From ultraviolet radiation to food carcinogens, our bodies are bombarded with stuff that can make a normal cell go haywire, multiplying out of control and turning cancerous. Thanks to a set of tumor suppressor genes, however, we can defend against this daily onslaught.

Goaded into action, these genes push cells into a kind of molecular menopause, called senescence. The cells remain healthy, but they stop reproducing.

Researchers often assume that we need our tumor suppressor genes

Nicotine isn’t all bad, despite its addictive qualities and its presence in tobacco products, increasingly taboo in these health-conscious times. As a chemical compound, nicotine even has beneficial properties. It’s used around the world as a relatively cheap, environmentally friendly insecticide, repelling bugs that attack tobacco and other plants, and – contrary to popular misconceptions – it is not a carcinogen.

Take a nicotine molecule and snip off a methyl group, though, and y

Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine have successfully transplanted specialized cells that are critical to sperm development in mice, restoring sperm production in once-infertile animals.

The research, reported on the Web site of the journal Biology of Reproduction, may give scientists a better understanding of how Sertoli cells — which surround spermatogenic stem cells — nourish sperm production and the survival of stem cells.

“Spermatogen

The earlier the smoke in a forest will be detected, the easier it would be for firemen to stop the fire from spreading. The problem of forest fires have always been one of the most difficult and dangerous problems. Russian scientists from MULTITECH Ltd. have developed an equipment, which can help solving the problem.

Right now the equipment is not of much use, because autumn rains have already quenched forest and turf fires. However, if the scientists put their invention to industria

The first pictures from the new Swedish solar telescope on La Palma, Canary Islands, are presented in an article in the prestigious science journal Nature from November 14. The images of the sun are the most detailed ever seen. One of the most sensational discoveries is a previously unknown detailed sunspot structure.

The impact of this discovery is now capturing the attention of solar researchers, and it won`t be long before new and revised theories are formulated.

The solar tele

Morphochem AG, a leader in novel chemistries for small molecule drug discovery, has announced that one of its leading programmes, inhibitors of blood coagulation Factor Xa, led to the identification of novel, orally available anti-thrombotics in preclinical studies. Details of these preclinical studies will be presented at a meeting of investment analysts and pharmaceutical executives to be held in Basel on 21st November.
Commenting on the Factor Xa programme, Dr Lutz Weber, CEO of Morphochem sa