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. A new mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) closely resembles humans with the paralyzing disorder, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report. http://www.physorg.com/news174582327.html Medicine & Health Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:05:52 EST news174582327 In populating the growing brain, neural stem cells must strike a delicate balance between two key processes - proliferation, in which the cells multiply to provide plenty of starting materials - and differentiation, in which those materials evolve into functioning neurons. http://www.physorg.com/news173881709.html Medicine & Health Sun, 04 Oct 2009 13:29:12 EST news173881709 Virginia Commonwealth University researchers have identified the role of a gene in regulating molecular signals involved with ovarian follicle development, which may one day help shed light on some of the causes of fertility issues in humans. http://www.physorg.com/news173712184.html Biology Fri, 02 Oct 2009 14:40:01 EST news173712184 (PhysOrg.com) -- The drug vorinostat is able to cross the blood-brain barrier and reduce the development of large metastatic tumors in mice brains by 62 percent when compared to mice that did not receive the drug, according to a new study. In humans, the drug has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of a cancer called cutaneous T-cell lymphoma but can be used experimentally to study its effectiveness against other cancers. This research, by investigators at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, and their collaborators, appears online Sept. 29, 2009, in Clinical Cancer Research. http://www.physorg.com/news173455651.html Medicine & Health Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:07:57 EST news173455651 Using mice as a model to study human breast cancer, researchers have demonstrated that a negative social environment (in this case, isolation) causes increased tumor growth. The work shows -- for the first time -- that social isolation is associated with altered gene expression in mouse mammary glands, and that these changes are accompanied by larger tumors. http://www.physorg.com/news173449579.html Medicine & Health Tue, 29 Sep 2009 13:27:07 EST news173449579 Penn State College of Medicine researchers, in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Southern California, have taken an important step in understanding the role of stem cells in development of liver cancer. Using a unique approach that involves study of individual cells, the team, led by C. Bart Rountree, M.D., has demonstrated for the first time a population of cancer stem cells in the liver prior to tumor formation. The research, published in the journal Stem Cells, shows a potential link between liver stem cells and liver cancer. http://www.physorg.com/news172424170.html Medicine & Health Thu, 17 Sep 2009 16:50:02 EST news172424170 A recent study by Scripps Research Institute scientists offers good news for families of children afflicted with the rare genetic disorder, cystinosis. In research that holds out hope for one day developing a potential therapy to treat the fatal disorder, the study shows that the genetic defect in mice can be corrected with stem cell transplantation. http://www.physorg.com/news172412710.html Medicine & Health Thu, 17 Sep 2009 13:26:39 EST news172412710 A University of Utah sleep expert has joined with researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), and Stanford University to identify a genetic variation in humans, which the scientists also developed in mouse models, that allows a rare number of people to require less sleep than others. http://www.physorg.com/news172331361.html Medicine & Health Wed, 16 Sep 2009 14:50:19 EST news172331361 (PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists from University of Toronto and the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute of Mount Sinai Hospital have discovered a molecular link between intelligence and curiosity, which may lead to the development of drugs to improve learning. http://www.physorg.com/news172174436.html Medicine & Health Mon, 14 Sep 2009 19:14:27 EST news172174436 (PhysOrg.com) -- The master gene that causes blood stem cells to turn into disease-fighting 'Natural Killer' (NK) immune cells has been identified by scientists, in a study published in Nature Immunology today. The discovery could one day help scientists boost the body's production of these frontline tumour-killing cells, creating new ways to treat cancer. http://www.physorg.com/news172072752.html Medicine & Health Sun, 13 Sep 2009 15:50:03 EST news172072752 A diagnosis of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis is not much better than a death sentence: there is no treatment and the survival rate is less than three years. http://www.physorg.com/news170256423.html Medicine & Health Sun, 23 Aug 2009 14:33:07 EST news170256423 Discovery of a deafness-causing gene defect in mice has helped identify a new protein that protects sensory cells in the ear, according to a study led by University of Iowa researchers. The findings, which also involved Kansas State University, appear in the Aug. 21 issue of the open-access journal PLoS Genetics. http://www.physorg.com/news170065521.html Medicine & Health Fri, 21 Aug 2009 09:40:04 EST news170065521 A new study published in Disease Models and Mechanisms, reports new tools for generating specifically targeted genetic mutations in bacteria, mammalian cells and mice. The new recombinase, Dre, is similar to its predecessor, Cre, but targets unique sites within DNA for recombination. It may be used in combination with currently available methods to produce more complex mouse models to understand disease. http://www.physorg.com/news169885035.html Medicine & Health Wed, 19 Aug 2009 07:30:01 EST news169885035 Crosstalk between cells lining the lung (epithelial cells) and airway smooth muscle cells is important in lung development. However, it has also been shown to contribute to several lung diseases, including asthma and pulmonary hypertension. http://www.physorg.com/news169750998.html Medicine & Health Tue, 18 Aug 2009 02:10:01 EST news169750998 (PhysOrg.com) -- Using new genetic tools, Cornell researchers have found that some stem cells in mice behave dramatically different than in fruit flies, where most of the pioneering stem cell work has been conducted. The findings could have important implications for understanding how some cancers might be initiated, say the researchers. http://www.physorg.com/news169480057.html Biology Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:40:07 EST news169480057 Schizophrenia waits silently until a seemingly normal child becomes a teenager or young adult. Then it swoops down and derails a young life. http://www.physorg.com/news169150751.html Medicine & Health Mon, 10 Aug 2009 19:19:49 EST news169150751 A genetic search that wound its way from patients to mouse models and back to patients has uncovered an unlikely gene critically involved in a common birth defect which causes mental retardation, motor delays and sometimes autism, providing a new mechanism and potentially improving treatment for the disorder. http://www.physorg.com/news169052103.html Medicine & Health Sun, 09 Aug 2009 15:56:31 EST news169052103 University of Michigan researchers have developed an animal model that provides strong evidence why imatinib, marketed as Gleevec, helps patients with chronic myeloid leukemia survive longer, but does not keep the disease from returning if treatment ends. http://www.physorg.com/news168690787.html Medicine & Health Wed, 05 Aug 2009 11:50:01 EST news168690787 In many types of cancer, parts of the genetic material of tumor cells are switched off by chemical labels called methyl groups. This kind of methyl labeling ranges among the epigenetic changes that do not change the sequence of DNA building blocks. Such labels are found particularly often in genes which act as important inhibitors of pathogenic cell growth. http://www.physorg.com/news168608350.html Medicine & Health Tue, 04 Aug 2009 12:50:01 EST news168608350 By injecting man-made, microscopic tubes into tumors and heating them with a quick, 30-second zap of a laser, scientists have discovered a way to effectively kill kidney tumors in nearly 80 percent of mice. Researchers say that the finding suggests a potential future cancer treatment for humans. http://www.physorg.com/news168525725.html Nanotechnology Mon, 03 Aug 2009 13:42:54 EST news168525725 (PhysOrg.com) -- The secret to fighting often lethal drug resistant fungal infections is to knock out the bug's molecular chaperone, according to U of T researchers. http://www.physorg.com/news168263294.html Biology Fri, 31 Jul 2009 12:49:04 EST news168263294 Nanoparticle delivery of diphtheria toxin-encoding DNA selectively expressed in ovarian cancer cells reduced the burden of ovarian tumors in mice, and researchers expect this therapy could be tested in humans within 18 to 24 months, according to a report in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. http://www.physorg.com/news168149704.html Medicine & Health Thu, 30 Jul 2009 05:21:34 EST news168149704 Research to be presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior (SSIB), the foremost society for research into all aspects of eating and drinking behavior, finds that assisted reproductive techniques alter the expression of genes that are important for metabolism and the transport of nutrients in the placenta of mice. The results underscore the need for greater understanding of the long-term effects of new assisted reproductive techniques in humans. http://www.physorg.com/news167922238.html Medicine & Health Mon, 27 Jul 2009 15:40:01 EST news167922238 Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) has helped many couples conceive healthy children and is generally considered a safe practice. However, a new long-term analysis of PGD in mice suggests that this procedure may increase risks of weight gain and memory decline in adulthood. http://www.physorg.com/news167399961.html Medicine & Health Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:00:12 EST news167399961 A Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)-based research team has identified how a chromosomal abnormality known to be associated with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) - the most common cancer in children - initiates the disease process. In the July issue of Cell Stem Cell, they describe how expression of this mutation in hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), which usually occurs before birth, leads to the development of leukemia many years later. http://www.physorg.com/news166884456.html Medicine & Health Wed, 15 Jul 2009 14:20:01 EST news166884456 The secret to longevity may lie in an enzyme with the ability to promote a robust immune system into old age by maintaining the function of the thymus throughout life, according to researchers studying an "anti-aging" mouse model that lives longer than a typical mouse. http://www.physorg.com/news166471334.html Medicine & Health Fri, 10 Jul 2009 19:02:59 EST news166471334 Catastrophic epilepsy - characterized by severe muscle spasms, persistent seizures, mental retardation and sometimes autism - results from a mutation in a single gene, said Baylor College of Medicine researchers in a report that appears in the current issue of the Journal of Neuroscience. http://www.physorg.com/news166206260.html Medicine & Health Tue, 07 Jul 2009 18:00:03 EST news166206260 (PhysOrg.com) -- Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists' discovery of a cancer-causing gene - the first in its family to be linked to cancer - demonstrates how the panoramic view of genomics and the close-up perspective of molecular biology are needed to determine which genes are involved in cancer and which are mere bystanders. The findings are reported in the June 25 issue of the journal Nature. http://www.physorg.com/news165068004.html Medicine & Health Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:50:04 EST news165068004 Scientists of the German Mouse Clinic at Helmholtz Zentrum Muenchen (Germany) have made a major contribution to understanding human language development. Using a comprehensive screening method, they studied a mouse model carrying a 'humanized version' of a key gene associated with human language. In the brains of the mice the researchers found alterations which may be closely linked to speech and language development. Their analyses comprise part of an international study led by the Leipzig Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. The findings have been published in the current issue of the renowned journal Cell. http://www.physorg.com/news165043680.html Medicine & Health Wed, 24 Jun 2009 06:28:33 EST news165043680 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at The University of Queensland have developed a way to deliver drugs which can specifically shut down cancer-causing genes in tumour cells while sparing normal healthy tissues. http://www.physorg.com/news163351287.html Medicine & Health Thu, 04 Jun 2009 16:21:50 EST news163351287