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Study finds synapses between retinal ganglion cells and starburst amacrine cells distributed asymmetrically

The sensory cells in the retina of the mammalian eye convert light stimuli into electrical signals and transmit them via downstream interneurons to the retinal ganglion cells which, in turn, forward them to the brain. The interneurons are connected to each other in such a way that the individual ganglion cells receive visual information from a circular area of the visual field known as the receptive field.

10 Mar 2011

Efficient medical treatments to be showcased at SIR's 36th Annual Scientific Meeting

The Society of Interventional Radiology will feature minimally invasive scientific advances and new discoveries in treating a host of diseases at its 36th Annual Scientific Meeting March 26–31 at McCormick Place (West) in Chicago, Ill. The theme of the meeting is "IR Rising: Leading Image-guided Medicine," chosen to reflect interventional radiology's continued revolutionizing of modern medicine.

5 Mar 2011

Bessel beam plane illumination microscopy reveals 3-D structures of living cells

A new microscope invented by scientists at Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Janelia Farm Research Campus will let researchers use an exquisitely thin sheet of light -- similar to that used in supermarket bar-code scanners -- to peer inside single living cells, revealing the three-dimensional shapes of cellular landmarks in unprecedented detail.

5 Mar 2011

Scientist develops cryo-electron microscopy to clarify salmonellae structure

Bacteria like salmonellae infect their host cells by needle-shaped extensions which they create in large numbers during an attack. A group of Vienna-based scientists headed by Thomas Marlovits employed recently developed methods of cryo-electron microscopy and have been able to clarify the structure of this infection apparatus on the near-atomic scale.

4 Mar 2011

Executioner enzyme may short circuit second form of cell death

An enzyme viewed as an executioner, because it can push cells to commit suicide, may actually short circuit a second form of cell death, researchers at Emory University School of Medicine have discovered.

4 Mar 2011

ASU receives W. M. Keck $1 million grant to build next-generation 3D imaging microscope

The W. M. Keck Foundation has awarded Arizona State University a $1 million grant to the team of scientists led by Deirdre Meldrum, Ph.D., at the Biodesign Institute.

2 Mar 2011

New York's Medicaid advisory panel approves plan to cut health spending

The panel's compromise includes an annual spending cap and across-the-board Medicaid provider cuts. Meanwhile, other states also struggle with the rising cost of Medicaid and its impact on the budget.

25 Feb 2011

Researchers develop new inexpensive way of filtering water with silver nanoparticles

Disasters such as floods, tsunamis, and earthquakes often result in the spread of diseases like gastroenteritis, giardiasis and even cholera because of an immediate shortage of clean drinking water. Now, chemistry researchers at McGill University have taken a key step towards making a cheap, portable, paper-based filter coated with silver nanoparticles to be used in these emergency settings.

24 Feb 2011

State roundup: Mass. cost control plan advances; Texas Senate's abortion bill vote; Miami's public hospital crisis

The governor of Massachusetts proposed changes on Thursday to the state's comprehensive healthcare program, one often seen as a prototype for national reforms, to attempt to bring rising costs under control. The plan would give the U.S. state more authority to scrutinize fees paid to hospitals and doctors, reform the current standard by which healthcare providers are compensated and enact medical malpractice reform.

19 Feb 2011

Muscle, aptly enough, is born of cellular bullying, and not mutual consent

In fact, according to new research from Johns Hopkins, the fusion of muscle cells is a power struggle that involves a smaller mobile antagonist that points at, pokes and finally pushes into its larger, stationary partner using a newly identified finger-like projection.

17 Feb 2011

Spinal cord sugar residues regulate growth and survival of nerve cells: Study

Researchers in Bochum have found out that certain sugar residues in the spinal cord regulate the growth and survival of nerve cells which control the movement of muscles. "We hope that our findings can improve regenerative treatment of nerve injuries", explains Prof. Dr. Stefan Wiese from the Molecular Cell Biology study group.

14 Feb 2011

Seaweed microsponges may help diagnose many diseases quickly, at far lower cost

Microsponges derived from seaweed may help diagnose heart disease, cancers, HIV and other diseases quickly and at far lower cost than current clinical methods. The microsponges are an essential component of Rice University's Programmable Bio-Nano-Chip (PBNC) and the focus of a new paper in the journal Small.

9 Feb 2011

Gates Foundation awards USF $5.45M for malaria research

The University of South Florida received $5.45 million in grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The first grant is to create advanced devices that mimic the human liver to better study the life cycle of the malaria parasite - particularly the elusive liver stage where the disease may be most vulnerable to attack.

9 Feb 2011

Rational use of heath care dollars for tonsillectomy

Without fanfare, hundreds of thousands of children surrender their tonsils to a surgeon's scalpel each year, usually to alleviate recurring infections and obstructive sleep problems. Most of the time, the snipped tonsils are sent to a pathologist, who looks for evidence of more serious medical problems, like unsuspected cancer.

9 Feb 2011

Family mealtimes with ABC guidelines can improve quality of life in asthma children

A University of Illinois scientist reports that family mealtimes that contain three ingredients in the right amounts can improve the quality of life in children who have chronic asthma.

5 Feb 2011

Researchers trace scent signals from nose to higher centers of mouse brain

Mice know fear. And they know to fear the scent of a predator. But how do their brains quickly figure out with a sniff that a cat is nearby?

5 Feb 2011

Recent releases in Global Health

"Africa should be one of the leading regions in shaping global food security policies and feeding the future instead of others shaping it for Africa. Developing practical, integrative and more small-scale solutions for agricultural inputs and outputs, farming, and for managing both land and water resources, will help Africa provide for future generations on the Continent and elsewhere," Robin Renee Sanders, the U.S. ambassador to Nigeria, writes in a Huffington Post blog post.

5 Feb 2011

Researchers develop hard X-ray laser to determine structure of biomolecules

Unraveling the molecular basis of life is an age-old quest of humanity. A breakthrough towards this goal was reported in a pair of studies published Feb. 3 in the scientific journal Nature, detailing a new method developed to determine structures of biomolecules based on diffraction from protein nanocrystals that are so small that they are not even visible under the microscope.

3 Feb 2011

Four-gene/protein signature more accurately predicts metastatic prostate cancer

Prostate tumors that carry a "signature" of four molecular markers have the potential to become dangerously metastatic if not treated aggressively, researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute report in a study published online today by the journal Nature. The discovery lays the groundwork for the first gene-based test for determining whether a man's prostate cancer is likely to remain dormant within the prostate gland, or spread lethally to other parts of the body.

3 Feb 2011

Defective nucleoli linked to Parkinson's disease

"Nucleolus", or small nucleus, is the term coined by early biologists for the tiny structure within the nucleus which they saw under the microscope. In this structure within the nucleus, RNA molecules and proteins are assembled to form ribosomes, the true protein factories of cells.

2 Feb 2011

Microscope News and Research

Study finds synapses between retinal ganglion cells and starburst amacrine cells distributed asymmetrically

Efficient medical treatments to be showcased at SIR's 36th Annual Scientific Meeting

Bessel beam plane illumination microscopy reveals 3-D structures of living cells

Scientist develops cryo-electron microscopy to clarify salmonellae structure

Executioner enzyme may short circuit second form of cell death

ASU receives W. M. Keck $1 million grant to build next-generation 3D imaging microscope

New York's Medicaid advisory panel approves plan to cut health spending

Researchers develop new inexpensive way of filtering water with silver nanoparticles

State roundup: Mass. cost control plan advances; Texas Senate's abortion bill vote; Miami's public hospital crisis

Muscle, aptly enough, is born of cellular bullying, and not mutual consent

Spinal cord sugar residues regulate growth and survival of nerve cells: Study

Seaweed microsponges may help diagnose many diseases quickly, at far lower cost

Gates Foundation awards USF $5.45M for malaria research

Rational use of heath care dollars for tonsillectomy

Family mealtimes with ABC guidelines can improve quality of life in asthma children

Researchers trace scent signals from nose to higher centers of mouse brain

Recent releases in Global Health

Researchers develop hard X-ray laser to determine structure of biomolecules

Four-gene/protein signature more accurately predicts metastatic prostate cancer

Defective nucleoli linked to Parkinson's disease

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