- Botox: cell-based system reduces animal testing
Widely known as the product generally used by ageing and affluent celebrities to remove wrinkles or for other cosmetic applications, BOTOX is in fact an important medicine that over the last 15 years of clinical use...
(Issue date: 08 August 2008)
- Sesame seed extract and konjac gum may help ward off Salmonella and E. coli
A new study shows that konjac gum and sesame seed extract may offer protection against different strains of E. coli and Salmonella bacteria. The study by Dr Petra Becker et al from Wageningen University and Research Centre, the...
(Issue date: 06 August 2008)
- Key to virulence protein entry into host cells discovered
Researchers from the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) at Virginia Tech have identified the region of a large family of virulence proteins in oomycete plant pathogens that enables the proteins to enter the cells of their...
(Issue date: 06 August 2008)
- Vitamin C Injections Slow Tumour Growth in Mice
High-dose injections of vitamin C, also known as ascorbate or ascorbic acid, reduced tumour weight and growth rate by about 50 percent in mouse models of brain, ovarian, and pancreatic cancers, researchers from the National...
(Issue date: 06 August 2008)
- UNC study: shape, not just size, impacts effectiveness of emerging nano-medicine therapies
In the budding field of nanotechnology, scientists already know that size does matter. But now, researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have shown that shape matters even more — a finding that could lead to...
(Issue date: 06 August 2008)
- Broccoli could reverse the heart damaging effects of diabetes
Professor Paul Thornalley and his team from the University of Warwick have found a broccoli compound called Sulforaphane. This compound can encourage the body to produce more enzymes to protect the vessels, as well as reduce high...
(Issue date: 06 August 2008)
- Mustard – hot stuff for natural pest control
Researchers, growers and Industry specialists from 22 countries will share the latest research into the use of Brassica species, such as mustard, radish, or rapeseed, to manage soil-borne pests and weeds – a technique known as...
(Issue date: 28 July 2008)
- Mate or hibernate? That’s the question worm pheromones answer
If worms could talk, they might tell potential suitors, "I like the way you wriggle," complete with that telltale come slither look. But worms send their valentines via signals known as pheromones, a complex chemical code...
(Issue date: 28 July 2008)
- Across Species, Genes Evolve to Minimise Protein Production Errors
Genetic evolution is strongly shaped by genes' efforts to prevent or tolerate errors in the production of proteins, scientists at The University of Texas at Austin and Harvard University have found. Their study also suggests that...
(Issue date: 28 July 2008)
- ZFC Publishes Robust and Publicly Available Method for Engineering Zinc Finger Nucleases in Molecular Cell
Member laboratories of the ZFC have published a new paper in the journal Molecular Cell entitled "Rapid 'Open-Source' Engineering of Customized Zinc-Finger Nucleases for Highly Efficient Gene Modification." This paper describes...
(Issue date: 28 July 2008)
- Limiting fructose may boost weight loss, researcher reports
One of the reasons people on low-carbohydrate diets may lose weight is that they reduce their intake of fructose, a type of sugar that can be made into body fat quickly, according to a researcher at UT Southwestern Medical...
(Issue date: 28 July 2008)
- Applied Bio, 454 Life Sciences and Applera join 1000 Genomes Project
Leaders of the 1000 Genomes Project announced today that three firms that have pioneered development of new sequencing technologies have joined the international effort to build the most detailed map to date of human genetic...
(Issue date: 24 July 2008)
- New Clue to Progression of Alzheimer's Disease
Scientists from The Scripps Research Institute's Florida campus have shown for the first time that a specialized form of RNA is directly linked to increased levels of amyloid plaque in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.
"Our in...
(Issue date: 24 July 2008)
- Genetic variation raises HIV risk in people of African descent
A genetic variation that may have protected people of African descent against a pandemic of malaria long ago now appears to increase their susceptibility to HIV infection, a report published this week shows.The variation,...
(Issue date: 24 July 2008)
- Epistem chosen to screen for agents against radiation
Epistem the UK biotechnology and contract research company announced today that it has been selected by Humanetics Corporation of Minnesota, USA, to provide specialised preclinical efficacy testing services for agents likely to...
(Issue date: 24 July 2008)
- After Genentech, Roche goes for more acquistions
Just a few days after the announcement that Roche would buy for $44 billion the share in Genentech that it didn't already own, the company has announced plans to acquire other companies, albeit for smaller price tags.
Firstly...
(Issue date: 23 July 2008)
- Roche buys rest of Genentech
Roche, the world-leading healthcare company, announced that it has proposed to acquire the outstanding publicly held interest in Genentech, the leading biotechnology company for a total payment of approximately US$43.7...
(Issue date: 22 July 2008)
- Stem cells used to treat muscular dystrophy in mice
Harvard Stem Cell Institute researchers at the Joslin Diabetes Center have for the first time demonstrated that transplanted muscle stem cells can both improve muscle function in mice with a form of muscular dystrophy and...
(Issue date: 22 July 2008)
- Suckling infants trigger surges of trust hormone in mothers' brains
Researchers from the University of Warwick, in collaboration with other universities and institutes in Edinburgh, France and Italy, have for the first time been able to show exactly how, when a baby suckles at a mother's breast,...
(Issue date: 22 July 2008)
- Excavated Jericho Bones May Help Israeli-Palestinian-German Team Combat Tuberculosis
Six-thousand year old bones excavated in Jericho may help a joint Israeli-Palestinian-German research group combat tuberculosis.
According to Prof. Mark Spigelman of the Kuvin Center for the Study of Infectious and Tropical...
(Issue date: 22 July 2008)
