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WSU researcher examines use of carbon fiber microelectrodes in neurochemical measurements

A Wayne State University researcher's take on the current state of brain chemical analysis is the cover story in a recent professional journal, accompanied by a podcast.

25 Oct 2012

Scientists unravel physical properties of lung mucus

Mucus coats our airways' internal surfaces. The viscous gel humidifies the lungs and prevents viruses and other small particles like diesel soot from entering the body unchecked. Previously unclear was the extent to which such nanoparticles are able to move through the lungs' mucus. Here, the research evidence was contradictory. Scientists could not explain why, in inhaled medication development, drug nanoparticles often simply got stuck in the mucus never making it to their target destination inside the lung cells.

25 Oct 2012

Novel approach to assemble the 'connectome' via genetic barcoding

A team of neuroscientists has proposed a new and potentially revolutionary way of obtaining a neuronal connectivity map (the "connectome") of the whole brain of the mouse. The details are set forth in an essay published October 23 in the open-access journal PLOS Biology.

24 Oct 2012

Max Planck scientists aim to analyze the whole mouse brain under electron microscope

What happens in the brain when we see, hear, think and remember? To be able to answer questions like this, neuroscientists need information about how the millions of neurons in the brain are connected to each other.

24 Oct 2012

Salk findings on cold virus proteins may spur new cancer treatments

Cold viruses generally get a bad rap----which they've certainly earned----but new findings by a team of scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies suggest that these viruses might also be a valuable ally in the fight against cancer.

17 Oct 2012

USPTO issues patent to Positron’s solid state sensors

Positron Corporation announced today that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has awarded the Company a patent (U.S. No. 8,269,181) for its original semiconductor detector used in high precision measuring of coordinates and detection of ionization particles.

17 Oct 2012

First picture of interaction between leptin and its receptor

Researchers at the University of Michigan have determined how the hormone leptin, an important regulator of metabolism and body weight, interacts with a key receptor in the brain.

12 Oct 2012

IspH protein accepts two completely different classes of molecules as partners

The iron-sulfur protein IspH plays a central role in the terpene metabolism of several pathogens. The mechanism of the reaction provides an approach for developing new antibiotics, particularly against malaria and tuberculosis. While researching this enzyme, biochemists at the Technische Universitat Munchen discovered a previously unknown reaction: IspH accepts two completely different classes of molecules as partners.

10 Oct 2012

Nanoprobe inventor awarded NJIT Board of Overseers Excellence in Research Prize and Medal

NJIT Research Professor Reginald C. Farrow, PhD, who with his research team have discovered how to make nanoscale arrays of the world's smallest probe for investigating the electrical properties of individual living cells was awarded yesterday, Oct. 4, 2012, the NJIT Board of Overseers Excellence in Research Prize and Medal. This prize is the most prestigious research award at NJIT. It is the fifth time the award has been made.

6 Oct 2012

Mouse genome consists of 10-nm chromatin fibres

Scientists in Canada and the United States have used three-dimensional imaging techniques to settle a long-standing debate about how DNA and structural proteins are packaged into chromatin fibres. The researchers, whose findings are published in EMBO reports, reveal that the mouse genome consists of 10-nm chromatin fibres but did not find evidence for the wider 30-nm fibres that were previously thought to be important components of the DNA architecture.

5 Oct 2012

Isolating and concentrating cells from whole blood: an interview with Victor Ugaz

There are several reasons for this. One is because analysis involving different kinds of blood cells may require you to be able to separate red blood cells from white blood cells, or plasma from whole blood etc.

21 Sep 2012

Researchers obtain first detailed and complete picture of PRC2 protein

The first detailed and complete picture of a protein complex that is tied to human birth defects as well as the progression of many forms of cancer has been obtained by an international team of researchers led by scientists with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab).

18 Sep 2012

Bruker launches BioPharmaCompass 1.1 software

At the 2012 CASSS 9th Symposium on the Practical Applications of Mass Spectrometry in the Biotechnology Industry, Bruker today launches the first software solution to encompass the complete biopharmaceutical characterization challenge, including glycoforms, impurities and modifications.

From Bruker BioSpin Group 12 Sep 2012

NYU-Poly creates ultra-sensitive biosensor to identify small single virus particles

Researchers at Polytechnic Institute of New York University (NYU-Poly) have created an ultra-sensitive biosensor capable of identifying the smallest single virus particles in solution, an advance that may revolutionize early disease detection in a point-of-care setting and shrink test result wait times from weeks to minutes.

29 Aug 2012

Acorda’s GGF2 can improve erectile function after cavernous nerve damage

Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. announced data from a preclinical study showed that treatment with Glial Growth Factor 2 (GGF2) improved erectile function in an animal model following a cavernous nerve (CN) injury, a common complication of prostate surgery.

29 Aug 2012

Nanoparticle may bring great benefits to emergency treatment of brain-injury victims

A nanoparticle developed at Rice University and tested in collaboration with Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) may bring great benefits to the emergency treatment of brain-injury victims, even those with mild injuries.

24 Aug 2012

Scientists dissect how sperm cells of the fruit fly build their flagella

Sperm swim, lung cells sweep mucus away, and the cells in the female Fallopian tube move eggs from the ovary to the uterus. Underlying these phenomena are flagella - slender, hair-like structures extending from the surface of the cells, that bend, beat or wave rhythmically. In the latest issue of the journal Developmental Cell, scientists from the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência (IGC), in Portugal, have dissected how sperm cells of the fruit fly build their flagella.

14 Aug 2012

New method gives precise picture of how immune system works

Chronic infections are a large and growing problem throughout the developed world, and intensive research is being conducted in ways to combat the recalcitrant bacteria. When bacteria aggregate into so-called biofilm, they become resistant to antibiotics. Until now scientists have only been able to speculate about what happens when bacteria overpower the immune system during a chronic infection.

9 Aug 2012

Gilead Sciences second quarter total revenues increase 13% to $2.41 billion

Gilead Sciences, Inc. announced today its results of operations for the quarter ended June 30, 2012.

26 Jul 2012

New NMR spectrometer to benefit researchers from across Texas A&M

Top-notch molecular research swung into gear at Texas A&M University this week - literally. A crane lowered a high-field 800 megahertz Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectrometer through an opening in the roof of a biochemistry and biophysics building Wednesday, putting the university on par with leading U.S. research institutions, according to Dr. Gregory Reinhart, department head.

16 Jul 2012