T Cell News and Research

Latest T Cell News and Research

Nanoparticles advance photodynamic therapy to kill tumor cells

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a powerful approach for destroying tumors, one that uses light and a light-sensitive chemical to rapidly kill cells.

20 Feb 2007

Nanoparticles rely on 'velcro effect' to target tumor cells

One of the basic tenets of targeted nanoparticle drug delivery is putting multiple targeting molecules on a nanoparticle surface will improve the ability of nanoparticles to stick to their targeted cell and deliver their drug cargos to the appropriate diseased cell.

20 Feb 2007

Nano printing technique produces model membranes

An international team of investigators based in the United States and Germany has modified the nanoscale printing technique known as dip-pen nanolithography to create large numbers of model cell membranes.

20 Feb 2007

All types of carbon nanotubes penetrate wide variety of cell membranes

Over the past two years, researchers have demonstrated repeatedly that certain types of carbon nanotubes are among the most effective materials known for transporting proteins, genes, and drug molecules across the cell membrane.

20 Feb 2007

Scientists label cells with magnetic nanoparticles

Investigators at the German Cancer Research Center have developed silica-coated iron oxide nanoparticles that allow for cell tracking in a live animal using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

20 Feb 2007

Regulator of cholesterol production identified

By first probing the way primitive yeast make cholesterol, a team of scientists has discovered a long-sought protein whose human counterpart controls cholesterol production and potentially drug metabolism.

20 Feb 2007

Cell pathway identified which plays critical role in colon cancer

For the one in 18 men and women who will be diagnosed with cancer of the colon and rectum during their lifetime and over 150,000 people diagnosed on a yearly basis, today's genetic research news offers some optimism.

20 Feb 2007

California Appellate Court panel hears arguments in challenge of State proposition promoting embryonic stem cell research

A three-judge panel of the California Court of Appeal in San Francisco on Wednesday heard oral arguments in two consolidated cases challenging the constitutionality of California's Proposition 71 -- approved by voters in 2004 to provide $3 billion for human embryonic stem cell research -- the Los Angeles Times reports.

19 Feb 2007

RNAi shows promise in gene therapy

Three years ago Mark Kay, MD, PhD, published the first results showing that a biological phenomenon called RNA interference could be an effective gene therapy technique. Since then he has used RNAi gene therapy to effectively shut down the viruses that cause hepatitis and HIV in mice.

19 Feb 2007

Search for vaccine to prevent Chlamydia

It's the most common bacteria-related sexually transmitted disease in the United States, so researchers at The University of Texas at San Antonio's South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases (STCEID) and The University of Texas at San Antonio Health Science Center have partnered to discover a vaccine that will prevent Chlamydia.

19 Feb 2007

More evidence that inflammation can fuel cancer

As evidence mounts that the body's normally protective inflammation response can drive some precancerous tissues to become fully malignant, UCSF scientists report discovering an apparent trigger to this potentially deadly process.

19 Feb 2007

Cancer is a stem cell issue

There is an urgent reason to study stem cells: stem cells are at the heart of some, if not all, cancers. Mounting evidence implicates a clutch of rogue stem cells brandishing 'epigenetic' marks as the main culprits in cancer. Wiping out tumours for good, some biologists believe, depends on uprooting these wayward stem cells.

19 Feb 2007

Epigenetics to shape stem cell future

Everyone hopes that one day stem cell-based regenerative medicine will help repair diseased tissue. Before then, it may be necessary to decipher the epigenetic signals that give stem cells their unique ability to self-renew and transform them into different cell types.

19 Feb 2007

Global partnership to launch $10 million initiative that aims to bolster HIV/AIDS care in 10 African countries using cell phones

A new public-private partnership on Tuesday at the 2007 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, announced the launch of a new $10 million campaign that will use cell phones to bolster HIV/AIDS care and treatment in 10 African countries, Reuters reports.

19 Feb 2007

Kaiser Permanente launches long term project to collect genetic data

California-based HMO Kaiser Permanente on Wednesday announced the creation of a decades-long research project that will collect and analyze genetic information from hundreds of thousands of adult members, the San Jose Mercury News reports.

19 Feb 2007

Genetic variations contribute to a person's risk for nicotine dependence

Americans are bombarded with antismoking messages, yet at least 65 million of us continue to light up. Genetic factors play an important role in this continuing addiction to cigarettes, suggest scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

18 Feb 2007

Researchers determine a critical factor in workings of proteins

Scientists know that a better understanding of how proteins bond could lead to more effective treatments for genetic disorders and other life-threatening conditions.

18 Feb 2007

Enzyme important in fetal heart-cell failure - findings provide new targets for treatment

In almost all forms of heart failure, the heart begins to express genes that are normally only expressed in the fetal heart. Researchers have known for years that this fetal-gene reactivation happens, yet not what regulates it.

18 Feb 2007

New targets in cancer mutation puzzle

University of Rochester scientists, while investigating the two most frequent types of mutations in cancer, discovered a possible new route to treatment that would take advantage of the mutations instead of trying to repair them.

18 Feb 2007

Researchers replace organ in mice using 'single-parent' stem cells

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine have derived uniparental embryonic stem cells - created from a single donor's eggs or two sperm - and, for the first time, successfully used them to repopulate a damaged organ with healthy cells in adult mice.

18 Feb 2007