Turning viruses into allies against cancer
To most, the mere mention of the word "virus" stirs up memories of pain, fever and varying levels of suffering. But in recent years, scientists have been trying to turn these long-time medical foes into allies in the fight against cancer. Through genetic engineering, viruses are being re-programmed to take advantage of their natural abilities to infiltrate, commandeer, replicate and destro...Oceans turning to acid from rise in CO2
A report issued by the Royal Society in the U.K. sounds the alarm about the world's oceans. "If CO...Seals protect brain, conserve oxygen by turning off shivering response on icy dives
Seals shiver when exposed to cold air but not when diving in chilly water, a finding that researchers believe allows the diving seal to conserve oxygen and minimize brain damage that could result from long dives. The researchers presented the study at The American Physiological Society's conference "Comparative Physiology 2006: Integrating Diversity," in Virginia Beach, Va., October 8-11....Mechanical 'artificial hearts' can remove need for heart transplant by returning heart to normal
Mechanical 'artificial hearts' can be used to return severely failing hearts to their normal function, potentially removing the need for heart transplantation, according to new research. The mechanical devices, known as Left Ventricular Assist Devices (LVADs), are currently used in patients with very severe heart failure whilst they await transplantation. The new study, published in the Ne...Turning a cellular sentinel into a cancer killer
Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers have developed two strategies to reactivate the p53 gene in mice, causing blood, bone and liver tumors to self destruct. The p53 protein is called the "guardian of the genome" because it triggers the suicide of cells with damaged DNA. Inactivation of p53 can set the stage for the development of different types of cancer. The researchers' findings...Sonic closer to turning profit corner
Chairman and CEO Rimas Buinevicius and CFO Ken Minor released upbeat re...Turning ads into sales: Context is king
Marketers used to view advertising and mass media as one-in-the-same. A good ad campaign typically meant blasting the same ad across mass media as often as possible. A success...Teens turning to Internet for medical queries
The desire to access news immediately, the urge for confidentiality and embarrassment in asking questions on sexual problems drive many teens to health portals in their quest for answers to their health queries. Earlier it was the agony aunt column in magazines now it is the medical portals, which clarify the doubts and dispel the fears of the teens.More than 75% of teens surveyed, in a study i...Cancer patients turning to Internet for information
Many cancer patients, according to a recent study, are increasingly turning to the Internet for information about their disease. In this context physicians need to be aware of various Internet medical sites so they can guide the patients to the most reliable, accurate and updated information. Dr. James M.Metz of the University of Pennsylvania Cancer Center in Philadelphia echoed these ideas at...Dental implants are turning to gain popularity
According to a new survey shows that Americans are opting for dental implants to replace problem teeth. If you lose a tooth through accident, injury or decay, //the traditional solution to the problem is to go for dentures - artificial teeth fixed on a bridge that is inserted into the mouth. But implants teeth inserted into the gum and bone by surgery are growing in popularity according to the A...Gene alteration observed in children turning into adults
When children turn into adults, some genes involved in controlling their blood pressure change as well. This is as per a study of more than 500 pairs of twins. //Black and white identical and fraternal twins was done and it showed that changes in gene expression between ages 14 and 18 accounted for up to one third of the blood pressure variation that occurred by age 18. This was told by Dr. Har...Diabetes Fast Turning Into A Epidemic In Australia
A national health study in Australia shows that an alarming 270 people develop diabetes every day, and it was mainly due to their lifestyle//. These new figures, conducted by the International Diabetes Institute over 15 months, show 100,000 adults each year, or 275 people a day, are developing diabetes. This in turn doubles their chances of dying during the next five years. The Federal...Fat Kills Cancer: Turning Stem Cells from Fat Tissue into Personalized, Cancer-Targeted Therapeutics
PHILADELPHIA, July 3, 2007 ? Researchers in Slovakia havebeen able to derive mesenchymal stem cells from human adipose, orfat, tissue and engineer them into “suicide genes” that seek out and destroy tumors like tiny homing missiles. This gene therapy approach is a novel way to attack smalltumor metastases that evade current detection techniques andtreatments, the researchers...