New anti-flu drugs could become a reality as a result of a study carried out by academics at the University of Hertfordshire. Dr Andreas Kukol at the University of Hertfordshire`s School of Life Sciences led a team which studied the evolution of proteins from more than 2,000 viruses, which included swine, avian and human flu. Antivirals such as Tamiflu act on surface proteins, which are highly var...

Military deployment with multiple combat exposures appeared to be a unique risk factor for newly reported hypertension. Specifically, personally witnessing or being exposed to death due to war or disaster was significantly associated with increased likelihood of newly self-reported hypertension both at single and multiple exposures. A survey of American servicemen and women who reported experienci...

As manufacturers work furiously to make a vaccine to protect against 2009 influenza A (H1N1) virus, a Rice University bioengineer is trying to improve the process for future flu seasons. The goal is to shorten the time it takes to identify targeted flu strains and manufacture the vaccines for them. In a paper published this summer in the journal Protein Engineering, Design & Selection, Rice re...

In patients with Fanconi anaemia (FA) one of the DNA repair mechanisms that normally protects us against cancer no longer works adequately. Dutch researcher Najim Ameziane set out to find the genes responsible for this defect. He discovered a new FA gene and established that FA gene defects could also cause cancer in people who do not suffer from FA. Although this does not sound positive, it is in...

Researchers at University College Cork have used bioengineering to produce a new generation of natural antibiotics that target harmful micro-organisms such as MRSA and the food-borne pathogen, Listeria monocytogenes. On March 31, at the Society for General Microbiology meeting in Harrogate, Dr Field and colleagues explained how by altering different amino acids in nisin, an antimicrobial protein ...

Using the human antibody, L19, which they developed themselves and specifically recognizes the blood vessels in tumor tissue, researchers at ETH Zurich have succeeded in eliminating lymphatic tumors in both mice and humans. For their study, they combined L19 with known anticancer substances. The fastest growing sector in pharmaceutical biotechnology is monoclonal antibodies. Their products are use...

VIB scientists connected to the Center for Human Heredity have demonstrated that a particular protein is extremely well suited to be a target for a new medicine against Alzheimer`s disease. Their findings are published in the journal Science. The research has been conducted in collaboration with Galapagos, the biotechnology company that discovered the protein`s role in Alzheimer`s disease and that...

UGR News Researchers of the Catalonian Institute of Oncology (Spain) and the University of Granada (Spain) have discovered that extra virgin olive oil may help to combat breast cancer, according to a paper published in a recent issue of ‘BMC Cancer’. The scientists have confirmed the bioactivity of polyphenols (this is, natural antioxidants) present in olive oil in breast cancer cell l...

To fight an epidemic of obesity and its life-threatening complications in the Brownsville area, faculty and students at The University of Texas School of Public Health Brownsville Regional Campus have come up with a strong weapon: a farmer’s market loaded with fresh fruits and vegetables. Research has shown that the predominately Hispanic community of Cameron County in the Valley has twice t...

Women should go for the broccoli when the relish tray comes around during holiday celebrations this season. While it has been known for some time that eating cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage, can help prevent breast cancer, the mechanism by which the active substances in these vegetables inhibit cell proliferation was unknown — until now. Scientists in the U...