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New therapy may reduce stroke risk in severe sickle cell disease patients

Eleven-year-old Martin Mwita, of Omaha, has made more than 300 visits to health care facilities since he was a baby. Because of sickle cell disease, he's suffered three strokes and countless other health episodes.

26 May 2016

Malaria parasites use complement system to evade human immune response, study finds

The malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum hijacks an immune system process to invade red blood cells, according to a study led by researchers at Penn State College of Medicine. Understanding how malaria invades the cells could lead to a more effective vaccine.

26 May 2016

Oklahoma researchers move forward in race to find vaccine for Zika virus

With the mosquito season virtually upon us, there is growing concern about the potential for the Zika virus to spread in the United States. In fact, many public health officials believe it is not a question of if but rather when an outbreak will occur here.

26 May 2016

Researchers discover how specific gene inhibits bacterial invasion of colonic epithelia

A group of researchers at Osaka University elucidated how a gene named Ly6/Plaur domain containing 8 (Lypd8) inhibits bacterial invasion of colonic epithelia, regulating intestinal inflammation. This achievement may lead to the development of drugs for ulcerative colitis.

25 May 2016

New approach offers unprecedented view of how HIV virus infects and appropriates host cell

Viruses attack cells and commandeer their machinery in a complex and carefully orchestrated invasion. Scientists have longed probed this process for insights into biology and disease, but essential details still remain out of reach.

25 May 2016

Scientists study how viral evolution occurs

Viruses evolve quickly. A small tweak to the genetic makeup of a mostly mild strain of influenza can give rise to the next pandemic. An equally small change to the same strain in a different setting can fade it into obscurity.

24 May 2016

Novel strategy to predict antigenic evolution of circulating influenza viruses

During the 2014-15 flu season, the poor match between the virus used to make the world's vaccine stocks and the circulating seasonal virus yielded a vaccine that was less than 20 percent effective.

24 May 2016

Antimicrobial agent triclosan can rapidly disrupt gut bacterial communities

A new study suggests that triclosan, an antimicrobial and antifungal agent found in many consumer products ranging from hand soaps to toys and even toothpaste, can rapidly disrupt bacterial communities found in the gut.

24 May 2016

Wresting back control of CHI3L1 protein could stave off cancer spread in mice

For cancer to spread, the cells that take off into the bloodstream must find a tissue that will permit them to thrive. They don't just go looking, though. Instead, they actively prepare the tissue, in one case by co-opting a protein that suppresses defenses the body would otherwise mount.

21 May 2016

Research provides pathway toward creation of first broad-spectrum antiviral drug

By studying the rare person -- about one in a million -- who can fight off viral infections more effectively than everyone else, investigators at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have developed a strategy to help the rest of us achieve this enhanced anti-viral state.

21 May 2016

New frozen faecal bank increases chances of curing a chronic health condition

A new frozen faecal bank that could save hundreds of lives and dramatically improve the quality of life of many more has been established at a Portsmouth hospital.

20 May 2016

Gene editing technology helps excise segment of HIV-1 DNA from genomes of living animals

Using gene editing technology, researchers at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University have, for the first time, successfully excised a segment of HIV-1 DNA - the virus responsible for AIDS - from the genomes of living animals.

20 May 2016

Penn State researchers link mutation in common virus to fatal brain disease

Why people on immunosuppressant drugs for autoimmune conditions have a higher incidence of an often-fatal brain disease may be linked to a mutation in a common virus, according to researchers at Penn State College of Medicine.

19 May 2016

Temple/St. Luke’s Medical School Grad honors 27 new physicians

During the four years of medical school training, students can either study, sleep or have a social life, but never all three, joked Joel Rosenfeld, MD, M.Ed, FACS, Chief Academic Officer, St. Luke's University Health Network, and Senior Associate Dean, Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University.

18 May 2016

Motor protein Myo1c uses actin cytoskeleton as 'track' for Neph1 transport

The motor protein Myo1c binds to Neph1, a protein crucial for ensuring effective filtration by the kidney, and serves as one mode of its cellular transport, according to findings by investigators at the Medical University of South Carolina and their collaborators reported in the May 16, 2016 issue of Molecular and Cellular Biology.

17 May 2016

Scientists uncover whole new way of treating antibiotic-resistant superbugs

Australian scientists may have found a way to stop deadly bacteria from infecting patients. The discovery could lead to a whole new way of treating antibiotic-resistant "superbugs". The researchers have uncovered what may be an Achilles heel on the bacteria cell membrane that could act as a potential novel drug target.

17 May 2016

Could worm infection counter IBD? An interview with Dr Loke and Dr Cadwell

The hygiene hypothesis refers to the idea that decreased exposure to certain infectious agents (because of better hygiene) is the reason why we have seen an increase in inflammatory diseases in the developed world.

17 May 2016

Researchers reveal new mechanism that helps breast cancer cells engage MDSCs

Not every breast cancer tumor follows the same path to grow. Some tumors have the assistance of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), a diverse type of immune cell involved in the suppression of the body's response against tumors.

17 May 2016

Unlocking the dark proteome: an interview with Dr Kriwacki

The term dark proteome refers to proteins whose structural features and thus functions are not well understood. Many proteins within the dark proteome do not fold into stable three-dimensional structures. These proteins are called intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) and feature highly flexible, disordered confirmations.

16 May 2016

Mouse models of Zika virus infection in pregnancy provide basis to develop vaccines, treatments

Two mouse models of Zika virus infection in pregnancy have been developed by a team of researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. In them, the virus migrated from the pregnant mouse's bloodstream into the placenta, where it multiplied, then spread into the fetal circulation and infected the brains of the developing pups.

12 May 2016