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Key enzyme keeps synapse on track

At its core, healthy neurological function hinges on the efficient passage of information between brain cells via the synapse.

20 Dec 2007

Z-shaped incision inside the stomach enhances minimally-invasive surgery

A novel surgical technique allowing doctors to operate on patients by making a Z-shaped incision inside the stomach could potentially replace certain types of conventional surgery in humans, according to Penn State medical researchers who have successfully demonstrated the procedure in pigs.

18 Dec 2007

Plant constituent with selective effect on cancer cells

The substance wogonin triggers the death program apoptosis in tumor cells, while it has virtually no effect on healthy cells.

18 Dec 2007

Biological physics creates diagnostics of the future

Chalmers University of technology in Sweden is about to enter a new field of research - biological physics.

18 Dec 2007

How molecular muscles help cells divide

Time-lapse videos and computer simulations provide the first concrete molecular explanation of how a cell flexes tiny muscle-like structures to pinch itself into two daughter cells at the end of each cell division, according to a report in Science Express.

17 Dec 2007

Cholesterol affects your hearing

Levels of cholesterol in the membranes of hair cells in the inner ear can affect your hearing, said a consortium of researchers from Baylor College of Medicine, Rice University and Purdue University in a report in the print edition of The Journal of Biological Chemistry.

17 Dec 2007

Breakthrough technology provides new understanding of cellular processes endocytosis and exocytosis

For the first time, scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City have observed in real time a cellular mechanism that's crucial to how brain cells communicate.

17 Dec 2007

Immune system may target some brain synapses

A baby's brain has a lot of work to do, growing more neurons and connections.

14 Dec 2007

First view of synapse in real time

For the first time, scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City have observed in real time a cellular mechanism that's crucial to how brain cells communicate.

14 Dec 2007

Zebrafish study shows key enzyme in gut is a peacemaker

University of Oregon scientists, using zebrafish to study the gastrointestinal tract, say that an enzyme long assumed to be involved in digestion instead is a detoxifying traffic cop, maintaining a friendly rapport between resident gut bacteria and cells.

13 Dec 2007

New quicker technique for sequencing DNA

Using computer simulations, researchers at the University of Illinois have demonstrated a strategy for sequencing DNA by driving the molecule back and forth through a nanopore capacitor in a semiconductor chip.

13 Dec 2007

Cell trafficking finding may aid drug development

With findings highlighted on a recent cover of Developmental Cell , researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City have shed important new light on key trafficking mechanisms within epithelial cells. Epithelial cells line the outside of nearly all organs.

12 Dec 2007

Protein-dependent "switch" regulates intracellular trafficking in epithelial cells

12 Dec 2007

Intestinal parasite Giardia uses an osmotic 'suction cup' to hang on

Known in America chiefly as the bane of hikers, the single-celled intestinal parasite Giardia lamblia is a major cause of diarrheal illness worldwide with estimates of 100 million infections a year.

4 Dec 2007

Researchers capture key step in process that allows materials to move in and out of cells

A group of Purdue University researchers has captured a key step in the metabolic process that allows materials, such as nutrients and drug treatments, to move in and out of cells.

3 Dec 2007

Insulin regulates the secretion of the antiaging hormome Klotho

Dr. Carmela Abraham, a professor of biochemistry and medicine at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM), reports this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences new findings on Klotho, an anti-aging gene that is associated with life span extension in rodents and humans.

27 Nov 2007

Ikaria's INOmax approved in Australia

Ikaria Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiary INO Therapeutics LLC, announced today that it has received approval from Australia's regulatory body, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), for INOmax (nitric oxide) for inhalation.

27 Nov 2007

Chlamydia pneumoniae involved in both heart disease and infertility

Outside the laboratory, Anthony Azenabor is outgoing and talkative, an extrovert who laughs heartily at his own jokes.

21 Nov 2007

New technique enables the detection of biomolecules' dynamic reactions in a single living cell

By taking advantage of the signature frequency by which organic and inorganic molecules absorb light, the team of researchers, led by Luke Lee, professor of bioengineering and director of UC Berkeley's Biomolecular Nanotechnology Center, can determine in real time whether specific enzymes are activated or particular genes are expressed, all with unprecedented resolution within a single living cell.

19 Nov 2007

Scientists zero in on the cellular machinery that enables neurons to fire

Toy robots with removable body parts - you probably had fun swapping their heads, imagining how it would affect their behavior. Scientists supported by the National Institutes of Health have been performing similar experiments on ion channels - pores in our nerve cells - to sort out the channels' key functional parts.

15 Nov 2007