Curing Death by Curing Aging - February 2008 Archives

Scientists Identify Proteins That Help Bacteria Put Up A Fight (2/29/2008)

Scientists have identified the role of two proteins that contribute to disease-causing bacteria cells' versatility in resisting certain classes of antibiotics. ...> Full Article

New survey finds highest rates of drug-resistant TB to date (2/29/2008)

Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) has been recorded at the highest rates ever, according to a new report published today. The report presents findings from the largest survey to date on the scale of drug resistance in tuberculosis. ...> Full Article

Global malaria risk mapped out (2/29/2008)

Thirty-five per cent of the world's population live in areas where there is a risk of deadly malaria, according to the first spatial map of global malaria risk in forty years. ...> Full Article

Cancer Cells May Tolerate Odd Chromosome Shuffles, Researchers Find (2/29/2008)

Many cancer cells have the wrong number of chromosomes-too many or too few-but they seem to have adapted a quirk that allows them to keep growing in spite of the deviations, Dartmouth Medical School biochemists report. ...> Full Article

New research examines commonly used toxin (2/29/2008)

New research at the University of Calgary Faculty of Kinesiology suggests that Botulinium type-A toxin (BTX-A) passes easily to surrounding muscles and is more difficult to control once injected than many people suspect. ...> Full Article

Study Finds Increased Risk of Thyroid Diseases From Radiation Exposure at Chernobyl (2/28/2008)

Persons exposed to radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl accident as children and adolescents have an increased risk of follicular adenoma or benign tumor of the thyroid gland, according to researchers ...> Full Article

Funding award helps scientists target cancer progression (2/28/2008)

Researchers at the University of Bath have been awarded more than £450,000 by Cancer Research UK to investigate a new way of preventing the division and growth of tumour cells. ...> Full Article

Study Details Link Between Obesity, Carbs and Esophageal Cancer (2/28/2008)

As Obesity and Carb-intake Rates Have Increased, So Has Specific Cancer ...> Full Article

Mechanism of blood clot elasticity revealed in high definition (2/28/2008)

Blood clots can save lives, staunching blood loss after injury, but they can also kill. Let loose in the bloodstream, a clot can cause a heart attack, stroke or pulmonary embolism. ...> Full Article

Assessing prognosis and optimizing treatment in patients with postchemotherapy viable NSGCT (2/28/2008)

In nonseminomatous germ-celltumors (NSGCT), surgical resection of postchemotherapy residualmasses is universally recommended. These masses may harbor completenecrosis, teratoma, or viable malignant germ-cell tumors (GCT). Besides viable GCT, postchemotherapy residual masses can also harbor non-GCT cancer, especially in primary mediastinal NSGCT, and this so-called 'teratoma with malignant transformation' is associated with a dismal prognosis. In patients with postchemotherapy retroperitoneal and pulmonary lesions, discordant histologies between the two sites have been reported in approximately 30% of cases, thus justifying the removal of lesions from both sides of the diaphragm. However, the high pathological concordance rate (95%) between residual lesions from both lungs argues in favor of avoiding a contralateral thoracotomy when complete necrosis is identified in operative specimens from the one lung. ...> Full Article

Many Stroke, Heart Attack Patients May Not Benefit from Aspirin (2/27/2008)

Up to 20 percent of patients taking aspirin to lower the risk of suffering a second cerebrovascular event do not have an antiplatelet response from aspirin, the effect thought to produce the protective effect, researchers at the University at Buffalo have shown. ...> Full Article

Chicken Antibodies To Help Detect HER2 Breast Cancer (2/27/2008)

Generations of mothers have served up chicken soup to remedy the common cold, but now the therapeutic fowl may find use in diagnosis as well. Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the scientific research firm SAIC recently showed how chicken antibodies may one day improve the detection of an aggressive form of breast cancer. ...> Full Article

Research adds weight to fat burning theories (2/27/2008)

Researchers have shown the hormone leptin may play a larger role in burning energy in the human body than was previously thought and could hold the key to new weight loss therapies. ...> Full Article

Ten Year Trends in Heart Failure (2/27/2008)

Conventional wisdom holds that as the U.S. population ages, the incidence of heart failure will continue to rise. A new study from Duke University Medical Center challenges part of that assumption, however, finding that heart failure is actually declining among the very elderly. Yet the number of heart failure cases overall continues to rise. ...> Full Article

Researcher Seeks To Uncover New Cancer Therapies With American Cancer Society Grant (2/27/2008)

With a four-year, $707,000 grant from the American Cancer Society, Yanchang Wang, assistant professor of biomedical sciences in the Florida State University College of Medicine, hopes to learn how a particular enzyme could possibly help put the brakes on the runaway cell division process that occurs in many forms of cancer. ...> Full Article

Ingredient In Yellow Curry Can Reduce Heart Enlargement And May Prevent Heart Failure (2/26/2008)

Eating curcumin, a natural ingredient in the spice turmeric, may dramatically reduce the chance of developing heart failure, researchers at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre of the Toronto General Hospital have discovered. ...> Full Article

First Chikungunya Animal Model Created (2/26/2008)

Researchers have developed the first animal model of the infection caused by chikungunya virus (CHIKV), an emerging arbovirus associated with large-scale epidemics that hit the Indian Ocean (especially the French Island of La Réunion) in 2005, later spreading to India, and Italy in 2007. Using this mouse model, scientists of the Institut Pasteur and INSERM determined which tissues and cells are infected by the virus in both the mild and severe forms of the disease it causes. ...> Full Article

Silica smart bombs deliver knock-out to bacteria (2/26/2008)

Bacteria mutate for a living, evading antibiotic drugs while killing tens of thousands of people in the United States each year. But as concern about drug-resistant bacteria grows, one novel approach under way at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill seeks to thwart the bug without a drug by taking a cue from nature. ...> Full Article

GP's Databases could identify tens of thousands with undiagnosed diabetes in UK (2/26/2008)

Researchers who examined blood test records in a survey of over 3.6 million patient records held by UK GP surgeries have found thousands of cases of probable undiagnosed diabetes. This could help identify tens of thousands of people with undiagnosed diabetes in UK. ...> Full Article

Biochemists reveal details of mysterious bacterial microcompartments (2/25/2008)

Biochemists have answered an important question about the structure of microcompartments - the mysterious molecular machines that seem to be present in a wide variety of pathogens and other bacteria. ...> Full Article

In Treating Stroke, Time Is of the Essence (2/24/2008)

Stroke is the third leading cause of death and the leading cause of major disability in the United States. Successfully treating ischemic stroke is dependent on how quickly treatment is given to break up the blood clots that clog key vessels and cause this type of disease. ...> Full Article

Scientists Reactivate Immune Cell Production in HIV-Infected Adults (2/24/2008)

Scientists at the Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology (GIVI) and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) have found that therapy can be used to stimulate the production of vital immune cells, called "T- cells," in adults with HIV infection. ...> Full Article

Protein In Deer Tick Saliva Prevents HIV-1 From Attaching To T Cells (2/24/2008)

The HIV-1 virus cripples the human immune system by targeting white blood cells called T cells that form the body's first line of defense in fighting infections. A recent study by researchers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst shows that a protein found in the saliva of deer ticks prevents the HIV-1 virus from attaching to the surface of T cells, which is the critical first step in the virus' attack strategy. ...> Full Article

Scientists Make First Map of Emerging-Disease Hot Spots (2/24/2008)

Growing Threat Seen In Human-Wildlife Conflict, Drug Resistance ...> Full Article

Scientists Hone Method To Selectively Target Cancer Genes and Cells (2/23/2008)

A Genetic Cancer Genome Project is envisioned to identify new targets for cancer treatments ...> Full Article

Genetic Mutation Found in Peripheral Artery Disease (2/23/2008)

A tiny handful of genes appears to hold important clues to understanding why some patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) face high rates of amputation and early death while others are spared those consequences, say researchers at Duke University Medical Center. ...> Full Article

Lab Engineers Virus That Can Kill Deadly Brain Tumors (2/23/2008)

A laboratory-engineered virus that can find its way through the vascular system and kill deadly brain tumors has been developed by Yale School of Medicine researchers, it was reported this week in the Journal of Neuroscience. ...> Full Article

Standard Test for Blood Sugar Control Not Accurate in Diabetic Dialysis Patients (2/22/2008)

The standard test for measuring blood sugar control in people with diabetes is not accurate in those on kidney hemodialysis, according to new research at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. ...> Full Article

Study identifies another strategy for normalizing tumor blood supply (2/22/2008)

Controlling nitric oxide levels could further improve effectivness of anticancer therapies ...> Full Article

Researchers uncover molecular connection between excessive nutrient levels and insulin resistance (2/22/2008)

For quite some time now, scientists suspected the so-called hexosamine pathway - a small side business of the main sugar processing enterprise inside a cell - to be involved in the development of insulin resistance. But they could never quite put their finger on the underlying mechanism. ...> Full Article

Emerging infectious diseases are on the rise: Next target 'hotspot' predicted (2/21/2008)

It's not just your imagination. Providing the first-ever definitive proof, a team of scientists has shown that emerging infectious diseases such as HIV, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), West Nile virus and Ebola are indeed on the rise. The team - including University of Georgia professor John Gittleman and scientists from the Consortium for Conservation Medicine, the Institute of Zoology (London) and Columbia University - recently published their findings in leading scientific journal Nature. ...> Full Article

Fighting hospital 'superbugs' with math modeling (2/21/2008)

A mathematical model that looks at different strategies for curbing hospital-acquired infections suggests that antimicrobial cycling and patient isolation may be effective approaches when patients are harboring dual-resistant bacteria. ...> Full Article

Technique Promises to Aid Doctors' Ability to Identify, Treat Bacterial Infections (2/21/2008)

A new technique developed by a University of Central Florida chemist will help physicians more quickly identify the bacterial infections patients have so they can be treated in hours instead of days. ...> Full Article

Key to TB's 'staying power' unlocked (2/21/2008)

The first report of a biomolecular structure resolved using the Oxfordshire Diamond synchrotron is giving vital help in the fight against tuberculosis. ...> Full Article

Gene Expression Profiling Advance for Lung Cancer Prognosis (2/20/2008)

Researchers ID two signatures predicting survival ...> Full Article

The missing link (2/20/2008)

Researchers home in on the connection between obesity and insulin resistance ...> Full Article

'Invisible' bacteria dupe the human immune system (2/20/2008)

Scientists at the University of York have characterised an important new step in the mechanism used by bacteria to evade our immune system. ...> Full Article

Expert Adds Obesity to Side Effects of Lead Exposure (2/19/2008)

Optometry professor finds unexpected link between prenatal lead exposure and obesity in males ...> Full Article

Defining Cance's Genetic 'Support Network' (2/19/2008)

Genomic researchers use new statistical techniques to look for relationships among sets of genes ...> Full Article

Seeing small, thinking big (2/19/2008)

Microbiologist Marc Jenkins is tracking the movements of immune system cells with an eye to developing vaccines, preventing organ transplant rejection and combating autoimmune diseases. Cell biologist Mary Porter is studying the molecular motors that move substances along the highways within cells, a function critical to development and function of organs and even entire organisms. Timothy Ebner, professor and head of neuroscience, is studying how brain circuits work in the areas of the brain that control movements, and how these circuits malfunction in neurological disease. ...> Full Article

Increased Life Expectancy May Mean Lower Fertility (2/19/2008)

One of the benefits of postindustrial life is that it is largely free of the fear of early mortality. However, a curious side-effect of this confidence seems to be a dramatic reduction in birthrates. Writing in the journal Science, Professor Ruth Mace (UCL Anthropology) draws a clear correlation between increased life expectancy and lower fertility in cities. ...> Full Article

Mesothelin engineered on virus-like particles provides treatment clues for pancreatic cancer (2/19/2008)

New understanding of a protein that spurs the growth of pancreatic cancer could lead to a new vaccine against the deadly disease, said researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston in a report appearing in the current edition of the journal Molecular Cancer Therapeutics. ...> Full Article

Scientists Using Laser Light To Detect Potential Diseases Via Breath, Says Study (2/19/2008)

By blasting a person's breath with laser light, scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the University of Colorado at Boulder have shown that they can detect molecules that may be markers for diseases like asthma or cancer. ...> Full Article

Antibody Can Potently Neutralize Two Viruses (2/18/2008)

In laboratory experiments, scientists at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and their colleagues supported by the NIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID), have discovered an antibody that neutralizes two viruses classified as henipaviruses. Nipah virus (NiV) and Hendra virus (HeV) are highly infectious agents that transitioned from infecting flying foxes in the mid-1990s to causing fatal disease in humans and livestock in Australia, Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, and Singapore. Recent outbreaks have resulted in encephalitis and acute respiratory distress, person-to-person transmission, and up to 70 percent fatality rates. The finding appears in the Feb. 15, 2008, issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases. ...> Full Article

Researchers add further weight to link between cancer and obesity (2/18/2008)

Researchers from the University of Manchester, Christie Hospital and University of Bern in Switzerland have today published findings in the Lancet medical journal which further support the link between obesity and risk of developing cancer. ...> Full Article

Hispanics Have More Difficulty Controlling Diabetes than Non-Hispanic Whites (2/18/2008)

Results of an analysis of multiple studies show diabetes control is more challenging for Hispanics than non-Hispanic whites, according to researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and colleagues. ...> Full Article

Scientists develop tool to probe role of oxidative stress in aging, disease (2/18/2008)

Oxygen, although essential for human life, can turn into an aggressive chemical that is outright toxic to important molecules inside our cells. This "oxidative stress" is associated with many diseases, such as Alzheimer's, heart disease and cancer, and has been suggested to be the culprit underlying aging. ...> Full Article

Genetic breakthrough supercharges immunity to flu and other viruses (2/17/2008)

Researchers discover way to boost cells' natural anti-virus defences ...> Full Article

HIV Persists in the Gut Despite Long-Term HIV Therapy--Second Study Finds that B-Cell Abnormalities Also Persist (2/17/2008)

Second Study Finds that B-Cell Abnormalities Also Persist ...> Full Article

Mitochondrial DNA mutations can cause degenerative heart and muscle disease (2/17/2008)

Study provides insights into age-related diseases and proof that mitochondrial DNA is central to health ...> Full Article

Scientists Confirm Discovery of New Virus Responsible For Deaths of 3 Transplant Recipients From Single Donor in Victoria, Australia (2/17/2008)

Establishes high throughput genetic sequencing as powerful tool for pathogen discovery; technology enables improvements in screening for transplant safety ...> Full Article

Research Team Identifies Novel Anti-Cancer Drug from the Sea (2/16/2008)

A collaborative team of researchers spearheaded by Dennis Carson, M.D., professor of medicine and director of the Rebecca and John Moores UCSD Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) has identified a potent new anti-cancer drug isolated from a toxic blue-green algae found in the South Pacific. The properties of somocystinamide A (ScA) are described in a paper that will be published online in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science the week of February 11 -15. ...> Full Article

New picture of HIV-1's protein jacket identifies attractive target for antibody-based vaccine (2/16/2008)

By coaxing the HIV-1 protein to reveal a hidden portion of its protein coat, scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School have provided a newly detailed picture of how protective, or so-called broadly neutralizing, antibodies block HIV-1 infection. ...> Full Article

Researchers discover new compounds active against tuberculosis and malaria (2/16/2008)

Researcher has discovered new compounds active for treating tuberculosis and malaria. Her thesis, defended at the School of Sciences, describes the synthesis and characterisation of 65 derivatives of quinoxaline, the structure of which is similar to a number of antimalalarial and antituberculosis pharmaceutical drugs currently on the market. Of the molecules prepared, four stand out for their antimalalarial activity and 15 for their antituberculosis activity. ...> Full Article

Brain Damage Occurs Within Minutes from the Onset of a Stroke, Study Reveals (2/15/2008)

Scientists at the Brain Research Centre at the University of British Columbia and Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute have found that harmful changes to the brain's synaptic connections occur within the first three minutes following a stroke. ...> Full Article

Mutant parasites offer researchers hope in fight against malaria (2/15/2008)

Parasites that cause malaria and other significant diseases are clever squatters that lurk in the body, waiting for an opportune time to assert themselves, scientists have learned. They survive by finding the right place to hide, stealing food from their hosts and evading the body's immune system. ...> Full Article

New approach may render disease-causing staph harmless (2/15/2008)

Researchers at the University of Illinois helped lead a collaborative effort to uncover a completely new treatment strategy for serious Staphylococcus aureus ("Staph") infections. The research, published Feb. 14 in ScienceXpress, the online version of Science magazine, comes at a time when strains of antibiotic-resistant Staph (known as MRSA, for methicillin-resistant S. aureus) are spreading in epidemic proportions in hospital and community settings. ...> Full Article

New findings for breast cancer survivors (2/15/2008)

New findings from a clinical trial coordinated at Queen's University show that women who survive breast cancer - the most common form of cancer among Canadian women - are more likely to die from other causes. The results were particularly striking for older women. ...> Full Article

New Trial to Test Radiation-Emitting Beads Against Advanced Liver Cancer (2/15/2008)

Liver cancer specialists at Jefferson's Kimmel Cancer Center in Philadelphia are beginning an 18-month study of a new treatment for liver cancer. The therapy entails injecting tiny beads that emit small amounts of radiation into the liver's main artery while also blocking the blood supply feeding the cancer's growth. ...> Full Article

Yale Test Detects Early Stage Ovarian Cancer With 99 Percent Accuracy (2/14/2008)

Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have developed a blood test with enough sensitivity and specificity to detect early stage ovarian cancer with 99 percent accuracy. ...> Full Article

Bacterial Toxin Closes Gate on Immune Response, Researchers Discover (2/14/2008)

Implications for Finding New Ways to Fight MRSA ...> Full Article

New company Inspiralis to search for cancer drugs and antibiotics (2/14/2008)

A new company has joined the fight against MRSA and cancer. Researchers at the John Innes Centre (Norwich) have launched a new company, Inspiralis Ltd, based around their expertise in DNA topoisomerases - a group of enzymes that help DNA molecules to unravel and wind up properly and not to become tangled during replication. ...> Full Article

Experimental HIV vaccine gets a boost from '70s-era discovery (2/14/2008)

Although science is known for being a forward-looking field, researchers have found that they can often benefit from a glance over their shoulders. By combining an experimental AIDS vaccine with a long-neglected molecule called poly-IC, Rockefeller University scientists discovered that they were able to significantly improve its effectiveness. Their new, bolstered vaccine not only stimulated the production of HIV-attacking immune cells in mice, but also allowed the rodents to maintain immunity over a significantly longer period of time. ...> Full Article

Gene Therapy Protocol Activates Immune System in Patients with Leukemia (2/13/2008)

A research team at the Rebecca and John Moores UCSD Cancer Center at University of California, San Diego (UCSD) reports that patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) who were treated with a gene therapy protocol began making antibodies that reacted against their own leukemia cells. The study will be published on line the week of February 11-15 in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. ...> Full Article

Autopsy Findings Suggest End Of Decline In Coronary Disease Rates (2/13/2008)

Autopsies of individuals in one Minnesota County suggest that the decades-long decline in the rate of coronary artery disease may have ended and possibly reversed after 2000, according to a report in the February 11 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. ...> Full Article

Pioneering new islet transplantation for patients with Type 1 diabetes (2/13/2008)

A team led by Dr Richard Smith, Consultant Senior Lecturer in Renal Medicine at North Bristol NHS Trust and the University of Bristol, will offer a pioneering new treatment for some patients with Type 1 diabetes, the Department of Health announced today. ...> Full Article

Seven New Prostate Cancer Genes Identified (2/13/2008)

Researchers have contributed to an international study led by UK scientists that has found and confirmed seven new sites in the human genome that are linked to men's risk of developing prostate cancer. Their findings are published in Nature Genetics* today. ...> Full Article

Researchers discover potential Huntington's treatment (2/12/2008)

Scientists at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation have identified a compound that shows promise in treating Huntington's disease. They are now performing pre-clinical tests to assess whether the chemical slows the progress of the deadly disease of the nervous system. ...> Full Article

Studies Identify Modifiable Factors Associated With Exceptionally Long Life (2/12/2008)

A healthy lifestyle during the early elderly years-including weight management, exercising regularly and not smoking-may be associated with a greater probability of living to age 90 in men, as well as good health and physical function, according to a report in the February 11 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. A second article in the same issue finds that although some individuals survive to 100 years or beyond by avoiding chronic diseases, other centenarians live with such conditions for many years without becoming disabled. ...> Full Article

Study reveals why certain ovarian cancers develop resistance to platinum-based chemotherapy (2/12/2008)

Mechanism of cisplatin resistance 'unlike any previously identified' ...> Full Article

Researchers find clue to how the brain rusts (2/12/2008)

Researchers have discovered that the mechanism that we rely on to transport iron safely through our blood stream can, in certain circumstances, collapse into a state which grows long worm-like "fibrils" banded by lines of iron rust. This process could provide the first insight into how iron gets deposited in the brain to cause some forms of Parkinson's & Alzheimer's and Huntington's diseases. ...> Full Article

Genome-Wide Survey Nets Key Melanoma Gene (2/11/2008)

One might call it a tale of two melanocytes. Given the same genetic mutation, why does one melanocyte shut down growth and become a relatively benign mole, while another rages out of control and develops into deadly melanoma? ...> Full Article

Patients with emphysema run 3 to 4 times greater risk of contracting lung cancer (2/11/2008)

Patients with pulmonary emphysema run a risk of contracting lung cancer 3 to 4 times greater than the rest of the population. This was a conclusion of research undertaken by members of the University Hospital of Navarra and the Centre for Applied Medical Research (CIMA) of the University of Navarra. The research was recently published in the official journal of the American College of Chest Physicians, Chest. ...> Full Article

Scientists discover genetic region linked to bad cholesterol (2/11/2008)

Scientists have uncovered a new region in the genome that is responsible for the body's ability to regulate bad cholesterol. ...> Full Article

Scientists identify new cellular receptor for HIV (2/11/2008)

A cellular protein that helps guide immune cells to the gut has been newly identified as a target of HIV when the virus begins its assault on the body's immune system, according to researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). ...> Full Article

'Good Bacteria' in Women Give Clues for Slowing HIV Transmission (2/10/2008)

Beneficial bacteria found in healthy women help to reduce the amount of vaginal HIV among HIV-infected women and might make it more difficult for the virus to spread, boosting the possibility that "good bacteria" might someday be tapped in the fight against HIV. ...> Full Article

HIV drugs, Abacavir and Didanosine, increase the risk of heart attack (2/10/2008)

A study to assess the adverse effects of anti-retroviral drugs shows that two of the widely-used HIV drugs are associated with an increased risk of heart attack/the formation of blood clots in the heart. With the use of Didanosine; the risk of developing a heart attack increases by 49%, with Abacavir; the increased risk is 90%. The effect is most pronounced in patients with a high underlying cardiovascular risk. The research findings also show that the adverse effect is reversible, if patients discontinue use of these particular drugs. ...> Full Article

Gene Found to Play a Suppressor Role in Skin Cancer Development (2/9/2008)

Researchers have provided genetic evidence that gene plays a suppressor role in skin cancer development. ...> Full Article

Babies born to teenage fathers have greater risk of birth problems (2/9/2008)

Babies born to teenage fathers are more likely to be born before term, have low birth weight and die within the first year of birth ...> Full Article

'Liquid Bandage' A New Frontline Wound Treatment (2/9/2008)

Development of a breakthrough spray-on dressing for injuries, has been approved for marketing in the U.S. ...> Full Article

Significantly higher success rates with artificial insemination (2/8/2008)

Using a special microscope 'good' ova can be distinguished from 'bad' ones ...> Full Article

Discovery Could Lead To Urine Test To Detect Cancer Early, Better Prevention (2/8/2008)

Researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) in Omaha have assisted in a significant discovery - the understanding of a common mechanism of cancer initiation - that could result in better cancer assessment, prevention and detection. ...> Full Article

Researchers Discover New Battleground for Viruses and Immune Cells (2/8/2008)

Finding Should Aid Those Developing Anti-Virus Vaccines ...> Full Article

High Blood Pressure Pill Cuts Risk of Parkinson's Disease (2/8/2008)

People taking a widely used group of drugs known as calcium channel blockers to treat high blood pressure also appear to be cutting their risk of Parkinson's disease, according to a study published in the February 6, 2008, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. ...> Full Article

Novel Compound May Lessen Heart Attack Damage (2/8/2008)

A novel drug designed to lessen muscle damage from a heart attack has passed initial safety tests at the Duke Clinical Research Institute. Results of the study, available online and to be published in the February 19 issue of the journal Circulation, reflect the first time the drug has been tested in humans. ...> Full Article

Black Raspberries May Prevent Esophageal Cancer (2/8/2008)

Eating black raspberries may protect against esophageal cancer among people at high-risk for developing the deadly disease, according to a new study at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center. ...> Full Article

Obesity May Be Wired In The Brain, Rat Study Suggests (2/7/2008)

A predisposition for obesity might be wired into the brain from the start, suggests a new study of rats. ...> Full Article

Gene plays 'Jekyll and Hyde' in brain cancer (2/7/2008)

Perhaps the only positive spin one can put on the brain cancer glioblastoma is that it's relatively uncommon. Other than that, the news is bad. It is nearly always fatal, it tends to strike people in the prime of their lives, and the limited treatment options have changed little over decades. It's no wonder then that many researchers are determined to find new ways treat this poorly understood type of cancer. ...> Full Article

Herpes medication does not reduce risk of HIV infection in individuals with HSV-2, international study finds (2/7/2008)

An international clinical trial has found that acyclovir, a common medication for treating herpes simplex virus-2 (HSV-2), the most common cause of genital herpes, does not reduce the risk of HIV infection when taken by people infected with HSV-2. Multiple studies have shown that people with HSV-2 have a higher risk of acquiring HIV. Researchers had hoped that acyclovir's ability to suppress the herpes virus, and its associated genital sores and breaks in the skin, could cut down on the likelihood of HIV being transmitted to a person with HSV-2 during sexual intercourse. ...> Full Article

Reducing cancer panic (2/7/2008)

New research has allayed some panic about suspected cancer-causing agents, such as deodorants, coffee and artificial sweeteners. A risk assessment tool has been developed through the Cancer Control Program at South Eastern Sydney & Illawarra Health (SESIH) by UNSW researcher, Professor Bernard Stewart. ...> Full Article

For treating advanced Parkinson's, new research points to serotonin (2/7/2008)

For most people with Parkinson's disease, the only relief from the tremors, rigidity and impaired movement associated with the progressive loss of their motor skills is a drug called L-DOPA. But as the disease progresses, L-DOPA can cause prominent side effects that counteract its effectiveness. ...> Full Article

Lower Transmission Rates Can Increase Dengue Deaths (2/7/2008)

Researchers have answered a puzzle about why efforts to lower the transmission of dengue virus in Thailand have not resulted in decreases in the life-threatening form of the infection. ...> Full Article

Breaking down Huntington's disease one protein at a time (2/6/2008)

Hoping to piece together the intricate series of interactions that lead to Huntington's disease, Indiana University Bloomington scientists have determined the shape and structure of a binding site that may prove useful in combating the neurodegenerative disease. ...> Full Article

Researchers identify cells that cause nervous system disease (2/6/2008)

Researchers have tracked down the cells responsible for neurofibromatosis type1, a disfiguring, incurable condition and one of the most common hereditary disorders. ...> Full Article

Researcher Examines Link Between Cancer, Down Syndrome (2/6/2008)

There's new hope for breast cancer research, and it's coming from a very unlikely place. Researchers at the Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences recently published articles in the journals Molecular and Cellular Biology and Carcinogenesis indicating that a protein long suspected to play a role in Down syndrome may also contribute to treating this devastating disease. ...> Full Article

Thyroid Cancer Cases Climb as Treatment Advances (2/6/2008)

Overall, cancer rates are declining in the United States, but some cancers are on the rise. Among these, thyroid cancer rates are climbing the fastest. ...> Full Article

Novel Molecules Developed at UB Can Boost Vaccine Potency (2/6/2008)

Two novel proteins studied by a University at Buffalo professor of microbiology and immunology appear to have the potential to enhance the production of antibodies against a multitude of infectious agents. ...> Full Article

Bug guts map brings scientists closer to understanding different bugs' role in the body (2/6/2008)

Scientists have made a major step towards understanding precisely which bugs in the gut are involved in which processes in the body, by mapping the different species of bugs living in seven members of the same Chinese family. ...> Full Article

Researchers make new discoveries on what does and doesn't affect immune system (2/5/2008)

Scientists know that a number of factors can affect the body's immune system: poor diet, certain steroids, chronic stress. Now researchers at Michigan State University have discovered that an appetite-controlling hormone also affects the immune system, while natural versions of certain steroids do not. ...> Full Article

Targeting Astrocytes Slows Disease Progression in ALS (2/5/2008)

In what the researchers say could be promising news in the quest to find a therapy to slow the progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease, scientists at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine have shown that targeting neuronal support cells called astrocytes sharply slows disease progression in mice. ...> Full Article

Poxvirus Potency Uncovered in New Atomic Map (2/5/2008)

Scientists at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and Saint Louis University used X-ray crystallography to uncover new details about the infectious potency of poxviruses, furthering the understanding of how viral infections can subvert the body's immune system. ...> Full Article

Irregular Exercise Pattern May Add Pounds (2/5/2008)

The consequences of quitting exercise may be greater than previously thought, according to a new study from the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory that determined that the weight gained during an exercise hiatus can be tough to shed when exercise is resumed at a later date. ...> Full Article

Prostate Cancer: Watchful Wait or Vaccinate? (2/5/2008)

Researchers develop successful test vaccine that prevents development of prostate cancer. ...> Full Article

Chemists track how drug changes, blocks flu virus (2/5/2008)

An anti-virus drug attacks influenza A by changing the motion and structure of a proton channel necessary for the virus to infect healthy cells, according to a recently published research paper by two Iowa State University chemists. ...> Full Article

Cracking The Code Of Bird Flu Time Bomb (2/4/2008)

Researchers at Griffith University Institute for Glycomics, Queensland led by Professor Mark von Itzstein have developed a technique to 'crack-the-code' of the deadly H5N1 avian influenza virus. ...> Full Article

Breakdown Of Kidney's Ability To Clean Its Own Filters Likely Causes Disease (2/4/2008)

The kidney actively cleans its most selective filter to keep it from clogging with blood proteins, scientists from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis reveal in a new study. ...> Full Article

Targeting gut bugs could revolutionise future drugs, say researchers (2/4/2008)

Revolutionary new ways to tackle certain diseases could be provided by creating drugs which change the bugs in people's guts, according to a Perspective article published today in the journal Nature Reviews Drug Discovery. ...> Full Article

Malaria vaccine trials begin using 'chimpanzee virus' (2/4/2008)

Trials are underway for a new vaccine to combat the most deadly form of malaria. For the first time ever, researchers will use a virus found in chimpanzees to boost the efficacy of the vaccine. The trials will take place at the University of Oxford's Jenner Institute, led by its Director, Professor Adrian Hill, and are funded by the Wellcome Trust. ...> Full Article

New, non-invasive prostate cancer test beats PSA in detecting prostate cancer, researchers report (2/4/2008)

Simple urine test leads to more accurate diagnoses, fewer false-positive results ...> Full Article

New Insights Into Vaccination For HIV (2/3/2008)

A group of Australian researchers at the Universities of Melbourne and New South Wales have developed new tools and paradigms to understand immune evasion from HIV. The study shows that both prior vaccination and timing influence the rates of immune escape, providing further insight into the effectiveness of T cell immunity to HIV. ...> Full Article

Tobacco plants may provide virus cure (2/3/2008)

Scientists from ASU's Biodesign Institute and Polytechnic campus have embarked on an ambitious, four-year, $1.5 million grant from the National Institutes for Allergy and Infectious Disease to tackle West Nile virus. ...> Full Article

Researchers Investigate Links Between Prostate, Cadmium, Zinc (2/3/2008)

Cadmium exposure is a known risk factor for prostate cancer, and a new University of Rochester study suggests that zinc may offer protection against cadmium. ...> Full Article

New Genetic Barcoding Technique Identifies Dozens of Targets for Cancer Drugs (2/3/2008)

Investigators have invented a quick and relatively inexpensive method for identifying genes that are indispensable for the growth and survival of colon and breast cancer cells. ...> Full Article

BRCA1 mutation linked to breast cancer stem cells (2/3/2008)

Research sheds light on why women with this gene mutation have higher risk of breast cancer ...> Full Article

Breakthrough in research on female fertility (2/2/2008)

Researchers at Umeå University in Sweden have identified the molecular signaling path that governs the activation of dormant, immature follicles that exist in a woman's ovaries. This discovery, published in the latest issue of the journal Science, may mean, among other things, that some women who have been affected by childlessness can undergo more in vitro fertilization attempts in the future. ...> Full Article

Diabetes makes it hard for blood vessels to relax (2/2/2008)

One way diabetes is bad for your blood vessels is by creating too much competition for an amino acid that helps blood vessels relax, researchers say. ...> Full Article

Anti-Parasite Drug Provides New Way to Attack HIV (2/2/2008)

Researchers Seek to Deny HIV Its Safe Havens in the Human Body ...> Full Article

Gene Predicts Heart Attack Response and Cardiac Damage (2/2/2008)

A protein has been found that influences the response of the heart to a lack of oxygen and blood flow, such as occurs during a heart attack, a team of Yale School of Medicine researchers report today in Nature. ...> Full Article

New Brain Tumor Treatments Offer Hope (2/2/2008)

In 2008, approximately 215,000 Americans will be diagnosed with one of more than 100 types of brain tumors. Patients who receive such a diagnosis should remain hopeful, however, as treatment options at the nation's leading brain tumor centers have never been better, according to Philip Theodosopoulos, MD, assistant professor of neurosurgery and director of the division of skull base surgery at the University of Cincinnati (UC). ...> Full Article

Black Death Selective in its Wrath (2/1/2008)

Report finds that plague targeted the weak, frail ...> Full Article

New Vaccine against Deadliest Strain of Avian Flu Tested by Scientists (2/1/2008)

New Vaccine against Deadliest Strain of Avian Flu Tested by University of Pittsburgh Scientists ...> Full Article

Two pieces of DNA linked to breast cancer metastasis (2/1/2008)

Two MicroRNAs Promote Spread of Tumor Cells: MiR-373 Could Be Indicator of Breast Cancer Metastasis ...> Full Article