http://www.physorg.com/ en-us Physorg.com internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. When cells experience DNA damage, they'll try to repair it. But if that fails, the damaged cells are supposed to self-destruct, a process called apoptosis. A cancer researcher at Robarts Research Institute at The University of Western Ontario has identified a protein that regulates apoptosis, a new discovery which has implications for both the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Caroline Schild-Poulter's findings are now published online in the journal Molecular Cancer Research. http://www.physorg.com/news179581563.html Medicine & Health Wed, 09 Dec 2009 11:46:51 EST news179581563 University of Florida researchers have found a way to use just a fraction of the normal dosage of a highly toxic, debilitating chemotherapy drug to achieve even better results against colon cancer cells. http://www.physorg.com/news179507396.html Medicine & Health Tue, 08 Dec 2009 15:30:05 EST news179507396 Biomethylation of arsenic compounds appears to cause oxidative DNA damage and to increase their carcinogenicity, according to a new study published online November 23 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. http://www.physorg.com/news178217854.html Medicine & Health Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:40:04 EST news178217854 Scientists at the John Innes Centre in Norwich, UK, have shown how plants can protect themselves against genetic damage caused by environmental stresses. The growing tips of plant roots and shoots have an in-built mechanism that, if it detects damage to the DNA, causes the cell to 'commit suicide' rather than pass on its defective DNA. http://www.physorg.com/news177609128.html Biology Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:20:01 EST news177609128 Cancer researchers of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch, Germany, have gained new insights into how cells react to DNA damage. Dr. Michael Stilmann, Dr. Michael Hinz and Professor Claus Scheidereit have shown that the protein PARP-1, which detects DNA damage within seconds, activates the transcription factor NF-kappaB, a well-known regulator of gene expression. NF-kappaB triggers a survival program, which blocks programmed cell death. The activation of NF-kappaB is thought to be one of the potential causes for tumor cell resistance to chemo and radiation therapy. http://www.physorg.com/news177593928.html Biology Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:00:01 EST news177593928 (PhysOrg.com) -- On average, our cells encounter a very lethal form of DNA damage 10 times a day. Lucky for us, we have the capacity to repair each and every one of them. New research now reveals exactly how two well-known proteins are involved in the process, a finding that not only helps shed light on cancer but also on how our cells maintain the integrity of our genome. http://www.physorg.com/news177322691.html Medicine & Health Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:50:02 EST news177322691 (PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have shown in the laboratory that metal nanoparticles damaged the DNA in cells on the other side of a cellular barrier. The research, by the University of Bristol, is published online this week in Nature Nanotechnology. http://www.physorg.com/news176657350.html Nanotechnology Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:20:02 EST news176657350 Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have eliminated non-small cell lung (NSCL) cancer in mice by using an investigative drug called BEZ235 in combination with low-dose radiation. http://www.physorg.com/news176033624.html Medicine & Health Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:14:18 EST news176033624 (PhysOrg.com) -- A study published in the October issue of Nature Genetics demonstrates that loss of the tumor-suppressor protein p53, coupled with elimination of the DNA-maintenance protein ATR, severely disrupts tissue maintenance in mice. As a result, tissues deteriorate rapidly, which is generally fatal in these animals. In addition, the study provides supportive evidence for the use of inhibitors of ATR in cancer therapy. http://www.physorg.com/news174843234.html Medicine & Health Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:20:01 EST news174843234 Researchers have established the conditions that foster formation of potentially dangerous levels of a toxic substance in the high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) often fed to honey bees. Their study, which appears in ACS' bi-weekly Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, could also help keep the substance out of soft drinks and dozens of other human foods that contain HFCS. The substance, hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), forms mainly from heating fructose. http://www.physorg.com/news174746800.html Chemistry Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:20:02 EST news174746800 Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute have found, crystallized, and biologically characterized a poorly defined component of a key molecular complex that helps people to avoid cancer, but that also helps cancer cells resist chemotherapy. http://www.physorg.com/news173618253.html Biology Thu, 01 Oct 2009 12:18:36 EST news173618253 (PhysOrg.com) -- For years, health conscious people have been taking antioxidants to reduce the levels of reactive oxygen in their blood and prevent the DNA damage done by free radicals, which are the result of oxidative stress. But could excessive use of antioxidants deplete our immune systems? http://www.physorg.com/news173002874.html Biology Thu, 24 Sep 2009 09:21:41 EST news173002874 (PhysOrg.com) -- Cancer predisposition resulting from the presence of a specific gene variant shows a strong gender bias, researchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC) have demonstrated. http://www.physorg.com/news172770958.html Medicine & Health Mon, 21 Sep 2009 16:56:19 EST news172770958 Until now, the mode of action of nitrogen-containing bisphosphonate (N-BP) cancer drugs, used to relieve bone pain and to prevent skeletal complications in bone metastasis, has been almost entirely unknown. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Genome Biology have used 'barcoded' yeast mutants to identify new biological processes involved in the cellular response to N-BPs, opening up opportunities for the development of new anticancer drugs. http://www.physorg.com/news171743837.html Biology Wed, 09 Sep 2009 19:38:01 EST news171743837 A study that tracked genetic mutations through the human equivalent of about 5,000 years has demonstrated for the first time that oxidative DNA damage is a primary cause of the process of mutation - the fuel for evolution but also a leading cause of aging, cancer and other diseases. http://www.physorg.com/news171559610.html Medicine & Health Mon, 07 Sep 2009 16:27:16 EST news171559610 Cell cycle checkpoints act like molecular tripwires for damaged cells, forcing them to pause and take stock. Leave the tripwire in place for too long, though, and cancer cells will press on regardless, making them resistant to the lethal effects of certain types of chemotherapy, according to researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. http://www.physorg.com/news170595789.html Medicine & Health Thu, 27 Aug 2009 13:00:02 EST news170595789 Researchers have established the conditions that foster formation of potentially dangerous levels of a toxic substance in the high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) often fed to honey bees. Their study, which appears in the current issue of ACS' bi-weekly Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, could also help keep the substance out of soft drinks and dozens of other human foods that contain HFCS. The substance, hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), forms mainly from heating fructose. http://www.physorg.com/news170502342.html Chemistry Wed, 26 Aug 2009 11:00:06 EST news170502342 Scientists have known for a long time that when DNA is damaged, a key enzyme sets off a cellular "alarm bell" to alert the cell to start the repair process, but until recently little was known about how the cell detects and responds to this alarm. In a study published today in Nature Structural and Molecular Biology, researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, Germany, have identified a whole family of proteins capable of a direct response to the alarm signal. http://www.physorg.com/news169403192.html Biology Thu, 13 Aug 2009 17:27:06 EST news169403192 Switching off a key DNA repair system in the developing nervous system is linked to smaller brain size as well as problems in brain structures vital to movement, memory and emotion, according to new research led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists. http://www.physorg.com/news167913152.html Medicine & Health Mon, 27 Jul 2009 11:32:58 EST news167913152 Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shed new light on a process that fixes breaks in the genetic material of the body's cells. Their findings could lead to ways of enhancing chemotherapy drugs that destroy cancer cells by damaging their DNA. http://www.physorg.com/news166986735.html Biology Thu, 16 Jul 2009 18:40:01 EST news166986735 (PhysOrg.com) -- Penny Beuning, an assistant professor of chemical biology and biotechnology at Northeastern, this month received a National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early-Career Development grant to study how cells adapt to DNA-damaging agents. http://www.physorg.com/news166895987.html Chemistry Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:00:47 EST news166895987 When cells experiencing DNA damage fail to repair themselves, they send a signal to their neighbors letting them know they're in trouble. The discovery, which shows that a process dubbed the DDR (DNA Damage Response) also controls communication from cell to cell, has implications for both cancer and aging. The findings appear in the July 13 online edition of the Nature Cell Biology. http://www.physorg.com/news166710999.html Biology Mon, 13 Jul 2009 13:42:11 EST news166710999 Mycobacterium tuberculosis is arguably the world's most successful infectious agent because it knows how to avoid elimination by slowing its own growth to a crawl. Now, a report in the July 10 issue of the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication, offers new insight into the bugs' talent for meager living. http://www.physorg.com/news166360612.html Biology Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:17:56 EST news166360612 Daily sex (or ejaculating daily) for seven days improves men`s sperm quality by reducing the amount of DNA damage, according to an Australian study presented today (Tuesday) to the 25th annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Amsterdam. http://www.physorg.com/news165567458.html Medicine & Health Tue, 30 Jun 2009 07:58:23 EST news165567458 Like a mechanic popping the hood of a car to get at a faulty engine, a tumor-suppressing protein allows cellular repair mechanisms to pounce on damaged DNA by overcoming a barrier to DNA access. http://www.physorg.com/news164631248.html Biology Fri, 19 Jun 2009 11:54:32 EST news164631248 Those pesky graying hairs that tend to crop up with age really are signs of stress, reveals a new report in the June 12 issue of Cell. http://www.physorg.com/news163942155.html Biology Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:29:37 EST news163942155 (PhysOrg.com) -- UCLA scientists have linked for the first time intestinal inflammation with systemic chromosome damage in mice, a finding that may lead to the early identification and treatment of human inflammatory disorders, some of which increase risk for several types of cancer. http://www.physorg.com/news163044358.html Medicine & Health Mon, 01 Jun 2009 03:06:22 EST news163044358 A new study published online in Nature Immunology ahead of the June 2009 print issue has found that homologous immunoglobulin (lg) alleles pair up in the nucleus at stages that coincide with V(D)J recombination of the heavy and light chain (Igh and Igk) loci. Researchers led by Jane A. Skok Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Pathology at NYU School of Medicine and a member of the NYU Cancer Institute, showed that the V(D)J recombinase, which consists of the RAG1 and RAG2 proteins, mediates this pairing and helps ensure that only one allele undergoes recombination at a time (a process known as allelic exclusion). http://www.physorg.com/news162132670.html Medicine & Health Thu, 21 May 2009 13:51:34 EST news162132670 Some DNA repair enzymes can become double-edged swords - If they work too slowly, they can block necessary cell maintenance and contribute to cell death. This could explain the somewhat mysterious success of the widely used cancer drug 5-Fluorouracil (5FU) and help clinicians to predict patient's response to chemotherapy, according to new findings from the University of Basel, Switzerland. http://www.physorg.com/news160129626.html Biology Tue, 28 Apr 2009 09:27:34 EST news160129626 For decades, microbiologists assumed that macrophages, immune cells that can engulf and poison bacteria and other pathogens, killed microbes by damaging their DNA. A new study from the University of Illinois disproves that. http://www.physorg.com/news160048583.html Biology Mon, 27 Apr 2009 10:56:58 EST news160048583