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BUSM researchers capture images of channels that direct proteins to right place in cell membranes

Similar to passengers on an urban transit system, every protein made in the cell has a specific destination and function. Channels in cell membranes help direct these proteins to their appropriate target. Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine and their colleagues have now captured images of these channels as they open to allow proteins to pass through a membrane, while the proteins are being made.

24 Oct 2013

Discovery sheds light on how forces outside of cells get translated into internal signals

Johns Hopkins researchers used suction to learn that individual "molecular muscles" within cells respond to different types of force, a finding that may explain how cells "feel" the environment and appropriately adapt their shapes and activities.

21 Oct 2013

Neurons strengthen their synapses to remain active after loss of input

The brain is an extremely adaptable organ - but it is also quite conservative. That's in short, what scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology in Martinsried and their colleagues from the Friedrich Miescher Institute in Basel and the Ruhr-Universit-t Bochum were now able to show.

17 Oct 2013

New optical imaging technique can accurately differentiate breast cancer subtypes

An optical imaging technique that measures metabolic activity in cancer cells can accurately differentiate breast cancer subtypes, and it can detect responses to treatment as early as two days after therapy administration, according to a study published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

15 Oct 2013

Researchers discover how cancer development molecule maintains its genome integrity

University of Montreal researchers have discovered how telomerase, a molecule essential for cancer development, is directed to structures on our genome called telomeres in order to maintain its integrity and in turn, the integrity of the genome.

7 Oct 2013

Researchers discover new method for diagnosing disease faster, more accurate

The more accurately we can diagnose a disease, the greater the chance that the patient will survive. That is why many researchers are working to improve the quality of the diagnostic process.

4 Oct 2013

Harvard University receives $3.5M grant to develop super-resolution microscopy technique

A team at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University has been awarded a special $3.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop an inexpensive and easy-to-use new microscopy method to simultaneously spot many tiny components of cells.

4 Oct 2013

Liquid biopsy: New device could help doctors diagnose and treat cancers

A microfluidic chip developed at the University of Michigan is among the best at capturing elusive circulating tumor cells from blood-and it can support the cells' growth for further analysis.

1 Oct 2013

Length of telomere may help determine prostate cancer patient's prognosis

Like the plastic caps at the end of shoelaces, telomeres protect — in their case — the interior-gene containing parts of chromosomes that carry a cell's instructional material. Cancer cells are known to have short telomeres, but just how short they are from cancer cell to cancer cell may be a determining factor in a prostate cancer patient's prognosis, according to a study led by Johns Hopkins scientists.

27 Sep 2013

Scientists unravel secrets of mechanism that snips our genes

Certain diseases such as cystic fibrosis and muscular dystrophy are linked to genetic mutations that damage the important biological process of rearranging gene sequences in pre-messenger RNA, a procedure called RNA splicing.

27 Sep 2013

Scientists report advancement in smartphone-based imaging to detect viruses in remote locations

Scientists are reporting an advance in smartphone-based imaging that could help physicians in far-flung and resource-limited locations monitor how well treatments for infections are working by detecting, for the first time, individual viruses. Their study on the light-weight device, which converts the phone into a powerful mini-microscope, appears in the journal ACS Nano.

26 Sep 2013

New technique allows scientists to measure nanoscale neuronal activity

A new technique that allows scientists to measure the electrical activity in the communication junctions of the nervous systems has been developed by a researcher at Queen Mary University of London.

19 Sep 2013

Gout: An Interview with Dr. Lawrence Edwards, Chairman and CEO of GUAES

Gout is the most common form of inflammatory arthritis that affects adults. It's a disease caused by the presence of uric acid crystals in and around the joints. It's a disease that's becoming more and more common. It probably has doubled in its prevalence worldwide over the past twenty to thirty years.

18 Sep 2013

New optical imaging tool enables scientists to observe tumors and uncover inner workings

Scientists seeking new ways to fight cancer often try to understand the subtle, often invisible, changes to DNA, proteins, cells, and tissue that alter the body's normal biology and cause disease.

18 Sep 2013

Functional brain mapping and high speed physiology multiphoton system from Olympus

The Olympus FluoView® FVMPE-RS, a dedicated multiphoton microscope system, enables high-precision, ultra-fast scanning and stimulation, allowing researchers to see deep within specimens, take measurements at the highest speeds, and capture images even when working under the most demanding conditions.

From Evident Corporation - Life Sciences 17 Sep 2013

Prairie Technologies acquired by Bruker

Bruker Corporation today announced that it has acquired Prairie Technologies, Inc. (Prairie), a provider of life science fluorescence microscopy products. The acquisition strengthens Bruker’s position in life science markets, adding to the Bruker Nano Surfaces Division’s existing life science atomic force microscopy (Bio-AFM) systems.

From Bruker Nano Surfaces and Metrology 13 Sep 2013

Three rapid diagnostic tests could be used to diagnose drug resistance in TB

Results of a new study suggest that three new diagnostic tests could each be used to successfully diagnose drug resistance in tuberculosis (TB) patients in a quarter of the time taken by the current method.

10 Sep 2013

Researchers develop new imaging technique to study function of entire nervous systems

A major aim of today's neuroscience is to understand how an organism's nervous system processes sensory input and generates behavior. To achieve this goal, scientists must obtain detailed maps of how the nerve cells are wired up in the brain, as well as information on how these networks interact in real time.

10 Sep 2013

Researchers take detailed images of morphing structure of Parkinson’s protein

Researchers have taken detailed images and measurements of the morphing structure of a brain protein thought to play a role in Parkinson's disease, information that could aid the development of medications to treat the condition.

7 Sep 2013

Research uncovers defective process in patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease

New research has uncovered a process that is defective in patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, a common cause of kidney failure. The findings, which appear in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN), point to a new potential strategy for preventing and treating the disease.

6 Sep 2013