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Manipulation of NAD could lead to potential therapy for acute kidney injury

Approximately one out of five hospitalized adults and one out of three hospitalized children worldwide experience acute kidney injury, the sudden loss of kidney function. Many different factors, including surgery, chemotherapy or shock, can lead to acute kidney injury, but exactly why the kidneys are so vulnerable to these and other stressors has not been well understood.

19 Mar 2016

UW-Madison neuroscientist discover genetic machinery that causes maturation in young nerve cells

In one of the first studies to 'read' the genetic activity inside individual brain cells, University of Wisconsin-Madison neuroscientist Xinyu Zhao has identified the genetic machinery that causes maturation in a young nerve cell. The cells under study came from the hippocampus, a memory-related structure that is the only place in a mammal's brain where new neurons can form throughout life.

18 Mar 2016

Inhibiting cholesterol esterification can potentiate antitumor activity of killer T cells

As key players in the immune system, T cells provide tumor surveillance and have direct antitumor effects. However, tumors can escape T-cell attack through various mechanisms in the tumor microenvironment. Reactivating the antitumor effects of T cells has shown great clinical benefits in treating various cancers.

18 Mar 2016

UNIGE researchers identify new recessive disease

The objective of genetic medicine is to analyze all the genes that make up the human genome, in order to identify as many genetic diseases as possible. Indeed, each gene variation has the potential to trigger specific defects. Among all genetic conditions, diseases known as "recessive" occur only when both the father and the mother are healthy carriers of the same defective gene which can be passed down to their children.

18 Mar 2016

Prognostic test could help lower cancer recurrence for colorectal patients

Colorectal cancer, one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in the United States, is not a commonly discussed disease. Often symptomless in early stages, the cancer is more difficult to treat as it progresses, requiring chemotherapy in later stages. Researchers at the University of Notre Dame are working on a way to identify patients who would benefit from chemotherapy before the cancer progresses.

15 Mar 2016

Alcohol consumption may increase risk for breast cancer

A University of Houston researcher and his team have discovered an important link between alcohol and breast cancer by identifying a cancer-causing gene triggered by alcohol

15 Mar 2016

New chemical probe could tag cells for detection by MRI

The need to non-invasively "see" and track cells in living persons is indisputable - a boon to both research and development of future therapies. Emerging treatments using stem cells and immune cells are poised to most benefit from cell tracking, which would visualize their behavior in the body after delivery. Clinicians require such data to speed these cell treatments to patients.

15 Mar 2016

Latest and final review of health problems related to Agent Orange exposure during Vietnam War

The latest and final in a series of congressionally mandated biennial reviews of the evidence of health problems that may be linked to exposure to Agent Orange and other herbicides used during the Vietnam War changed the categorization of health outcomes for bladder cancer, hypothyroidism, and spina bifida and clarified the breadth of the previous finding for Parkinson's disease.

11 Mar 2016

MU researchers awarded $4.2 million NSF grant to study corn

Developing drought-tolerant corn varieties that make efficient use of available water is vital to sustain the estimated 9 billion global population by 2050. For the past several decades, University of Missouri researchers have been working to solve this world hunger problem and have made significant strides.

11 Mar 2016

TSRI researchers uncover new molecular mechanism underlying neurodegenerative diseases

A new study led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute suggests that cells construct protein "clumps" to protect against neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a.k.a. ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease.

10 Mar 2016

Novel nanoparticle technology can decipher protein structures and help access drug targets

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, have developed a nanoparticle technology that can be used to stabilise membrane proteins so that their structure can be studied in a lipid environment. The method, described in Nature Methods, makes it possible to access drug targets that previously could not be investigated and therefore potentially allows for the development of novel drugs, therapeutic antibodies and vaccines.

9 Mar 2016

UC San Diego physicians develop potential new therapy for critical limb ischemia

Bioengineers and physicians at the University of California, San Diego have developed a potential new therapy for critical limb ischemia, a condition that causes extremely poor circulation in the limbs and leads to an estimated 230,000 amputations every year in North America and Europe alone to prevent the spread of infection and tissue death.

9 Mar 2016

Study: Liposomes cannot penetrate the skin's barrier without breaking

Many cosmetic companies praise liposomes for their alleged ability to transport juvinating and nourishing agents deep into the skin, but also drug researchers have high hopes for liposomes: If they can carry nourishing agents through the skin, then they can also carry medical agents into the body.

8 Mar 2016

ACGT awards new research grants to take researchers to next level in cancer treatment

Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy, the nation's only nonprofit dedicated exclusively to cell and gene therapies for cancer, is delighted to announce the recipients of its 2016 ACGT Young Investigator Grants.

8 Mar 2016

Researchers solve structure of key protein in coronaviruses, like MERS and SARS

When the respiratory illness SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) emerged in 2003, it killed at least 775 people before it was contained. Nine years later, MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) began circulating in the human population—and has gone on to have a 36 percent case fatality rate.

7 Mar 2016

Study identifies biomarker that plays role in early stages of Alzheimer's disease

A multicenter study led by Christian Haass and Michael Ewers of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet in Munich has identified a biomarker associated with the activation of an innate immune response to neural damage during early stages of Alzheimer's disease.

4 Mar 2016