A study published today describes a promising new primate model for testing a potential Alzheimer’s disease vaccine. This may enable scientists to study the vaccine in an animal model of Alzheimer’s that is very similar to humans. The goal is to discover the cause of serious side effects that halted an earlier study of the vaccine in people, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. Read the rest of this story »

Scientists report that an unlikely molecule has emerged as an attractive target for development of therapeutics aimed at a diverse spectrum of tumors, including some malignancies that are resistant to conventional therapies. Two studies published online in Cancer Cell demonstrate that the insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF-1R) is required for the survival of tumor cells and provide direct evidence that inhibition of IGF-R1 using selective small molecules represents a novel potential anticancer treatment. Read the rest of this story »

Researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have identified a protein in Old World monkeys that blocks infection by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1). The finding could lead to improved animal models of AIDS for research and suggests that that a similar molecule known to exist in humans might be exploited for prevention and therapy. Read the rest of this story »

Scientists report that a protein made in excess in the majority of human tumors plays a significant role in the ability of cancer cells to resist traditional treatments. The research study, published in the February issue of Cancer Cell, provides new insight into the biology of cancer cells and may have a significant impact in the design of future, more effective cancer treatments. Read the rest of this story »

A recent finding may lead to new treatments for multiple myeloma, an incurable cancer of immune cells called plasma cells that are present in the blood and bone marrow. The research, published in the February issue of Cancer Cell, reveals a frequent and common abnormal cellular event that occurs in about half of all myeloma cases and identifies an attractive target for therapeutic intervention. Read the rest of this story »

A fruit fly gene called radish, and the newly identified protein it encodes, have opened doors to understanding the genes and neuronal networks that govern a special type of memory, termed anesthesia-resistant memory. Researchers had previously known that for most animals — not just humans — loss of consciousness from anesthesia causes amnesia for recently experienced events. Read the rest of this story »

Researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg have discovered a molecular “switch” that guides the development of the eye in a fish called medaka. Read the rest of this story »

Scientists have found a way to turn mouse embryonic stem cells into beating heart muscle cells - a result that could lead to the use of embryonic stem cells in cardiac therapy, and possibly even drugs that can prompt the body to regenerate heart cells on its own. Read the rest of this story »

Mutations that allow AIDS viruses to escape detection by the immune system may also hinder the viruses’ ability to grow after transmission to new hosts, scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison announced this week in the journal Nature Medicine. Read the rest of this story »

Yale researchers have found that lifetime users of hair coloring products have an increased risk of developing non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL), a cancer that attacks the lymphatic system, part of the body’s immune system. Read the rest of this story »