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Research into the efficacy of Thalidomide as a treatment for small cell lung cancer, which is backed by the Cancer Research Campaign (CRC), will be carried out on a total of 30 patients in London and Leeds, UK. Patients will receive one 100 mg tablet of the drug every night for two years alongside traditional chemotherapy.Thalidomide seems to work by stabilising blood flow around tumours, thereby allowing better supply of the chemotherapy agents to the cancerous cells. It then goes on to prevent

Researchers from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center found that mice lacking the protein ephrin-B3 showed signs of a rare condition known as mirror-movement disorder.The main symptom of the disease is an involuntary symmetrical movement of the limbs so, for example, when the right hand is moved the left involuntarily moves with it.Previous research has suggested that mirror movement is caused by defects in the corticospinal tract, and ephrins are known to regulate nerve growth wi

Smoking is associated with increased platelet-dependent thrombin generation, suggesting that smokers are in a chronic prothrombic state.

Identification of a mechanism for blocking an inhibitor of axonal regrowth following injury could enable better recovery from CNS injury.

Members of the UK's House of Lords voted last night in favour of allowing the cloning of human embryos for stem cell research.

A checkpoint mutation in mice might provide clues to the progression towards aggressive, treatment-resistant cancers, according to a study published in 18 January Nature. Researchers from the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York genetically engineered a mutation in the MAD2 gene that eliminates a checkpoint in mitotic division essential for ensuring the equal distribution of chromosomes to the two daughter cells. The mutation caused the tumour cells to become very genetically unsta

Antidepressants may exert their effect by increasing cell proliferation and neuronal number. It is through this mechanism that Malberg et al. (J Neurosci 2000, 20:9104-9110) believe antidepressants reverse the stress-induced atrophy and loss of hippocampal neurons.Jessica E. Malberg and colleagues at Connecticut Medical Center, New Haven treated groups of rats with three different classes of antidepressant: fluoxetine, tranylcypromine, and reboxetine. There were also two control groups of rats:

Two strains of HIV have been discovered that attack the immune system in a new way, according to research published in the January issue of Nature Medicine. It was previously thought that HIV largely affects CD4+ T cells, leaving CD8+ cells relatively untouched. Although two HIV strains from infected CD8+ cells had previously been isolated, it was not known whether their structures were different from those of strains that infect CD4+ cells.In the new research, Saha and colleagues show that neit

A blood test for schizophrenia has been developed that could provide a means of diagnosing the condition before disabling symptoms occur. At present, diagnosis is based on psychiatric and observational assessment alone but the blood test, developed by scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, could provide an insight into the biological basis of the disease.Previous research has already linked schizophrenia with increased levels of dopamine, and post-mortem results suggest that

Researchers from the University of Utah, Salt Lake City have identified the genetic component of Familial Advanced Sleep-Phase Syndrome (FASPS), the inherited form of Advanced Sleep-Phase Syndrome (ASPS), which affects around one third of the elderly population. People with the rare FASPS, which was discovered in 1999, tend to fall asleep at about 7pm and awake spontaneously at 2am and 4am.In research published in the online version of Science, Toh et al. examined a large family that suffers fro

Statins may directly affect blood pressure regulation, independently of their lipid-lowering properties.

Young women who drink one or two units of alcohol a day are less likely to suffer an ischemic stroke than teetotallers or heavier drinkers

A transgenic primate has been successfully created for the first time - the rhesus macaque carries the GFP gene but doesn't glow in the dark.

British Members of Parliament have voted in favour of allowing therapeutic cloning.

Cannabis smoking could disrupt the natural cannabinoid signalling system responsible for regulating sperm structure, vigour and fertility.