | CommentsA team of scientists has unveiled a new technique for vaccine design that could be particularly useful against HIV and other fast-changing viruses.
Schwann Cells Play Role in Neuropathic Pain
March 28, 2013 10:49 am | News | CommentsAn international team of scientists says a key protein in Schwann cells performs a critical, perhaps overarching, role in regulating the recovery of peripheral nerves after injury.
Rare Brain Disorders Linked to Splicing Slip-ups
March 28, 2013 10:38 am | by Harvard Medical School | News | CommentsResearchers have found that missteps in a basic cellular process, RNA splicing, is the culprit behind a class of rare neurological disorders manifested by intellectual disability and stunted development.
Rats’ Brains are More Like Ours Than Previously Thought
March 28, 2013 10:05 am | News | CommentsNeuroscientists face a multitude of challenges in their efforts to better understand the human brain. If not for model organisms such as the rat, they might never know what really goes on inside our heads.
E. Coli Study Leads to New Therapeutic Target
March 28, 2013 9:57 am | News | CommentsA new study provides novel insight into how an emerging strain of the diarrhea-causing bacteria E. coli interacts with its host.
Common Foods Cause DNA Damage
March 28, 2013 9:35 am | News | CommentsIn a laboratory study pairing food chemistry and cancer biology, scientists tested the potentially harmful effect of foods and flavorings on the DNA of cells. They found that liquid smoke flavoring, black and green teas and coffee activated the highest levels of a well-known, cancer-linked gene called p53.
New Gene Markers for Cancer Risk Found
March 27, 2013 12:28 pm | by MALCOLM RITTER - AP Science Writer - Associated Press | News | CommentsA huge international effort involving more than 100 institutions and genetic tests on 200,000 people has uncovered dozens of signposts in DNA that can help reveal further a person's risk for breast, ovarian or prostate cancer, scientists reported Wednesday.
Diabetes Drugs Linked to Abnormal Pancreatic Growth
March 27, 2013 9:50 am | News | CommentsIndividuals who had taken a type of drug commonly used to treat Type 2 diabetes showed abnormalities in the pancreas, including cell proliferation, that may be associated with an increased risk of neuroendocrine tumors, according to a new study.
New, Effective Vaccine Blocks H5N1 Avian Flu
March 26, 2013 10:57 am | News | CommentsUntil now most experimental vaccines against the highly lethal H5N1 avian influenza virus have lacked effectiveness. But a new vaccine has proven highly effective against the virus when tested in both mice and ferrets.
Monoclonal Antibody Targets, Kills Leukemia Cells
March 26, 2013 10:34 am | News | CommentsResearchers have identified a humanized monoclonal antibody that targets and directly kills chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells. The findings represent a potential new therapy for treating at least some patients with CLL, the most common type of blood cancer in the United States.
Eating Behavior is Possible Autoimmune Disease Defense
March 26, 2013 10:22 am | News | CommentsNeurons that control hunger in the central nervous system also regulate immune cell functions, implicating eating behavior as a defense against infections and autoimmune disease development, researchers have found in a new study.
Microarray for Research into Haematological and Solid Cancers
March 25, 2013 1:53 pm | Product Releases | CommentsOxford Gene Technology (OGT) released a new microarray designed to improve the accuracy and efficiency of cancer research. The CytoSure Cancer +SNP array (4x180k) combines long oligo array comparative genomic hybridisation (aCGH) probes with fully validated single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) content.
46-gene Test Can Predict Cancer Treatment Response
March 25, 2013 11:39 am | News | CommentsThe first multi-gene test that can help predict cancer patients' responses to treatment using the latest DNA sequencing techniques has been launched in the NHS. The test detects mutations across 46 genes in cancer cells.
