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Ion channels assembled in different combinations distinguish temperatures

The winter sun feels welcome, but not so a summer sunburn. Research over the past 20 years has shown that proteins on the surface of nerve cells enable the body to sense several different temperatures. Now scientists have discovered how just a few of these proteins, called ion channels, distinguish perhaps dozens of discrete temperatures, from mildly warm to very hot.

3 Mar 2012

Polymer-based medical implants can produce harmful free radicals

A polymer is a mesh of chains, which slowly break over time due to the pressure from ordinary wear and tear. When a polymer is squeezed, the pressure breaks chemical bonds and produces free radicals: ions with unpaired electrons, full of untapped energy. These molecules are responsible for aging, DNA damage and cancer in the human body.

3 Mar 2012

Desflurane may be safer anesthetic option for patients with AD

In a study that will appear in Annals of Neurology and has received early online release, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers report that administration of isoflurane impaired the performance of mice on a standard test of learning and memory - a result not seen when another anesthetic, desflurane, was administered.

2 Mar 2012

NexGen receives U.S. patent allowance for novel pathogenesis based seizure treatment

NexGen Biomedical, Inc.'s Founder has received a Notice of Allowance from the US Patent Office for a novel treatment method for seizures.

2 Mar 2012

Metal hip implants need monitoring annually: MHRA issues guidelines

The UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency advised that patients with certain artificial hips need annual tests to check for metal ions and MRIs if they show symptoms. The new guidelines follow reports from doctors of swelling and tissue damage in some patients with metal-on-metal hip implants. The update applies to those in Britain with a hip replacement with a head diameter of 36 millimetres or more. The MHRA said on Tuesday that around 49,000 UK patients with large-head hip implants out of 65,000 with all-metal hips were in a high-risk category.

1 Mar 2012

Scientists discover that sperm do not function like olfactory cells

According to a 2003 study by German and American scientists, a component of the Lily of the Valley scent known as Bourgeonal alters the calcium balance of human sperm and attracts the sperm. The "Lily of the Valley phenomenon" - also the title of a book about smelling - was born as a result of this discovery that sperm act as swimming olfactory cells which follow a "scent trail" laid by the egg. However, a detailed explanation for the Lily of the Valley phenomenon remained illusive as neither Bourgeonal nor other scents could be identified in the female sex organ.

29 Feb 2012

Five things that can aggravate suffering of people with spring allergies

Fruits and veggies, air filters, spring breezes, procrastination and self-medication - each can delay relief from a stuffy nose, sneezing, sniffling or other symptoms if you're one of the more than 35 million Americans who suffer from seasonal allergies.

24 Feb 2012

Evolutionary forces encourage diversity in the active surfaces of venomous toxins

For snakes, spiders, and other venomous creatures, the "business end," or active part, of a toxin is the area on the surface of a protein that is most likely to undergo rapid evolution in response to environmental constraints, say researchers from Ben Gurion University in Israel.

24 Feb 2012

Hibernation may provide insight into arrhythmia therapies

How much calcium could a hibernating woodchuck's heart cells sequester, if a hibernating woodchuck's heart cells could sequester calcium? More than enough, it turns out, to protect the animals from cardiac arrhythmias - abnormal heart rhythms such as ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation that can lead to sudden cardiac death - according to a new study of the hibernating animals that may provide insight into arrhythmia therapies.

23 Feb 2012

FDA approves Boston Scientific's ION and TAXUS Liberte paclitaxel-eluting stents

Boston Scientific Corporation's ION Paclitaxel-Eluting Platinum Chromium Coronary Stent System and TAXUS Liberte Paclitaxel-Eluting Coronary Stent System have received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for use in patients experiencing an acute myocardial infarction (AMI), or heart attack.

23 Feb 2012

Chemists build light-controlled neural inhibitor

The notion of a pain switch is an alluring idea, but is it realistic? Well, chemists at LMU Munich, in collaboration with colleagues in Berkeley and Bordeaux, have now shown in laboratory experiments that it is possible to inhibit the activity of pain-sensitive neurons using an agent that acts as a photosensitive switch. For the LMU researchers, the method primarily represents a valuable tool for probing the neurobiology of pain.

23 Feb 2012

New intraoral Tongue Drive System for high-level SCIs

The Tongue Drive System is getting less conspicuous and more capable. Tongue Drive is a wireless device that enables people with high-level spinal cord injuries to operate a computer and maneuver an electrically powered wheelchair simply by moving their tongues.

20 Feb 2012

Researchers discover class of proteins that detect 'painful touch'

In two landmark papers in the journal Nature this week, scientists at The Scripps Research Institute report that they have identified a class of proteins that detect "painful touch."

19 Feb 2012

Pyromaker can rapidly sequence cancer-driving mutations

Using precise information about an individual's genetic makeup is becoming increasingly routine for developing tailored treatments for breast, lung, colon and other cancers. But techniques used to identify meaningful gene mutations depend on analyzing sequences of both normal and mutant DNA in tumor samples, a process that can yield ambiguous results. Now, a team of Johns Hopkins researchers says it has developed an easy-to-use online computer software application that can clear up any confusion faster and cheaper than other methods currently used to do the job.

16 Feb 2012

New light on treatment targets for potentially life-threatening cardiac arrhythmia conditions

That flutter in your heart may have more to do with the movement of sodium ions than the glance of a certain someone across a crowded room.

14 Feb 2012

Fluidigm announces availability of Access Array Barcode Library for Ion Torrent PGM

Fluidigm Corporation today announced the availability of the Access Array Barcode Library for the Ion Torrent Personal Genome Machine (PGM) sequencer. This barcode library allows multiplexing of up to 96 different samples in a single sequencing run.

13 Feb 2012

BPS Annual Meeting to be held Feb. 25 - 29 in San Diego

The latest news and discoveries in medicine, physics, environmental science, and interdisciplinary fields will be featured at the 56th Annual Meeting of the Biophysical Society (BPS), held Feb. 25 - Feb. 29, 2012, at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, Calif. With more than 4,000 poster presentations, 200 exhibits, 20 symposia, and 6,000 research scientists in attendance each year, the BPS Annual Meeting is the largest meeting of biophysicists in the world.

7 Feb 2012

Plasma can be an effective method to kill pathogens on uncooked poultry

A new study by food safety researchers at Drexel University demonstrates that plasma can be an effective method for killing pathogens on uncooked poultry. The proof-of-concept study was published in the January issue of the Journal of Food Protection.

3 Feb 2012

Scientists reveal novel mechanism underpinning age-dependent changes to cognitive abilities

New findings, led by neuroscientists at the University of Bristol and published this week in the journal Neurobiology of Aging, reveal a novel mechanism through which the brain may become more reluctant to function as we grow older.

2 Feb 2012

Vertex receives FDA approval for Kalydeco to treat rare form of CF

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Kalydeco (ivacaftor) for the treatment of a rare form of cystic fibrosis (CF) in patients ages 6 years and older who have the specific G551D mutation in the Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Regulator (CFTR) gene.

1 Feb 2012