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Synaptic health in the brain closely linked to cognitive decline

Age-related cognitive decline and changes in the nervous system are closely linked, but up until recently, they were thought to result from the loss of neurons in areas such as the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain important in working memory.

3 Dec 2013

Viewpoints: Where's Obama's 'Mission Accomplished' banner?; health law critics overlooking those denied affordable care in the past

Great news: The White House says that Healthcare.gov and the 36 federally run insurance exchanges are finally good to go. The only thing missing from Sunday's relentlessly upbeat progress report was President Obama in front of a "Mission Accomplished" banner. Sunday's eight-page report was intended to meet Mr. Obama's deadline for fixing the site after its October 1 debut was a calamity. But the more important goal was political -- namely, claiming enough progress to prevent Democrats on Capitol Hill from joining the GOP demand for delaying the individual mandate to buy insurance or even the entire program (12/1).

3 Dec 2013

Researchers discover why parasite that causes deadliest form of malaria only infects humans

Researchers have discovered why the parasite that causes the deadliest form of malaria only infects humans.

3 Dec 2013

Scientists explain new family of proteins that appear to play key role in cancer

Scientists have described a new family of proteins that appear to play a key role in cancer and might be targets for future cancer drugs.

3 Dec 2013

Newly identified protein could prove promising new drug target for AIDS

Researchers have identified a protein that causes loss of function in immune cells combatting HIV. The scientists report in a paper appearing online Dec. 2 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation that the protein, Sprouty-2, is a promising target for future HIV drug development, since disabling it could help restore the cells' ability to combat the virus that causes AIDS.

2 Dec 2013

Visterra secures exclusive patent license for promising dengue virus antibodies from MIT

Visterra, Inc., a developer of novel antibody therapeutics to prevent and treat major infectious diseases, today announced that it has secured an exclusive patent license from Massachusetts Institute of Technology to a family of early-stage monoclonal antibodies that target dengue virus. These antibodies were developed by MIT in the laboratory of Dr. Ram Sasisekharan, a founder of Visterra, using novel protein engineering approaches. Visterra will apply its proprietary network analysis technology to develop a human monoclonal antibody product candidate capable of broadly neutralizing all four dengue virus serotypes.

2 Dec 2013

Scientists transform human stem cells into functional lung and airway cells

For the first time, scientists have succeeded in transforming human stem cells into functional lung and airway cells. The advance, reported by Columbia University Medical Center researchers, has significant potential for modeling lung disease, screening drugs, studying human lung development, and, ultimately, generating lung tissue for transplantation.

2 Dec 2013

Nanosponge vaccine blocks adverse effects of alpha-haemolysin toxin from MRSA

Nanosponges that soak up a dangerous pore-forming toxin produced by MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) could serve as a safe and effective vaccine against this toxin. This "nanosponge vaccine" enabled the immune systems of mice to block the adverse effects of the alpha-haemolysin toxin from MRSA-both within the bloodstream and on the skin. Nanoengineers from the University of California, San Diego described the safety and efficacy of this nanosponge vaccine in the December 1 issue of Nature Nanotechnology.

2 Dec 2013

Ascend, 3M partner to develop and evaluate novel immunotherapy treatments for cancer

Ascend Biopharmaceuticals today announces that is has entered into an agreement with 3M Drug Delivery Systems to evaluate 3M’s Toll-Like Receptor 7/8 (TLR7/8) agonist 3M-051 in combination with Ascend’s proprietary cancer vaccine technology. The collaboration will support the creation and preclinical assessment of novel immunotherapy treatments to be potentially used for a number of different solid tumor types.

29 Nov 2013

Male roundworms shorten the lifespan of females, say Stanford researchers

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have discovered that males of the laboratory roundworm secrete signaling molecules that significantly shorten the lifespan of the opposite sex.

29 Nov 2013

Study brings effective hepatitis C cure closer to reality

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have determined the most detailed picture yet of a crucial part of the hepatitis C virus, which the virus uses to infect liver cells. The new data reveal unexpected structural features of this protein and should greatly speed efforts to make an effective hepatitis C vaccine.

29 Nov 2013

Scientists design small synthetic molecules capable of blocking AIDS virus replication

A multidisciplinary team of scientists from Spanish universities and research centres, among which is the University of Valencia, has managed to design small synthetic molecules capable of joining to the genetic material of the AIDS virus and blocking its replication.

28 Nov 2013

Leti highlights new imaging technology at IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium & Medical Imaging Conference

Researchers from CEA-Leti’s Detector Laboratory presented four oral papers and one invited paper at the recent IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium & Medical Imaging Conference & Workshop on Room-Temperature Semiconductor X-Ray and Gamma-Ray Detectors in Seoul, Korea.

28 Nov 2013

Drugs delivered by nanoparticles hold promise for targeted treatment of many diseases, including cancer

Drugs delivered by nanoparticles hold promise for targeted treatment of many diseases, including cancer. However, the particles have to be injected into patients, which has limited their usefulness so far.

27 Nov 2013

DFG approves establishment of new Collaborative Research Centres

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) has approved the establishment of nine new Collaborative Research Centres (CRCs).

27 Nov 2013

Study uncovers mechanisms that allow stem cells to keep dividing in perpetuity

The blood stem cells that live in bone marrow are at the top of a complex family tree. Such stem cells split and divide down various pathways that ultimately produce red cells, white cells and platelets. These "daughter" cells must be produced at a rate of about one million per second to constantly replenish the body's blood supply.

27 Nov 2013

Alpha Biolaboratories launches first accredited next day DNA paternity testing service in UK

A Warrington-based DNA testing laboratory is offering the UK's first standard next day paternity results service and is on a recruitment drive to cope with the anticipated increase in demand.

27 Nov 2013

Researchers develop prototype spacesuit biosensors to monitor astronauts' health

Kansas State University researchers are improving astronauts' outerwear for outer space. The collaborative team -- which includes electrical and computer engineering professors and more than a dozen students -- envisions a future spacesuit that could monitor astronauts' health and use body heat to power electronics.

27 Nov 2013

H1N1 virus killed more people globally than originally believed, confirms study

A research team consisting of more than 60 collaborators in 26 countries has estimated the global death toll from the 2009 outbreak of the H1N1 virus to be 10 times higher than the World Health Organization's count, which was based on laboratory-confirmed cases of this flu. The study, which appears online in PLOS Medicine, suggests that the pandemic virus caused up to 203,000 respiratory deaths around the world.

27 Nov 2013

Bioxodes completes seed funding round to bring Ir-CPI product into pre-clinical development

Bioxodes SA, a company developing products derived from natural sources, has completed a EUR 2.6 million (USD 3.5 million) first seed funding round with a consortium of business angels and Belgian investment funds. EUR 1.6 million is from the European Regional Development Fund and the Walloon Region in Belgium via the Retech program for Research and Technology. It will be used to bring the company’s lead product Ir-CPI into pre-clinical development over the next 18 months.

27 Nov 2013

Laboratory News and Research

Synaptic health in the brain closely linked to cognitive decline

Viewpoints: Where's Obama's 'Mission Accomplished' banner?; health law critics overlooking those denied affordable care in the past

Researchers discover why parasite that causes deadliest form of malaria only infects humans

Scientists explain new family of proteins that appear to play key role in cancer

Newly identified protein could prove promising new drug target for AIDS

Visterra secures exclusive patent license for promising dengue virus antibodies from MIT

Scientists transform human stem cells into functional lung and airway cells

Nanosponge vaccine blocks adverse effects of alpha-haemolysin toxin from MRSA

Ascend, 3M partner to develop and evaluate novel immunotherapy treatments for cancer

Male roundworms shorten the lifespan of females, say Stanford researchers

Study brings effective hepatitis C cure closer to reality

Scientists design small synthetic molecules capable of blocking AIDS virus replication

Leti highlights new imaging technology at IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium & Medical Imaging Conference

Drugs delivered by nanoparticles hold promise for targeted treatment of many diseases, including cancer

DFG approves establishment of new Collaborative Research Centres

Study uncovers mechanisms that allow stem cells to keep dividing in perpetuity

Alpha Biolaboratories launches first accredited next day DNA paternity testing service in UK

Researchers develop prototype spacesuit biosensors to monitor astronauts' health

H1N1 virus killed more people globally than originally believed, confirms study

Bioxodes completes seed funding round to bring Ir-CPI product into pre-clinical development

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