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Source - EurekAlert – Biology:
Public Release: 11-Aug-2009
High-fat diet affects physical and memory abilities of rats after 9 days
Rats fed a high-fat diet show a stark reduction in their physical endurance and a decline in their cognitive ability after just nine days, a study by Oxford University researchers has shown.
Contact: Genevieve Maul
Genevieve.maul@admin.cam.ac.uk
44-012-233-32300
University of Cambridge
Public Release: 10-Aug-2009
Life and death in the living brain
Like clockwork, brain regions in many songbird species expand and shrink seasonally in response to hormones. Now, for the first time, neurobiologists have interrupted this natural "annual remodeling" of the brain and have shown that there is a direct link between the death of old neurons and their replacement by newly born ones in a living vertebrate.
Contact: Joel Schwarz
joels@u.washington.edu
206-543-2580
University of Washington
Public Release: 10-Aug-2009
Taking the needle's sting out of diabetes
A new anti-Ras compound developed at Tel Aviv University may lead to the first tablet-based treatment for children and adults with type 1 diabetes.
Contact: George Hunka
ghunka@aftau.org
212-742-9070
American Friends of Tel Aviv University
Public Release: 10-Aug-2009
STAT3 gene regulates cancer stem cells in brain cancer
Tufts researchers find that the STAT3 gene regulates the growth of cancer stem cells in the brain cancer Glioblastoma multiforme. This evidence is consistent with the controversial theory that a minority of cells within a tumor -- cancer stem cells -- are essential for tumor growth.
Contact: Siobhan Gallagher
617-636-6586
Tufts University, Health Sciences
Public Release: 10-Aug-2009
Estrogen-dependent switch tempers killing activity of immune cells
The sex hormone estrogen tempers the killing activity of a specific group of immune cells, the cytotoxic T cells, which are known to attack tumor cells and cells infected by viruses. The key player in this process is a cytotoxic T cell molecule which has been known for a long time and which scientists have named EBAG9. Cancer researchers in Berlin, Germany, have now unraveled the function of EBAG9.
Contact: Barbara Bachtler
bachtler@mdc-berlin.de
49-309-406-3896
Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres
Public Release: 10-Aug-2009
Scientists make multiple types of white blood cells directly from embryonic and adult stem cells
In an advance that could help transform embryonic stem cells into a multipurpose medical tool, scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have transformed these versatile cells into progenitors of white blood cells and into six types of mature white blood and immune cells.
Contact: Igor Slukvin
islukvin@wisc.edu
608-263-0058
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Public Release: 9-Aug-2009
An HIV-blocking gel for women
University of Utah scientists developed a new kind of "molecular condom" to protect women from AIDS in Africa and other impoverished areas. Before sex, women would insert a vaginal gel that turns semisolid in the presence of semen, trapping AIDS virus particles in a microscopic mesh so they can't infect vaginal cells.
Contact: Lee Siegel
leesiegel@ucomm.utah.edu
801-581-8993
University of Utah
Source - Science Daily:
Please note: Due to the format restrictions of Science Daily articles, you must click on the URL (web address) below the article summary, rather than the article title.
Gene Therapy Trial Succeeds In Boosting Protective Protein In Patients With Hereditary Lung Disease
August 11, 2009 — Gene therapy researchers have safely given new, functional genes to patients with a hereditary defect that can lead to fatal lung and liver diseases, according to clinical trial findings. Three ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090810174259.htm
Genetic Circuit That Regulates Behavior Of Stem Cells Discovered
August 11, 2009 — This circuit explains the fact that stem cells are always prepared to change into any type of cell. The discovery will greatly increase the ability of researchers to maintain embryonic stem cells in ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090720083208.htm
Avian Influenza Strain Primes Brain For Parkinson's Disease
August 11, 2009 — At least one strain of the H5N1 avian influenza virus leaves survivors at significantly increased risk for Parkinson's disease and possibly other neurological problems later in life, according to new ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090810162146.htm
Potential Alzheimer's Disease Drug: New Class Of Compounds Discovered
August 11, 2009 — A new class of molecules capable of blocking the formation of specific protein clumps that are believed to contribute to Alzheimer's disease pathology has been discovered. By assaying close to ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090810162015.htm
Advanced Targeted Therapies Effective As First-line Treatment For Lung Cancer
August 11, 2009 — Several new studies show that targeted therapies, as first-line treatment, have the potential to slow cancer growth and improve patient ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090801133135.htm
Physicians Bust Myths About Insulin
August 11, 2009 — People diagnosed with type 2 diabetes often resist taking insulin because they fear gaining weight, developing low blood sugar and seeing their quality of life decline. A study suggests that those ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090811015711.htm
A Step Toward Preventing Lung Cancer From Spreading To The Brain And New Clinical Trial Results
August 10, 2009 — Medical researchers have announced two significant advances in treating lung cancer. New research could eventually help prevent lung cancer from spreading to the brain. Researchers have also ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090807135058.htm
Two Lines Account For Most Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research, Researcher Finds
August 10, 2009 — For the past eight years, scientists who wanted to use federal funds for research on human embryonic stem cells had to restrict their studies to 21 cell lines approved by the National Institutes of ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090807141852.htm
Gene Signature For Cancer Stem Cells May Provide Drug Targets
August 10, 2009 — A subset of tumor cells that remain after a woman with breast cancer undergoes treatment with either anti-cancer or anti-hormone therapy shows a "gene signature" that could be used to define targets ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090803172942.htm
New Cancer Drug Delivery System Is Effective And Reversible
August 10, 2009 — Cancer drugs must be effective. But they must also target cancer cells and spare healthy cells. And -- ideally -- they'll come with an easy antidote. Researchers report that they have developed a ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090806112359.htm
New DNA And RNA Aptamers Offer Unique Therapeutic Advantages
August 10, 2009 — A novel class of drugs composed of single strands of DNA or RNA, called aptamers, can bind protein targets with a high strength and specificity and are currently in clinical development as treatments ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090805133021.htm
Basic Mechanism Of Skin Cancer Development Illuminated
August 10, 2009 — Scientists reveal the function of a protein in the Ras signalling pathway. Their findings provide the basis for research on novel therapeutic strategies in Ras-induced skin cancers, e.g. ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090803212053.htm
Metastatic Cancer And Macrophages: Cells Thought To Protect Against Cancer May Actually Promote It
August 10, 2009 — The deadliest part of the cancer process, metastasis, appears to rely on help from macrophages, potent immune system cells that usually defend vigorously against disease, researchers ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090810174303.htm
Tumors Feel The Deadly Sting Of Nanobees
August 10, 2009 — When bees sting, they pump poison into their victims. Now the toxin in bee venom has been harnessed to kill tumor cells. Researchers attached the major component of bee venom to nano-sized spheres ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090810174226.htm
New Light-emitting Biomaterial Could Improve Tumor Imaging, Study Shows
August 10, 2009 — A new material -- an oxygen nanosensor that couples a light-emitting dye with a biopolymer -- simplifies the imaging of oxygen-deficient regions of tumors. Such tumors are associated with increased ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090810162107.htm
Study Identifies Risk Factors For Transformation Of Eye Growths Into Melanoma
August 10, 2009 — Eight factors may predict whether a choroidal nevus -- a benign, flat, pigmented growth inside the eye and beneath the retina -- may develop into melanoma, according to a new ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090810161915.htm
What Makes Stem Cells Tick?
August 9, 2009 — Investigators have made the first comparative, large-scale phosphoproteomic analysis of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and their differentiated ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090806141739.htm
Crystal Ball For Brain Cancer? New Method Predicts Which Brain Tumors Will Respond To Drug
August 8, 2009 — Researchers have uncovered a new way to scan brain tumors and predict which ones will be shrunk by the drug Avastin -- before the patient ever starts treatment. By linking high water movement in ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090730073609.htm
Antibody Linked To Chemotherapy Drug Inhibits Ovarian Cancer In Lab
August 8, 2009 — A novel anticancer agent, consisting of a monoclonal antibody linked to a chemotherapy drug, showed substantial anti-tumor activity in ovarian cancer cell lines and in mice, according to a new ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090729170642.htm
Source - Health Day:
Health Highlights: Aug. 11, 2009
- Longest Single Heart-Transplant Survivor Dies of Cancer
- U.S., Canada, Mexico to Unite Against Swine Flu
- Antiviral Drugs Little Protection Against Flu Complications in Kids
- U.S. Birth Rate Declined in 2008
Monoclonal antibody denosumab counters effects of hormone therapy, study finds.
Stem Cell Advance May Further Disease Research
Uses for newly engineered white blood cells could include drug testing, researchers say
Clinical Trials Update: Aug. 11, 2009
- Asthma
- Hypertension (High Blood Pressure)
- Migraine Study for Asthma Suffers
Cases are appearing at a younger age than is normal, researchers note
Radiation for Brain Tumors May Affect Cognition
Whether finding applies to today's treatments remains unclear, experts say
Clinical Trials Update: Aug. 10, 2009
- Osteoarthritis
- Overactive Bladder
- Diabetes Type 2
- Mild to Moderate Asthma
- Female Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (Low Libido)
- Psoriasis
Source - Yahoo Biotech News:
Studies Published in the New England Journal of Medicine Highlight Potential New Option in the Treatment of Bone Loss
Amgen Inc. today announced the publication of results from two pivotal Phase 3 studies investigating the safety and effectiveness of denosumab at reducing fracture risk in more than 7,800 women with postmenopausal osteoporosis and in more than 1,400 men with non-metastatic prostate cancer undergoing androgen deprivation therapy leading to bone loss.
Anadys says hepatitis C drug shows potential
Anadys Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Tuesday its hepatitis C drug candidate ANA-773 could be extremely effective at treating the diseases.
Javelin pain drug misses key study goal
Javelin Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Tuesday its pain treatment candidate Ereska failed to meet the key goal of reducing pain during a late-stage study on postoperative patients.
Source - Google Health News:
Inovio Biomedical and NIH Vaccine Research Center Sign Research ...
WELT ONLINE
... H3N2, and H5N1, which make up the majority of seasonal and pandemic influenza. A resulting vaccine could target seasonal as well as pandemic-potential ...
Scientists alter cells to produce insulin
United Press International
For reasons unknown, the gene therapy worked best on mice less than 1 month old, completely counteracting the symptoms of Type 1 diabetes, Collombat said. ...
Gene Therapy Trial Succeeds In Boosting Protective Protein In ...
Science Daily (press release)
"This trial represents a very important step toward a potential gene therapy for the 100000 or more Americans who suffer with alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency ...
Combination Therapy Increasingly Popular for Mesothelioma Treatment
Blogger News Network
... and some of the combinations that may be used in this treatment include radiation therapy, chemotherapy, gene therapy, surgery, and immunotherapy. ...
Mesothelioma multimodality therapy gaining favor
TransWorldNews (press release)
These methods may include radiation therapy, surgery, gene therapy, chemotherapy, or immunotherapy. Treatment regimens can use a wide range of combinations. ...
Source - Medical News Today:
Researchers Identify Potential Target For Metastatic Cancer
The deadliest part of the cancer
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/160279.php
Dogs' Intelligence On A Par With 2-Year-Old Humans, Renowned Canine Researcher Says
Although you wouldn't want one to balance your checkbook, dogs can count. They can also understand more than 150 words and intentionally deceive other dogs and people to get treats, according to psychologist and leading canine researcher Stanley Coren, PhD, of the University of British Columbia. He spoke Saturday on the topic "How Dogs Think" at the American Psychological Association's 117th Annual Convention.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/160242.php
Converting Noninsulin-Producing Alpha Cells In The Pancreas To Insulin-Producing Beta Cells
In findings that add to the prospects of regenerating insulin-producing cells in people with type 1 diabetes
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/160086.php
Common Trigger In Cancer And Normal Stem Cell Reproduction Discovered By Stanford Scientists
Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine have discovered, for the first time, a common molecular pathway that is used by both normal stem cells
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/160132.php
Source - MIT's Technology Review:
Nanoconstruction with Curved DNA
http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/23155/
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