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Researchers uncover how SARS coronavirus uses host cell to reproduce itself

UC Irvine infectious disease researchers have uncovered components of the SARS coronavirus - which triggered a major outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome in 2002-03 - that allow it to take over host cells in order to replicate.

23 Aug 2013

Kentucky researcher uses advanced biomedical technology to study HMPV

You may not know the human metapneumovirus by name, but chances are that you have met somewhere before.

22 Aug 2013

New insights on cochlea may help develop better hearing devices

A healthy ear is much better at detecting and transmitting sound than even the most advanced hearing aid. But now researchers reporting in the August 20 issue of the Biophysical Journal, a Cell Press publication, have uncovered new insights into how the ear -- in particular, the cochlea -- processes and amplifies sound.

21 Aug 2013

NIST and USAMRIID scientists advance crucial step in anthrax infection process

A new hypothesis concerning a crucial step in the anthrax infection process has been advanced by scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) at Fort Detrick, Md.

21 Aug 2013

Two proteins identified as prime suspects in proliferation of breast cancer

Two proteins have been identified as prime suspects in the proliferation of breast cancer in a study by an international consortium of researchers from Rice University, the University of North Texas, Denton (UNT); the University of California, San Diego (UCSD); and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

21 Aug 2013

D-Pharm announces promising results with drug candidates in models of HAT and malaria

D-Pharm Ltd., announced today on-line publication of promising results with its drug candidates, DP-460 and DP-b99, in models of human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) and malaria.

20 Aug 2013

Study shows complement activation plays an important role in inherited macular degeneration

In a study published on line this week in the journal Human Molecular Genetics, Drs. Donita Garland, Rosario Fernandez-Godino, and Eric Pierce of the Ocular Genomics Institute at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Harvard Medical School, along with their colleagues, reported the unexpected finding that in mice genetically engineered to have an inherited form of macular degeneration, turning off the animals' complement system, a part of the immune system, prevented the disease.

20 Aug 2013

Powerful mechanism helps viruses evade body's immune response

Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have discovered a powerful mechanism by which viruses such as influenza, West Nile and Dengue evade the body's immune response and infect humans with these potentially deadly diseases. The findings may provide scientists with an attractive target for novel antiviral therapies.

19 Aug 2013

Scientists reveal how females select 'right' sperm to fertilize their eggs

University of East Anglia scientists have revealed how females select the 'right' sperm to fertilize their eggs when faced with the risk of being fertilized by wrong sperm from a different species.

19 Aug 2013

Kinetin stops the effects of Parkinson's disease on brain cells, say scientists

The active ingredient in an over-the-counter skin cream might do more than prevent wrinkles. Scientists have discovered that the drug, called kinetin, also slows or stops the effects of Parkinson's disease on brain cells.

16 Aug 2013

Omega-3 rich oils improve membrane fluidity in retina cells and help fight age-related eye diseases

Scientists working at the Research Center on Aging at the Health and Social Services Centre - University Institute of Geriatrics of Sherbrooke (CSSS-IUGS) have been studying strategies for protecting retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells.

16 Aug 2013

Exo70 protein responsible for plasma membrane reshaping and cell movement

Both basic scientists and clinicians have an interest in how the cells of our body move. Cells must be mobile in order for organisms to grow, to heal, to transmit information internally, to mount immune responses and to conduct a host of other activities necessary for survival.

14 Aug 2013

Bacterial strains that delay cell division might be used to design drugs that stop division entirely

In 1958 a group of scientists working in Denmark made the striking observation that bacterial cells are about twice as large when they are cultured on a rich nutrient source than when they are cultured on a meager one.

13 Aug 2013

Wayne State professor publishes new book that covers advances in nano cell biology

A Wayne State University School of Medicine professor has published a book that covers new advances in nano cell biology, nano medicine and imaging modalities.

12 Aug 2013

Specialized endocytocis play a crucial role in shaping cells themselves

The process cells use to 'swallow' up nutrients, hormones and other signals from their environment - called endocytosis - can play a crucial role in shaping the cells themselves, scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, have found.

12 Aug 2013

Tubingen researchers resolve how a plant steroid hormone makes plants grow

If one wants to better understand how plants grow, one must analyse the chemistry of life in its molecular detail. Michael Hothorn from the Friedrich-Miescher-Laboratory of the Max Planck Society in T-bingen and his team are doing just that. Their latest work now reveals that a plant membrane receptor requires a helper protein to sense a growth-promoting steroid hormone and to transduce this signal across the cell membrane.

9 Aug 2013

GE, UW scientists to develop new medical device for detecting infectious disease

You've heard of on-demand TV, now imagine on-demand medical diagnosis - anytime, anywhere in the world. Scientists at GE Global Research, the technology development arm of the General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE), are working with a team based at the University of Washington to develop a new medical device, the size of a pack of playing cards, that can detect infectious disease by way of a simple nasal swab, in less than an hour.

9 Aug 2013

Research findings may give scientists a way to destroy cancerous cells

Researchers at Warwick Medical School have identified the key role played by a team of proteins in the process of mitosis. Working out how to control them may give scientists a way to destroy cancerous cells.

8 Aug 2013

Eteplirsen offers great hope to patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Results from a clinical trial of eteplirsen, a drug designed to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy, suggest that the therapy allows participants to walk farther than people treated with placebo and dramatically increases production of a protein vital to muscle growth and health.

8 Aug 2013

High-tech laser technique offers control of gene therapy and genetic engineering method

The applications of gene therapy and genetic engineering are broad: everything from pet fish that glow red to increased crop yields worldwide to cures for many of the diseases that plague humankind.

8 Aug 2013