PITTSBURGH, Oct. 12 – Tiny strands of RNA previously dismissed as cellular junk are actually very stable molecules that may play significant roles in cellular processes, according to researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI). The findings, published last week in the online version of the Journal of Virology, represent the first examination of very small RNA products termed unusually small RNAs (usRNAs).
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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- University of Florida researchers have grown tumors in mice using cells from inflamed but noncancerous colon tissue taken from human patients, a finding that sheds new light on colon cancer and how it might be prevented.
Scientists observed that cancer stem cells taken from the gastrointestinal system in patients with a chronic digestive disease called ulcerative colitis will transform into cancerous tumors in mice.
Singapore scientists discover widely sought molecular key to understanding p53 tumor suppressor gene
Scientists at the Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN) have determined how the master gene regulator p53 could switch a gene in a cell "on" or "off" by recognizing specific sequences of nucleotides in the gene's DNA.
Their findings provide a missing piece about p53 gene repression that has eluded researchers investigating the master regulator, which undergoes mutations or deletions in over 50 percent of all cancers.
Youth may not bring wisdom but, according to a new study from Canada, it does bring generosity as young adults are found to be the most likely to donate blood. The research, published in BioMed Central's open access International Journal of Health Geographics, looked at what factors had an impact on donating blood.
A new cancer gene has been discovered by a research group at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. The gene causes an insidious form of glandular cancer usually in the head and neck and in women also in the breast. The discovery could lead to quicker and better diagnosis and more effective treatment.
The study is published today in the prestigious scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
The Canadian blood supply relies heavily on a small number of donors—with young adults donating at higher rates—which may prove problematic as the population ages, according to a new study from McMaster University.
The research, published in open access format in the International Journal of Health Geographics, examined what specific factors had an impact on blood donation in this country.
Researchers at Lund University, Sweden, have taken a snapshot of proteins changing shape, sticking together and creating structures that are believed to trigger deadly processes in the nervous system. The discovery opens the possibility of designing drugs for a devastating neurological disease, ALS.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Some invasive procedures that are becoming increasingly common as a first line of treatment for patients diagnosed with narrowed arteries in and around the kidneys may not be necessary, according to a new study by researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.
Adelphia Communications, Barings Bank, Enron, HealthSouth, HIH Insurance, Hollinger International, Tyco International, WorldCom/MCI, Xerox...the white collar crime list goes on. But, did the executives at these companies start out as criminals or did they head down the slippery slope to criminality one misplaced step at a time? According to research to be published in the International Journal of Business Governance and Ethics, there are twelve steps to white-collar crime.
Searching for biomarkers that can warn of diseases such as cancer while they are still in their earliest stage is likely to become far easier thanks to an innovative biosensor chip developed by Stanford University researchers.
The sensor is up to 1,000 times more sensitive than any technology now in clinical use, is accurate regardless of which bodily fluid is being analyzed and can detect biomarker proteins over a range of concentrations three times broader than any existing method, the researchers say.
Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have for the first time identified the genetic mechanisms involved in the formation and survival of L-form bacteria. Their findings are described in a study published October 6 in the journal PLoS ONE.
A new Tel Aviv University drug, based on an older generation antibiotic, may provide doctors with an effective and innovative method of treating colon cancer in both its incipient and full-blown stages ― and minimize the need for painful, uncomfortable colonoscopies and surgical polyp removal.
DURHAM, N.C. – Mention the words "bubble boy" and many will recall David Vetter, the kid with big eyes and a thick thatch of dark hair who died 25 years ago after spending almost the entire 12 years of his life in a germ-free, plastic bubble. David was born with severe combined immune deficiency, or SCID, a condition that robbed him of an immune system.
BERKELEY, CA - The molecular architecture of a protein complex that helps determine the fate of human cells has been imaged for the first time by researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). Known as a human RISC-loading complex, this structure consists of snippets of ribonucleic acid (RNA) that control whether genetic messages are silenced or expressed.
Conservation biologists are setting their minimum population size targets too low to prevent extinction.
That's according to a new study by University of Adelaide and Macquarie University scientists which has shown that populations of endangered species are unlikely to persist in the face of global climate change and habitat loss unless they number around 5000 mature individuals or more.
The findings have been published online in a paper 'Pragmatic population viability targets in a rapidly changing world' in the journal Biological Conservation.