Life Sciences

How to turn normal cells into cancer stem cells

Upon activation of the transcription program characteristic of embryonic stem cells, adult differentiated cells may acquire the pathological ability to self-renew characteristic of cancer stem cells.

Genetic map of the brain

Scientists from the Allen Institute of Brain Science in Seattle are going to create a three-dimensional map of the human brain, which shows the activity of 20 thousand genes.

Therapeutic antitumor vaccines are a matter of the near future

There are still many difficulties to overcome before therapeutic antitumor vaccines appear on the market, the most difficult of which is proving their effectiveness.

Evolution on a chip

Researchers have created an installation that is controlled by an autonomous computer and is able to direct the evolution of so-called RNA enzymes – catalysts of biological processes based on RNA – without human intervention.

Ahead of the whole planet

Russia will become the first country in the world to sell a cancer vaccine. A small pharmacological company Antigenics announced on Tuesday that Russian regulatory authorities have approved Oncophage for sale.

Dear germ

After the chromosomes of hundreds of species of individual bacteria were deciphered, a new approach appeared in the genetics of microorganisms – the population approach. Of course, the population of the "human bioreactor" turned out to be one of the most important for the study of microbial populations.

They are alive and glowing

It is simply impossible to list everything that genetic lighting engineers have done in some ten years. Maybe while this issue of the magazine is being prepared for publication, we will learn about another living and glowing miracle.

Seminar "Genetics of life expectancy and aging": personal impressions

On March 25-26, 2008, the first All-Russian seminar "Genetics of life Expectancy and aging" was held at the Institute of Biology of the Komi National Research Center of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Syktyvkar).

The first hybrids of Britain

The first of the cybrids (cytoplasmic hybrids) created in Newcastle lived for three days, and the largest of them grew to 32 cells.

Pot by prescription

Surprisingly, more than half of the psychoactive substances contained in marijuana can be used for medical purposes.

Cancer starved to death

A hunger strike may allow you to increase the dose of the drug, and thereby the effect on tumor cells without increasing the effect of toxic effects on the body.

The search for an AIDS vaccine has reached a dead end

Nanomachines will signal about single DNA molecules

An experimental biosensor can be compared to a mass of microscopic beacons that flash upon contact with a certain sequence of nucleotides. The sensitivity of the new sensor is millions of times higher than that of existing DNA detection methods.

Cancer doesn't have enough red wine

Scientists used resveratrol in a fairly high concentration - about 50 g per liter of nutrient fluid in which pancreatic cancer cells grew. In the wine obtained as a result of natural fermentation, the concentration of this substance reaches 30 g per liter.

From knee to brain: a journey through the human body

A museum in the form of a human body, CORPUS, has opened in Holland. Visitors are invited to enter the giant model through the knee, and exit through the brain.

A smart tablet controls not only itself, but also the patient

Each Raisin system tablet contains an indigestible sensor, which is a microchip the size of a grain of sand and a thin-film battery that activates upon contact with an aqueous medium after ingestion.

The triumph of computer methods: prediction of the structure of proteins

One of the research teams actively engaged in predicting the structure of proteins using computers is the Washington laboratory of David Baker.

Deposit or lose

The new model of circulation of scientific publications involves both independent depositing of articles by scientists in electronic archives, and the release of peer-reviewed journals that do not charge a subscription fee or for access to their archives.

Hydrogen sulfide for prolonging life: possible mechanism of action

Hydrogen sulfide, harmful in large quantities, in small doses can not only prolong life, but also save the body's resources and significantly reduce the need for food and oxygen.

The country will be shod in nanos

Long before the appearance of Rosnanotech, which does not spare millions for the development of nanotechnology production, the director of a small knitting company "Mayor" Vladimir Rodionov conceived to produce socks with the addition of silver nanoparticles.