Curing Death by Curing Aging - June 2007 Archives

HIV Ejected From Cells With Engineered Enzyme (6/30/2007)

A new enzyme eradicates the AIDS-virus from the host-cell genome ...> Full Article

Cord Blood May Preserve Insulin Levels In Children With Type 1 Diabetes (6/30/2007)

Umbilical cord blood may safely preserve insulin production in children newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, according to findings from a small national pilot study presented today (June 25) at the American Diabetes Association's 67th Scientific Sessions in Chicago. ...> Full Article

Acute Mountain Sickness May Lead To Death (6/30/2007)

Acute mountain sickness (AMS) affects almost half of those ascending to heights over 3,000m and may lead to life-threatening complications such as pulmonary or cerebral edema. A new study appearing in Journal of Travel Medicine details a prospective on-site study in the Himalayas between July and October 2004 in which the knowledge and practices concerning AMS were examined amongst trekkers. ...> Full Article

Researchers Find New Pathway To Thwart Antibiotic Resistance (6/30/2007)

Researchers at UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham) have new information on the structure of a key enzyme in bacteria that could lead to improved antibiotics and less antibiotic resistance. In findings published today online in two complementary papers in Nature, the research team describe the differences in an enzyme called RNA polymerase in bacterial cells as opposed to human cells. These differences provide potential new targets for drug design. ...> Full Article

New Study Offers Hope To Infertile Couples By Investigating Role Of Hormone In Pregnancy (6/30/2007)

A new study from the University of Leicester is investigating whether a naturally produced hormone could provide the key to helping couples conceive. ...> Full Article

Frog Molecule Could Provide Drug Treatment For Brain Tumors (6/29/2007)

A synthetic version of a molecule found in the egg cells of the Northern Leopard frog (Rana pipiens) could provide the world with the first drug treatment for brain tumours. ...> Full Article

Antibodies Protect Mice from Developing Respiratory Tularemia (6/29/2007)

The respiratory form of tularemia, a potentially serious bacterial disease, is a significant public health concern because it is highly infectious, it has a high mortality rate if untreated, and it could be introduced into a population in an intentional act of bioterror. Though much research is focused on developing drugs and vaccines targeted to the bacterium that causes tularemia, Francisella tularensis, little is known about the role that antibodies play in protecting against infection. ...> Full Article

Researchers Find Gene Is Needed For Healthy Sperm (6/29/2007)

Human sperm cells travel up to 6 meters in their transit from testes to penis, and most of that journey occurs in the epididymis, a tightly coiled tube that primes the cells for their ultimate task: fertilization. In a paper released this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers at the University of Illinois report that they have discovered a gene � and related mechanism � essential to the embryonic development of the epididymis. ...> Full Article

New Vaccine Prevents CMV Infection and Disease in Mice (6/28/2007)

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences have patented a strategy for developing a human vaccine to prevent against Human Cytomegalovirus (hCMV) infection and disease. ...> Full Article

Immune System's Fat Problem Solved (6/28/2007)

University of Melbourne and Monash University scientists have helped unlock a 15-year mystery and advanced understanding of how the human immune system fights disease. ...> Full Article

First Gene Therapy Trial In Parkinson's Shows Promising Results (6/28/2007)

The world's first-ever gene therapy clinical trial in patients with advanced Parkinson's disease significantly reduced their symptoms, suggesting surgery to deliver a modified gene directly to the brain could be a safe new treatment option for a number of neurodegenerative diseases. ...> Full Article

Potato Salad May Help the Immune System (6/27/2007)

It has long been known that eating potatoes is good for bowel health, but new research suggests that they may also have a beneficial effect on the whole immune system. Especially if eaten cold or in a potato salad, Anne Pichon reports in Chemistry & Industry. ...> Full Article

Nanoparticle Seeks Out And Binds WIth Cancer Cells (6/27/2007)

There has been much recent interest in how nanotechnology will impact the field of medicine. Unfortunately, a number of promising nanostructured systems have turned out to be extremely toxic to humans, thus precluding their use in clinical applications and dashing hopes of an early success for the interdisciplinary field of nanobiotechnology. ...> Full Article

Mosquito Genes Could Be Controlling The Spread Of Killer Viruses (6/25/2007)

The genes that make up the immune system of the Aedes aegypti mosquito which transmits deadly viral diseases to humans have been identified in new research in Science. ...> Full Article

Therapy Hope for Ovarian Cancer (6/25/2007)

Researchers at the University have shown that hormone therapy can extend life in ovarian cancer patients, giving women a new alternative to chemotherapy. ...> Full Article

Sunlight Has Dual Roles In Cancer Risk (6/24/2007)

New thesis explores the mechanisms of programmed cell death and melanoma malignum. ...> Full Article

In 'Spontaneous' Liver Cancer, Researcher Sees a Cure (6/23/2007)

Adding more good news to last week's announcement that Nexavar® (sorafenib) may be the first effective treatment for advanced liver cancer, researchers at the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University have uncovered a new molecular mechanism that may "spontaneously" cause liver cancer. ...> Full Article

Trial to Study Targeted Antiangiogenesis Drug Sutent™ and Radiation Against Cancer (6/23/2007)

Last year, the drug Sutent™ (sunitinib) made headlines for its effectiveness against kidney and gastrointestinal cancers. Now, radiation oncologist at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson in Philadelphia are hoping to find out if combining Sutent and radiation will help patients with a wide range of cancers. ...> Full Article

Researchers Discover 'Acquired' Dna Key To Certain Bacterial Infection (6/23/2007)

Researchers announced this week the discovery of a mechanism by which Mycobacterium avium - a bacterium which can result in serious lung infections and is prevalent in emphysema and AIDS patients among others - infects tissue cells or "macrophages" and thus compromises the body's immunity. ...> Full Article

Researchers Find Drug that Rejuvenates Neurons to Protect Against Parkinson's Disease (6/22/2007)

Northwestern University researchers have discovered a drug that slows - and may even halt - the progression of Parkinson's disease. The drug rejuvenates aging dopamine cells - whose death in the brain causes the symptoms of this devastating and widespread disease. ...> Full Article

Drug Protects Against Diabetes and Atherosclerosis (6/22/2007)

Blocking a single protein with an experimental drug prevented and treated both type 2 diabetes and atherosclerosis in laboratory mice that had been fed unhealthy diets and were genetically predisposed to these common killers, according to an article published online at Nature on June 6, 2007. ...> Full Article

Team Unlocks Key To Safer Vaccines (6/22/2007)

A team from the University of Louisville has found clues that explain how one vaccine additive works to produce faster, stronger and longer lasting immunity than the vaccine alone. ...> Full Article

Medical Researcher Determines Link between Foie Gras and Disease (6/22/2007)

University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine professor and researcher Alan Solomon, M.D., director of the Human Immunology and Cancer/Alzheimer's Disease and Amyloid-Related Disorders Research Program, led a team that discovered a link between foie gras prepared from goose or duck liver and the type of amyloid found in rheumatoid arthritis or tuberculosis. ...> Full Article

Pre-Diabetes More Than Doubles Risk Of Heart Disease Death (6/21/2007)

The risk of dying from heart disease increases with the earliest sign that the body is having trouble metabolizing glucose, according to research reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. ...> Full Article

Researchers Use 'Genomic Pathway' to Predict Parkinson's (6/21/2007)

Findings detect 90-fold increased risk of developing disease; predict age of onset ...> Full Article

Scientists Solve Genome of Marine Organism Producing Promising Disease-Fighting Agents (6/21/2007)

Bacteria discovered in Bahamian mud has potential as producer of natural antibiotics and anticancer products ...> Full Article

Researchers Pit Novel Version of Common Virus Against Cancer (6/21/2007)

With nearly $1 million in government funding, University of Rochester scientists are testing a new innovation in biotherapy by altering a common childhood respiratory virus, the adenovirus, to destroy cancer cells. ...> Full Article

Treatment Provided Improvement In Symptoms In 46 Percent Of Lupus Patients (6/20/2007)

Treatment with belimumab resulted in a sustained improvement of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE or lupus) disease activity in 46% of patients at week 52, according to a novel combined responder index in results presented at EULAR 2007, the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology in Barcelona, Spain. ...> Full Article

Research Reveals Washing Dishes Can Lower Blood Glucose Levels (6/20/2007)

Reducing time spent sitting and increasing light physical activity has important health benefits that may reduce the risk of diabetes and other cardiovascular diseases. ...> Full Article

Researchers Detect Small Set of Cancer Stem Cells That Are Similar To Normal Stem Cells and Appear To Thwart Anti-Cancer Agents (6/20/2007)

Current cancer therapies often succeed at initially eliminating the bulk of the disease, including all rapidly proliferating cells, but are eventually thwarted because they cannot eliminate a small reservoir of multiple-drug-resistant tumor cells, called cancer stem cells, which ultimately become the source of disease recurrence and eventual metastasis. ...> Full Article

Ultra Deep Sequencing Identifies HIV Drug Resistance at Early Stage (6/20/2007)

Rare, previously undetectable drug-resistant forms of HIV have been identified by Yale School of Medicine researcher Michael Kozal, M.D., using an innovative genome sequencing technology that quickly detects rare viral mutations. ...> Full Article

Biologists Link Calorie Restriction To An Extended Life Span (6/19/2007)

The link between calorie restriction and a longer, healthier life may lie in the head, not in the gut, MIT biologists report. ...> Full Article

New SIDS Research To Study Protein Link (6/19/2007)

An Australia-first study led by the University of Adelaide could help identify the cause of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), one of the world's most tragic medical mysteries. ...> Full Article

Cancer Death Rates Remain High Decades After Exposure To Arsenic (6/19/2007)

Death rates from lung and bladder cancer remained high decades after residents in northern Chile were exposed to high levels of arsenic in their drinking water, according to a new study by researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, and the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile in Santiago. ...> Full Article

Warning Signs That Moles May Be Early Skin Cancers (6/18/2007)

Monitoring moles and looking for changes on a regular basis is key to early detection and treatment of melanoma, doctors say. ...> Full Article

Rogue Cells Could Cause Spread Of Breast Cancer (6/18/2007)

A Deakin University study has shed light on what causes breast cancer cells to move to other parts of the body. ...> Full Article

Researchers Link Cell's Protein Recycling Systems With Hopes For Treating Neurodegenerative Disorders (6/18/2007)

Many age-related neurological diseases are associated with defective proteins accumulating in nerve cells, suggesting that the cell's normal disposal mechanisms are not operating correctly. Now, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have discovered a molecular link between the cell's two major pathways for breaking down proteins and have succeeded in using this link to rescue neurodegenerative diseases in a simple animal model. The study appears this week in Nature. ...> Full Article

Dendritic Cells Are Replenished From Blood (6/17/2007)

Rockefeller University scientists have come a step closer to understanding the origins of the spleen and lymph node dendritic cells. ...> Full Article

Researchers Investigate The Effects Of Nanoparticles On Cell Freezing (6/17/2007)

Ram Devireddy, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at LSU, recently co-authored an article with Todd Monroe, assistant professor of biological and agricultural engineering, investigating the complex effects of nanoparticles on cell freezing. The report was published in the prestigious journal Nanotechnology. ...> Full Article

Future Therapies for Stroke May Block Cell Death (6/17/2007)

A new therapy to re-activate silenced genes in patients who suffer from neurodegenerative diseases or stroke is being developed by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Cornell University. ...> Full Article

Cytokine Resistance Contributes To Pathology Of Type 2 Diabetes (6/17/2007)

In a study appearing this month in the Journal of Immunology, researchers at the University of Illinois describe how an impaired anti-inflammatory response plays a role in the pathology of type 2 diabetes. ...> Full Article

Older People With Diabetes More Apt To Suffer Depression, Uf Study Shows (6/16/2007)

Growing old can be disheartening. But for people with diabetes, the aging process can be downright depressing. A University of Florida study published this week in the Archives of Internal Medicine reveals that older adults diagnosed with the type 2 form of the disease are twice as likely as their peers to suffer from depression. ...> Full Article

Enzyme Delivered In Smaller Package Protects Cells From Radiation Damage (6/16/2007)

A University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine research team, collaborating with scientists from Stanford University, have developed a new, smaller gene therapy vector that may be effective in delivering a radioprotective enzyme systemically throughout the body which may spare healthy tissue the long-term consequences of therapeutic irradiation. These results were presented at the 10th annual meeting of the American Society of Gene Therapy at the Washington State Convention & Trade Center, Seattle. ...> Full Article

Researchers Identify Fifth Gene Responsible for Joubert Syndrome (6/16/2007)

An international study by researchers at Seattle Children's Hospital Research Institute, the University of Washington School of Medicine, and Radboud University in Nijmegen, Netherlands has identified a new genetic cause for Joubert syndrome (JS). ...> Full Article

Superbug Antibiotic Defence Uncovered (6/15/2007)

McGill researcher observes how bacterium is able to resist antibiotic ...> Full Article

New Species of Bacteria Discovered (6/15/2007)

NPR's All Things Considered reports that "[a] new species of bacteria has been discovered, thanks to an American tourist who caught it while traveling in Peru. Dr. Jane Koehler, an infectious-disease specialist who led the team that found the species, named it Bartonella rochalimae, after a long-dead Brazilian scientist." NPR's Rebecca Roberts speaks with Koelher about the discovery of the bacterium, and why that particular name was selected for it. ...> Full Article

Sensitive Genetic Analysis Reveals Vast Changes Associated With Inherited Heart Disorder (6/15/2007)

The one-gene, one-disease concept is elegant, but incomplete. A single gene mutation can cause many other genes to start-or stop-working, and it may be these changes that ultimately cause clinical symptoms. Identifying the complete set of affected genes used to appear impossible. Not anymore. ...> Full Article

Studies Identify Interactions Between Heart Disease And Kidney Disease (6/14/2007)

Anemia and other conditions related to chronic kidney disease are independently associated with the risk of cardiovascular disease; conversely, heart disease is associated with a decline in kidney function and the development of kidney disease, according to two reports in the June 11 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. ...> Full Article

Neural Stem Cells Reduce Parkinson's Symptoms In Monkeys (6/14/2007)

Primates with severe Parkinson's disease were able to walk, move, and eat better, and had diminished tremors after being injected with human neural stem cells, a research team from Yale, Harvard, the University of Colorado, and the Burnham Institute report today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. ...> Full Article

Cancer Stem Cells Can Go It Alone (6/13/2007)

At the heart of most, if not all cancers, lie a handful of wayward stem cells that feed the ever growing tumor mass, but their scarcity make it difficult for scientists to study them. Now, times of plenty may lie ahead as a breast cancer cell line - established long ago - turned out to behave a lot like cancer stem cells. ...> Full Article

Myelin Breakdown Implicated In Early Evolution Of Huntington's Disease (6/13/2007)

Last month, Dr. George Bartzokis, director of the UCLA Memory Disorders and Alzheimer's Disease Clinic, suggested in the journal Alzheimer's & Dementia that the breakdown of a type of myelin that develops late in life promotes the buildup of toxic amyloid plaques long associated with Alzheimer's disease. Myelin is the "insulation" that wraps around nerve axons in the brain. ...> Full Article

Researchers Find Potential New Target For Type 2 Diabetes (6/12/2007)

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have discovered a potential new target for treating type 2 diabetes, according to a new study that appeared online in Nature. The target is a protein, along with its molecular partner, that regulates fat metabolism. ...> Full Article

Vitamin D Reduces The Risk For Colorectal, Breast And Prostate Cancers (6/12/2007)

The Canadian Cancer Society is recommending a specific amount of Vitamin D supplementation for Canadians to consider taking. This first-time recommendation is based on the growing body of evidence about the link between Vitamin D and reducing risk for colorectal, breast and prostate cancers. ...> Full Article

Largest Ever Study Of Genetics Of Common Diseases (6/12/2007)

Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium and genetics of seven common diseases ...> Full Article

Sun Exposure Early In Life Linked To Specific Skin Cancer Gene Mutation (6/12/2007)

Skin cancers often contain different gene mutations, but just how these mutations contribute to the cause of melanomas has been a mystery. ...> Full Article

Talcum Powder Stunts Growth Of Lung Tumors (6/12/2007)

Talcum powder has been used for generations to soothe babies' diaper rash and freshen women's faces. But University of Florida researchers report the household product has an additional healing power: The ability to stunt cancer growth by cutting the flow of blood to metastatic lung tumors. ...> Full Article

Glowing Dye Improves Cancer Removal in Kidney (6/12/2007)

New Imaging Technique Holds Promise to Allow Cancer Surgeons to Save More of the Kidney ...> Full Article

Vorinostat Shows Anti-Cancer Activity in Recurrent Gliomas (6/11/2007)

North Central Cancer Treatment Group (NCCTG) researchers, based at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., report that a novel application of the drug vorinostat shows activity in patients with recurrent glioblastoma multiforme. These findings were presented today at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting by Eva Galanis, M.D., a Mayo Clinic oncologist and lead investigator of the study. ...> Full Article

Ten Symptoms Not to Ignore (6/11/2007)

Some reasons to seek immediate medical attention aren't obvious ...> Full Article

Dna Damage To Stem Cells Is Central To Aging (6/11/2007)

DNA damage is a major mechanism behind the loss of adult stem cells over time, according to a Nature paper by Oxford University researchers and international colleagues. ...> Full Article

Benefits of Trastuzumab Are Lasting, Reducing Breast Cancer Deaths and Recurrence (6/11/2007)

An updated analysis of two large randomized clinical trials has found that breast cancer patients who received the monoclonal antibody trastuzumab (Herceptin) along with chemotherapy are living longer and with less risk of recurrent disease, compared to patients treated with chemotherapy alone. ...> Full Article

Gene Recipe For Common Diseases (6/11/2007)

Scientists have isolated at least 25 genes that cause seven of the most common hereditary diseases including diabetes and arthritis in the world's largest genetic study. ...> Full Article

Aging Of Fruit Fly Slowed With Single Protein Addition (6/10/2007)

In a triumph for pests, scientists have figured out how to make the fruit fly live longer. ...> Full Article

Researchers Reveal Clues To New Genes Behind Rheumatoid Arthritis (6/10/2007)

Researchers at the University of Manchester have identified evidence of several new genes behind the chronic inflammatory disease rheumatoid arthritis (RA), which affects 387,000 people in the UK. ...> Full Article

Researchers Develop New Nanomaterials to Deliver Anticancer Drugs to Kill Cancer Cells (6/10/2007)

Researchers at UCLA have successfully manipulated nanomaterials to create a new drug-delivery system that promises to solve the challenge of the poor water solubility of today's most promising anticancer drugs and thereby increase their effectiveness. ...> Full Article

New Biotechnology Holds Promise For Enhancing Immune System (6/10/2007)

Researchers at Montana State University have identified a plant-derived compound with the potential to fend off a wide range of diseases by markedly boosting the immune system. ...> Full Article

Crammed With Charged DNA, Pressure Rises Inside Virus (6/10/2007)

It could be an artist's depiction of someone's stomach before and after a rather decadent meal. But it is a 3-D cryoelectron microscope reconstruction of the cross-section of a virus, before and after cramming itself full of its own DNA. ...> Full Article

Gene Switched Off In Cancer Can Be Turned On (6/9/2007)

Study lays groundwork for developing a new class of targeted therapies ...> Full Article

Loss of Stem Cells Correlates with Premature Aging in Animal Study (6/9/2007)

Researchers at the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute of the University of Pennsylvania have found that deleting a gene important in embryo development leads to premature aging and loss of stem cell reservoirs in adult mice. This gene, ATR, is essential for the body's response to damaged DNA, and mutations in proteins in the DNA damage response underlie certain types of cancer and other disorders in humans. This work appears in the inaugural issue of Cell Stem Cell. ...> Full Article

How Sneaky HIV Escapes Cells (6/9/2007)

Like hobos on a train, HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, uses a pre-existing transport system to leave one infected cell and infect new ones, Hopkins scientists have discovered. Their findings, published in the June issue of Plos Biology, counter the prevailing belief that HIV and other retroviruses can only leave and enter cells by virus-specific mechanisms. ...> Full Article

Genetic Variations May Predispose Some Men To Suicidal Thoughts During Short-term Treatment For Depression (6/9/2007)

Genetic variations may help explain why some men with depression develop suicidal thoughts and behaviors after they begin taking antidepressant medications, while most do not, according to a report in the June issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. ...> Full Article

Study Shows Combination Chemotherapy and VEGF Blocker Improves Progression-free Survival of Metastatic Melanoma Patients (6/9/2007)

Two chemotherapy drugs combined with an agent that prevents the growth of blood vessels significantly delayed the spread of tumors in patients with metastatic melanoma, according to study findings presented today at the 2007 American Association of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting. ...> Full Article

Circulating Tumor Cells Predict How Hormone-Resistant Prostate Cancer Patients Fare (6/9/2007)

The number of tumor cells circulating in the bloodstream of patients with metastatic, hormone-resistant, prostate cancer can predict how they will do with chemotherapy, according to results of an international trial. The findings, if backed by larger studies, could have important implications for designing personalized treatments for this very dangerous type of prostate cancer, the researchers say. ...> Full Article

Aging Stem Cells In Mice May Hold Answers To Disease Of The Aged (6/8/2007)

As stem cells in the blood grow older, genetic mutations accumulate that could be at the root of blood diseases that strike people as they age, according to work done in mice by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. ...> Full Article

Brain-Boosting Pill Alleviates Post-Chemotherapy Fogginess (6/8/2007)

A drug described by some people as a "genius pill"for enhancing cognitive function provided relief to a small group of Rochester breast cancer survivors who were coping with a side effect known as "chemo-brain,"according to a University of Rochester Medical Center study. ...> Full Article

Diet May Influence Survival After Treatment For Stage 3 Colon Cancer (6/8/2007)

Patients with stage III colon cancer who have undergone surgery and chemotherapy with the goal of cure may have a higher risk of relapsing and dying early if they follow a predominantly "Western" diet of red meat, fatty foods, refined grains, and desserts, according to research led by investigators at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. The findings were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's annual meeting in Chicago this past weekend. ...> Full Article

Study Shows Big Power of Small RNAs, Not Just Proteins, in Halting Cancer (6/8/2007)

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) researchers led by Lin He, Xingyue He, and Professor and Howard Hughes Medical Investigator (HHMI) Greg Hannon have identified a family of micro RNAs (miRNAs) that enable a critical tumor suppressor network, called the p53 pathway, to fight cancer growth. "At CSHL, we are moving simultaneously on several fronts to understand the p53 pathway because damage to this pathway is something that almost all cancers have in common,"� said CSHL Cancer Center Deputy Director and HHMI Scott Lowe. ...> Full Article

Research Shows Survival Benefit For Leukemia Patients Treated With Arsenic Trioxide (6/8/2007)

Through participation in a government-sponsored multi-year study, researchers at the Comprehensive Cancer Center at Wake Forest University have helped confirm that arsenic trioxide - marketed as Trisenox® - significantly improves patient survival when coupled with standard chemotherapy treatment in newly diagnosed patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia, or APL. ...> Full Article

Diagnosing Skin Cancers with Light, Not Scalpels (6/8/2007)

Technique uses lasers that can pulse at thousand-trillionths-of-a-second rates ...> Full Article

Eating Red Meat Will Not Increase Cancer Risks (6/7/2007)

Recent studies published in the journal Cancer Science have disproved the common myth that consumption of red meat increases colorectal cancer risk. ...> Full Article

Study Of Staph Shows How Bacteria Evolve Resistance (6/7/2007)

Antibacterial resistance doesn't happen overnight. But until recently nobody knew exactly how long it took - or how it happened at all. Now, by studying blood taken from a single patient over a period of months, Rockefeller University researchers have been able to trace how a common strain of bacteria adapted its genes to counteract the antibiotics used to try to kill it, until it finally emerged into the kind of fully resistant microbe that is wreaking havoc in hospitals worldwide. Total elapsed time: 90 days. ...> Full Article

Cells Re-energize To Come Back From The Brink Of Death (6/7/2007)

The discovery of how some abnormal cells can avoid a biochemical program of self-destruction by increasing their energy level and repairing the damage, is giving investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital insights into a key strategy cancer cells use to survive and thrive. ...> Full Article

Dietary Supplementation With Enzyme Reverses Some Kidney Disease (6/7/2007)

Marjan Huizing and colleagues from the National Human Genome Research Institute report the first kidney disease caused by a genetic defect in the production of sialic acid. Remarkably, they show that, in mice, disease symptoms can be reversed by addition of a precursor of sialic acid, raising the intriguing possibility that dietary supplementation in this manner may have therapeutic benefit for patients with certain forms of kidney disease. ...> Full Article

Largest Synthetic Gene Ever Built Offers Insights Into Anti-Malarial Drug Resistance (6/7/2007)

Researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center say they are moving closer to understanding why the most lethal form of human malaria has become resistant to drug treatment in the past three decades. They have been able to artificially construct, and then express in yeast, a protozoan gene that contributes to such resistance. And it was no small feat. The gene they laboriously constructed over a two-year period is believed to be the largest 'synthetic' one ever built, and it successfully produces large quantities of the encoded protein, whose function can now be easily studied. ...> Full Article

Lower Insulin Levels Lowers Risk Of Breast Cancer Recurrence (6/6/2007)

Normally sedentary breast cancer survivors who completed an exercise program reduced the levels of insulin in their blood, revealing a likely link between physical activity and better outcomes, researchers from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston reported at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago. ...> Full Article

Male Mice Get A Longevity Boost From Compound Found In Creosote Bush (6/6/2007)

Aspirin didn't pan out. Neither did two other potential anti-aging agents. But a synthetic derivative of a pungent desert shrub is now a front- runner in ongoing animal experiments to find out if certain chemicals, known to inhibit inflammation, cancer and other destructive processes, can boost the odds of living longer. ...> Full Article

When HIV And Liver Disease Co-Exist (6/6/2007)

Since successful antiretroviral therapies have made HIV a treatable condition, more HIV patients who are also infected with hepatitis B or C are experiencing the progression of their liver disease. In the face of this novel challenge, experts in the field convened to share information and opinions on the management of such patients. ...> Full Article

Herb Shows Potential to Reduce Cancer-Related Fatigue (6/6/2007)

North Central Cancer Treatment Group (NCCTG) researchers, based at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., have generated preliminary data suggesting that a form of American ginseng provides greater improvements in fatigue and vitality in patients who receive the highest doses tested, compared to lower doses or no treatment. ...> Full Article

Flaxseed Stunts the Growth of Prostate Tumors (6/6/2007)

Flaxseed, an edible seed that is rich in omega 3-fatty acids and fiber-related compounds known as lignans, is effective in halting prostate tumor growth, according to a study led by Duke University Medical Center researchers. The seed, which is similar to a sesame seed, may be able to interrupt the chain of events that leads cells to divide irregularly and become cancerous. ...> Full Article

Genomic Signatures Identify Targeted Therapies for Lung Cancer (6/6/2007)

Any number of things can go wrong in the cells of the body to cause cancer -- and clinicians can't tell by just looking at a tumor what exactly triggered the once normal cells to turn cancerous. ...> Full Article

Fat Protein Protects Blood Vessels from Inflammation And May Help Heart Disease (6/6/2007)

A natural substance secreted by fat cells can protect blood vessels from the damaging effects of inflammation, one of the factors that contribute to heart disease. Researchers at Jefferson Medical College have shown for the first time in an animal model that the substance - a protein called adiponectin - helps prevent immune system white blood cells from binding to the inside of blood vessel walls. Harnessing adiponectin's properties, the scientists suggest, may someday help protect against the blood vessel damage so prevalent in patients with obesity and diabetes. ...> Full Article

Cigarette Smoke Alters DNA in Sperm And Could Pass Genetic Damage to Offspring (6/5/2007)

The science has long been clear that smoking causes cancer, but new research shows that children could inherit genetic damage from a father who smokes. ...> Full Article

Research Team To Investigate Smokers' Genotype In Order To Personalise Treatment (6/5/2007)

The University of the Basque country (UPV/EHU), together with the Institute for the Treatment and Investigation of Nicotine-dependence (ITIN), has launched a research project on tobacco smoking which makes it the first research team in the Spanish state to tackle the smoking habit from a pharmacogenomic perspective; that is to say, when personalising treatment, the taking into account of the genotype of patients. It involves an innovative technique, and it is set to play an important role in the fight against smoking, given that its target is to enhance the diagnostic tools for treatment, based on differences between genetic markers. ...> Full Article

Mutations Of A Gene Implicated In A Predisposition To Cancer (6/5/2007)

An international research consortium, which included the participation of the Mutagènesi Group from the UAB, has made outstanding progress in the study of Fanconi anaemia. They have described the function and range of possible mutations of the gene implicated in this disease that affects functions like nerve and skeletal development, blood cell formation and predisposition to cancer. ...> Full Article

Drug Shows Activity Against Brain Metastases (6/5/2007)

Lapatinib shrinks some tumors from spread of breast cancer ...> Full Article

Model For Tracking Flu Progression Could Reduce Flu Pandemic's Peril (6/4/2007)

Engineer who survived pandemic of 1968 focuses on reducing influenza's death toll. ...> Full Article

Integrated Epigenetic Approach Identifies Novel Cancer Target (6/4/2007)

Research published in Cell June 1st shows that a combination of genetic and epigenetic changes underlies one of the most common blood cancers - chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL). Like all cancers, CLL is caused by changes in DNA functionality which can be induced by genetic changes, such as mutations, or epigenetic changes, such as the addition of a 'methyl' group to cytosine bases without altering the DNA sequence. ...> Full Article

Discovery Sheds New Light On Male Infertility (6/4/2007)

Researchers at The Chinese University of Hong Kong have made another big step forward in the study of male fertility with the discovery that an epithelial ion channel, the defect of which has been previously shown to result in female infertility, was also present in sperm and affecting male fertility. The finding was published online in the recent issue of the highly reputable Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. ...> Full Article

Study Finds that Dietary Vitamins May Decrease Pancreatic Cancer Risk among Lean People (6/4/2007)

Researchers exploring the notion that certain nutrients might protect against pancreatic cancer found that lean individuals who got most of these nutrients from food were protected against developing cancer. The study also suggests this protective effect does not hold true if the nutrients come from vitamin supplements. ...> Full Article

Nanoparticles Containing Insulin Gene To Combat Juvenile Diabetes (6/4/2007)

A safer method to deliver the insulin gene to diabetes patients using nanoparticles, was presented today at the 10th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Gene Therapy (ASGT) in Seattle ...> Full Article

Researchers Discover Inherited Mutation For Leukemia (6/3/2007)

Researchers have discovered the first inherited gene mutation that increases a person's risk for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), one of the most common forms of the disease. ...> Full Article

Researchers Conduct Innovative Smallpox Vaccine Research Study (6/3/2007)

University Hospitals Case Medical Center (UHCMC) and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine are part of a nationwide research study to determine the safety and effectiveness of a new smallpox vaccine geared toward adults ages 18 to 34 who have never been vaccinated against the disease. The study is the first of its type in Northeast Ohio. ...> Full Article

How Brain 'Pacemakers' Erase Diseased Messages (6/3/2007)

Findings of Pratt School team may help improve use of deep brain electrical stimulation devices in patients with Parkinson's disease, epilepsy and other movement disorders ...> Full Article

TB Test Offers Patients Quicker And Easier Diagnosis (6/3/2007)

A new test for diagnosing TB offers a quick and simple alternative to existing three-day methods, according to research published today in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases. ...> Full Article

International Studies Show HPV Vaccine is Highly Effective (6/2/2007)

A new vaccine aimed at preventing cervical cancer is nearly 100 percent effective against the two types of the human papillomavirus (HPV) responsible for most cases of cervical cancer--strains 16 and 18. Results of an international meta-analysis study of the vaccine are published in the June 1 issue of the journal Lancet. ...> Full Article

Mercury's Link to Heart Disease Begins in Blood Vessel Walls (6/2/2007)

Heavy metals and other toxins have been linked to many human diseases, but determining exactly how they damage the body remains a mystery in many cases. New research focusing on a relatively obscure, misunderstood protein suggests mercury's link to heart disease can be traced to activation of this enzyme, which triggers a process leading to plaque buildup in blood vessel walls. ...> Full Article

Increase In Cancer In Sweden Can Be Traced To Chernobyl (6/2/2007)

The incidence of cancer in northern Sweden increased following the accident at the nuclear power plant in Chernobyl in 1986. This was the finding of a much-debated study from Linköping University in Sweden from 2004. ...> Full Article

Common Cancer Gene Sends Death Order To Tiny Killer (6/2/2007)

Scientists at Johns Hopkins have discovered one way the p53 gene does what it's known for-stopping the colon cancer cells. Their report will be published in the June 8 issue of Molecular Cell. ...> Full Article

World First Study Of Faulty Genes For Breast Cancer (6/1/2007)

Results of a world-first, large-scale study of faulty genes and breast cancer, with significant Australian contributions including research from the University of Melbourne will be released in Nature today. ...> Full Article

Researchers Find Broad-Spectrum Defense Against HIV-1 (6/1/2007)

New research conducted at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) suggests that it may be possible to develop a vaccine that protects against the myriad strains of the HIV virus. ...> Full Article

Apple Peels May Help Prevent Cancer (6/1/2007)

An apple a day keeps the doctor away? Or, what appears to be more accurate: An apple peel a day might help keep cancer at bay, according to a new Cornell study. ...> Full Article