http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Researchers in Australia are developing diversionary tactics to fool disease-causing bacteria in the gut. Many bacteria, including those responsible for major gut infections, such as cholera, produce toxins that damage human tissues when they bind to complex sugar receptors displayed on the surface of cells in the host's intestine. http://phys.org/news171607326.html Biology Tue, 08 Sep 2009 06:10:02 EST news171607326 (PhysOrg.com) -- The mechanism used by 'Natural Killer' immune cells in the human body to distinguish between diseased cells, which they are meant to destroy, and normal cells, which they are meant to leave alone, is revealed in new detail in research published today in PLoS Biology. http://phys.org/news167989314.html Medicine & Health Tue, 28 Jul 2009 09:30:01 EST news167989314 The same mechanism that helps you detect bad-tasting and potentially poisonous foods may also play a role in protecting your airway from harmful substances, according to a study by scientists at the University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine. The findings could help explain why injured lungs are susceptible to further damage. http://phys.org/news167664659.html Medicine & Health Fri, 24 Jul 2009 15:20:02 EST news167664659 A study led by researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute reveals how late-stage, hormone-independent prostate tumors gain the ability to grow without need of hormones. http://phys.org/news167571379.html Medicine & Health Thu, 23 Jul 2009 12:50:02 EST news167571379 New research from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia sheds light on the role of cell receptors in acting as gatekeepers for infectious viruses. By using mice genetically engineered to lack a particular receptor in heart and pancreas cells, the study team prevented infection by a common virus that causes potentially serious diseases in humans. http://phys.org/news167489080.html Biology Wed, 22 Jul 2009 14:00:01 EST news167489080 Barrow Neurological Institute researchers have identified a novel receptor in the brain that is extremely sensitive to beta-amyloid peptide (AB) and may play a key role in early stages of Alzheimer's disease. http://phys.org/news166975011.html Medicine & Health Thu, 16 Jul 2009 14:57:12 EST news166975011 Twenty-five per cent of Crohn's disease patients have a mutation in what is called the NOD2 gene, but it is not precisely known how this mutation influences the disease. The latest study by Dr. Marcel Behr, of the Research Institute of the MUHC and McGill University, has provided new insight into how this might occur. The study will be published on July 9th in the Journal of Experimental Medicine. http://phys.org/news166354905.html Medicine & Health Thu, 09 Jul 2009 10:42:15 EST news166354905 (PhysOrg.com) -- Although the tiny roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans has only 302 neurons in its entire nervous system, studies of this simple animal have significantly advanced our understanding of human brain function because it shares many genes and neurochemical signaling molecules with humans. Now MIT researchers have found novel C. elegans neurochemical receptors, the discovery of which could lead to new therapeutic targets for psychiatric disorders if similar receptors are found in humans. http://phys.org/news165763757.html Chemistry Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:29:41 EST news165763757 A joint research group of VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and the University of Turku, led by Professor Johanna Ivaska, has discovered a mechanism lung cancer cells use when spreading into the body to form metastases. http://phys.org/news165569124.html Medicine & Health Tue, 30 Jun 2009 09:00:04 EST news165569124 Many plants protect themselves from hungry animals by producing toxic chemicals. In turn, animals rely on detecting the presence of these harmful chemicals to avoid consuming dangerous plant material. A paper, published in this week's issue of PLoS Biology, investigates the response of an insect to a common plant weapon - the toxin L-canavanine. http://phys.org/news165566601.html Biology Tue, 30 Jun 2009 08:20:01 EST news165566601 A clinical trial of masitinib, a drug in development for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, has shown it to be well tolerated and effective. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Arthritis Research and Therapy have shown that treatment with masitinib significantly reduced the severity of active arthritis. http://phys.org/news165296111.html Medicine & Health Sat, 27 Jun 2009 04:36:39 EST news165296111 Retinoic acid, a derivative of vitamin A, could lead researchers to a new set of drug targets for treating breast cancer, researchers from the University of Chicago report in the June 25, 2009, issue of the journal Cell. http://phys.org/news165152817.html Medicine & Health Thu, 25 Jun 2009 13:00:01 EST news165152817 Pancreatic cancer is a devastating disease with poor prognosis. This warrants the development of novel therapies including gene therapy. However, clinical studies have demonstrated poor efficacy of adenoviral gene therapy because of the absence of adenoviral binding sites on pancreatic cancer cells such as the coxsackie and adenovirus receptor (CAR). Circumventing CAR-mediated entry therefore seems a promising option to improve adenoviral entry into pancreatic cancer cells and to enhance the efficacy of adenoviral vectors. http://phys.org/news164977499.html Medicine & Health Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:06:32 EST news164977499 Dissecting how heat shock protein 90 gets steroid receptors into shape to use hormones like estrogen and testosterone could lead to targeted therapies for hormone-driven cancers, such as breast and prostate, that need them as well, Medical College of Georgia researchers say. http://phys.org/news164891162.html Medicine & Health Mon, 22 Jun 2009 12:07:48 EST news164891162 (PhysOrg.com) -- University of Arkansas researchers have characterized a membrane receptor protein and its binding mechanism from chloroplasts in plants and determined that it shares a commonly shaped binding site and mechanism with a similar protein found in E. coli. http://phys.org/news163172312.html Chemistry Tue, 02 Jun 2009 14:39:32 EST news163172312 Mice lacking the fat hormone leptin or the ability to respond to it become morbidly obese and severely diabetic—not to mention downright sluggish. Now, a new study in the June Cell Metabolism shows that blood sugar control in those animals can be completely restored by returning leptin sensitivity to a single class of neurons in the brain, which account for only a small fraction of those that normally carry the hormone receptors. http://phys.org/news163164889.html Biology Tue, 02 Jun 2009 12:36:37 EST news163164889 A protein that helps regulate expression of androgen receptors could prove a new focal point for staging and treating testosterone-fueled prostate cancer, Medical College of Georgia researchers say. http://phys.org/news162043713.html Medicine & Health Wed, 20 May 2009 13:09:01 EST news162043713 To date, it has been unknown exactly how mammals are capable of sniffing out whether a conspecific is ill. The biologists Prof. Marc Spehr and Daniela Flügge are following a good lead. They have discovered that a messenger substance of the immune system that attracts defence cells to the affected site in bacterial infections also responds to receptors in the vomeronasal organ (VMO, Jacobson's organ). This organ, which has hardly been studied to date, reacts to pheromones and is also held responsible for spontaneous aversion or attraction when selecting a partner. The results of this study on the newly detected receptor family FPR (formyl peptide receptor) within the olfactory system have been published in the current Internet edition of Nature. http://phys.org/news160905741.html Biology Thu, 07 May 2009 09:02:48 EST news160905741 The full details about the molecules and mechanisms that underlie the development of autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis and systemic lupus erythematosus, remain to be discovered. One compound that may have a role in alleviating these conditions is quinoline-3-carboxamide, which is currently being tested in various clinical trials. In this week's PLoS Biology, researchers from Lund University, Sweden, the University of Munster in Germany, and the company Active Biotech AB, identify a molecular target for quinoline compounds. http://phys.org/news160129369.html Biology Tue, 28 Apr 2009 09:23:20 EST news160129369 Having strong memories of that rich, delicious dessert you ate last night? If so, you shouldn't feel like a glutton. It's only natural. http://phys.org/news160072047.html Medicine & Health Mon, 27 Apr 2009 17:28:09 EST news160072047 (PhysOrg.com) -- A quirk in the sex life of the silkworm (Bombyx mori) has been revealed by a team of CSIRO Food Futures Flagship scientists led by Dr Alisha Anderson. http://phys.org/news159717639.html Biology Thu, 23 Apr 2009 15:03:07 EST news159717639 U.S. and Brazilian scientists have just proven that one of Bob Dylan's most famous lines—"everybody must get stoned"— is correct. That's because they've discovered that the brain manufactures proteins that act like marijuana at specific receptors in the brain itself. This discovery, published online in The FASEB Journal, may lead to new marijuana-like drugs for managing pain, stimulating appetite, and preventing marijuana abuse. http://phys.org/news159465099.html Medicine & Health Mon, 20 Apr 2009 16:51:59 EST news159465099 Though a high-fiber diet has long been considered good for you and beneficial in staving off colon cancer, Medical College of Georgia researchers have discovered a reason why: roughage activates a receptor with cancer-killing potential. http://phys.org/news158849074.html Medicine & Health Mon, 13 Apr 2009 13:45:18 EST news158849074 If you hate prune juice and chalky fiber supplements, just sit down and relax. Help is on the way. In a research report published online in The FASEB Journal, a team of researchers has discovered a new way to make it a lot easier to go to the bathroom, especially when all other methods fail. Specifically, they have found a group of nerve ending receptors which, when stimulated, causes the bowels to pass waste, and the specific receptor needed to activate bowel clearance. Furthermore, they tested chemicals that work with those receptors, providing a blueprint for the development of new laxatives. http://phys.org/news158420857.html Medicine & Health Wed, 08 Apr 2009 14:48:11 EST news158420857 Deft molecular detective work at Duke University Medical Center suggests that scientists may soon be able to resurrect niacin as one of the best and cheapest ways to manage cholesterol. http://phys.org/news158258162.html Medicine & Health Mon, 06 Apr 2009 17:39:12 EST news158258162 Results from a new study identify a biomarker that may be useful for predicting the outcome of treatment for neuroblastoma, the most common cancer in young children. The research, published by Cell Press in the April 7th issue of the journal Cancer Cell, also provides new information about the molecular signals that are involved in the progression of this often devastating pediatric cancer. http://phys.org/news158245194.html Medicine & Health Mon, 06 Apr 2009 14:00:25 EST news158245194 (AP) -- GlaxoSmithKline PLC on Wednesday applied for approval in the U.S. and Europe to sell an existing breast-cancer drug as a first-line treatment. http://phys.org/news157815399.html Medicine & Health Wed, 01 Apr 2009 14:37:00 EST news157815399 Looking for a better treatment for the autoimmune disease myasthenia gravis, researchers have found that a protein in tick saliva shows promise in limiting the severity of the disease in an animal model in a study published in the Annals of Neurology. http://phys.org/news157283436.html Medicine & Health Thu, 26 Mar 2009 10:51:05 EST news157283436 A tiny genetic mutation is the key to understanding why nicotine--which binds to brain receptors with such addictive potency--is virtually powerless in muscle cells that are studded with the same type of receptor. That's according to California Institute of Technology (Caltech) researchers, who report their findings in the March 26 issue of the journal Nature. http://phys.org/news157043211.html Chemistry Mon, 23 Mar 2009 16:07:28 EST news157043211 Scientists used to think most of the exchange of information between cells was conducted at the surface, where cell receptors receive signals from other cells. http://phys.org/news156711582.html Medicine & Health Thu, 19 Mar 2009 20:00:38 EST news156711582