Researchers have identified a protein fragment that keeps at least one major tumor suppressor gene from preventing cancer like it should. The fragment belongs to a class of proteins known as apoptotic enhancers (ASPP), named for their ability to stimulate programmed cell death, or apoptosis, by the p53 gene.

But a study published in Nature Genetics finds that one member of this group, called iASPP, actually inhibits p53’s normal cell killing power. When iASPP levels were reduced in experime

With a high-tech fix for faulty cellular editing, scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory have moved a step closer to developing treatments for a host of diseases as diverse as breast cancer, muscular dystrophy, and cystic fibrosis.

Many human diseases have been linked to defects in a cellular editing process called pre-messenger RNA splicing. Adrian Krainer, a molecular biologist at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, has spent years investigating this complex editing process, which t

Researchers at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research are gaining new insight into the molecular players involved in the process of vertebral column formation in the embryo.

A research team headed by Dr. Olivier Pourquie, currently an Associate Scientist at the Stowers Institute, were pioneers in providing evidence for an oscillator called the segmentation clock, a timing mechanism responsible for the periodic production of the somites (the precursors of the vertebrae) in the embr

Both sides of the brain play a role in processing emotional communication, with the right side stepping in when we focus not on the “what” of an emotional message but rather on how it feels.

By studying blood flow velocity to each side of the brain, Belgian psychologists have opened a window onto the richness and complexity of human emotional communication. Their research appears in the January 2003 issue of Neuropsychology, published by the American Psychological Association (APA).

In recent years a new view of health has emerged. The change has been so momentous that it has been called a paradigm shift. But what kind of social transformation are we experiencing? What is actually meant by ‘health promotion’? This is what Peter Korp at the University of Trollhättan/Uddevalla has investigated in his doctoral dissertation in sociology. The study is the first to be carried out on the basis of conditions in Sweden.

The view of how health is dealt with in society ha

Nearly four decades of research conclude that power toothbrushes with rotation oscillation action, such as the Oral-B 3D Excel, are demonstrably more effective in removing plaque and reducing gingivitis than other types of power toothbrushes — including those featuring “sonic” technology — according to an international study announced today at the Forsyth Institute conference on evidence-based dentistry.

Half of adults age 18 or older have some evidence of gingivitis, the earliest