Laboratory News and Research

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New oral fluid-based HIV test shows great promise

A convenient, easy to use, and rapid alternative to blood-based HIV testing may become the new standard for field testing according to a new MUHC study.

12 Apr 2007

Three proteins could be new targets for treating stroke, brain and spinal cord injuries

Some mature brain cells can grow new extensions when the amount of three particular proteins on their surface increases, a new study shows.

12 Apr 2007

Analysis of Rhesus monkey genome provides new clues to primate biology

An international consortium of researchers has published the genome sequence of the rhesus macaque monkey and aligned it with the chimpanzee and human genomes.

12 Apr 2007

Study suggests reason for high incidence of cancer in the prostate

Cancer occurs more frequently in the prostates of men than in any organ other than the skin. While DNA damage caused by exposure to the sun is likely the cause of many skin cancers, the cause of prostate cancer remains largely unknown.

12 Apr 2007

Emotional stress may contribute to development of cancer and may also reduce effectiveness of treatments

Scientists from Wake Forest University School of Medicine are the first to report that the stress hormone epinephrine causes changes in prostate and breast cancer cells that may make them resistant to cell death.

11 Apr 2007

Genetic mutation that prevents sperm production found

Up to 15 percent of couples of childbearing age struggle with the heartache of infertility.

11 Apr 2007

Pharmatek Laboratories opens new facility in San Diego

Pharmatek Laboratories has announced the opening of its new 34,000 sq. ft. facility at 7330 Carroll Road, San Diego, California 92121.

11 Apr 2007

Lithium increases gray matter in bipolar brains

Neuroscientists at UCLA have shown that lithium, long the standard treatment for bipolar disorder, increases the amount of gray matter in the brains of patients with the illness.

11 Apr 2007

Varying treatment of asthma

Asthma symptoms vary greatly among individuals and vary at times with each individual.

10 Apr 2007

Female stem cells work better

Female stem cells derived from muscle have a greater ability to regenerate skeletal muscle tissue than male cells, according to a study at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC.

10 Apr 2007

Calories from fat, carbohydrate, and protein may interact with genes

We observed an interaction between APOA5 and dietary fat intake, but we did not see an interaction between APOA5 and carbohydrate or protein intake for any genetic variants of APOA5,” says Ordovas, who is corresponding author of the study.

10 Apr 2007

Calorie-restricted diets differing substantially in glycemic load can result in long-term weight loss

The first phase of a caloric restriction study in human subjects at the Jean Mayer US Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (USDA HNRCA) at Tufts University found evidence suggesting that calorie-restricted diets differing substantially in glycemic load can result in comparable long-term weight loss.

10 Apr 2007

Study provides first direct link between plants and humans

The study was published in an advance online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences during the week of April 9, 2007.

10 Apr 2007

Restless legs syndrome increases risk of cardiovascular disease

People with restless legs syndrome (RLS), especially the elderly, may be at an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease, according to a study published in the April 10, 2007, issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

10 Apr 2007

New insights into renal cell cancer

A new mouse model is providing valuable insight into the biochemical pathways that are associated with development of renal cysts and renal cell cancer.

10 Apr 2007

MIT model helps see how folds develop and decay in the cerebral cortex

Large mammals--humans, monkeys, and even cats--have brains with a somewhat mysterious feature: The outermost layer has a folded surface. Understanding the functional significance of these folds is one of the big open questions in neuroscience.

10 Apr 2007

Development of magnetic cationic liposomes for targeting tumor microvasculature

A popular way to attack malignant tumors is using cationic liposomes as drug delivery systems.

10 Apr 2007

Doctors aggressively treat early heart attacks

An international study involving 467 hospitals in 12 countries found that doctors do a good job of aggressively treating the early stages of heart attacks - even before laboratory tests confirm the diagnosis.

9 Apr 2007

Combination Lyme disease vaccine proteins patented

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory and collaborators at Stony Brook University have received U.S. Patent Number 7,179,448 for developing chimeric, or "combination," proteins that may advance the development of vaccines and diagnostic tests for Lyme disease.

9 Apr 2007

Hormone the culprit between obesity and colon cancer

A team of scientists from the University of California, San Diego say they believe a chemical produced by fat cells encourages colon cancers to grow faster; they say this may explain why severely overweight people appear to be at far greater risk of the disease.

8 Apr 2007