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When scientists injected spores of a weakened form of the bacterium Clostridium novyi directly into the soft-tissue tumors of dogs and that of a single human subject, the results were not only abscesses, fever and pain at the site--all inflammatory responses that showed the immune system had been drawn to the area. In a matter of hours, the bacterial spores quickly found their way into these tumors' necrotic cores and began replicating madly, in several cases killing the malignant tissue. In three of 16 dogs treated with the C. novyi, tumors disappeared altogether and the animals were cured. In three...

Neural stem cells in culture: use them carefully.R. CASSIANI-INGONI/SPL A report claiming that unregulated transplants of human fetal neural stem cells led to tumours in a boy's brain and spinal cord is being hotly discussed by stem-cell researchers. Although the procedure took place well outside the scientific mainstream, it underscores the need for caution as clinical trials involving stem-cell transplantation move forward."This is the first documented case of tumours resulting from fetal-cell transplant," says Wise Young, a neurosurgeon at Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey.The paper, appearing in PLoS Medicine, describes a boy who received injections of fetal neural stem...

Mobile phone use 'linked to tumour' By Nic Fleming Last Updated: 2:08am GMT 25/01/2007 Long-term users of mobile phones are significantly more likely to develop a certain type of brain tumour on the side of the head where they hold their handsets, according to new research. The results seem to suggest health risks in people who have regularly used mobiles for over 10 years A large-scale study found that those who had regularly used mobiles for longer than 10 years were almost 40 per cent more likely to develop nervous system tumours called gliomas near to where they hold their...

Brain tumour causes uncontrollable paedophilia 10:00 21 October 02 NewScientist.com news service The sudden and uncontrollable paedophilia exhibited by a 40-year-old man was caused by an egg-sized brain tumour, his doctors have told a scientific conference. And once the tumour had been removed, his sex-obsession disappeared. The cancer was located in the right lobe of the orbifrontal cortex, which is known to be tied to judgment, impulse control and social behaviour. But neurologists Russell Swerdlow and Jeffrey Burns, of the University of Virginia at Charlottesville, believe it is the first reported case linking damage to the region with paedophilia. "We're...