Body

Plants, algae, and cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) are masters of everything to do with solar energy because they are able to almost completely transform captured sunlight into chemical energy. This is in part because the electrons set free by the photons are transported out of the "light receptor" 1:1 to be used as the driving force for chemical reactions. Japanese researchers have now developed a new process to capture light energy with nearly equal efficiency.

Composite dental fillings have one problematic feature, in that the bond between the filling and the dental tissue deteriorates over time – in fact, sometimes by as much as 50 per cent in one year. As the bond deteriorates, it may allow bacteria to enter and this brings a high risk of further tooth decay.

After injuries with blood loss, the body quickly needs to restore the vital blood volume. This is accomplished by a special group of stem cells in the bone marrow. These hematopoietic stem cells remain dormant throughout their lives and are only awakened to activity in case of injury and loss of blood. Then they immediately start dividing to make up for the loss of blood cells. This has recently been shown by a group of scientists headed by Professor Andreas Trumpp of DKFZ.

Healthy blood vessels play a key role in the prevention and treatment of diseases such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Endothelial cells line the blood vessels and are critical to the regulation of blood vessel growth and function.

Researchers at the Centenary Institute have discovered a mechanism that helps control the development of endothelial cells.

PHILADELPHIA – DHEA is a natural circulating hormone and the body's production of it decreases with age. Men take DHEA as an over-the-counter supplement because it has been suggested that DHEA can reverse aging or have anabolic effects since it can be metabolized in the body to androgens. Increased consumption of dietary isoflavones is associated with a decreased risk of prostate cancer. Red clover (Trifolium pretense) is one source of isoflavones. Both supplements may have hormonal effects in the prostate and little is known about the safety of these supplements.

Long bone fractures heal faster after injections of bone-building cells. Research published in the open access journal BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders has shown that osteoblast cells cultured from a patient's own bone marrow can be injected into the fracture area and can speed the healing process.

An ambitious new study has added considerable weight to the claim that exercise can lower the risk for colon cancer. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Harvard University combined and analyzed several decades worth of data from past studies on how exercise affects colon cancer risk. They found that people who exercised the most were 24 percent less likely to develop the disease than those who exercised the least.

BOSTON (Feb. 11, 2009) – A group of patients suffering from potentially debilitating psoriatic arthritis showed significant and prolonged improvement after treatment with ustekinumab, according to data from a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in patients with moderate to severe psoriatic arthritis (PsA). The Phase 2 study was published in the British medical journal The Lancet.

February 11, 2009-Oakland, Calif.- A groundbreaking study has revealed in great detail how enzymes in the cell cooperate to make fat. These enzymes are integrated into a single molecular complex known as fatty acid synthase. This complex is regarded as a potential target for developing new anti-obesity and anti-cancer drugs.

Taking a much higher than recommended dose of the hypertension drug candesartan cilexetil effectively lowered the amount of protein excreted in the urine of patients with kidney disease, according to a study appearing in the April 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN). By reducing such proteinuria, the drug could potentially prevent the development of serious complications such as end-stage kidney disease and therefore save many patients' lives.

Measuring the amount of protein lost in the urine can identify individuals at risk of developing kidney disease, according to a study appearing in the April 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN). The results suggest that a simple and low-cost urine screen is a promising way to address the epidemic of chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Bone marrow transplant (BMT) researchers at The Medical College of Wisconsin Cancer Center in Milwaukee may have found a mechanism that could preserve the leukemia-killing effects of a transplant graft, while limiting the damage donor immune cells might do to the recipient host's vital organs.

"Our results suggest that targeting of interleukin 23, (IL-23), an immune substance secreted by donor marrow cells, may be a viable way to limit graft-versus-host-disease without limiting graft-versus-leukemia activity," says lead researcher Rupali Das, Ph.D.

Researchers in the Department of Chemistry at Wake Forest University in collaboration with colleagues at the Wake Forest University Health Sciences Comprehensive Cancer Center have developed a new class of platinum-based anti-tumor drugs that animal studies have shown to be 10 times more effective than current treatments in destroying certain types of lung cancer cells.

What does uncovering the true authorship of plays attributed to Shakespeare have to do with identifying our genetic ancestors or classifying new life forms? All involve the comparative analysis of long sets of data and all will benefit from a unique new analytical tool developed by researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab).

Researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center have demonstrated that it might be possible to treat genetic diseases, including some forms of cancer, by "rescuing" the misshapen, useless proteins produced by some mutant genes.

In the current issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, available online now, researchers detail how they were able to restore the function of a mutant human gene in a yeast model of disease by manipulating the available amounts of a so-called chaperone protein, named Hsp70, which helps amino acid chains fold into their proper protein form.