Oncogenes in Ras signalling pathway are essential in host-cell permissiveness to herpes simplex virus 1.

A firm diagnosis of variant Creutzfeldt Jakob disease (vCJD) is difficult to make because it is based on distinguishing misfolded prion proteins (PrPSc) from normally folded prion proteins in human brain biopsies. In 20 July issue of the Lancet, Wadsworth and colleagues from Imperial College School of Medicine, London, UK, describe a new technique based on a highly sensitive immunoblotting assay that can accurately detect PrPSc in peripheral tissue in patients suspected of vCJD. Wadsworth et al.

Scientists in the US have created stem cells from human embryos derived from germ cells donated explicitly for providing tissue for medical research.

Seasonal cycles of infectious diseases are universal and no single theory based on pathogen appearance, disappearance, or environmental changes has proved satisfactory. In June Emerging Infectious Diseases Scott Dowell of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta suggests a novel theory, saying that the seasonal variation in infectious disease outbreaks are related to changes in host susceptibility mediated by the annual light/dark cycle and patterns of melatonin secretion. Dr Do

The c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) is a critical convergent point in metalloproteinase expression and joint destruction in rheumatoid arthritis.

Comparative analysis of the three dimensional structures of diverse allergens reveals a common structural motif that could potentially serve as a ligand binding site.

Apolipoprotein E (apoE) isoforms E2, E3, and E4, are important determinants of plasma lipid concentrations, with the ε4 allele particularly associated with heightened risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). However the inherited apoE genotype interactions with environmental risk factors such as smoking are not known. In 14 July Lancet, Steve Humphries and colleagues from University College London Medical School show that the E4 isoform of apoE is associated with a significantly increased risk

DNA fragments containing the CpG motif in the sera of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus may be implicated in vasculitis.

impairs the function of liver derived T lymphocytes and natural killer cells in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis.

expression combined with re-education of newly emerging T cells with self antigens can reverse established autoimmune diabetes in mice.

Control of cell growth and division is essential to prevent aberrant cellular development but the biochemical mechanisms involved are still poorly understood. In July Nature Cell Biology, Duncan Clarke and colleagues from the Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California identified the protein securin Pds1p as vital in determining the continuation of cell division.Using the budding yeast as a model, Clarke et al. showed that the coupling of the completion of genome replication with mitosis re

Treatment for nicotine addiction may be as harmful as smoking, as nicotine seems to promote angiogenesis and tumour formation.