In the battle against cancer, Virginia Tech researchers have developed a potential warhead to better kill cancer cells, a new missile to deliver the warhead more efficiently to the diseased areas, and a new detonation device once the warhead is in place.

In a cross-disciplinary effort, the researchers, using photodynamic therapy (PDT), have obtained results in three different areas that, used together, have the possibility of providing more efficient, less invasive, and more specific treatm

Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine have found a new wrinkle in the developmental biology dogma that cell differentiation occurs irreversibly as stem cells give rise to increasingly specialized types of offspring cells. The researchers have shown that certain mouse cells retain an ability to oscillate between very distinct blood cell types — B-cells and macrophages — long after what has been commonly regarded as the point of no return.

These latest fi

A Phase II clinical trial conducted at Duke University Medical Center and five other U.S. institutions has shown that an agent made of purified human hemoglobin appears safe and may be effective when used instead of transfused human blood to replace blood lost during heart surgery.

If the benefits of the agent, known as hemoglobin raffimer, are proven in subsequent Phase III clinical trials, physicians would not need to use as much donated blood during surgery, the researchers said. An esti

In face of changes in precipitation variability, climatic extremes

What does Kansas’ weather and life have in common? In the words of Forrest Gump, both are like a box of chocolates. “You’re never sure what you’re going to get.” Rain or drought. Drought or rain.
Concerns about future climate changes resulting from human activities often focus on the effects of increases in average air temperatures or changes in average precipitation amounts. But climate models also

Nearly 20 percent of smokers using an over-the-counter nicotine patch in a new study were able to quit smoking entirely after six weeks, compared to only 7 percent of smokers using a dummy patch. Each group reported only mild side effects from patch use, like rashes or insomnia.

None of the smokers received any direct instruction on how to use the patch or got behavioral counseling to help them quit smoking, which suggests that nicotine patches used in an over-the-counter manner can be safe

’Quantum dots’ may allow researchers to track proteins and cells in their natural environments

Imagine if molecular and cell biologists could watch proteins and cells at work in their natural habitat in the same way that wildlife biologists observe animals in the wild. They’d sit back and witness first hand their microscopic subjects’ daily routines, interactions and movements, and the places they prefer to be.

This fantasy is rapidly becoming a reality t