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Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a biologically important type of molecule that consists of a long chain of nucleotide units. Each nucleotide consists of a nitrogenous base, a ribose sugar, and a phosphate.

Study findings provide new insight into inflammatory bowel disease

Findings from a study into Crohn's disease, led by William G. Kerr, Ph.D., of SUNY Upstate Medical University, and his collaborators at the Erasmus Medical Center in the Netherlands, provide the first evidence that patients with debilitating inflammatory bowel disease lack sufficient quantities of a protein that comes from the SHIP1 gene.

6 Oct 2017

FDA grants approval for new test to detect Zika virus in blood donations

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved the cobas Zika test, a qualitative nucleic acid test for the detection of Zika virus RNA in individual plasma specimens obtained from volunteer donors of whole blood and blood components, and from living organ donors.

6 Oct 2017

Researchers uncover promising targets for development of drugs against leishmaniasis

Brazilian researchers at the University of São Paulo's Bioscience Institute (IB-USP) are starting to unravel the molecular mechanisms by which the parasite that causes cutaneous leishmaniasis manages to circumvent the host organism's defenses and infect new cells.

5 Oct 2017

Study sheds light on complex process involved in development of sperm stem cells

New research from scientists at Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah and collaborators at University of Utah Health sheds light on the complex process that occurs in the development of human sperm stem cells.

5 Oct 2017

UNLV researchers develop new method for extracting large numbers of stem cells from wisdom teeth

Stem cells. Few research discoveries hold as much promise of single-handedly expanding medical treatment options as they do. Miraculously able to act as transformers - either re-creating or morphing into a variety of cell types found within the organisms they originate from - stem cells offer humanity hope for new, more effective therapies against a number of chronic and terminal diseases. And finding them is surprisingly easy.

4 Oct 2017

Researchers test new strategy to increase effectiveness of topical anesthesia used in dentistry

Researchers from Brazil and Texas have started testing on humans a new strategy to increase the effectiveness of topical anesthesia used in dentistry, used by dentists to reduce patient discomfort during the application of injected anesthesia - required for more invasive procedures such as fillings, tooth extraction or surgery.

4 Oct 2017

CRISPR-Gold corrects gene mutations in mice with Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, have engineered a new way to deliver CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technology inside cells and have demonstrated in mice that the technology can repair the mutation that causes Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a severe muscle-wasting disease.

4 Oct 2017

Novel agents appear to halt growth and progression of Ewing sarcoma

When combined with an already FDA-approved chemotherapy, a novel agent developed by researchers at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, appears to halt the ability of Ewing sarcoma to grow and progress.

4 Oct 2017

Biochemists discover genes that determine animal complexity

Genes which determine animal complexity – or what makes humans so much more complex than a fruit fly or a sea urchin – have been identified for the first time.

30 Sep 2017

New paper-based test can diagnose Zika infection within 20 minutes

MIT researchers have developed a paper-based test that can diagnose Zika infection within 20 minutes. Unlike existing tests, the new diagnostic does not cross-react with Dengue virus, a close relative of the Zika virus that can produce false positives on many Zika tests.

27 Sep 2017

Cellular messaging mechanism could lead to new way of treating disease

A newly discovered cellular messaging mechanism could lead to a new way to deliver therapeutics to tissues affected by disease, according to a new study from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

27 Sep 2017

Researchers will measure and examine how ‘resilience’ may lead to better HIV-related outcomes

With studies showing that African Americans living with HIV disproportionately struggle to remain in care and maintain suppressed HIV RNA levels, a team of public health researchers will look for solutions in a new way: They will systematically and rigorously identify the resources that successful patients draw upon to overcome the pervasive pitfalls that hinder others.

26 Sep 2017

MIT study sheds light on flu viruses' rapid evolution

Influenza viruses mutate rapidly, which is why flu vaccines have to be redesigned every year. A new study from MIT sheds light on just how these viruses evolve so quickly and offers a potential way to slow them down.

26 Sep 2017

Study: Gene linked to schizophrenia risk controls early neurodevelopment

A gene associated with the risk of schizophrenia regulates critical components of early brain development, according to a new study led by researchers from Penn State University.

26 Sep 2017

Brain shapes normal body patterning much earlier than previously thought

The brain plays an active and essential role much earlier than previously thought, according to new research from Tufts University scientists which shows that long before movement or other behaviors occur, the brain of an embryonic frog influences muscle and nerve development and protects the embryo from agents that cause developmental defects.

25 Sep 2017

Alternative splicing may also trigger cancer, study shows

Cancer, which is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, arises from the disruption of essential mechanisms of the normal cell life cycle, such as replication control, DNA repair and cell death.

22 Sep 2017

Researchers identify exosomes as missing link to insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes

Chronic tissue inflammation resulting from obesity is an underlying cause of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. But the mechanism by which this occurs has remained cloaked, until now.

21 Sep 2017

MIT engineers design more effective synthetic mRNA delivery system

By delivering strands of genetic material known as messenger RNA into cells, researchers can induce the cells to produce any protein encoded by the mRNA. This technique holds great potential for administering vaccines or treating diseases such as cancer, but achieving efficient delivery of mRNA has proven challenging.

21 Sep 2017

Analytical Science in Precision Medicine

Pittcon is an analytical conference, so naturally my talk will be about analytical chemistry and how analytical chemistry will become increasingly important in delivering healthcare solutions, not only for rich people, but also, hopefully, for poor people across the world.

From Pittcon 19 Sep 2017

Gene therapy could be novel approach to treat alcoholism, research suggests

Researchers used gene transfer to block the expression of one of the two main enzymes that break down alcohol in the liver, leading to the accumulation in liver cells of acetaldehyde, a metabolic byproduct of ethanol.

19 Sep 2017