Body

NEW YORK (May 24, 2010) - A technique pioneered in the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Laboratory of Dr. Jeremy Mao, the Edward V. Zegarelli Professor of Dental Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center, can orchestrate stem cells to migrate to a three-dimensional scaffold infused with growth factor, holding the translational potential to yield an anatomically correct tooth in as soon as nine weeks once implanted.

PITTSBURGH, May 24 – A flexible ring containing two anti-HIV drugs showed in laboratory tests that it can deliver therapeutic levels of both drugs for up to 30 days, researchers reported today at the International Microbicides Conference (M2010) in Pittsburgh, adding that they consider the ring near ready for testing of its safety in women.

HSP10 (Heat Shock Protein), helps monitor and organise protein interactions in the body, and responds to environmental stresses, such as exercise and infection, by increasing its production inside cells. Researchers at Liverpool, in collaboration with colleagues at the University of California, found that excessive amounts of HSP10 inside mitochondria – 'organs' that act as energy generators in cells – can halt the body's ageing process by preserving muscle strength.

May 24, 2010 – Genetic variation due to DNA mutation is a driving force of adaptation and evolution, as well as a contributing factor to disease. However, the mechanisms governing DNA mutation rate are not well understood. In a Genome Research report, researchers have identified intrinsic properties of DNA that influence mutation rate, shedding light on mechanisms involved in genome maintenance and potentially disease.

Haifa, Israel – Current research suggests that T helper-type 1 (Th1) cells, previously thought to mediate autoimmunity, may actual inhibit the development of experimental immune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS), by suppressing Th17 cells. The related report by Wildbaum et al, "Antigen-specific CD25-Foxp3-IFN-γ high CD4+ T cells restrain the development of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis by suppressing Th17 cells," appears in the June 2010 issue of The American Journal of Pathology.

Scientists have developed the first cell controlled by a synthetic genome. They now hope to use this method to probe the basic machinery of life and to engineer bacteria specially designed to solve environmental or energy problems. The study was published on the Science Express website.

Nine new species of handfish have been described by CSIRO in research that highlights an urgent need to better understand and protect the diversity of life in Australia's oceans.The new species are described in a review of the handfish family by Hobart-based fish taxonomists from the CSIRO Wealth from Oceans Flagship, Daniel Gledhill and Peter Last.

In nature, ultraviolet radiation from sunlight is not the amphibian killer scientists once suspected.

Researchers from the p53 Laboratory of Singapore's Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), have made a finding that makes feasible a unique method of cancer treatment. Their work, published online in the leading journal Cell Death and Differentiation today , offers new insight on how to tap on the properties of p53, the 'guardian of the genome' , to more effectively kill cancer cells while sparing normal cells.

African-Americans and women are less likely than Caucasians and men to undergo bone marrow transplantation to treat cancers of the blood. That is the conclusion of a new analysis published early online in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. The study's results indicate that additional research is needed to determine why disparities exist in access to bone marrow transplantation and also that the medical community should work to eliminate these inequities.

Athens, Ga. – Scientists some years back found ways to automate the production of DNA and proteins, making studies of these essential components of life far easier. With complex carbohydrates, it's been a different story.

PITTSBURGH, May 23 – Young women of reproductive-age are among those at greatest risk of acquiring HIV, and several studies have suggested that during pregnancy women are even more susceptible to infection. Now, a new study finds that pregnancy is a time when men also are at greater risk. In fact, their risk doubles if their partner is both HIV-infected and pregnant.

PITTSBURGH, May 23 – Researchers testing a vaginal microbicide based on a new type of anti-HIV drug found it provided monkeys significant protection against infection with a virus similar to HIV, according to a study reported at the International Microbicides Conference in Pittsburgh today.

Experts from The Cancer Institute at NYU Langone Medical Center will present new research findings at the 46th Annual Meeting of The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago, Illinois. The conference will run from June 4-8, 2010 and scientists from the NYU Cancer Institute will be available to discuss various topics including improved ways to diagnose melanoma in lymphatic vessels, genetic differences in melanoma subtypes and post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorders that are a potential serious complication after organ or bone marrow transplant.