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Researchers make major advance in efforts to regenerate damaged hearts

Researchers have made a major advance in efforts to regenerate damaged hearts. Grafts of human cardiac muscle cells, grown from embryonic stem cells, coupled electrically and contracted synchronously with host muscle following transplantation in guinea pig hearts.

6 Aug 2012

Researchers uncover 9 new genes associated with bone health

Researchers have uncovered 9 new genes associated with bone health. This collaborative study found clues to the cause of bone disorders such as osteoporosis, osteogenesis imperfecta, and high bone density syndromes by investigating the bone mineral content, strength and flexibility.

3 Aug 2012

SAGE Labs, Autism Speaks expand partnership to create first rat models for translational research

Autism Speaks, the world's leading autism science and advocacy organization, today announced its expanded collaboration with Sigma Advanced Genetic Engineering (SAGE) Labs, an initiative of Sigma- Life, to develop the first rat models with modified autism associated genes, intended to accelerate discovery and translational autism research.

3 Aug 2012

New insight into why glioblastoma multiforme recurs in adults

A study by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers published online today in Nature reveals new insight into why the most common, deadly kind of brain tumor in adults recurs and identifies a potential target for future therapies.

2 Aug 2012

Flightless molecule may help control spread of cancer from one tissue to another

Thanks to the "flightless" molecule, the spread of cancer from one tissue to another may one day be grounded. In a new report published in the August 2012 print issue of The FASEB Journal, laboratory experiments show that "flightless" (named after its effects on fruit flies) increases the "stickiness" that causes cells, including cancer cells, to attach to underlying tissue, which in turn, slows their movement throughout the body.

1 Aug 2012

Scientists discover novel therapeutic target for advanced breast cancer

Scientists at Western University have identified a new therapeutic target for advanced breast cancer which has shown tremendous promise in mouse models.

1 Aug 2012

IL-10 may improve success rates of skin autografts

Scientists have found that the anti-inflammatory molecule, IL-10, may improve success rates of skin autografts (skin moved from one site of the body to another). This information provides a valuable drug target that may benefit burn and accident victims.

1 Aug 2012

Researchers identify new genetic target for diuretic therapy

Researchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC) have identified a new genetic target for diuretic therapy in patients with fluid overload-like those with congestive heart failure, liver cirrhosis or kidney failure.

31 Jul 2012

Vaccine complex delivered safely by piggybacking onto 3D DNA nanostructures

In a quest to make safer and more effective vaccines, scientists at the Biodesign Institute- at Arizona State University have turned to a promising field called DNA nanotechnology to make an entirely new class of synthetic vaccines.

27 Jul 2012

Lawmakers discuss politics of food aid at event launching new 'Roadmap to End Global Hunger'

"The chairman of the House agricultural appropriations panel warned anti-hunger groups on Tuesday that their pleas for more funding will fall on deaf ears unless they're willing to deal with the politics of foreign aid," The Hill's "Global Affairs" blog reports.

26 Jul 2012

Single event of brain trauma can lead to Alzheimer’s

A study, performed in mice and utilizing post-mortem samples of brains from patients with Alzheimer’s disease, found that a single event of a moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) can disrupt proteins that regulate an enzyme associated with Alzheimer’s. The paper, published in The Journal of Neuroscience, identifies the complex mechanisms that result in a rapid and robust post-injury elevation of the enzyme, BACE1, in the brain. These results may lead to the development of a drug treatment that targets this mechanism to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

25 Jul 2012

Moderate-to-severe TBI can disrupt proteins that regulate enzyme associated with Alzheimer's

A study, performed in mice and utilizing post-mortem samples of brains from patients with Alzheimer's disease, found that a single event of a moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) can disrupt proteins that regulate an enzyme associated with Alzheimer's.

25 Jul 2012

Combination of tPA and 3K3A-APC may effectively treat stroke

A team led by a physician-scientist at the University of Southern California (USC) has created an experimental drug that reduces brain damage and improves motor skills among stroke-afflicted rodents when given with federally approved clot-busting therapy.

18 Jul 2012

Study shows why eating less may be therapeutic for people with neuromuscular disorders

A novel technique for measuring tiny, rapid-fire secretions in the brains and mouthparts of fruit flies (drosophila) is providing insights into the beneficial effects of eating less - information that ultimately could help people suffering from neuromuscular disorders.

17 Jul 2012

New IOS Press journal integrates broad areas of spectroscopy and imaging

IOS Press is pleased to announce the launch of Biomedical Spectroscopy and Imaging, the first journal to integrate the broad areas of spectroscopy and imaging. It will provide timely publication of basic and applied research that uses spectroscopic and imaging techniques across all areas of life sciences.

17 Jul 2012

Researchers discover HVEM’s unknown role in fighting off E. coli infections

Despite ongoing public health efforts, E. coli outbreaks continue to infiltrate the food supply, annually causing significant sickness and death throughout the world. But the research community is gaining ground. In a major finding, published today in the scientific journal Nature, researchers from the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology have discovered a molecule's previously unknown role in fighting off E. coli and other bacterial infections, a discovery that could lead to new ways to protect people from these dangerous microorganisms.

16 Jul 2012

Body rids itself of excess copper through urine: New study

Scientists have long known that the body rids itself of excess copper and various other minerals by collecting them in the liver and excreting them through the liver's bile. However, a new study led by Johns Hopkins researchers and published June 22 in PLoS One suggests that when this route is impaired there's another exit route just for copper: A molecule sequesters only that mineral and routes it from the body through urine.

14 Jul 2012

Ajuba protein plays a central role in regulating function of heart stem cells

It is not unusual for babies to be born with congenital heart defects. This is because the development of the heart in the embryo is a process which is not only extremely complex, but also error-prone. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research in Bad Nauheim have now identified a key molecule that plays a central role in regulating the function of stem cells in the heart.

14 Jul 2012

Study details development of first mouse model for Usher syndrome III

A new study published in the July 11 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience details the development of the first mouse model engineered to carry the most common mutation in Usher syndrome III causative gene (Clarin-1) in North America.

11 Jul 2012

Physicians strongly support positive clinical and social impact of using robots in ICUs

Remote presence robots are used in intensive care units (ICUs) to help critical care physicians supplement on-site patient visits and maintain more frequent patient interactions. Physicians who employ this technology to supplement day-to-day patient care strongly support the positive clinical and social impact of using robots, according to a report published in Telemedicine and e-Health, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

11 Jul 2012