Laboratory News and Research

RSS

Coronavirus is not mutating rapidly, hope for vaccine development

Despite the coronavirus infection numbers skyrocketing, there is still good news. A team of scientists found that the novel coronavirus is not mutating significantly, suggesting any vaccine developed to fight SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2) would remain effective in the long term.

25 Mar 2020

Critical guidance to identify COVID-19 patients at risk of drug-induced sudden cardiac death

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, continues to spread, leading to more than 20,000 deaths worldwide in less than four months. Efforts are progressing to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, but it's still likely 12 to 18 months away.

25 Mar 2020

Targeting critical enzyme for sperm formation could help address male infertility

While some of our body's cells divide in a matter of hours, the process of making sperm, meiosis, alone takes about 14 days from start to finish. And fully six of those days are spent in the stage known as the pachytene, when pairs of chromosomes from an individual's mother and father align and connect.

25 Mar 2020

Researchers use ultrasound technique to accurately localize cardiac arrhythmias

Cardiac arrhythmias are a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Currently, the 12-lead electrocardiogram is the noninvasive clinical gold standard used to diagnose and localize these conditions, but it has limited accuracy, cannot provide an anatomical tool to visually localize the source of the arrhythmia, and depending on which clinician is looking at the signals, there might be some interpretation variability.

25 Mar 2020

Excessive salt intake weakens the immune system

A high-salt diet is not only bad for one's blood pressure, but also for the immune system. This is the conclusion of a current study under the leadership of the University Hospital Bonn.

25 Mar 2020

Mother-infant touch and contact promote baby's neurophysiological development

As the world prioritizes social distancing to stop or slow down the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), a new study by researchers at Florida Atlantic University demonstrates that mother-infant touch and contact are essential for optimal neurodevelopmental regulation in early infancy.

25 Mar 2020

Study identifies brake on immune activity raising new possibilities for anticancer therapy

The immune system is like a carefully regulated machine, complete with its own built-in "brakes" that prevent it from overreacting and causing excess inflammation in otherwise healthy tissues.

25 Mar 2020

CELLINK starts reselling a real-time qPCR instrument

CELLINK has started reselling a qPCR instrument. The instrument uses a laboratory technique of molecular biology based on the polymerase chain reaction.

From CELLINK 25 Mar 2020

Some states are reporting incomplete COVID-19 results, blurring the full picture

Several states are reporting only positive COVID-19 test results from private labs, a practice that paints a misleading picture of how fast the disease is spreading.

25 Mar 2020

Researchers uncover molecular link between trans fats and variety of disorders

Tohoku University researchers in Japan have uncovered a molecular link between some trans fats and a variety of disorders, including cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases.

25 Mar 2020

Changes in surface sugarlike molecules help cancer cells to spread

Changes in a specific type of sugarlike molecule, or glycan, on the surface of cancer cells help them to spread into other tissues, according to researchers at the University of California, Davis. Published March 23 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the work could lead to diagnostic tests and new therapies to slow or stop the spread of cancers.

25 Mar 2020

Scientists discover tuberculosis bacterium channels vitamins into the cell

A new study published in the journal Nature in March 2020 reports a unique transport protein found within the tubercle bacillus, Mycobacterium tuberculosis. This huge membrane-spanning vesicular protein is different from other transport proteins and is instrumental in carrying hydrophilic molecules, notably vitamin B12 or cobalamin, across the cell membrane.

24 Mar 2020

Study explores genetic mechanisms underlying resistance to leishmaniasis

In an article published in Scientific Reports, researchers affiliated with the University of São Paulo in Brazil describe experiments performed with mice that show how genetic factors can determine whether an individual is susceptible or resistant to leishmaniasis.

24 Mar 2020

Older adults are more emotionally stable and better at resisting temptations

The stereotype of grumpy old people apparently doesn't hold up under closer inspection. A new study from Duke and Vanderbilt University psychologists finds that older people are generally more emotionally stable and better able to resist temptations in their daily lives.

24 Mar 2020

Northwestern researcher receives NSF RAPID grant to develop self-sanitizing face mask

A Northwestern University researcher has received funding to develop a new self-sanitizing medical face mask that deactivates viruses on contact.

24 Mar 2020

German scientists test TB vaccine against coronavirus

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) had taken a toll on the world, affecting 168 countries and more than 417,000 people. So far, more than 18,600 people have died due to complications of the disease. Scientists across the globe race to develop the first vaccine against the novel coronavirus.

24 Mar 2020

Research shows striking increase in help line requests for food pantries as pandemic spreads

In the first week since COVID-19 was designated a pandemic, requests for food pantries skyrocketed across the United States. Requests for home-delivered meals more than tripled in the same time period, said a Brown School researcher who tracks calls to 2-1-1 help lines across the U.S.

24 Mar 2020

Research team identifies a molecule that directs neurons

The habenula is a small region at the centre of the brain, but is crucial for people's lives. It is made up of groups of nerve cells that control the "neurotransmitters" of the brain, that is to say substances like dopamine, noradrenaline and serotonin.

24 Mar 2020

Old human cells regain youthful strength after rejuvenating protein treatment, study finds

Old human cells return to a more youthful and vigorous state after being induced to briefly express a panel of proteins involved in embryonic development, according to a new study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

24 Mar 2020

Huge WHO trial of COVID-19 therapies begins

As the world reels from the devastating impact and the looming threat of the novel coronavirus COVID-19, researchers around the globe are racing to find a cure that will reduce symptom severity and reverse the course of the disease, freeing up more hospital space and making it possible to treat more of the severely affected cases.

24 Mar 2020