Laboratory News and Research

RSS

Rift Valley Fever - 411 suspected cases

As of 30 January 2007, 411 suspected cases, including 121 deaths (case-fatality rate, 29%) have been reported in North Eastern Province, Coast Province, Eastern Province and Central Province. One hundred and thirty-one cases have been laboratory confirmed.

31 Jan 2007

Molecular change in 1918 pandemic influenza virus stops transmission

Experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have shown that a molecular change in the 1918 pandemic influenza virus stops its transmission in ferrets that were in close proximity, shedding light on the properties that allowed the 1918 pandemic virus to spread so quickly.

31 Jan 2007

New method of predicting rheumatoid arthritis offers early help to sufferers

Dutch researchers believe they may have come up with a new way of predicting whether patients with arthritic symptoms will progress to the autoimmune form of the disease, rheumatoid arthritis.

31 Jan 2007

Scientists test technique for identifying newly recognized DNA variations that may influence disease risk

Rather than focus on errors and alterations in DNA sequence, the new technique highlights variations in the number of copies of a particular gene.

30 Jan 2007

Effects of nanotechnology on health and environment

University of Florida engineering student Maria Palazuelos is working on nanotechnology, but she's not seeking a better sunscreen, tougher golf club or other product - the focus of many engineers in the field.

30 Jan 2007

Stroke risk for sickle cell children with early complications

Children with sickle cell disease who experienced major complications such as pain and lung disease early in life are at no greater risk for stroke or death during later childhood, new research from UT Southwestern Medical Center shows.

30 Jan 2007

Photoprinted paper supports simultaneous microscale diagnostic tests

Prototype for a new class of inexpensive, highly practical rapid tests that can be used to carry out several biological tests simultaneously on a single drop.

29 Jan 2007

Sequenom and Lenetix to develop Rhesus D prenatal diagnostic

Sequenom, Inc. and Lenetix Medical Screening Laboratory, Inc., a provider of rapid genetic screening and diagnostic testing for clinicians worldwide, today announced that they have entered into a collaboration and license agreement to develop and commercialize a proprietary non-invasive prenatal Rhesus D (RhD) incompatibility test based on Sequenom patent rights and RT PCR methodology.

29 Jan 2007

FoxOs shown to be potential new targets for cancer drugs

In an elegant, multiple-gene knockout experiment, a team of Boston scientists has discovered that a trio of molecules, called FoxOs, are fundamentally critical in preventing some cancers, maintaining blood vessel stability, and in keeping blood-forming stem cells healthy.

29 Jan 2007

Potential protection against failed back surgery syndrome

Texas researchers believe that they have discovered how to prevent many cases of the most common problem encountered by patients undergoing spine surgery: failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS).

29 Jan 2007

A plasminogen-activating protease specifically controls the development of primary pneumonic plague

The deadly attack of the bacterium that causes pneumonic plague is significantly slowed when it can't make use of a key protein, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report in Science.

28 Jan 2007

Cellular mechanism linked to inflammation and cancer

A team led by biochemists at the University of California, San Diego has found what could be a long-elusive mechanism through which inflammation can promote cancer. The findings may provide a new approach for developing cancer therapies.

28 Jan 2007

Molecular mechanism behind aggregation of amyloid beta peptide due to anesthetics

Inhaled anesthetics commonly used in surgery are more likely to cause the aggregation of Alzheimer's disease-related plaques in the brain than intravenous anesthetics say University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine researchers in a journal article published in Biochemistry.

28 Jan 2007

Study sheds light on complex design of tears

It's no secret why we shed tears. But exactly what our tears are made of has remained a mystery to scientists.

28 Jan 2007

Brown seaweed may provide protective ingredient against skin cancers

Substances extracted from a marine seaweed may protect against skin cancer caused by too much sun, new research suggests.

28 Jan 2007

Manipulation of proliferation and differentiation of human bone marrow derived neural stem cells in vitro and in vivo

Stem cells taken from adult human bone marrow have been manipulated by scientists at the Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center to generate aggregates of cells called spheres that are similar to those derived from neural stem cells of the brain.

28 Jan 2007

Disorderly protein brings order to cell division

The secret to the ability of a molecule critical for cell division to throw off the protein yoke that restrains its activity is the yoke itself a disorderly molecule that seems to have a mind of its own, say investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Innsbruck Medical University and Max Planck Institute.

28 Jan 2007

Folic acid appears to reduce risk of cleft lip and palate

A new study finds that women who take folic acid supplements early in their pregnancy can substantially reduce their baby's chances of being born with a facial cleft.

28 Jan 2007

Chromatin plasticity gets a 3.7 Million Euro boost

The European Commission has awarded 3.7 Million Euro under the European Union Framework 6 Programme over the next four years to a new Marie Curie Research Training Network, coordinated by Dr. Andreas Ladurner at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL).

24 Jan 2007

Are you really what you eat?

Aston University in Birmingham, UK has launched a unique new laboratory facility dedicated to solving the mysteries that lie in the relationship between the food we eat and the human brain.

24 Jan 2007