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Fly model could help lay the foundation for new therapies to fight 'difficult' pathogen

The Clostridium difficile pathogen takes its name from the French word for "difficult." A bacterium that is known to cause symptoms ranging from diarrhea to life-threatening colon damage, C. difficile is part of a growing epidemic of concern for the elderly and patients on antibiotics.

8 Feb 2020

Researchers reveal new activity above the surface in brain-cell receptors

Like buoys bobbing on the ocean, many receptors float on the surface of a cell's membrane with a part sticking above the water and another underwater, inside the cell's cytoplasm.

7 Feb 2020

Unveiling the structure of the influenza virus

The flu season is coming, and the frigid temperatures make it worse. The influenza B virus is the causative agent of the common flu, but over the past years, it has become more potent in causing disease. Now, a team of MIT scientists has found and unveiled the structure of the virus, particularly the key influenza protein, in the hopes to develop new drugs to combat influenza.

4 Feb 2020

New compound prevents amyloid formation to fight Alzheimer’s disease

It is known that Alzheimer’s disease is caused by the formation of amyloid plaques and tau tangles in the brain. A novel compound shows promise in preventing amyloid formation, fighting Alzheimer’s disease development.

3 Feb 2020

New method for delivering NSCs to spinal cord injuries may boost repair efforts

Writing in the journal Stem Cells Translational Medicine, an international research team, led by physician-scientists at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, describe a new method for delivering neural precursor cells (NSCs) to spinal cord injuries in rats, reducing the risk of further injury and boosting the propagation of potentially reparative cells.

29 Jan 2020

Researchers discover a defense mechanism that protects cells from microbial attacks

Human cells have a defense mechanism that protects them from microbial attacks, a Canadian-led team of international researchers has discovered.

28 Jan 2020

Bone marrow chip provides new strategy for understanding Shwachman-Diamond syndrome

A new research tool that mimics the behavior of diseased bone marrow provides a new strategy for understanding the bone marrow disease, Shwachman-Diamond syndrome, and hopefully, developing new treatments.

28 Jan 2020

Novel palladium compound acts against ovarian tumor cells

A group led by a researcher affiliated with the University of São Paulo's São Carlos Chemistry Institute (IQSC-USP) in Brazil has developed a novel palladium compound that acts against ovarian tumor cells without affecting healthy tissues. Palladium is a silvery white metal belonging to the same group as platinum.

28 Jan 2020

New experimental model developed for 'lipid rafts' in living cells

It is a rather trivial statement: if you want to enter the house through a door, it is best to take a key in your hand, open and go inside. But if you have no idea what the key looks like or where it is hidden - under the doormat, on the basement stairs? - it becomes much more difficult.

27 Jan 2020

Human organ chips for better drug development

The process of developing new drugs is both difficult and costly. It is estimated that of all the drug candidates which start out on their testing journey, less than 14% actually make it to the clinical scene and receive approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

27 Jan 2020

Improving drug testing with comprehensive 'Organ Chip' platform

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves only 13.8% of all tested drugs, and these numbers are even lower in "orphan" diseases that affect relatively few people.

27 Jan 2020

Researchers develop new model that simulates the accumulation of lipids in membranes

Cholesterol is crucial to the formation of the cell membranes of mammals and is part of many life processes.

27 Jan 2020

Novel technique used to show how electrical impulses travel with high speed in the brain

Researchers from the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience used a new technique to show how electrical impulses are traveling with high speed in the brain.

24 Jan 2020

Stanford scientists complete first global census of cell surface proteins

Stanford scientists have completed the first global census of diverse proteins sprouting tree-like from the outer membrane of a cell. These cell surface proteins govern how cells interact with one another and how they assemble into tissues and organs such as hearts and brains.

24 Jan 2020

Landmark study identifies 102 genes associated with autism risk

In the largest genetic sequencing study of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to date, researchers have identified 102 genes associated with risk for autism. The study also shows significant progress towards teasing apart the genes associated with ASD from those associated with intellectual disability and developmental delay, conditions which often overlap.

23 Jan 2020

Novel drug can simultaneously help diagnose, treat gastric cancer

A novel drug, named "FerriIridium", can simultaneously help diagnose and treat gastric cancer. The initially weakly active precursor (prodrug), based on an iridium-containing compound, is selectively activated only after reaching the interior of a tumor cell. This is possible because of the higher amount of iron present there, report scientists in the journal Angewandte Chemie.

23 Jan 2020

Researchers solve long-standing mystery linked to contraction of heart cells

We've all felt the effects of an adrenaline rush. Faced with danger, real or perceived, the heart beats faster, breathing quickens and muscles tighten as the body prepares to fight a threat or flee from it.

23 Jan 2020

Collaboration reveals promising therapeutic strategy for osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis affects 240 million people worldwide and is one of the most common causes of disability in both humans and animals.

22 Jan 2020

Cardiac and visual degeneration compensated by taurine supplement

Our genome consists of 20,000 genes, all of which may be capable of triggering disease. It is estimated that there are 7,000 unknown genes that cause recessive genetic diseases resulting from mutations in two copies of a gene that have been inherited from each parent.

21 Jan 2020

Taking high dose of vitamin D linked lower blood pressure in overweight children

Overweight and obese vitamin D-deficient children who took a relatively high dose of vitamin D every day for six months had lower blood pressure and improved insulin sensitivity than their peers who took a lower dose, according to the results of a UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh clinical trial reported in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

21 Jan 2020