Researchers have identified a molecular pathway that plays a critical role in the growth of blood vessels. The finding not only offers an important insight into the development of the vascular system during embryonic development but suggests a potential target for inhibiting the blood vessels that fuel cancers, diabetic eye complications and atherosclerosis, the researchers say.

Almost immediately after it is donated, human blood begins to lose a key gas that opens up blood vessels to facilitate the transfer of oxygen from red blood cells to oxygen-starved tissues.

Scientists have discovered a causal link between the gene for a small protein involved in the formation of blood vessels and the development of some forms of Motor Neurone Disease.

Scientists have identified the process that causes blood vessels to constrict during and after a heart attack. They've also demonstrated that delivering a vital molecule that is depleted during this process directly to those blood vessels can reverse damage and help restore blood flow.

Scientists have developed a new method of capturing a complete genome-wide screening of blood vessel cells in their actual disease state, advancing the potential for genetic research on the tissue responsible for delivering nourishment that can accelerate the growth of both a cancer tumor or wound healing.

Nitric oxide (NO) acts as a biological mediator throughout the body; for example, if the pressure in a blood vessel increases, the cells that line the blood vessel produce NO, which causes the surrounding smooth muscle cells to relax so that the blood vessels dilate and the pressure in the vessel drops.

Your annual physical examination of the future may include a blood “barcode” scan, which instantly provides the doctor with information to diagnose a wide-range of diseases. New generations of novel polymers will be available to replace damaged blood vessels. And in a security-minded world outside, tiny but ultra-sensitive sensors will monitor the environment for bioterrorism agents.

After binding DNA segments to tiny iron-containing spheres called nanoparticles, researchers have used magnetic fields to direct the nanoparticles into arterial muscle cells, where the DNA could have a therapeutic effect. Although the research, done in cell cultures, is in early stages, it may represent a new method for delivering gene therapy to benefit blood vessels damaged by arterial disease.

Twenty-one years after they first described a fatal genetic disorder in Missouri and Arkansas families, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have linked the condition to mutations in a gene known as TREX1.

Each year, 10,000 Americans suffer a sudden tear in the lining of their body’s largest blood vessel, the aorta. It’s often misdiagnosed, and it can kill if not treated immediately. Actor John Ritter died of such a tear in 2003.

UNSW researchers have uncovered an important naturally occurring mechanism in the body where "bad" cells that cause blockages in our blood vessels are kept under strict growth control, while "good" cells that keep our blood vessels free of clots and growths are left unaffected.

Challenging brain tissue with a small noxious stimulus beforehand gives it a resilience that can lessen damage to blood vessels during a stroke, report researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City.