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Challenge Problems in mathematical cardiology

Did you know that heart attacks can give you mathematics? That statement appears on the web site of James Keener, who works in the mathematics of cardiology. This area has many problems that are ripe for unified attack by mathematicians, clinicians, and biomedical engineers.

15 Mar 2011

New findings may open doors for vaccine development against HIV, tuberculosis

Alum is an adjuvant used in many common vaccines, and Canadian researchers have now discovered how it works. The research by scientists from the University of Calgary's Faculty of Medicine is published in the March 13 online edition of Nature Medicine.

15 Mar 2011

Researchers discover new gene for Sensenbrenner syndrome

Dutch researchers of the Radboud University Medical Center in Nijmegen found a new gene for Sensenbrenner syndrome (Journal of Medical Genetics, 2011 Mar 4). The mutation adds support to the hypothesis that defects in ciliar transport are the cause of the disease. Project leader Dr. Heleen H. Arts is supported by a Kolff Junior Postdoc Grant of the Dutch Kidney Foundation.

14 Mar 2011

Test that measures destruction of lung air sacs, could help prevent progression of emphysema

During a regular annual physical exam, blood is usually drawn to check the health of a person's heart, kidneys and liver. Now, researchers at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center say a blood test that detects the early development of emphysema -- well before symptoms occur -- may someday also be offered.

12 Mar 2011

Discovery: VPS4A enzyme plays a key role in release of HIV particles

Human Immunodeficiency Virus - which causes AIDS - invades human immune cells and causes them to produce new copies of the virus, which can then infect new cells.

11 Mar 2011

Harvard, Oxford Nanopore enter exclusive agreement for graphene DNA sequencing

Oxford Nanopore Technologies Ltd today announced an exclusive agreement with Harvard University's Office of Technology Development for the development of graphene for DNA sequencing.

From Oxford Nanopore Technologies 11 Mar 2011

New discovery: GPCR family of proteins can recognize and respond to wide array of signals

Scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have determined a new structure from a medically important superfamily of proteins. The structure should help instruct the design of a new kind of therapeutics for conditions ranging from Parkinson's disease to inflammation.

11 Mar 2011

Single-wall carbon nanotubes targeted and killed cancer cells without harming the healthy cells

SouthWest NanoTechnologies’ (SWeNT) Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes (SWCNT) exhibit promising potential for use in biomedical treatments such as cancer photo thermal therapies, new research reveals.

8 Mar 2011

New method of detecting pre-atherosclerotic regions using MEMS thermal sensor

New method could sensitively detect pre-atherosclerotic regions that otherwise showed no clinical signs of atherosclerosis

8 Mar 2011

Two studies show how laminin plays a central role in breast cancer development

Laminin, long thought to be only a structural support protein in the microenvironment of breast and other epithelial tissues, is "famous" for its cross-like shape.

8 Mar 2011

Hadasit, Yissum license innovative regenerative membrane implant to RegeneCure

Yissum Research Development Company Ltd., the technology transfer company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Hadasit Medical Research Services & Development Ltd., the technology transfer company of the Hadassah University Medical Center, today announced that they have licensed innovative regenerative membrane implant technology to RegeneCure, which will further develop and commercialize the technology for bone tissue engineering for applications in trauma, spine, and reconstructive cranial and facial orthopedics.

7 Mar 2011

Researchers use qMRI to confirm effect of CS treatment in patients with OA

A group of Canadian researchers led by Prof. Jean-Pierre Pelletier, Head of the Osteoarthritis Research Unit at the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre, published a clinical trial in which they confirm, for the first time using quantitative Magnetic Resonance Imaging, the disease modifying effects of chondroitin sulphate, a symptomatic slow acting drug for osteoarthritis.

5 Mar 2011

Scientists detail role of TDP-43 in ALS pathology

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, known as ALS or more popularly, Lou Gehrig's disease, is a notorious neurodegenerative condition characterized by the progressive deterioration of brain and spinal cord neurons, resulting in the gradual but catastrophic loss of muscle control and ultimately, death.

5 Mar 2011

New study finds liver instead of the brain as source of Alzheimer’s plaques

Unexpected results from a Scripps Research Institute and ModGene, LLC study could completely alter scientists' ideas about Alzheimer's disease—pointing to the liver instead of the brain as the source of the "amyloid" that deposits as brain plaques associated with this devastating condition. The findings could offer a relatively simple approach for Alzheimer's prevention and treatment.

4 Mar 2011

New computer-controlled system to create cell assembly line

Borrowing a page from modern manufacturing, scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have built a microscopic assembly line that mass produces synthetic cell-like compartments.

4 Mar 2011

CT scanning offers benefit to patients undergoing dental implant surgery

Computerized tomography has proved a useful tool in reconstructive dental implant surgery where a bone graft is required. It provides reliable information in diagnosis and treatment planning and has been used to determine the volume of bone for grafts.

4 Mar 2011

Majority of U.S. adults age 50 and over fail to take colon cancer screening

Despite the fact that colon cancer screening saves lives, the majority of U.S. adults age 50 and over who are eligible for such screening fail to take advantage of it. Consider the numbers: In 2000, only 16.3 million of 80 million eligible adults received colon cancer screening such as the fecal occult blood test, sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy.

2 Mar 2011

EPO grants three core patents to caprotec's CCMS technology

caprotec bioanalytics GmbH announced today that the European Patent Office has granted the last of three core patents protecting its proprietary and revolutionary Capture Compound Mass Spectrometry technology.

28 Feb 2011

TCD announces first patient treated in its TCD-717 Phase I trial

Traslational Cancer Drugs Pharma, S.L. (“TCD”) announced today that the first patient was treated on Friday the 18th of February with TCD-717 in a Phase I study performed in patients with advanced solid tumors. TCD-717 is a first-in-class, small molecule that precisely inhibits Choline Kinase Alpha, an enzyme heavily involved in the carcinogenic process. A total of 30 patients are planned to be treated in the trial, which will be conducted in accordance with FDA approval, in two leading medical centers in the U.S. The Principal Investigators are Dr. Julie Brahmer at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore; and Dr. Patricia LoRusso at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit.

28 Feb 2011

Simpler method of making water-soluble short protein chains with spiral structures

Researchers have developed a simple method of making short protein chains with spiral structures that can also dissolve in water, two desirable traits not often found together. Such structures could have applications as building blocks for self-assembling nanostructures and as agents for drug and gene delivery.

25 Feb 2011