Dormant Cancer Cells Rely on Cellular Self-cannibalization to Survive
from Science Daily
A single tumor-suppressing gene is a key to understanding, and perhaps killing, dormant ovarian cancer cells that persist after initial treatment only to reawaken years later, researchers at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report in a recent issue of Journal of Clinical Investigation. The team found that expression of a gene called ARHI acts as a switch for autophagy, or self-cannibalization, in ovarian cancer cells. More

Celgene Warns that Anticlot Drug Innohep may be Linked to Deaths
from FDA MedWatch
A drug used to treat blood clots formed primarily from deep vein thrombosis or in kidney failure increases the death rate among elderly patients, its maker has warned physicians. The biotech company Celgene Corp. has alerted doctors in a letter on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Web site, stating that clinical trials using the drug Innohep showed a death increase incidence in patients over age 70 of 13 percent, compared to a death rate of five percent when another anti-clotting drug, Heparin, was used. More

Study Links Osteoporosis Drugs to Jaw Trouble
from The Washington Post
The proportion of people taking widely prescribed oral osteoporosis drugs who develop a nasty jaw condition may be much higher than previously thought, a new study suggests. Previous reports had indicated that the risk of developing osteonecrosis of the jaw from bisphosphonates in pill form were "negligible," although there was a noted risk in people taking the higher-dose intravenous form of the drug. More

Grape-seed Extract Kills Laboratory Leukemia Cells, Proving Value of Natural Compounds
from Science Daily
An extract from grape seeds forces laboratory leukemia cells to commit cell suicide, according to researchers from the University of Kentucky. They found that within 24 hours, 76 percent of leukemia cells had died after being exposed to the extract. The investigators, who report their findings in the recent issue of Clinical Cancer Research, also teased apart the cell signaling pathway associated with use of grape seed extract that led to cell death, or apoptosis. More

Lab Research: Lose the Mice
from KCEN-TV
Laboratory mice have played a huge rule in many of medicines most important breakthroughs. But a new era may be dawning in the world of lab research, one that may mean fewer mice and more humans. Immunologist Mark Davis, Ph.D., a researcher at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., says the time has come for immunologists to start weaning themselves off of experimental rodents and to embark on bolder research of the causes and treatments of human-specific diseases. More

Linking Disease to Gene Variations
from Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News
As researchers and clinicians continue to unravel the mysteries of the human genome, they are looking to technology companies to provide next-generation sequencing and genome analysis tools to accelerate whole-genome and targeted DNA sequencing, SNP genotyping, and copy-number variation (CNV) analysis. More

Doctor Used Patients' Liposuctioned Fat as Car Fuel
from Medical News Today
A plastic surgeon who practised in Beverly Hills, California, is being accused of using human fat liposuctioned from former patients to fuel his car. According to Forbes.com, Alan Bittner allegedly collected the human fat and turned it into biodiesel for his own SUV and his girlfriend's car. He is being investigated by California's public health department. More

Hospital Investigates "Possible Infection Threat"
from WSMV-TV via MSNBC
If you've had a colonoscopy at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Murfreesboro, Tenn., you may be at risk of infection from the equipment they used. The hospital has known of a potential problem since Dec. 1. More

Bacteria Could Limit Dengue Spread
from The Wall Street Journal
The simple model of mosquito-borne illness: A mosquito eats a blood meal from an infected person, then passes on the disease when it bites someone else. But the simple model omits a key piece in some disease stories. The bug causing the illness has to incubate inside the mosquito for a while — about two weeks in the case of dengue — before the mosquito infect other people. More

Scientists Identify New Congenital Neutropenia Syndrome and Causative Gene Mutation
from Infection Control Today
A team of scientists has discovered a new syndrome associated with severe congenital neutropenia, a rare disorder in which children lack sufficient infection-fighting white blood cells, and identified the genetic cause of the syndrome. Severe congenital neutropenia is a rare disorder, with an incidence of less than one in 200,000 births. More