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Discovery provides basis for new pertussis treatments

The worldwide spreading of the whooping cough, also known as pertussis, has substantially increased since 2010. Researchers from the Biozentrum, University of Basel, have investigated structure and function of an important membrane protein of the bacterium causing pertussis. They discovered that the protein structure differs from a previously postulated model.

24 Jun 2015

PSMA can be an ideal target for diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer

Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) is a surface protein that is normally present on healthy prostate cells, but is found at much higher levels on prostate cancer cells. It is barely found in the rest of the body. "Therefore, PSMA is an ideal target for diagnostic purposes as well as targeted therapies against prostate cancer," says biotechnologist Dr. Matthias Eder of the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ).

23 Jun 2015

CellResearch receives new patent approval from USPTO for stem cell technology

CellResearch Corporation Pte Ltd, a Singaporean company that specializes in stem cell technology, has received approval for its latest patent on 6 May 2015 from the US Patent and Trademark Office.

18 Jun 2015

NIH researchers develop 'placenta-on-a-chip' to study role of placenta in pregnancy

National Institutes of Health researchers and their colleagues have developed a "placenta-on-a-chip" to study the inner workings of the human placenta and its role in pregnancy. The device was designed to imitate, on a micro-level, the structure and function of the placenta and model the transfer of nutrients from mother to fetus. This prototype is one of the latest in a series of organ-on-a-chip technologies developed to accelerate biomedical advances.

18 Jun 2015

Single difference in HIV's genetic code influences progression of disease

In a finding that furthers the understanding of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), researchers from Children's Hospital Los Angeles discovered two locations where a single difference in HIV's genetic code altered the way the virus infected the cell, thereby influencing the progression of the disease.

18 Jun 2015

New tissue 'scaffold' technology could one day help produce large organs

Scientists have developed a new tissue 'scaffold' technology that could one day enable the engineering of large organs. Research led by the Universities of Bristol and Liverpool has shown that it is possible to combine cells with a special scaffold to produce living tissue in the laboratory. It is hoped this can then be implanted into patients as a way of replacing diseased parts of the body.

17 Jun 2015

MGH-CEM researchers develop novel approach to evaluate the liver's drug-metabolizing activity

A team of researchers from the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Engineering in Medicine (MGH-CEM) has developed a novel approach that dramatically simplifies the evaluation of the liver's drug-metabolizing activity and the potential toxic effects of the products of that activity on other organs.

17 Jun 2015

CQDM, OCE grant $1.5M to speed up drug discovery and development in Quebec-Ontario Life Sciences Corridor

CQDM and Ontario Centres of Excellence will fund five highly innovative and unconventional game-changing research and development projects to accelerate drug discovery in the Quebec-Ontario Life Sciences Corridor. Partners are granting $1.5M to Quebec-based and, for the first time, Ontario-based researchers thanks to the partnership with OCE through CQDM's 2014 Explore Program, one of CQDM's flagship programs focusing on early concept validation of cutting-edge technologies that address the most crucial needs in drug discovery and development.

17 Jun 2015

Beijing Red Cross Emergency Medical Center selects Falcon 2000LX to expand air ambulance services

Beijing Red Cross Emergency Medical Center (999) has selected Dassault Aviation's Falcon 2000LX to expand the scope of its air ambulance services.

17 Jun 2015

Discovery could help scientists reduce global vitamin A deficiency

A research team's discovery of new information about how plants synthesize carotenoids, precursors for vitamin A that are essential for plant development and survival, and human health, could help scientists increase the levels of provitamin A in food crops and reduce global vitamin A deficiency.

16 Jun 2015

LMU clinicians reveal mechanism involved in determining lifetime of antibody-producing cells

Clinicians at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet in Munich have elucidated a mechanism involved in determining the lifespan of antibody-producing cells, and identified a promising new biomarker for monitoring autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis and lupus erythematosus.

15 Jun 2015

Early neuronal lysosomal dysfunction could help predict AD

Blood levels of altered lysosomal proteins may help detect preclinical Alzheimer’s disease, researchers report.

12 Jun 2015

Creative Diagnostics announces launch of antibody generation service based on DNA immunization technology

Creative Diagnostics, the global diagnostics service and product supplier, is pleased to announce its launch of custom antibody production service based on DNA immunization technology. This DNA immunization technology allows high success rate in generation of high-affinity antibodies recognizing difficult-to-express proteins in their native confirmation, such as GPCRs, ion channels and other multiple membrane spanning proteins.

10 Jun 2015

Catalan researchers first to use liposomes to fight against diabetes

For the first time liposomes that imitate cells in the process of natural death have been used to treat Diabetes. Researchers at Germans Trias Research Institute (at UAB-Campus of International Excellence Sphere) generated liposomes in collaboration with professionals from the ICN2. PLOS ONE Journal publishes the work.

10 Jun 2015

UT Southwestern researchers reveal how the body controls glucose transport

UT Southwestern Medical Center scientists have gleaned a key cellular mechanism of how the body adjusts glucose levels, an important process that when abnormal can promote diabetes, cancer, and rare genetic diseases.

10 Jun 2015

UC Davis research paves way for designing more effective drugs to relieve pain

UC Davis researchers have identified the molecular interactions that allow capsaicin to activate the body's primary receptor for sensing heat and pain, paving the way for the design of more selective and effective drugs to relieve pain. Their study appeared online June 8 in the journal Nature Chemical Biology.

10 Jun 2015

Researchers develop mesoporous particles for use as drug delivery system

A research group led by MANA Scientist Kohsaku Kawakami, postdoctoral researcher Shaoling Zhang and MANA Principal Investigator Katsuhiko Ariga, at the International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (MANA), NIMS (Sukekatsu Ushioda, President), succeeded in developing porous particles (mesoporous particles) consisting solely of phospholipids, a biological component, that are suitable for use as a drug delivery system.

10 Jun 2015

Brain protein key to binge drinking? An interview with Dr. Candice Contet

Alcohol binge drinking is mostly driven by positive reinforcement, a process in which a rewarding experience (e.g., the euphoria one feels when intoxicated) strengthens the behaviour leading to this experience (e.g., going to a bar).

9 Jun 2015

Electroporation technique brings higher efficiency, higher throughput genome engineering in animal models

Jackson Laboratory researchers have shown that using an electric current to deliver the CRISPR/Cas9 system, in order to engineer genetic changes in laboratory mice, is highly efficient and significantly improves the system's throughput.

9 Jun 2015

Researchers discover initiation process of dendritic spines

Researchers from the University of Helsinki, ETH Zürich, Aix-Marseille and the German Mouse Clinic teamed up to investigate the initiation process of dendritic spines. They discovered that protein called MIM bends the plasma membrane to aid the formation of dendritic spines from the surface of the neuronal dendrite.

5 Jun 2015