T Cell News and Research

Latest T Cell News and Research

Faster, less expensive technique for mutating large, non-gene stretches of DNA

Genes account for only 2.5 percent of DNA in the human genetic blueprint, yet diseases can result not only from mutant genes, but from mutations of other DNA that controls genes.

19 Jun 2007

True nature of heterochromatin revealed

Not so long ago, the difficult-to-sequence, highly repetitive, gene-poor DNA found in regions of chromosomes known as heterochromatin was called "junk." Like dark matter in the universe, the true nature of heterochromatin was unknown.

19 Jun 2007

Scientists discover proteins in blood that accurately identify colon cancer and precancerous polyps

Initial studies of the proteins, CCSA-3 and CCSA-4, suggest they could be used to develop a blood test to identify at-risk individuals.

19 Jun 2007

Embryos that are selected out as abnormal can undergo chromosomal modifications

Ms Tsvia Frumkin, from the Racine IVF unit, LIS Maternity Hospital, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Centre, Tel Aviv, Israel, will tell the conference that her team's findings meant that the results of preimplantation genetic screening (PGS) for chromosomal abnormalities were not always reliable and should be interpreted with caution.

19 Jun 2007

Cancer stem cells similar to normal stem cells thwart anti-cancer agents

Current cancer therapies often succeed at initially eliminating the bulk of the disease, including all rapidly proliferating cells, but are eventually thwarted because they cannot eliminate a small reservoir of multiple-drug-resistant tumor cells, called cancer stem cells, which ultimately become the source of disease recurrence and eventual metastasis.

19 Jun 2007

Alzheimer's-associated enzyme beta-secretase can disrupt neural activity in the brain

An enzyme involved in the formation of the amyloid-beta protein associated with Alzheimer's disease can also alter the mechanism by which signals are transmitted between brain cells, the disruption of which can cause seizures.

19 Jun 2007

Clot-buster treatment works in frostbite patients

Researchers in the United States have found that when people with frostbite were treated with a clot-busting drug commonly used to treat stroke patients, fewer amputations resulted.

19 Jun 2007

50 million Europeans suffer from neurological diseases

About 50 million people in the EU suffer from neurological diseases such as epilepsy, migraines, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, strokes and dementia.

18 Jun 2007

Health of babies not affected by embryo screening

New research has shown that babies born after pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) are as healthy as those born after conventional IVF treatment.

18 Jun 2007

Wurst protein plays a decisive role in breathing

A newly discovered transmembrane protein called "Wurst" (sausage) appears to play a decisive role in breathing ? possibly in all animals, from flies to human beings.

18 Jun 2007

New understanding of how the DNA helix replicates

A team of researchers led by University of Virginia Health System geneticists has uncovered a major secret in the mystery of how the DNA helix replicates itself time after time.

18 Jun 2007

Noninvasive treatment of cancer tumors

Ram Devireddy, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at LSU, recently co-authored an article with Todd Monroe, assistant professor of biological and agricultural engineering, investigating the complex effects of nanoparticles on cell freezing.

18 Jun 2007

Researchers clarify alphaB-crystallin's role in multiple sclerosis

A protein found primarily in the lens of the eye could be the critical "tipping point" in the spiral of inflammation and damage that occurs in multiple sclerosis, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine report.

18 Jun 2007

Scientists link cell's protein recycling systems

Many age-related neurological diseases are associated with defective proteins accumulating in nerve cells, suggesting that the cell's normal disposal mechanisms are not operating correctly.

17 Jun 2007

Study on B-cell depletion therapy

36% of patients with refractory systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE or lupus) remain well after undergoing B-cell depletion therapy (BCDT) without needing further standard immunosuppressive agents, according to a study presented at EULAR 2007, the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology in Barcelona, Spain.

17 Jun 2007