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Scientists identify protein biomarkers to track patients with Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome

Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS) is an extremely rare fatal genetic disorder which causes sufferers to age prematurely.

19 Jan 2018

New high-sensitivity blood tests could aid faster diagnosis and treatment for heart attack

When diagnosing a heart attack, accuracy and timing are everything. A new test designed to better measure levels of troponin, a protein released when the heart muscle is damaged, could help emergency department physicians provide faster diagnosis and appropriate treatment.

16 Jan 2018

New cholesterol calculation method could eliminate need for routine fasting

In a direct comparison study, Johns Hopkins researchers have added to evidence that a newer method of calculating so-called "bad cholesterol" levels in the blood is more accurate than the older method in people who did not fast before blood was drawn.

2 Jan 2018

Researchers develop more accurate method to gauge incidence of HIV infections

Researchers at the Duke Human Vaccine Institute have led an effort to develop a more accurate way to gauge the incidence of HIV infections in large populations, which will improve research and prevention strategies worldwide.

21 Dec 2017

Scientists develop test to predict treatment outcomes in patients with childhood leukemia

UC San Francisco physician-scientists have developed a test that can predict how patients with juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML) will respond to treatment, and may also be able to identify patients who are likely to recover spontaneously with little to no treatment.

19 Dec 2017

A guide to Severe Combined Immunodeficiency Disease, review released

A new review published today in the Canadian Medical Association Journal provides guidance on Severe Combined Immunodeficiency Disease (SCID), a deadly and rare disease that is potentially curable if detected early.

18 Dec 2017

New review provides guidance to doctors who may treat infants with ‘bubble boy disease’

A new review provides guidance on a deadly, but rare, disease that is potentially curable if identified early. Severe combined immunodeficiency disease (SCID), known as the "bubble boy disease" in the 1970s, is treatable with a stem cell transplant, gene therapy and other treatments if identified at birth or soon after.

18 Dec 2017

Valley fever cases see sharp increase in November, say UVA experts

Valley fever cases in November saw a 50-percent spike over the previous month, leading experts at the University of Arizona Valley Fever Center for Excellence to predict a significant increase in cases in 2018.

15 Dec 2017

Porvair and Suzhou Tianlong Bio to develop epigenetic analysis technologies

Porvair Sciences are teaming up with Suzhou Tianlong Bio Technology Co Ltd (China), together with Swansea University and Xi'an Jiaotong University in a collaborative project entitled, "Automating & Stratification of Epigenetics in Healthcare" that is part of the Innovate UK / Jiangsu Industrial Challenge Programme.

From Chromatrap® - Porvair Sciences Ltd 15 Dec 2017

NIH-funded study to explore hearing loss risk in Detroit firefighters

Firefighters face potential exposure to various hazardous chemicals that increase their risk for numerous health issues. During responses to fires or other hazardous events, they may be exposed to, inhale or ingest toxic gases, vapors or particles.

13 Dec 2017

Newly discovered molecular chaperones may soon be part of therapies for Huntington's disease

Huntington's disease is a neurodegenerative disease. It is always fatal. The disease is caused by a defect in the Huntingtin gene. To this day, no therapy will put a stop to the insidious disintegration of brain cells.

12 Dec 2017

Huntington's disease drug clears initial hurdles - raising hopes

Huntington’s disease is a genetic disorder that affects the brain progressively and has no known cure till date. In a breakthrough, the first drug that can target and reduce the cause behind this dreaded disease has been found to be effective, safe and well tolerated in a human clinical trial that was conducted by UCL scientists.

11 Dec 2017

Simple molecular test may help predict presence of high-grade pancreatic cancers

A report in The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics, describes a new simple molecular test to detect chromosomal abnormalities -- biomarkers known as telomere fusions--in pancreatic tumor specimens and pancreatic cyst fluids.

8 Dec 2017

Overcoming Challenges of Assays of Complex Cellular Models with Real-Time Live-Cell Analysis

There's a continued drive towards making in vitro assays ever more translational towards in vivo models and ultimately the clinic. This ties in with the resurgence of phenotypic screening and is a response to the perceived poor translation of the traditional simple cell-based assays, often developed to study just single protein targets.

From Sartorius 5 Dec 2017

New biomarker test can accurately predict which chemical compounds induce DNA damage

A new biomarker test developed by researchers at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center and their colleagues can help predict, with up to 90 percent certainty, which chemical compounds can cause DNA damage that could lead to cancer.

5 Dec 2017

Study focuses on improving pharmacokinetic properties of therapeutic aptamers

Designing new therapeutic DNA aptamers with diverse side chains can improve their ability to interact with targets, and a new study describes characteristics of these side chains that may determine how long the aptamers remain in the bloodstream.

30 Nov 2017

Mayo Clinic launches new clinical test that distinguishes IDDs from multiple sclerosis

Mayo Clinic has launched a first-in-the-U.S. clinical test that will help patients who recently have been diagnosed with an inflammatory demyelinating disease (IDD) but may be unsure of the exact disorder.

28 Nov 2017

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease patients harbor infectious prions in their skin

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD)- the human equivalent of mad cow disease- is caused by rogue, misfolded protein aggregates termed prions, which are infectious and cause fatal damages in the patient's brain. CJD patients develop signature microscopic sponge-like holes in their brains.

23 Nov 2017

Penn researchers find evidence of new malaria species in wild bonobos

Malaria parasites, although widespread among wild chimpanzees and gorillas, have not been detected in bonobos, a chimp cousin. Reasoning that previous studies may have missed infected bonobo populations, a team led by Beatrice Hahn, MD, a professor of Microbiology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, conducted a more extensive survey, increasing both the number and places they sampled wild bonobo populations.

21 Nov 2017

New technique may reveal clues about role of centromeres in Down syndrome, other birth defects

Some scientists call it the "final frontier" of our DNA -- even though it lies at the center of every X-shaped chromosome in nearly every one of our cells.

20 Nov 2017