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Scientists identify brain circuit responsible for cocaine-seeking behavior during relapse

Approximately 1.5 million Americans use cocaine in a given year, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Many are repeat users. Unfortunately, there are currently no FDA-approved medicinal treatments for cocaine addiction.

19 Mar 2019

Machine learning approach sheds light on the biology of liver and kidneys after toxin exposure

Exposure to potentially harmful chemicals is a reality of life. Our ancestors, faced with naturally occurring toxins, evolved mechanisms to detoxify and expel damaging substances.

15 Mar 2019

Avocado seed extract could be potential source for novel anti-inflammatory compounds

An extract from the seeds of avocados exhibited anti-inflammatory properties in a laboratory study, according to Penn State researchers, and it represents a potential source for novel anti-inflammatory compounds that could be developed as a functional food ingredient or pharmaceuticals.

13 Mar 2019

Absence of crucial protein may lead to rapid, severe bone loss

The absence of a protein critical to the control of inflammation may lead to rapid and severe bone loss, according to a new University at Buffalo study.

12 Mar 2019

Novel mouse model confirms how “good” and “bad” bacteria affect human acne

Researchers have long believed that Propionibacterium acnes causes acne. But these bacteria are plentiful on everyone's skin and yet not everyone gets acne, or experiences it to the same degree.

8 Mar 2019

Nano therapy reverses deadliest effects of chronic kidney disease in animal model

By loading a chelation drug into a nano-sized homing device, researchers at Clemson University have reversed in an animal model the deadliest effects of chronic kidney disease, which kills more people in the United States each year than breast or prostate cancer.

5 Mar 2019

Research opens door to promising new treatment strategy for deadly brain tumor in children

A study published in Nature Communications found that an inhibitor of an enzyme called ACVR1 slows tumor growth and increases survival in an animal model of diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma - the most deadly brain tumor in children.

4 Mar 2019

Mother's dengue immunity influences the severity of Zika infection in infants

Researchers at Duke-NUS Medical School and their colleagues have identified a surprising interaction between dengue and Zika viruses that sheds lights on the significant fetal brain abnormalities linked to Zika virus.

1 Mar 2019

Scientists use pulsed infrared light lasers to focus on the action of drugs

Having absolute control of the activity of a molecule in an organism. Deciding when, where and how a drug is activated. These are some of the goals expected to be reached with the so-called photoswitchable molecules, compounds that, in the presence of certain light waves, change their properties.

1 Mar 2019

Discovery of potent compound in native California shrub may lead to treatment for Alzheimer's

The medicinal powers of aspirin, digitalis, and the anti-malarial artemisinin all come from plants. A Salk Institute discovery of a potent neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory chemical in a native California shrub may lead to a treatment for Alzheimer's disease based on a compound found in nature.

21 Feb 2019

Scientists can monitor brain activity to predict epileptic seizures few minutes in advance

Elizabeth Delacruz can't crawl or toddle around like most youngsters nearing their second birthday.

21 Feb 2019

Peripheral nerve injury can trigger the onset and spread of ALS, shows study

A growing collection of anecdotal stories raises the possibility that nerve injury in an arm or a leg can act as a trigger for the development amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS -- a progressive neurodegenerative disease also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, named after the famous New York Yankee who died of it in 1941.

20 Feb 2019

Single CRISPR treatment can safely and stably correct genetic disease

Researchers at Duke University have shown that a single systemic treatment using CRISPR genome editing technology can safely and stably correct a genetic disease -- Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) -- for more than a year in mice, despite observed immune responses and alternative gene editing outcomes.

18 Feb 2019

Innovative new software could help prevent incidence of arrhythmia

Potentially lethal heart conditions may become easier to spot and may lead to improvements in prevention and treatment thanks to innovative new software that measures electrical activity in the organ.

14 Feb 2019

New mouse model replicates development and progression of Type I diabetes

Researchers at The University of Toledo have found a new way to replicate in lab mice the development and progression of Type I diabetes, a breakthrough that has the potential to reshape how the chronic disease is studied.

13 Feb 2019

Human brain protein linked with autism has an effect on fruit fly behavior

A mutant gene that encodes a brain protein in a child with autism has been placed into the brains of fruit flies. Fruit flies hosting that gene produce the variant human brain protein and show abnormal behaviors of fear, repetitive activity and altered social interaction, reminiscent of autism impairments.

12 Feb 2019

Prior dengue virus infection increases Zika virus-induced damage during pregnancy

Women who have previously been infected with dengue virus may be at risk for increased damage to their fetuses and placentas if they should later become infected with the Zika virus, researchers from the Department of Microbiology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai report.

11 Feb 2019

Interaction between two immune cells may play key role in fight against dengue virus

Researchers at Duke-NUS Medical School have demonstrated for the first time a physical interaction between two types of immune cells that plays an important role in the early fight against dengue virus infection.

8 Feb 2019

New autism mouse model shows how epigenetic regulation impacts downstream gene

The causes of autism spectrum disorder are diverse and to some extent, unknown. But without doubt, they are complex, layered and deeply nuanced.

31 Jan 2019

Women find same-sex social interactions to be more rewarding than men

Females find same-sex social interactions to be more rewarding than males, and females are more sensitive to the rewarding actions of oxytocin (OT) than males, according to a research study led by Georgia State University on the brain mechanisms that determine the rewarding properties of social interactions.

30 Jan 2019