Health and Medicine

Allowing calcium to get inside colorectal cancer cells may be one way to stop their growth.

Researchers at Jefferson Medical College and the Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia knew that the same bacterial toxin that causes traveler’s diarrhea can stem the growth of metastatic colorectal cancer cells. Now, they may have found out how.

The scientists discovered that the toxin appears to open a cellular door, permitting calcium into tumor cells, which

Researchers in Oxford University’s Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory have found that they can intercalate a range of pharmaceutically active molecules between the layers of a layered inorganic host.

While working on the ion-exchange abilities of a family of inorganic materials known as Layered Double Hydroxides (LDHs), researchers have recognised that many commonly prescribed drugs and other over-the-counter medicines are either anions or can be conveniently and reversibly converted into an an

Campaign against unproven products might have unintended consequences

Why are research scientists speaking out against anti-aging medicine, and what are the potential consequences?

The campaign against anti-aging medicine has recently been launched by an international group of some 50 biogerontologists – biologists who conduct research on the basic processes of aging. Proclaiming that there is “no truth to the Fountain of Youth” in Scientific American and other publications,

May have potential value in treating patients with hematologic cancers

Researchers have developed a novel approach to genetically instruct human immune cells to recognize and kill cancer cells in a mouse model. The investigators plan to ultimately apply this strategy in a clinical trial setting for patients with certain forms of leukemias and lymphomas.

Scientists at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) genetically engineered an antigen receptor, introduced it into

An international research team, led by Dr. Erwin Schurr and Dr. Thomas Hudson, Scientists at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, have identified a gene on human chromosome 6 that makes people vulnerable to leprosy. The study will be published in the March 2003 issue of Nature Genetics.

“This discovery will now allow us to study how the gene works and how it influences the infectious process. This is an important step toward the development of innovative prevention

n high-risk postmenopausal women, at one year

Newly published data show that treatment with 5 mg Actonel® (risedronate sodium tablets) daily reduced the risk of spinal fracture in postmenopausal osteoporotic patients at higher risk of fracture because of age or low bone mineral density (BMD) at the hip. In these patients, fracture risk was reduced by 62 percent and 60 percent, respectively, at one year with Actonel compared with placebo. The analysis of combined data from two studies