Taxanes may enhance immunity in breast cancer patients
...woman's ability to respond to infection or even to fend off a possible recurrence," says Carson. On the o...th of a patient's immune system and the ability to fend off cancer is not yet completely understood. "The real question is whether the use of taxanes impro...Cellular fat sensor slows heart disease
...reveals how the inflammatory response, designed to fend off invading agents, can go awry and encourage atherosclerosis and heart disease." The researchers found that the PPAR-delta switch cut heart disease in half. It does this by disrupting a cellular signal that controls the inflammatory response. Activ...JCI table of contents, 15 October, 2003
...s://www.the-jci.org/press/18589.pdf Antibodies fend off fungal respiratory infection Histoplasma capsulatum is the most common cause of fungal respiratory infections in the world and poses a particular threat to the elderly and immunocompromised patients such as those with HIV or organ transplant re...Outbreak of native oak borers threatens Ozark forests
...usually an insignificant pest that oaks can easily fend off, but since 1999, when unusual levels of infestation were found by the Forest Service near Clarksville, AR, the density of red oak borer populations has steadily increased. "What we found in our preliminary results confirms an explosion of oak bor...Ion channels allow bacteria to resist stomach acid
...uggests a plausible mechanism whereby bacteria can fend off stomach acidity long enough to establish themselves in the intestine. More broadly, said the scientists, the finding represents the first insight into why bacteria have forms of the same ion channels -- proteins that control the flow of ions thro...Study of manatee virus could help fight human cervical cancer
...super" immune system, one that seems to be able to fend off almost any disease. Dr. Bossart said that's another fascinating part of the puzzle that could eventually steer researchers towards finding cures for other diseases. "The manatee immune system is really extraordinary, and it's my hope that o...Genetically modified crops may pass helpful traits to weeds, study finds
... a gene artificially inserted into crop plants to fend off pests can migrate to weeds in a natural environment and make the weeds stronger. Scientists studied genetically engineered sunflowers - those modified with a gene ...New program helps protect Asian elephants through crop-raiding prevention
...rding crops by farmers waiting in their gardens to fend off elephants has proven unproductive and dangerous," added Arnold Sitompul, co-manager of the WCS Sumatran Elephant Project. "By having a roster of guarding duty, the time a farmer spends guarding his fields will be reduced and he will be part of a ...Antimicrobial peptides: new weapons to fight infection
...spectrum antimicrobial peptides, which they use to fend off a wide range of microbes, including bacteria, fungi, viruses and protozoa. What sorts of molecules are they? How are they employed by animals in their defense? As our need for new antibiotics becomes more pressing, could we design anti-infecti...Why does a worm need nearly as many genes as a man?
...from other soil dwelling organisms. Its ability to fend off a bacterial toxin, for example, has recently been shown to be affected by mutation in five different genes. Hodgkin suggests that this battle between the microbes in the soil and the worm may have contributed to the worm needing a vast number of ...Military foods could enhance soldiers' performance by 2025
...ed, could also be used by soldiers in the field to fend off common ailments or diarrhea caused by intestin...tion equipment into the field, or could be used to fend off common diseases that soldiers might be exposed to. The report suggests that such anti-infection ...Researcher finds plant toxin that causes fungal suicide
...as a plant naturallywould send the compound out to fend off an attacking fungus. Defensive proteinsin the yeast cell walls caught and stopped some osmotin molecules, but not all.Some got through, chewed holes in the cell membranes and made them leak. This part of osmotin's mode of action wasn't too surpri...Scientists dissect bacterial crosstalk
...s in our body -- more numerous than human cells -- fend off pathogensand do other essential chores. "But we know very little about how ourrelationships with them are forged," says Jeffrey I. Gordon, M.D. "We want tounderstand the conversations that occur between these microbial guests and theirhost." The ......iggering the"innate" or primitive immune system to fend off invading organisms. Suspicionsand evidence have been mounting over the past several years that similar"Toll-like receptors" exist in humans. In fact, five Toll-like receptors haverecently been cloned and several others have been identified. In th......hrows it back outinto the cytoplasm of the cell to fend for itself, " explains Englander. "Theprotein then takes its chances -- it may fold successfully, or it may get intotrouble again." This entire process takes place within 13 seconds. GroEL -- a sandwich of two circular proteins with a large central c...The Body's Anticancer Weaponry Backfires In Old Age
A protein that helps the body fend off cancer appears to cause the immune systemto degenerate in old age. Researchers in California say that as the body ages,protective cells of the immune system become hypersensitive to the protein, anddie at higher rates. Many cells in the b...Fetal Lead Exposure May Reduce Immunity
...nity, of a developing body that is ill-equipped to fend off infectious diseases and cancers while controlling the body's inclination to injure itself in allergic and autoimmune diseases. "Exposure to lead at these levels is not the kind of assault that can destroy the kidneys in 24 hours," Dietert says. ...Mechanism For Disease Resistance Identified In Plants
..., researchers have known that a plant's ability to fend off an attacking bacterial or viral disease is somehow linked to the complementary activity of genes in both the plant and the pathogen - the disease-causing agent. Previous genetic research has suggested that an avirulence gene in the pathogen trig......, researchers have known that a plant's ability to fend off an attacking bacterial or viral disease is somehow linked to the complementary activity of genes in both the plant and the pathogen - the disease-causing agent. Previous genetic research has suggested that an avirulence gene in the pathogen trig...