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RUB biologists deliberately transform spinal cord stem cells into immature nerve cells

RUB biologists have deliberately transformed stem cells from the spinal cord of mice into immature nerve cells. This was achieved by changing the cellular environment, known as the extracellular matrix, using the substance sodium chlorate.

29 Jun 2012

Study reveals technique that allows scientists to watch lipid metabolism in live zebrafish

In mammals, most lipids are absorbed into the body via the small intestine. The complexity of the cells and fluids that inhabit this organ make it very difficult to study in a laboratory setting. New research from Carnegie's Steven Farber, James Walters and Jennifer Anderson reveals a technique that allows scientists to watch lipid metabolism in live zebrafish. This method enabled them to describe new aspects of lipid absorption that could have broad applications for human health.

29 Jun 2012

New drug for Type 2 diabetes results in less hypoglycaemia, less weight gain and perhaps less cardiovascular risk for patients

A new drug could offer significant advantages over existing treatments for Type 2 diabetes patients who don’t respond to metformin, the most commonly prescribed initial drug treatment for the disease. The new drug, linagliptin, results in significantly less weight gain than the most common second-line treatments currently used, and may even carry a smaller risk of cardiovascular events such as heart attack and stroke, according to an Article published Online First in The Lancet.

29 Jun 2012

Millennium introduces novel pharmacogenetic testing

Millennium Laboratories, the leading research-based clinical diagnostic company dedicated to improving the lives of people suffering from pain, announced today the introduction of Millennium Pharmacogenetic Testing.

29 Jun 2012

Oral health may be linked to HPV status of head and neck cancer

The chronic oral inflammatory disease periodontitis may be associated with human papillomavirus status in individuals with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, report researchers.

28 Jun 2012

Harmonizing prescription drug plans can help save millions of dollars

Taxpayers could save millions of dollars if hospitals and provincial governments harmonized their prescription drug plans, new research suggests.

28 Jun 2012

Study suggests new treatment strategy for heart attacks and strokes

A heart attack doesn't just damage heart muscle tissue by cutting off its blood supply, it also sets off an inflammatory cascade that worsens underlying atherosclerosis, actively increasing the risk for a future heart attack. These findings from a study receiving advance online publication in Nature suggest an important new therapeutic strategy for preventing heart attacks and strokes, both of which are caused when atherosclerotic plaques rupture and block important blood vessels.

28 Jun 2012

Acute pancreatitis may be staved off by diet rich in vegetables

A diet rich in vegetables could help stave off the development of the serious condition acute pancreatitis, suggests a large study published online in the journal Gut.

28 Jun 2012

Data from Infinity’s IPI-145 pre-clinical study on inflammatory diseases

Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today reported preclinical data for IPI-145, the company's oral inhibitor of phosphoinositide-3-kinase (PI3K)-delta and PI3K-gamma. The data demonstrate potent PI3K-delta and -gamma inhibition in biochemical, cellular and whole blood assays and activity in multiple preclinical models of inflammatory disease, including rheumatoid arthritis and asthma.

28 Jun 2012

FDA approves test for dengue virus infection

The first test that can detect the presence of the dengue virus itself rather than antibodies to the virus has been approved for use by the US Food and Drug Administration.

27 Jun 2012

Protein kinase A activated in the nucleus as well as the cytoplasm

Using a new tool allowing proteins in a living cell to be manipulated in real time, researchers at Johns Hopkins have stumbled across the answer to a longstanding debate about where and how a certain protein is turned on in the cell. Reporting in the February 2012 issue of Nature Chemical Biology, scientists show that protein kinase A is also activated in the nucleus rather than inside the cell’s body, a challenge to traditional beliefs.

27 Jun 2012

Scientists identify novel mechanism behind bacterial pathogenesis

Scientists have identified a new mechanism of bacterial pathogenesis. The results of the research project, partly funded by the Academy of Finland, have been published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS).

27 Jun 2012

First clinical trial to test cardiac drug regimen for DMD

The first landmark randomized clinical trial for a cardiac drug regimen in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is testing whether earlier treatment can stop or slow down heart damage that usually kills people with the disease.

27 Jun 2012

Maternal factors associated with fetal growth restriction

A Japanese study has found that maternal rather than fetal factors are associated with fetal growth restriction. A comparison of maternal and fetal angiotensin-converting enzyme genotypes with the size of babies at birth found evidence of this connection.

27 Jun 2012

Biological filter to remove estrogens from waste water and drinking water

A biological filter to remove estrogens from waste water and drinking water. The 15 Bielefeld students submitting this project to the 'international Genetically Engineered Machine competition' (iGEM) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston, USA are setting their sights high.

26 Jun 2012

Metformin reduces overall cancer risk in patients with Type 2 diabetes

A commonly prescribed diabetes drug, metformin, reduces the overall cancer risk in people with Type 2 diabetes, a large systematic review study finds. The results will be presented Monday at The Endocrine Society's 94th Annual Meeting in Houston.

26 Jun 2012

Targeted delivery of therapeutic gene can effectively treat Pompe disease

Gene therapy to replace the protein missing in Pompe disease can be effective if the patient's immune system does not react against the therapy. Targeted delivery of the gene to the liver, instead of throughout the body,suppresses the immune response, improving the therapeutic effect, according to an article published in Human Gene Therapy, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

26 Jun 2012

Sunflower peptides can treat itchy skin problems

Sunflowers may hold the solution to a problem which gets under the skin of millions of Australians every year. Skin conditions such as eczema, dermatitis, rosacea and the lesser-known Netherton Syndrome pose an itchy problem for many sufferers world-wide, but a group of researchers from Queensland University of Technology (QUT), in Brisbane Australia, are looking at ways to soothe the problem - with tiny proteins called peptides, found in sunflowers.

26 Jun 2012

Flavocoxid liver damage reported

A prescription medical food used to treat osteoarthritis may induce reversible liver damage in some users, suggests research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

25 Jun 2012

Stanford Woods Institute awards five new EVP grants for interdisciplinary research

The Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment has awarded five new Environmental Venture Projects (EVP) grants for interdisciplinary research aimed at finding practical solutions to major environmental and sustainability challenges.

23 Jun 2012