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New study reveals impact of Agent Orange exposure on women and babies in Vietnam

Exposure to Agent Orange sprayed during the Vietnam War has been linked to increased levels of certain hormones in women and their breastfeeding children decades later, potentially putting them at higher risk of health problems, according to a new study in Science of the Total Environment.

26 Sep 2017

Probiotic bacteria can change intestinal flora of patients with colon cancer, study finds

Living lactic acid bacteria, probiotics, can change the intestinal flora of patients with cancer of the colon. These are the findings of a study published in the journal BMJ Open Gastroenterology.

25 Sep 2017

Study identifies two genes involved in invasive group A Streptococcus infections

Group A Streptococcus bacteria cause a variety of illnesses that range from mild nuisances like strep throat to life-threatening conditions including pneumonia, toxic shock syndrome and the flesh-eating disease formally known as necrotizing fasciitis.

22 Sep 2017

Houston Methodist researchers find pathway for treating diseases caused by flesh-eating bacteria

Researchers at Houston Methodist have solved a 100-year-old mystery, providing them a possible key to unlock a pathway for treating diseases caused by flesh-eating bacteria. This is timely news, given the current dangers lurking in the debris and destruction left behind by Hurricane Harvey's floodwaters that destroyed tens of thousands of homes in Texas.

19 Sep 2017

Bacteria release membrane-derived vesicles that may have different functions during infection

Bacteria release membrane-derived vesicles (MVs), which are small particles that can transport virulence factors to neighboring bacteria or to the cells of a mammalian host. This special MV-based system for delivering toxic proteins and nucleic acids in a protected manner to the target cells may have different specific functions depending on whether the bacterium acts as an extracellular or intracellular pathogen.

18 Sep 2017

Penn State investigator receives $7.3 million grant for research on cellular protein

A faculty member in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences has received a $7.3 million grant for innovative research on a cellular protein that could be a target for enhancing immune function in response to a variety of diseases and environmental toxins.

15 Sep 2017

IUPUI cell biologist receives $1.9 million grant to tackle age-related hearing loss

Cell biologist Benjamin J. Perrin of the School of Science at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis is advancing knowledge of age-related hearing loss with the goal of informing possible therapeutic cell-regeneration approaches to the often-debilitating problem.

14 Sep 2017

Penn research could pave way toward new treatments for chronic sinus infections

Bitter taste receptors in the upper airway are a first line of defense against sinus infections, but their ability to kill harmful toxins and pathogens is blocked when the sweet taste receptors are also stimulated.

8 Sep 2017

Sodium channels play important role in keeping tiny lung capillaries from leaking, worsening pneumonia

Sodium channels in the cells that line the tiny capillaries in our lungs play an important role in keeping those capillaries from leaking and potentially worsening conditions like pneumonia, scientists report.

6 Sep 2017

Research provides novel insights into bacterial toxins

A toxin produced by a bacterium that causes urinary tract infections is related to, yet different in key ways from, the toxin that causes whooping cough, according to new research.

5 Sep 2017

Genetics of digestion stayed remarkably the same from fishes to humans, research shows

Scientists have discovered a network of genes and genetic regulatory elements in the lining of the intestines that has stayed remarkably the same from fishes to humans. Many of these genes are linked to human illnesses, such as inflammatory bowel diseases, diabetes and obesity.

30 Aug 2017

New antibodies may halt key pathological mechanisms across several neurological diseases

A new kind of antibody targets a feature shared by proteins thought to cause the most damage in Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and related conditions, creating potential for a unified treatment approach.

29 Aug 2017

Anti-inflammatory therapy reduces incidence of lung cancer

In most clinical trials for cancer therapy, investigators test treatments in patients with advanced disease. But a recent cardiovascular secondary prevention study has given researchers a unique opportunity: to explore the effectiveness of giving a drug to patients before cancer emerges.

28 Aug 2017

Blood cleaning device can also effectively provide a bridge to liver transplantation

Severe acute liver failure (ALF), a rare but life-threatening illness, is associated with high death rates if patients don't receive timely treatment or a liver transplant.

23 Aug 2017

Poplar trees fortified with probiotic effectively clean up polluted sites

Trees have the ability to capture and remove pollutants from the soil and degrade them through natural processes in the plant. It's a feat of nature companies have used to help clean up polluted sites, though only in small-scale projects.

14 Aug 2017

Einstein researchers receive three NIH grants to protect against deadly viruses

The NIH has awarded Einstein researchers three grants totaling more than $12 million to protect against three deadly viruses--Ebola, Marburg and hantavirus.

11 Aug 2017

Scientists create stem cell-based model of rare inherited neurological condition

An international team of scientists, led by University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers, has created a human stem cell-based model of a rare, but devastating, inherited neurological autoimmune condition called Aicardi-Goutieres Syndrome (AGS).

11 Aug 2017

New method for evaluating drug safety can detect stress on cells at earlier stages

A new technique for evaluating drug safety can detect stress on cells at earlier stages than conventional methods, which mostly rely on detecting cell death.

4 Aug 2017

Gene-therapy administered through skin transplants could enable treatment of many diseases

A research team based at the University of Chicago has overcome challenges that have limited gene therapy and demonstrated how their novel approach with skin transplantation could enable a wide range of gene-based therapies to treat many human diseases.

3 Aug 2017

Botulinum neurotoxin type X holds potential to open up new field of toxin therapeutics

Botulinum toxins are currently used on more than 80 medical conditions including Muscle spasms, Overactive bladder, Chronic migraine, Cervical dystonia, Sweating and Cerebral Palsy (CP).