Microscopy News and Research

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Fluorescent protein tool may speed identification of molecular changes that reveal cells' inner workings

Scientists at Johns Hopkins and the University of Texas Medical Branch have created a new tool that easily reveals when and where a key cellular signal is active.

16 Nov 2004

Obesity statistics are as bogus as weight-loss scams

The weight-loss industry is finding itself in the crosshairs of the Federal Trade Commission's "Operation Big Fat Lies" -- a crackdown on slimming down pills, powders and patches that are too good to be true. The Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) recommends that grossly exaggerated statistics and hype from pharmaceutical and weight-loss companies about the nation's so-called "obesity epidemic" also be placed under the federal microscope.

10 Nov 2004

Researchers attempt to quantify processes underlying cell heterogeneity

Combining the latest methods in gene splicing and computer modeling, Rice University researchers are trying to develop a predictive framework for one of the most basic and complex biological phenomena — cellular heterogeneity, or the ability of genetic clones to act and behave differently when exposed to the same set of environmental stimuli.

8 Nov 2004

Crystal structure of protein AIRs kinase uncovered

Cornell University researchers, who are trying to understand how proteins evolve and function by looking at their structural features, have uncovered the crystal structure of a protein involved in making the building blocks of DNA correctly.

4 Nov 2004

A radical change is needed in the way TB is tackled globally

On the eve of a major international conference on tuberculosis and lung health, the humanitarian medical organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) warns that millions of individuals in developing countries continue to die from this curable disease.

26 Oct 2004

Potential new treatment strategy against metastatic cancer cells

A team of scientists at The Scripps Research Institute has identified a potential treatment strategy against metastatic cancer cells that has never been tried before.

25 Oct 2004

Findings could lead to improvements in the next generation of implantable cardioverter defibrillators

For people who suffer from a rapid heartbeat condition called tachycardia, an implanted device can usually nudge the racing blood pump back into a normal rhythm by applying electrical pulses to the heart.

25 Oct 2004

New way to study individual living bacteria cells and analyze their chemistry

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory have found a new way to study individual living bacteria cells and analyze their chemistry.

22 Oct 2004

Ductal lavage is not an effective method for detecting breast cancer

Ductal lavage--a method used to collect cells from the milk ducts of the breast--has been proposed as a screening tool for cancer detection because ducts that yield fluid were thought to be more likely to contain cancer cells.

21 Oct 2004

Research shows brain cells move like a two-stroke engine

Following the often-quoted advice of Yogi Berra — "You can observe a lot by just watching" — Rockefeller University scientists show that nerve cells in the developing brains of humans and other mammals move in a two-part "step" led by a structure within the cell called the centrosome.

13 Oct 2004

Robotic microscope shows how mutant Huntington's disease protein affects neurons

Using a specially designed robotic microscope to study cultured cells, researchers have found evidence that abnormal protein clumps called inclusion bodies in neurons from people with Huntington's disease (HD) prevent cell death.

13 Oct 2004

Researchers analyze the mechanisms and proteins that underlie mitochondria

New findings explaining the complicated process by which the "energy substations" of human cells split apart and recombine may lay the groundwork for new treatment approaches to a wide range of diseases, including some cancers and neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.

12 Oct 2004

Carbon nanotubes offer a new approach to gene therapy

Many genes that are related to particular diseases have now been identified. Scientists are trying to use this knowledge to treat diseases.

11 Oct 2004

First use of technology called ubiquitin-mediated fluorescence complementation to study a cell-signaling mechanism called ubiquitination

Researchers at the University of Michigan Medical School and Howard Hughes Medical Institute have found a way to see proteins in cells that have been tagged by a molecular “sticky note” called ubiquitin.

8 Oct 2004

In a world first, scientists have successfully grown square bacteria in the lab

In a world first, Australian scientists have successfully grown an unusual square-shaped bacterium found in salt lakes that has mystified scientists for a quarter of a century.

7 Oct 2004

Novel compound that resembles vitamin E halves the size of tumors and the ability of cancer to spread

By studying cancer in mice, researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have gained preliminary evidence that a novel compound that resembles vitamin E halves the size of tumors and the ability of cancer to spread to other body sites.

30 Sep 2004

Half of sildenafil samples purchased on the internet were fake

Around half of the Viagra samples purchased on the Internet were counterfeit, according to researchers who are today announcing a new technique that detects counterfeit medicines at the British Pharmaceutical Conference.

27 Sep 2004

Amyloid growth can occur independently of oligomers

Improperly folded proteins are normally destroyed. But in a wide range of diseases, including prion (from proteinaceous and infectious) diseases and neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson disease and Alzheimer disease, amyloid fibrils, or plaques--misshapen proteins that aggregate into characteristic ropelike configurations--accumulate in tissue.

22 Sep 2004

Microdebrider better than CO2 laser for removal of most pediatric airway lesions

Citing improved safety and effectiveness at lower cost, a major medical center has adopted the microdebrider to replace the CO2 laser for removal of most pediatric airway lesions, including stenoses, granulation tissue, and cysts.

18 Sep 2004

Jellyfish advance science

Salmon fishermen trolling along the waters off Puget Sound in Washington are often witness to an awesome sight when they haul in their catch: salmon captured in nets that glow brilliantly against the nighttime sky.

16 Sep 2004