New candidate cancer drug does damage only in tumours.

A new drug turns lethal only when it reaches cancer cells. In healthy cells it is harmless. Though not yet shown to work in humans, it is a step towards a magic bullet to knock out tumour cells selectively, with minimal side effects.

The drug works in mice implanted with human tumours, say chemists Lutz Tietze and colleagues at the University of Gottingen in Germany. Before being treated with the drug, the mice are giv

A new analysis of the mineral composition of meteorites suggests that theories concerning the development of the early solar system may need revision. Announcing their results today in the journal Science, researchers conclude that it took the earth only 20 million years to form from material floating around the early sun. Previous estimates, in contrast, had placed that figure at around 50 million years. The findings also re-open the debate over which types of supernovae could have produced our sola

An ambitious project is underway to build the world’s smallest electronic nose.

If the project succeeds, it is expected that the technology would have many potential applications in areas such as environmental monitoring, healthcare and food safety.

The aim is to combine the odour sensors together with the signal processing components on to a single silicon chip, around a square centimetre in size. The instrument would require very little power and could be held comfortably

The reindeer`s antlers make the beauty and the pride of a male, being a reliable weapon during spring tournaments. In autumn the antlers are no longer needed, so reindeers shed the antlers and grow them up anew in the next season. With the majority of the reindeer types, the male sex hormones control the growth of the antlers. But the reindeer`s doe has also got antlers. A pregnant doe carries antlers throughout winter, as the antlers help a doe to get food from under the snow, to keep off predators

New technique could help rapid detection of infecting organisms in hospitals and prove authenticity of foods such

Researchers at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth (UWA) are about to put ultra-violet Raman spectroscopy through its paces as a new technique for studying biological materials.
Dr Roy Goodacre and colleagues in the Institute of Biological Sciences have been awarded a grant worth £306,291 by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to develop an

Researchers from the Basque University have discovered the relationship between E2F2 gene and autoimmunity. The Science Faculty team, leaded by Ana Zubiaga has published the results of its researches in the fifteenth issue of the Immunity magazine.

The team began analysing E2F2 gene and its family. This gene family is responsible for the cell proliferation and the aim of the research was to discover how they work. There are 6 genes on this family and experts do not know yet the reason why