Excitement Over Hedgehog Pathway Inhibitors as Novel Cancer Drugs
from Medscape Medical News
A novel anticancer therapy that acts as an inhibitor of the hedgehog pathway has sparked quite a bit of excitement among experts. Although the clinical results come from a phase 1 trial, the responses that have been seen in some patients have been dramatic, and this approach has "tremendous potential," says Andrzej Dlugosz, MD, Poth Professor of Cutaneous Oncology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. More    

Killer Cell Secret Key to Immunological Puzzle
from Laboratory News
Natural killer cells are a subset of white blood cells within the immune system, that are the frontline mechanism for destroying the body’s own cells that are potentially harmful, such as cancer cells or cells infected with pathogens. It has been a great immunological puzzle to explain how these cells are able to distinguish between cells to leave alone and cells to destroy. More    

Swine Flu Remains Mild as Vaccine Advances
from The Wall Street Journal
The H1N1 swine-flu virus is sickening many people around the world, but so far isn't becoming more virulent, health experts said, giving a bit of breathing room to pharmaceutical companies and officials rushing to deliver a vaccine. More    

Three Genetic Variants are Found to Be Linked to Alzheimer's
from The New York Times
Two teams of European scientists say they have discovered new genetic variants associated with Alzheimer's disease. The variants account for about 20 percent of the genetic risk of the disease, and may lead to a better understanding of its biology, the scientists say. More    

"Gold Plated" Breath Test Accurately Diagnoses Lung Cancer
from Medscape Medical News
A sensor made from gold nanoparticles is able to distinguish the breath of lung cancer patients from that of healthy individuals, report researchers from Israel. The results of a new study show that this technology has the potential to form the basis of an inexpensive and noninvasive diagnostic tool for lung cancer. More    

Open Source DNA: A New Solution to Guarantee Privacy and Scientific Freedom in Genetic Research
from Science Daily
Last year, after a published paper found serious security holes in the way DNA data is made publicly available, health institutes in the United States and across the world removed all genetic data from public access. Dr. Eran Halperin of Tel Aviv University's Department of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology said he wants to put this valuable DNA information back in circulation, and has developed the tool to do it — safely. More    

Survival Prolonged in Mouse Model of Rare Brain Disease by Transplanted Human Stem Cells
from Medical News Today
A new study finds substantial improvement in a mouse model of a rare, hereditary neurodegenerative disease after transplantation of normal human neural stem cells. The research findings, published in the journal Cell Stem Cell, show that the transplanted cells provided a critical enzyme that was missing in the brains of the experimental mice and represent an important step toward what may be a successful therapeutic approach for a currently untreatable and devastating disease. More    

Newly Found Mosquito May Carry Malaria
from United Press International
A species of mosquito in South Africa new to researchers may carry the ability to transmit malaria, researchers in Johannesburg said. The mosquito, known for the time being as Anopheles funestus-like, was found in and near villages near Karonga, a town on Lake Malawi's western shore, IRIN reported. More    

Dilemmas Surround Patient Testing for Genetic Mutations
from Oncology Nursing News
Advances in medical technologies can also bring ethical dilemmas, as very often the technology advances faster than our ability to grasp the consequences of using it. The case of genetic testing for cancer susceptibility can provide helpful information to patients; however, this knowledge also raises questions about who should be tested, how to act on the information after testing, and to whom (and how) the knowledge should be conveyed. More