Special Reports
New 'Clock Gene' Uncovered: Genome-wide Approach Yields Results (25/08)
(SCIENCEDAILY.COM) - The solving of the human genome sequence was hailed a
few years ago as biology's equivalent to landing a man on the moon -- a
mammoth milestone of monumental importance.
Study links nutritional supplement, creatine, to increased metabolic energy
(25/08)
(MEDICALNEWSTODAY.COM) - A Temple University researcher seeking
physiological evidence of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) has found a link
between creatine and metabolic energy. The findings, which hold promise for
future CFS treatments, were published in a recent issue of the Journal of
Applied Physiology.
Length of sex act in flies dictated by genetics (25/08)
(MEDICALNEWSTODAY.COM) - New research on fruit flies has revealed that genes
which are part of the animal's "biological clock" and control a variety of
daily rhythmic behaviors also have other distinct and powerful effects which
have nothing to do with light, dark or the rhythms of a 24-hour-day.
Xeloda improves therapy of patients with early colon cancer (25/08)
(MEDICALNEWSTODAY.COM) - Roche files Xeloda in Europe and the US for the
treatment of colon cancer after surgery.
'Marathon' mouse keeps on running (25/08)
(NEWS.BBC.CO.UK) - A "marathon" mouse which can run twice as far as a normal
rodent has been bred by a US-South Korean team of scientists. The
genetically engineered animal has been given an enhanced protein that turns
it into an "endurance athlete" and makes it resistant to weight gain.
Drano for the Heart (25/08)
(TIME.COM) - An experimental drug no one expected to work is surprisingly
effective at rooting out cholesterol
Protein Targeted By Drug Developers Not Open And Shut Case (25/08)
(SCIENCEDAILY.COM) - CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Discovery of the mTOR protein and
the role it plays in cell growth, a process often linked to diseases such as
cancer, was part serendipity and part good detective work. And like any good
whodunit, the mTOR story wouldn’t be complete without an unexpected twist.
Scientists investigate high mercury levels in Arctic belugas (25/08)
(CBC.CA) - ON THE AMUNDSEN ICEBREAKER IN LANCASTER SOUND - Mercury levels
are three to four times higher in beluga whales in the Western Arctic
compared to the small, white whales farther east, scientists say.
Arctic marine survey shows who is eating whom (25/08)
(CBC.CA) - ON THE AMUNDSEN ICEBREAKER OFF BAFFIN ISLAND - Scientists are
sending their instruments into the frigid waters of Canada's high Arctic to
follow any changes in marine life due to rising temperatures.
Animal shortage 'slows science' (25/08)
(NEWS.BBC.CO.UK) - A worldwide shortage of laboratory apes and monkeys could
be holding back research into new drug treatments and genetics, it has been
claimed. The problem, highlighted in the first global audit of primate
studies, is said to threaten advances aimed at tackling HIV and neurological
diseases.
Company
to develop bird flu vaccine (18/08)
(MSNBC.MSN.COM) -THE ASSOCIATED PRESS - WASHINGTON - The National Institutes
of Health awarded Chiron Corporation a $1.194 million contract to develop up
to 40,000 doses of vaccine against H9N2 avian influenza, a type of bird flu
that is less lethal but more widespread than the strain that killed 27 this
year in Asia.
New model can aid in understanding immune system diseases (18/08)
(MEDICALNEWSTODAY.COM) - Researchers trying to understand diseases and
develop new treatments can't always depend on existing tools or organisms to
make discoveries; sometimes they first must create models of the problems
they want to study.
Study Identifies Possible New Target for Anticancer Drug Development
(18/08)
(MEDICALNEWSTODAY.COM) - Expression of the enzyme heparanase is associated
with the invasive, angiogenic, and metastatic potential of a variety of
malignant tumors, and with poor survival of cancer patients. In a new study,
Israel Vlodavsky, Ph.D., of the Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine in
Haifa, Israel, and colleagues of the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem
found that silencing the heparanase gene in mouse tumors resulted in less
vascularization and metastasis and extended the survival of the mice.
Newark Biologist Links Presence Of Protein To Spread Of Cancerous Cells
(18/08)
(SCIENCEDAILY.COM) - RUTGERS - Biology researchers at Rutgers-Newark have
identified a new link between a specific protein and its role in determining
how cancerous cells divide, spread and form new tumors in other parts of the
human body.
Excess levels of nitrogen, phosphorus causing deformed frogs (18/08)
(MEDICALNEWSTODAY.COM) - It's like a scene out of a Stephen King novel,
begun in the nineties and continued at a more rapid pace in the oughts:
scores of deformed frogs flopping around as best they can, found often near
cattle ponds and other wetlands throughout North America.
Size does matter when choosing a mate (18/08)
(MEDICALNEWSTODAY.COM) - The difference in size between males and females of
the same species is all down to the battle for a mate, according to a study
of shorebirds published by British scientists today (August 9 2004). The
findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
are the first explanation for a rule identified over forty years ago by
German scientist Bernhard Rensch.
Gene therapy turns lazy monkeys into workaholics (18/08)
(CBC.CA) - WASHINGTON - Procrastinating primates turned into workaholics
when researchers suppressed a gene that helps to sense the balance between
reward and the work needed to earn it.
Cocaine-seeking rats a model for addiction studies (18/08)
(CBC.CA) - WASHINGTON - Rats can show the key signs of addiction, confirming
their value as an animal model for drug addiction studies. Scientists have
long known animals can prefer drugs but it wasn't clear whether they can
actually become addicted like humans.
'Cannabis' brain tumour drug hope (18/08)
(NEWS.BBC.CO.UK) - An ingredient in marijuana may be useful for treating
brain cancers, say Spanish researchers from Madrid. Chemicals called
cannabinoids could starve tumours to death by halting the growth of blood
vessels that feed it, the Complutense University team hope.
Clue
to stopping killer viruses (18/08)
(NEWS.BBC.CO.UK) - Scientists believe they may have found a new way to fight
diseases like Aids and leukaemia. Researchers in the United States say they
have identified a chemical, which may be able to stop so-called retroviruses
in their tracks.
New Drugs Get at Root of Alzheimer's in Mice (11/08)
(NEWS.YAHOO.COM) - NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Drugs called protein kinase C
(PKC) activators seem to attack the cause of Alzheimer's disease (news - web
sites) as well as the symptoms, according to findings from an animal study.
Two-pronged Attack Targeting EGF Receptor Hinders Cancer Cell Growth
(11/08)
(SCIENCEDAILY.COM) - PHILADELPHIA – Hitting the epidermal growth factor
receptor (EGFR) both high and low with a combination of drugs for targeted
cancer therapy curbs cancer cell growth more effectively than using the
drugs each by themselves, researchers from the University of
Wisconsin-Madison reported in the August 1 issue of the journal Cancer
Research.
In Mouse Model, Weill Cornell Researchers Use Gene Therapy To Correct Deadly
Inherited Immune Disorder (11/08)
(SCIENCEDAILY.COM) - New York, NY (August 2, 2004) — Previous attempts in
mice to correct a rare inherited immune disorder, called Hyper IgM X-linked
immunodeficiency, have failed because standard gene therapy raised risks for
cancer.
Malignant Cancer Cells Generate Mice Through Cloning (11/08)
(SCIENCEDAILY.COM) - Nature can reset the clock in certain types of cancer
and reverse many of the elements responsible for causing malignancy, reports
a research team led by Whitehead Institute Member Rudolf Jaenisch, in
collaboration with Lynda Chin from Dana Farber Cancer Institute. The team
demonstrated this by successfully cloning mice from an advanced melanoma
cell.
Small Animal Imaging Gives Cancer Clues (11/08)
(SCIENCEDAILY.COM) - Advances in biomedical imaging are allowing UC Davis
researchers to use mice more effectively to study cancers comparable to
human disease. The system can distinguish different stages of cancer and
could lead to more sensitive screening tests for cancer-fighting drugs.
Small
test prompts immune response without serious problems (11/08)
(MSNBC.COM) - Scientists say they are making headway in developing a vaccine
against a common strep germ, the cause of millions of sore throats as well
as a deadly but uncommon flesh-eating disease.
Sex Pheromone Blocked in Bug (11/08)
(MEDIALNEWSTODAY.COM) - Science can put a dent in the sex life of a scarab
beetle by blocking its ability to pick up female scent, according to Walter
Leal, professor of entomology at UC Davis. The research could eventually
lead to methods to control insect pests without affecting harmless or
beneficial insects.
Coordinating power of circadian rhythms keeps estrus and pregnancy on track
(11/08)
(MEDICALNEWSTODAY.COM) - In work reported this week, researchers at
Northwestern University have begun to uncover the basis for how the daily
patterns of biological behavior known as circadian rhythms are able to
control complex events such as reproduction, which in female mammals
requires precise but dynamic regulation of hormone levels.
Scientists Identify Compounds That Mimic Calorie Restriction (11/08)
(MEDICALNEWSTODAY.COM) - Investigators from an international consortium of
research institutes, including the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public
Health, have identified compounds that mimic the effects of a low calorie
diet but without a change in the amount of essential nutrients. The
researchers believe it may be possible to design drugs that imitate many of
the beneficial effects of calorie restriction resulting in the prevention of
diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer, which are more common
in people who are overweight. Their findings are published in the current
online issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.
Scientists turn procrastinating primates into workaholics by suppressing a
gene in a brain circuit (11/08)
(MEDICALNEWSTODAY.COM) - Using a new molecular genetic technique, scientists
have turned procrastinating primates into workaholics by temporarily
suppressing a gene in a brain circuit involved in reward learning. Without
the gene, the monkeys lost their sense of balance between reward and the
work required to get it, say researchers at the NIH's National Institute of
Mental Health (NIMH).
Synthetic proteins trigger mad cow symptoms in mice (03/08)
(CBC.CA) - TORONTO - Researchers in California say they have created the
first synthetic version of a rogue protein that gives mice symptoms similar
to mad cow disease.
Malignant cancer cells generate mice through cloning (03/08)
(MEDICALNEWSTODAY.COM) - Nature can reset the clock in certain types of
cancer and reverse many of the elements responsible for causing malignancy,
reports a research team led by Whitehead Institute Member Rudolf Jaenisch,
in collaboration with Lynda Chin from Dana Farber Cancer Institute. The team
demonstrated this by successfully cloning mice from an advanced melanoma
cell.
Maggots
make medical comeback (03/08)
(MSNBC.MSN.COM) - WASHINGTON - Think of these wriggly little creatures not
as, well, gross, but as miniature surgeons: Maggots are making a medical
comeback, cleaning out wounds that just won't heal.
Cloning experiment shows cancer reversible (03/08)
(NEWS.XINHUANET.COM) - BEIJING -- A cloning experiment may show that the
human body can reverse cancer. This shows that malignancy is not the
inevitable fate of a cancer cell.
'Smart Gene Therapy' Protects Against Damage From Heart Attack (03/08)
(SCIENCEDAILY.COM) - DURHAM, N.C. -- Early intervention with a novel kind of
"smart gene therapy" might effectively prevent the organ damage commonly
suffered by heart attack victims, suggests a new animal study by researchers
at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and Duke University Medical
Center. The therapy combines a therapeutic gene with a genetic "sensor" that
recognizes and responds to the oxygen deprivation that follows the reduced
blood flow, or ischemia, from coronary artery disease and heart attack.
Pioneering The Basics For New Kind Of Cancer Vaccine (03/08)
(SCIENCEDAILY.COM) - ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Mayo Clinic and British researchers
have developed a new approach to cancer vaccines that purposely kills
healthy skin cells to target the immune system against tumors. The new
approach has eradicated skin cancer tumors in mice.
Mothers Turn Fearless When Peptide Level Drops (03/08)
(SCIENCEDAILY.COM) - MADISON - Everyone knows not to get between a mother
and her offspring. What makes these females unafraid when it comes to
protecting their young may be low levels of a peptide, or small piece of
protein, released in the brain that normally activates fear and anxiety,
according to new research published in the August issue of Behavioral
Neuroscience.
Green Mamba Snake Venom Hormone May Cause 'Second Stroke' In Patients With
Brain Aneurysms, Mayo Clinic Discovers (03/08)
(SCIENCEDAILY.COM) - ROCHESTER, Minn. -- A Mayo Clinic research team is
focusing on a hormone previously identified in the venom of the green mamba
snake for the role it may play in a dangerous blood vessel narrowing in
stroke patients that can lead to a second stroke, reduced blood flow and
brain damage.
Cancer Drug Could Help Alzheimer's (03/08)
(YAHOO.COM) - CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A drug being tested to treat cancer also
might be used to slow memory loss and the cause of Alzheimer's disease,
according to a West Virginia researcher.
Special Reports:
Nobel Laureates Back Animal Research
Winners of Nobel prizes in physiology or medicine
overwhelmingly support responsible use of animals in research, according to
Seriously Ill For Medical
Research (SIMR) of Bedfordshire, England. SIMR has carried out a survey of
Nobel prize winners in physiology or medicine to find the views of top medical
researchers worldwide on the need for animals in medical research.
The centenary of Alfred Nobel's death in 1896
seemed an ideal opportunity. "We are concerned that animal rights propaganda has
undue influence in the media, leading to confusion amongst the public and
patients about animal research. SIMR wants to help sort out science fact from
science fiction," said the late Andrew Blake of SIMR.
Questionnaires were sent to all living Nobel
laureates in medicine or physiology. They were asked to indicate their level of
agreement with five statements on the use of animals in medcal research. Their
responses show unanimous support on the need to use animals in medical research.
The complete survey results are available at the
SIMR website. To review the achievements of these great scientists, see a
Timeline
of Nobel Laureates in Physiology or Medicine.
info@pirweb.org