A nanoparticle drug delivery system designed for brain tumor therapy has shown promising tumor cell selectivity in a novel cell culture model devised by University of Nottingham scientists. The project, conducted jointly in the Schools of Pharmacy, Biomedical Sciences and Human Development, will be featured in the September issue of the Experimental Biology and Medicine. [click link for full article]

Researchers at Ohio State University are developing technology for keeping liver cells alive and functioning normally inside bioartificial liver-assist devices (BLADs).Such devices enable people who are suffering from acute liver failure to survive while their own liver cells regenerate, or until they receive a liver transplant. The person’s blood or plasma circulates through the device. Inside, living cells — usually pig or human liver cells — perform normal liver functions. [click link for full article]

University of Nottingham scientist Dr Stewart Martin has received a project grant from Breast Cancer Campaign, the only charity that specialises in funding independent breast cancer research throughout the UK. The three year grant, worth over 140,000 pounds, forms part of over 4.2 million pounds invested in research by Campaign in the last year.Dr Martin will study a group of molecules called redox proteins which are thought to help breast cancer cells survive. [click link for full article]

Scientists who developed a breakthrough research method which reduces the use of animals in the laboratory have been awarded this year’s esteemed Voiceless Eureka Prize. [click link for full article]

Experts are struggling to find ways to contain the growing number of children who are becoming obese. One useful approach might be to encourage them to choose low glycaemic index (GI) foods. However, until now there has been little evidence that this approach will work for children in the long term. [click link for full article]

Working the night shift doesn’t appear to increase the risk of developing cancer, suggests the findings of a new study of Swedish workers.Recent studies –and corresponding news headlines — have found that regularly working the night shift may increase the risk of developing breast, prostate and colon cancers. [click link for full article]

The experiment Sports scientist Peter Krustrup and his colleagues from the University of Copenhagen, the Copenhagen University Hospital and Bispebjerg Hospital have followed a soccer team consisting of 14 untrained men aged 20 to 40 years.For a period of 3 months, the players have been subjected to a number of tests such as fitness ratings, total mass of muscles, percentage of fat, blood pressure, insulin sensitivity and balance. [click link for full article]

It’s yet another example of how a good thing can go bad: Researchers have found evidence in laboratory studies that ‘good’ cholesterol, renowned for its ability to protect against heart disease, can undergo detrimental changes in protein composition that make it ‘bad’ for the heart. [click link for full article]

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine’s department of emergency medicine, in collaboration with the Allegheny County Fire Academy, have received a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Fire Prevention and Safety grant to conduct a study designed to develop optimal methods of reducing acute cardiovascular risk resulting from exposure to heat stress during fire suppression. [click link for full article]

When the space shuttle Endeavour touched down at the Kennedy Space Center August 21, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston microbiology and immunology department chairman David Niesel was waiting by the runway, looking forward to a reunion with some of its passengers.The space travelers Niesel was meeting weren’t astronauts. [click link for full article]