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Reducing acrylamide in fried and baked snacks

In 2002, the discovery of acrylamide in certain snacks rattled consumers and the food industry. Acrylamide, a probable human carcinogen, forms by a chemical reaction during baking or frying.

11 Sep 2019

Gene coding error likely responsible for rare form of inherited 'short telomere' disease

By combing through the entire genetic sequences of a person with a lung scarring disease and 13 of the person’s relatives, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers say they have found a coding error in a single gene that is likely responsible for a rare form of the disease and the abnormally short protective DNA caps on chromosomes long associated with it.

From Johns Hopkins Medicine 11 Sep 2019

Memory-protective drug for Alzheimer’s on the horizon

Scientists have come up with a new drug which could prevent patients with features of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) from suffering memory loss and brain damage.

10 Sep 2019

Scientists develop new method to test for drug-resistant infections

Scientists have developed a method to test whether an infection is resistant to common antibiotics.

10 Sep 2019

Antioxidant compound proves effective in kidney ischemia-reperfusion treatment

Russian researchers from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, the Institute of Cell Biophysics, and elsewhere have shown an antioxidant compound known as peroxiredoxin to be effective in treating kidney injury in mice.

9 Sep 2019

GABA neurons affect the circadian clock

Researchers from Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya University, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine and Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine have collaborated to uncover the role of GABA-ergic neurons or the inhibitory neurons in the functioning of the central circadian clock of the body.

9 Sep 2019

Enzyme in plants key to developing novel pharmaceuticals

Plants have many superpowers, such as manufacturing compounds to help repel pests, protecting themselves from environmental hazards, and providing a plethora of essential oils and other compounds that can heal a multitude of infections and other diseases.

9 Sep 2019

Researchers discover role of GABA neurons in the central circadian clock

The research team led by Dr. Daisuke Ono and Prof. Akihiro Yamanaka of the Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya University, collaborating with Prof. Ken-ichi Honma and Prof. Sato Honma of Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, and Prof. Yuchio Yanagawa of Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine revealed that inhibitory neurons (GABAergic neurons) of the central circadian clock in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) refine circadian output rhythms.

8 Sep 2019

Key plant enzyme could pave way for development of medications and other products

Plants can do many amazing things. Among their talents, they can manufacture compounds that help them repel pests, attract pollinators, cure infections and protect themselves from excess temperatures, drought and other hazards in the environment.

8 Sep 2019

Researchers find synergistic connection between two deadly blood-clotting diseases

Two rare but potentially deadly blood-clotting diseases, namely thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, or TTP, and hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS, show similar pathologies -- a multitude of painful blockages in small blood vessels that cause varying degrees of organ injury throughout the body. However, the two disorders have distinct biological mechanisms.

8 Sep 2019

FDA approves first drug to treat patients with rare lung condition

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Ofev (nintedanib) capsules to slow the rate of decline in pulmonary function in adults with interstitial lung disease associated with systemic sclerosis or scleroderma, called SSc-ILD. It is the first FDA-approved treatment for this rare lung condition.

7 Sep 2019

New gold-based molecules more effective at killing cancer cells with fewer toxic side effects

Researchers have engineered gold-based molecules that target cancer cells and leave healthy cells unharmed, in a critical step towards precision cancer drugs with fewer toxic side effects.

6 Sep 2019

New polypill cheaper, better at reducing cardiovascular disease

A new study from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) has proved the cost-effectiveness and life-saving potential of the “polypill”: a single new pill which combines four commonly prescribed cardiovascular drugs into one to prevent a recurrent stroke or heart event in adult patients in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC).

5 Sep 2019

Mouthwash impacts the effects of exercise

Scientists have long known that the blood pressure drops after exercise but the mechanism has not been fully elucidated. A new study shows that bacteria in the mouth, which produce nitrite, is key to the whole process. The use of mouthwash to reduce the number of these bacteria prevents the expected benefit of exercise on the blood pressure.

4 Sep 2019

Novel approach could help prevent sepsis in burn patients

Immediately following severe burns, bacteria reach the wound from different sources, including the patient's skin, gastrointestinal tract, respiratory tracts and health care-related human contact.

4 Sep 2019

Melatonin promises to help reduce bone loss in space flight

New research suggests that the problem of bone loss caused by microgravity conditions in space flight may be successfully treated using the time-tested drug melatonin. Melatonin increases the level of calcitonin in bone, which suppresses the bone-destroying activity of osteoclastic cells and helps maintain bone density.

4 Sep 2019

Study links FAK protein to chemotherapy resistance in ovarian cancer

Although the number of women being diagnosed and dying of ovarian cancer is declining, recurrence, drug resistance and mortality remain high for women with high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma, the most common form of epithelial ovarian cancer.

3 Sep 2019

Bacterial endotoxin testing now offered by Perfectus Biomed

Endotoxins are toxins present within a bacterial cell wall that are released when a cell disintegrates. They are lipopolysaccharides (LPS) and are found within the outer membrane of the cell wall of Gram-negative bacteria. Endotoxins often consist of lipid A, a core oligosaccharide and the O-specific polysaccharide.

From Perfectus Biomed 3 Sep 2019

Study reshapes the understanding of telomerase's function in normal cells

New research from the University of Maryland and the National Institutes of Health reveals a new role for the enzyme telomerase.

3 Sep 2019

Pneumonia uses hydrogen peroxide to weaken the immune system

Pneumonia is a lung infection, filling up the alveoli with pus and fluid. At present, it’s the leading cause of death among children. The lung infection accounts for 15 percent of all deaths in children below five years old, killing more than 800,000 children in 2017 alone.

3 Sep 2019