cells news stories on Newser

Worldwide Mega-Organism Spawned All Life

Neal Colgrass — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 13:18:00 CST

Here's a subject for a monster movie—only there would be no victims, because it happened about 3 billion years ago. According to a new theory, the first life form on Earth was a mega-organism that once filled the world's oceans, then split up into parts that later spawned the...

Why Women Live Longer Than 'Disposable' Men

Matt Cantor — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 08:36:49 CDT

Women have their hardworking cells to thank for the fact that they tend to live longer than men, argues a scientist. Experts believe aging is caused by tiny problems in the body, and we die when our bodies stop repairing these issues, the Daily Mail reports. Women, suggests the UK...

Cord Blood Breakthrough Offers Leukemia Hope

Jane Yager — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 04:00:00 CST

A pioneering technique for multiplying umbilical cord cells has placed the long-elusive "holy grail" of leukemia research in sight, offering new hope for bone marrow transplant recipients. Researchers have manipulated a "signaling pathway" in umbilical cord cells to create more stem cells—thus overcoming the longstanding problem of newly produced...

Promising 'Trojan Horse' Cells Kills Animal Cancer

Nick McMaster — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 01:58:09 CDT

Australian researchers have achieved promising results with a new approach to treating cancer, reports the Sydney Morning Herald . Scientists have developed mutant bacteria nanocells that slip into tumor cells to switch off drug-resistant genes, and allow cancer-fighting drugs inside, also delivered by the nanocells. The strategy has achieved near-universal success...

RNA: Secret Weapon Against Disease

Matt Cantor — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 12:05:14 CST

RNA has long been seen as DNA’s little brother, a messenger between the human genome and cells’ protein factories. But studies point to a bigger role—ribonucleic acid can “turn off” certain genes, for example, fighting a range of health problems, the New York Times reports. “This is potentially the...

Why Fat is Phat

Caroline Miller — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 10:09:13 CDT

Fat is underappreciated, New York Times health columnist Natalie Angier writes: just because a lot of people now have too much of it doesn't mean it should be villified. The fat cell is in fact a marvel of science, a sophisticated mechanism finely tailored not only for energy storage but...

'Caffeinated' Workout May Cut Cancer

Samantha Chang — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 19:20:22 CDT

New research suggests that drinking coffee, combined with regular exercise, speeds up the killing off of cells damaged by ultraviolet-B radiation. Researchers at Rutgers University specifically examined UVB apoptosis — the programmed death of cells that become damaged by ultraviolet rays – in hairless mice. This sort of cell-suicide helps prevent...

Mouse Stem Cell Discovery Speeds Cures

Dustin Lushing — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 04:29:57 CDT

British scientists have discovered a new type of stem cell in mice that's much closer to human embryonic stem cells, making them invaluable in the search for cures for diseases like Parkinson's and diabetes. Two independent teams from Oxford and Cambridge today revealed the "missing link" cells, which can speed...

Vitamin D Slashes Cancer Rates

Dustin Lushing — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 14:30:55 CDT

The first research linking vitamin D directly to cancer prevention shows the nutrient sharply reduces cancer rates in older women. Only 3% of the 1,179 women monitored while taking a combination of vitamin D and calcium developed cancer over 4 years, a 60% lower rate than those given placebos,...