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Oregon Researcher Puts New Focus On How Particles Of Colloidal Materials And Artificial Cells Interact
Applying biological molecules from cell membranes to the surfaces of artificial materials is opening peepholes on the very basics of cell-to-cell interaction.

Mabthera(R) (Rituximab) Available On NHS For UK's Most Common Leukaemia
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) today issued its recommendation for the use of MabThera® (rituximab) in the UK"s most common form of leukaemia, chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL).1,2,3 NICE"s final guidance recommends rituximab in combination with fludarabine and cyclophosphamide (FC) chemotherapy as an option for previously untreated patients with CLL.4 The addition of rituximab to FC chemotherapy has been proven to halt progression of the disease by 10.5 months longer than chemotherapy alone, and more than doubles the number of CLL patients achieving complete remission, compared to chemotherapy.5,6 More than 20,000 people in the UK are living with CLL and there are an estimated 3,700 new cases every year.7,8 Professor John Gribben, Consultant Haematologist and Medical Oncologist, Barts and The London NHS Trust, commented:
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Opinion: World Must Work Together To Stop Human Trafficking
"To some, human trafficking may seem like a problem limited to other parts of the world," Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton writes in a Washington Post opinion piece, but "it occurs in every country, including the U.S., and we have a responsibility to fight it just as others do." According to Clinton, trafficking can produce "destructive effects" on "all of us," because it "weakens legitimate economies, breaks up families, fuels violence, threatens public health and safety, and shreds the social fabric that is necessary for progress." She writes that the problem is "particularly urgent now, as local economies around the world reel from the global financial crisis."
Oncology

Motor Neuron Differentiation Specified By 2 Signals -- From Within And Out Of Cell

Two signals - an external one from retinoic acid and an internal one from the transcription factor Neurogenin2 - cooperate to activate chromatin (the basic material of chromosomes) and help determine that certain nerve progenitor cells become motor neurons, said researchers from Baylor College of Medicine in a report in the current issue of the journal Neuron. "This finding is important for many reasons. For example, as we understand more about what happens, the more likely we will be able to generate motor neurons from different types of stem cells," said Dr. Soo-Kyung Lee, assistant professor of molecular and human genetics and molecular and cellular biology at BCM. (A motor neuron conducts impulses from the spinal cord to a muscle fiber, controlling movement and other activities.) "It will also be useful as a tool for drug screening, allowing us to determine whether a drug is killing or enhancing the activity of motor neurons." In a delicate series of experiments, she and her colleagues showed that a complex consisting of Neurogenin2 and the retinoic acid receptor, when bound to retinoic acid, recruit a particular enzyme (histone acetyltransferase CBP) to their complex. This causes a chemical reaction called acetylation of the histones (the spools around which DNA winds in the chromatin), stimulating the transcription of the gene into the protein for which it holds the genetic code. "These changes lead to strong expression of the motor neuron genes in nerve progenitor cells, converting them to motor neurons," said Lee. "What is striking is that the retinoic acid receptor uses the Neurogenin2 site to bind to the DNA." In mice that lack CBP, she said, there is marked reduction in motor neurons. The finding could play a role in unraveling the secrets of diseases such as the muscular dystrophies. Notes: This work was spearheaded by Dr. Seunghee Lee. Others who also took part in this study are Drs. Bora Lee and Jae W. Lee, all of BCM. Funding for this work came from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the PEW Trust, the March of Dimes Foundation and the Intellectual and Developmental Disability Research Centers. Glenna Picton Baylor College of Medicine


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