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High-fat food consumption during puberty may increase the risk of breast cancer

New findings show that eating a high-fat diet beginning at puberty speeds up the development of breast cancer and may actually increase the risk of cancer similar to a type often found in younger adult women.

26 Nov 2013

Bruker receives FDA clearance to market MALDI Biotyper CA System in the U.S.

Bruker Corporation today announced that it has been granted U.S. FDA clearance under Section 510(k) to market its MALDI Biotyper CA System in the United States for the identification of Gram negative bacterial colonies cultured from human specimens.

26 Nov 2013

Virginia Tech professor named AAAS Fellow for contributions to plant science

John Jelesko, an associate professor of plant pathology, physiology and weed science in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech, has been named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

26 Nov 2013

USF is among top 10 organizations worldwide with Fellows named this year

Six faculty members at the University of South Florida in Tampa have been named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Election as an AAAS Fellow is an honor bestowed upon AAAS members by their peers.

26 Nov 2013

Garlic compounds can kill foodborne pathogen present in infant formula powder

Garlic may be bad for your breath, but it's good for your baby, according to a new study from the University of British Columbia.

26 Nov 2013

Vaccinating kids against rotavirus may also reduce risk of seizures

A new study suggests an additional-and somewhat surprising-potential benefit of vaccinating children against rotavirus, a common cause of diarrhea and vomiting. Besides protecting kids from intestinal illness caused by rotavirus, immunization may also reduce the risk of related seizures, according to findings published in Clinical Infectious Diseases and available online.

21 Nov 2013

Staphylococcus Aureus Bacteria anticipates and turns immune defenses against the host

Around 20 percent of all humans are persistently colonized with Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, a leading cause of skin infections and one of the major sources of hospital-acquired infections, including the antibiotic-resistant strain MRSA.

20 Nov 2013

Rapid DNA biochip tests for screening disease-causing bacteria

Patients affected by a bacterial infection can usually be treated with an antibiotic. But sometimes a resistant bacterial strain is causing the infection. In a hospital setting, doctors ideally want to know if they are dealing with such bacteria and which drugs they should choose. But if the doctor runs a test it can take days to get a result. Now, a European project is paving the way for much more rapid tests using DNA biochips. The aim is to rapidly screen disease-causing bacteria using a microarray to spot which resistant genes are present in bacteria.

20 Nov 2013

NIAID awards $4.4M grant to study unknown gene function in bacteria that cause plague, brucellosis

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has awarded the University of Chicago $4.4 million over five years to study genes of unknown function in bacteria that cause plague and brucellosis.

20 Nov 2013

Philipp E. Scherer honored with 15th Naomi Berrie Award for Outstanding Research in Diabetes

Columbia University Medical Center has honored Philipp E. Scherer, PhD, with the 15th Naomi Berrie Award for Outstanding Research in Diabetes, for his work that helped usher in a new understanding of fat and its role in diabetes and other metabolic diseases. His discovery of adiponectin, a hormone produced by fat, helped transform the scientific concept of fat as an inert storage depot to one of it as an endocrine "organ" that exerts control over the brain, muscles, and other organs. The award, given annually by CUMC's Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center, is Columbia's top honor for excellence in diabetes research.

19 Nov 2013

New method could cut hours off the time it takes to diagnose blood infections

A new method could cut hours off the time it takes to diagnose blood infections while also eliminating the need for complicated manual processing and expensive equipment, according to a report to be published in mBio-, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology, on November 19.

19 Nov 2013

Researchers take close look at medicine's highest volume activity

Laboratory testing is health care's single highest volume activity, with over 5 billion tests performed each year in the U.S.

18 Nov 2013

Research findings call for a rethinking of cancer genetics

Johns Hopkins researchers report that the deletion of any single gene in yeast cells puts pressure on the organism’s genome to compensate, leading to a mutation in another gene. Their discovery, which is likely applicable to human genetics because of the way DNA is conserved across species, could have significant consequences for the way genetic analysis is done in cancer and other areas of research, they say.

14 Nov 2013

Groundbreaking study reveals novel approach to treat, eliminate MRSA infection

Recent work from University Distinguished Professor of Biology Kim Lewis promises to overcome one of the leading public health threats of our time. In a groundbreaking study published Wednesday in the journal Nature, Lewis' team presents a novel approach to treat and eliminate methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, a potent bacterium whose resistance to antibiotics has kept it one step ahead of researchers.

14 Nov 2013

Researchers discover powerful mechanism that keeps white blood cells from going rogue

The immune system is a double-edged sword. While its primary role is to fight infections, it can also become overactive, leading to problems like allergies and autoimmune diseases.

13 Nov 2013

Study uncovers novel mechanism that helps govern regulated gene expression

A study led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine shines a new light on molecular tools our cells use to govern regulated gene expression. The study was published on line in advance of print November 10 in the journal Nature Structural and Molecular Biology.

13 Nov 2013

Researchers identify specific IRE1a inhibitor for rheumatoid arthritis treatment

Collaborating with researchers from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, a research team at Wayne State University's School of Medicine led by Kezhong Zhang, Ph.D., has contributed to an important discovery in the inflammatory stress mechanism and specific inhibitor for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

13 Nov 2013