Stem cells are considered biological allrounders because they have the potential to develop into the various body cell types. For the majority of stem cells, however, this designation is too far-reaching. Adult stem cells, for example, can replace cells in their own tissue in case of injury, but a fat stem cell will never generate a nerve or liver cell. Scientists therefore distinguish between multipotent adult stem cells and the actual allrounders - the pluripotent embryonic stem cells.

Cancer tumours manipulate a natural cell process to promote their survival suggesting that controlling this mechanism could stop progress of the disease, according to new research led by the University of Oxford. Non-sense mediated decay (NMD) is a natural physiological process that provides cells with the ability to detect DNA errors called nonsense mutations.

Discovered more than two decades ago, the hormone leptin has been widely hailed as the key regulator of leanness. Yet, the pivotal experiments that probe the function of this protein and unravel the precise mechanism of its action as a guardian against obesity are largely missing. These are the conclusions in a commentary published in Cell Metabolism by Harvard Medical School metabolism experts Jeffrey Flier and Eleftheria Maratos-Flier.

Alzheimer's is a chronic neurodegenerative disease which leads to the senile cognitive impairment and memory loss. Every third person older than 70 years suffers from it. Such changes are caused by functional disorders and subsequent death of neurons. However triggers of processes resulting in brain cell death are still remain unknown. That's why there is no effective therapy for Alzheimer's disease.

A vaccine to immunise people against high levels of cholesterol and the narrowing of the arteries caused by build-up of fatty material (atherosclerosis) may be possible following successful results in mice. Now, a phase I trial in patients has started to see if the findings translate to humans. The study, which is published today in the European Heart Journal [1], is the first to show that it is possible to immunise genetically modified mice with a molecule that causes the body to produce antibodies

Researchers at University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and UPMC have discovered a clue that could unlock the potential of immunotherapy drugs to successfully treat more cancers. The findings, published in Cell, were made in mice and showed that targeting a sub-population of immune cells called regulatory T cells could be an effective approach to treating cancers.

If you have gone through life avoiding certain antibiotics because you think you're allergic to penicillin, you'd probably want to know if you're not actually allergic. A new study shows many physicians who treat patients with "penicillin allergy" listed in their charts may not fully understand important facts about penicillin allergy. They may not be aware penicillin allergy can resolve over time and they don't fully understand the importance of allergy testing to make sure a penicillin allergy currently exists.