Life Sciences and Chemistry

A team of scientists has found that a protein involved in a congenital neurological disorder also plays a role in DNA damage repair and thus cancer prevention. The research appears as the “Paper of the Week” in the August 13 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, an American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology journal.

Primary microcephaly is a rare neurological disorder that results in an abnormally small head due to improper brain formation and growth. Children

Immune cells transform into blood-vessel cells in ovarian cancer

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine discovered that in ovarian cancer immune cells can change into blood-vessel cells, and eventually promote the life-sustaining vasculature of the tumor. These findings were initially observed in a mouse model of ovarian cancer that the investigators generated and then confirmed in human ovarian cancer. This work may lead to new approaches to fighting solid

An enzyme found in nearly all animal and human cells acts as a natural brake to prevent potentially deadly runaway inflammation, UCSF scientists have discovered. The discovery in research with mice suggests a promising target for treating a range of inflammatory diseases in which the body’s immune reaction to bacterial invasion spirals out of control, the researchers report.

The enzyme, known as A20, controls the first step in the series of signals that unleash immune system sold

Does estrogen help cognition? Many women ponder that question as a quality-of-life issue while deciding on estrogen therapy since it has been linked to potential disease complications. Now, a new study at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign suggests that the stress of any given task at least partially determines if hormones will help the mind.

Reporting in the August issue of Behavioral Neuroscience, four researchers show the introduction of a single stressor — water temp

Canadian researchers identify new player in breast cancer

Canadian researchers at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (Montreal, QC) and McMaster University (Hamilton, ON) have identified a new player in breast cancer. This gene, beta1-integrin, has been shown to be critical in the initiation of tumour growth and development in a mouse model of cancer.

“We are the first to demonstrate the requirement for beta1-integrin in the induction breast can

In an effort that may someday lead to the treatment of hearing loss and balance disorders, which currently affect about 28 million Americans, Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) visiting investigators Jeffrey Corwin and Stefan Heller are working this summer to make large numbers of mouse stem cells “grow” into inner ear sensory hair cells-acoustic receptors that are a critical part of the auditory system.

The work is important because, in humans, inner ear sensory hair cells are a p