ALSO NOTED: Celebrated Japanese scientist heads to San Francisco; New trigger for Parkinson's;

Stem Cell Research

Shinya Yamanaka, the Japanese scientist who made a breakthrough in transforming the skin cells of mice into embryonic stem cells, has joined the J. David Gladstones Institute in San Francisco. He believes he can reprogram human stem cells into ESCs in a year or two. He will move his entire lab, including 20 researchers, to California. Report

Stem cells transplanted into the brains of mice generate more numerous and more mature nerve cells if the brain cells called astrocytes are not activated. That knowledge may help advance stem cell therapies for neurological disorders. Release

The Hartford Courant concludes that state support for stem cell research in Connecticut is paying with new research projects at UConn, Wesleyan and Yale. Report

Scotland's STEM Cell Sciences has received a U.S. patent covering its stem cell selection technology. Report

Cancer Research

Dr. Eugene D. Kwon and a team of scientists at the Mayo Clinic, in Rochester, MN say that they have found an immune molecule that appears to shut down immune responses, playing a role in the recurrence of prostate cancer. Report

Dark vegetables and fruits like blueberries contain anthocyanins, which in recent animal studies slowed the growth of colon cancer cells by 50 percent to 80 percent. Report

One way tumors fly under the radar of the immune system is by using IDO, an enzyme used by fetuses to help avoid rejection, to recruit powerful regulatory T cells that turn down the immune response, researchers say. Release

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have found that a commonly prescribed diabetes drug kills tumor cells that lack a key regulatory gene called p53. Release

Genomics

Researchers from Indiana University School of Medicine have identified in a third gene a mutation that causes tumoral calcinosis, an inherited disorder that is characterized by the presence of lumps of calcium at inappropriate sites in the body, such as around the hip, elbow, shoulder, and knee joints. Release

Interleukin Genetics has initiated a study on the genetics of osteoarthritis in collaboration with Dr. Steven Abramson, Director of the Division of Rheumatology at the Hospital for Joint Diseases of New York University Medical Center. Release

Science Foundation Arizona is providing $10 million in grants to eight research projects in order to strengthen the ties between researchers and businesses. Two Tucson groups, the Critical Path Institute and Ventana Medical Systems, will gain funds to advance new genetic tests for cancer drugs. Report

More Research

Neuroscientists have been working with new technology to turn sets of brain cells off and on, with the ultimate promise of one day developing a new approach to treating neurological and psychiatric illnesses. Report

Neuroscientists have found a new trigger for Parkinson's disease that could lead to new treatments for the disease. A new animal study concludes that the loss of norepinephrine-producing cells plays a role in Parkinson's. Report

New research at McMaster University is shedding light on the causes of Huntington's disease and possibly a new therapeutic approach. Report

Researchers at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research's Del E. Webb Center for Neuroscience and Aging Research have found that the death of adult neurons and the arrested development of neural stem cells is responsible for HIV-associated dementia. And new therapies that block that system are needed to supplement antivirals on the market. Report

A scientist at Tel Aviv University has been introducing phages through the noses of patients in order to outflank the blood/brain barrier and dissolve plaque in the brains in order to delay the onset of Alzheimer's. Release

Australian scientists have been lining up to gain access to the $207 million Australian Synchrotron, a football field-sized device that can examine the molecular structure of matter--and point the way to new advances in therapeutics. Report

Prana Biotechnology has announced a new study regarding the effect of metal ions on Alzheimer's. Release

Researchers from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison say that common attributes of the reproductive apparatus of viruses offer a clue to treating a variety of viruses to broad-spectrum antivirals. Release

Researchers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee have advanced studies on using single-walled carbon nanohorns, a particular form of engineered carbon-based nanoparticles, for drug delivery. Report

Carnegie Mellon University scientists have developed tiny, spherical nanogels that uniformly release encapsulated carbohydrate-based drugs. The scientists created the nanogels using atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), which will ultimately enable the nanogels to deliver more drug directly to the target and to dispense the drug in a time-release manner. Release

A research team led by Dr. James Januzzi Jr. of the Massachusetts General Hospital's cardiology division has found a potential new biomarker for heart failure. Release