- Nervous culprit found for Tassie devil facial tumour disease
Cells that protect nerves are the likely origin of the Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD) that has been devastating Australia’s Tasmanian devil population, an international team of scientists has discovered. Devil Facial Tumour...
(Issue date: 04 January 2010)
- Researchers use novel "Phase 0" approach to show chlorophyll's effect
A new study has found that chlorophyll and its derivative chlorophyllin are effective in limiting the absorption of aflatoxin in humans. Aflatoxin is produced by a fungus that is a contaminant of grains including corn, peanuts...
(Issue date: 04 January 2010)
- Scientists visualise how a vital hepatitis C virus protein moves along its nucleic acid substrate
By taking three conformational snapshots of a hepatitis C virus motor protein in association with its substrate, researchers at Rockefeller University have provided the first structural explanation of how a representative...
(Issue date: 04 January 2010)
- New interaction for Breast Cancer Gene
Scientists at King’s College London have found that a family of proteins can play a crucial role in repairing DNA damage and help prevent cancer.
The research studied the ways in which cells respond to DNA damage. Failure to...
(Issue date: 28 December 2009)
- UCLA scientists find molecular switch to prevent Huntington's disease in mice
UCLA scientists have identified a molecular switch that prevents Huntington's disease from developing in mice. The discovery suggests a new approach to treating the genetic disorder, which ultimately leads to death in as little...
(Issue date: 28 December 2009)
- Mobilising the repair squad: Critical protein helps mend damaged DNA
In order to preserve our DNA, cells have developed an intricate system for monitoring and repairing DNA damage. Yet precisely how the initial damage signal is converted into a repair response remains unclear. Researchers at the...
(Issue date: 28 December 2009)
- Meddling in mosquitoes' sex lives could help stop the spread of malaria, says study
Stopping male mosquitoes from sealing their sperm inside females with a 'mating plug' could prevent mosquitoes from reproducing, and offer a potential new way to combat malaria, say scientists. The new study focuses on the...
(Issue date: 28 December 2009)
- Research yields new agent for some drug-resistant, non-small cell lung cancers
The ability to make, test, and map the atomic structure of new anti-cancer agents has enabled a team of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists to discover a compound capable of halting a common type of drug-resistant lung...
(Issue date: 28 December 2009)
- Lung cancer and melanoma cancer genomes revealed
Research teams led by the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute have revealed the first comprehensive analyses of cancer genomes. The studies, of a malignant melanoma and a lung cancer, reveal for the first time almost all of the...
(Issue date: 20 December 2009)
- Umbilical Cord Could Be New Source of Plentiful Stem Cells
Stem cells that could one day provide therapeutic options for muscle and bone disorders can be easily harvested from the tissue of the umbilical cord, just as the blood that goes through it provides precursor cells to treat some...
(Issue date: 20 December 2009)
- Gene Hijacked By HIV Ancestor Suggests New Way to Block Viral Reproduction
An ancestor of the AIDS virus hijacked an entire gene, perhaps from some prehistoric cat it had infected, a gene that makes it much better able to infect humans, according to a recent study. The discovery represents the first...
(Issue date: 20 December 2009)
- Researchers design a tool to induce controlled suicide in human cells
When cells accumulate excessive errors in the proteins they produce, apoptosis is activated, that is to say, a cell suicide programme; however, beforehand the cells attempt to rectify the problem through a number of rescue...
(Issue date: 20 December 2009)
- Scientists discover natural flu-fighting protein in human cells
In findings that may lead to better ways to prevent and treat influenza and other viral infections, researchers report the discovery of a family of naturally occurring antiviral agents in human cells.
In experiments in human and...
(Issue date: 20 December 2009)
- New drug technology produces marked improvement in hepatitis C therapy in animals; may be useful for a wide range of diseases
In a dramatic finding, a new drug for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections that targets liver cells produced a substantial drop in blood levels of the virus in animals and continued to work up to several months after treatment, say...
(Issue date: 06 December 2009)
- Two heads better than one in new antibiotic method
An antibiotic that binds to a well-established target in a novel and unexpected way could be the inspiration for designing new, more potent antibacterial drugs.
"A completely new way to beat bacteria is an exciting find at a...
(Issue date: 06 December 2009)
- Men's genes 'may limit lifespan'
Men carry the seeds of their own destruction in the genes present in their sperm, research suggests. Scientists working on mice have highlighted a specific gene that, although carried by both sexes, appears to be active only in...
(Issue date: 06 December 2009)
- Worms may hold key to understanding Parkinson's
Scientists at the University of Dundee have received funding of more than £190,000 for research using worms which may hold a clue as to why some people develop inherited Parkinson’s Disease. The research, funded by the...
(Issue date: 06 December 2009)
- A Cells ‘Cap’ of Bundled Fibers Could Yield Clues to Disease
It turns out that wearing a cap is good for you, at least if you are a mammal cell. Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Engineering in Oncology Center have shown that in healthy cells, a bundled "cap" of thread-like fibers holds...
(Issue date: 06 December 2009)
- Cancer vaccine success
A cancer vaccine carried into the body on a carefully engineered, fingernail-sized implant is the first to successfully eliminate tumours in mammals, scientists report this.
The new approach, pioneered by bioengineers and...
(Issue date: 29 November 2009)
- First-ever blueprint of a minimal cell is more complex than expected
What are the bare essentials of life, the indispensable ingredients required to produce a cell that can survive on its own? Can we describe the molecular anatomy of a cell, and understand how an entire organism functions as a...
(Issue date: 29 November 2009)
