Petri Dish News and Research

RSS

Social context has a lot to do with spread of disease

"Patient zero" isn't entirely to blame when an infection takes root in a population. According to Rice University scientists, social context in the community has a lot to do with how a disease spreads.

7 May 2018

Scientists successfully test anti-alcoholism drug in animal models

Scientists at The University of Texas at Austin have successfully tested in animals a drug that, they say, may one day help block the withdrawal symptoms and cravings that incessantly coax people with alcoholism to drink.

4 May 2018

Scientists use CRISPR tool to make multiple edits to DNA samples 'in vitro'

Scientists at Christiana Care Health System's Gene Editing Institute have developed a potentially breakthrough CRISPR gene-editing tool. It could allow researchers to take fragments of DNA extracted from human cells, put them into a test tube, and quickly and precisely engineer multiple changes to the genetic code, according to a new study published today in the CRISPR Journal.

20 Apr 2018

Nanotechnology-based treatment approach shown to be effective in mouse models of lung cancer

The most common type of lung cancer, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), continues to be difficult to treat, with five year survival rates of about 36 percent for stage 3A tumors.

11 Apr 2018

Validating the Diagnosis of Depression

It’s very difficult to diagnose depression. With depression, you can't open the brain to find answers, and the chemistry of the brain is separate from the chemistry of the body.

From Pittcon 10 Apr 2018

Researchers find potential remedy that could restore hearing for millions

Researchers at USC and Harvard have developed a new approach to repair cells deep inside the ear -- a potential remedy that could restore hearing for millions of elderly people and others who suffer hearing loss.

5 Apr 2018

Liquefied brain tissue after stroke may harm surviving brain, UA study finds

Scientists have known for years that the brain liquefies after a stroke. If cut off from blood and oxygen for a long enough period, a portion of the brain will die, slowly morphing from a hard, rubbery substance into liquid goop.

21 Feb 2018

TSRI scientists identify factors crucial to mesenchymal stem cell differentiation

Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute recently published a study in the journal Cell Death and Differentiation identifying factors crucial to mesenchymal stem cell differentiation, providing insight into how these cells should be studied for clinical purposes.

24 Jan 2018

Researchers generate 3D cell cultures to investigate mechanisms of drug resistance in breast cancer

An international research team headed by the University of Bern and the Netherlands Cancer Institute has developed 3D cell cultures in which genes can be specifically modified. They allow the study of genes that may cause therapy resistance in breast cancer.

11 Dec 2017

3D mini brains put researchers on a fast track to repair the nervous system

The Houston Methodist Research Institute is making mini brains from human stem cells that put researchers on a fast track to repair the nervous system after injury or disease of the brain and spinal cord.

8 Dec 2017

Researchers find way to switch tumor cells between 2D and 3D morphology

Paving the way for testing experimental drugs in more realistic environments, scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology have discovered how to make tiny colonies of cells grow in useful new ways inside petri dishes.

17 Nov 2017

Study shows promise and potential risk in reversing hearing loss using inner ear stem cells

Want to restore hearing by injecting stem cells into the inner ear? Well, that can be a double-edged sword.

7 Nov 2017

Studying the nanomechanical properties of aging and cancerous cells using AFM

An interview with Prof. Igor Sokolov, Tufts University conducted by April Cashin-Garbutt, MA (Cantab).

From Bruker Nano Surfaces and Metrology 31 Oct 2017

New procedure expands options open for carrying out tests on human brain cells

Researchers at the University of Tübingen have become the first to keep human brain tissue alive outside the body for several weeks.

19 Oct 2017

Researchers uncover enzyme behind immune cell response

Monash University researchers have revealed the role played by an enzyme that is pivotal to the process of clearing infection in the body.

12 Oct 2017

Common acid reflux drugs linked to progression of chronic liver disease

Approximately 10 percent of the general population take a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) drug to block stomach acid secretions and relieve symptoms of frequent heartburn, acid reflux and gastroesophageal reflux disease.

10 Oct 2017

UNLV researchers develop new method for extracting large numbers of stem cells from wisdom teeth

Stem cells. Few research discoveries hold as much promise of single-handedly expanding medical treatment options as they do. Miraculously able to act as transformers-;either re-creating or morphing into a variety of cell types found within the organisms they originate from-;stem cells offer humanity hope for new, more effective therapies against a number of chronic and terminal diseases. And finding them is surprisingly easy.

4 Oct 2017

Researchers provide new insights into vertebrae formation

Like a string of pearls, the spine is made of a series of similar vertebrae. A so-called segmentation clock creates this repetitive arrangement in developing embryos: Each time the clock ticks, a vertebra starts to form.

27 Sep 2017

Pharmaceutical compound from leaves of coralberry may help combat asthma

The coralberry could offer new hope for asthmatics: researchers at the University of Bonn have extracted a new kind of active pharmaceutical ingredient from its leaves to combat this widespread respiratory disease. In mice, it almost completely inhibits the characteristic contraction of the airways.

14 Sep 2017

Fatty acid-derived bioactive molecule helps improve heart function after heart attack in mice

Heart attacks provoke an acute immune response. Leukocytes rush to the heart muscle to remove dead cells and begin building scar tissue. This is followed by a second immune response, the resolving phase that allows healing.

7 Sep 2017