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New demographic data unveils extraordinary diversity of aging processes

Despite aging being one the hottest topic in the media recently, scientists have no coherent explanation for it. New demographic data on humans, animals and plants for the first time unveil such an extraordinary diversity of aging processes that no existing evolutionary theory can account for. Both life spans and mortalities vary from species to species.

10 Dec 2013

IBN and IBM discover new medical application for converted PET bottles

Researchers at Singapore's Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) and California's IBM Research - Almaden (IBM) have discovered a new, potentially life-saving application for polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is widely used to make plastic bottles.

10 Dec 2013

UC Santa Barbara extends research contract with Army Research Laboratory

UC Santa Barbara's Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies has received an extension of its contract with the U.S. Army Research Laboratory-Army Research Office, providing an additional $48 million over three years to support research that is inspired by biological systems. The continuation in ICB funding speaks to the success of a decade of fundamental research in the areas of biotechnology, chemistry, engineering, physics, materials science, computer science, neuroscience and medicine.

9 Dec 2013

Researchers find huge diversity in how different organisms age

In our youth we are strong and healthy and then we weaken and die - that's probably how most would describe what ageing is all about. But, in nature, the phenomenon of ageing shows an unexpected diversity of patterns and is altogether rather strange, conclude researchers from The University of Southern Denmark.

9 Dec 2013

FDA grants QIDP status to Astellas' isavuconazole for treatment of invasive aspergillosis

Astellas Pharma US, Inc., a subsidiary of Astellas Pharma Inc. based in Tokyo, Japan, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) designated isavuconazole as a Qualified Infectious Disease Product (QIDP) for the treatment of invasive aspergillosis.

4 Dec 2013

CRISPR-Cas-system: A promising tool for genetic engineering

Viruses cannot only cause illnesses in humans, they also infect bacteria. Those protect themselves with a kind of 'immune system' which - simply put - consists of specific sequences in the genetic material of the bacteria and a suitable enzyme. It detects foreign DNA, which may originate from a virus, cuts it up and thus makes the invaders harmless.

25 Nov 2013

New method could cut hours off the time it takes to diagnose blood infections

A new method could cut hours off the time it takes to diagnose blood infections while also eliminating the need for complicated manual processing and expensive equipment, according to a report to be published in mBio-, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology, on November 19.

19 Nov 2013

Research findings could offer new insights into how defective cells can multiply in diseases

A rudimentary form of life that is found in some of the harshest environments on earth is able to sidestep normal replication processes and reproduce by the back door, researchers at The University of Nottingham have found.

5 Nov 2013

Scientists map structure of key part of immune system responsible for neutralizing bacteria, viruses

Leicester scientists have mapped the "bouquet-like" structure of a key part of the body's immune system responsible for neutralising bacteria and viruses.

5 Nov 2013

Newly discovered compound could be developed as antifungal drug to treat fungal infections

On a molecular level, you have more in common with shower curtain mold or the mushrooms on your pizza than you might think. Humans and fungi share similar proteins, a biological bond that makes curing fungal infections difficult and expensive.

7 Oct 2013

Exposure to farming environment may reduce symptoms of hypersensitivities, allergies

Adults who move to farming areas where they experience a wider range of environmental exposures than in cities may reduce the symptoms of their hypersensitivities and allergies considerably. This is the result of new research from Aarhus University.

1 Oct 2013

Mexican scientists reveal aflatoxins relationship with cervical and liver cancer in humans

Mexican scientists identified and quantified the amount of aflatoxins (carcinogenic) in food such as corn tortilla, rice, chili pepper, processed sauces, chicken breast and eggs, and revealed its relationship with cervical and liver cancer in humans.

1 Oct 2013

Microbial clock: New tool to determine time of death

An intriguing study led by the University of Colorado Boulder may provide a powerful new tool in the quiver of forensic scientists attempting to determine the time of death in cases involving human corpses: a microbial clock.

25 Sep 2013

Study shows how deadly Candida albicans might be rendered harmless

Candida albicans is a double agent: In most of us, it lives peacefully, but for people whose immune systems are compromised by HIV or other severe illnesses, it is frequently deadly. Now a new study from Johns Hopkins and Harvard Medical School shows how targeting a specific fungal component might turn the fungus from a lion back into a kitten.

25 Sep 2013

Research team sequences genome of Pyronema confluens

The genomes of more than 250 fungi have been sequenced. Among the basal filamentous ascomycetes - a group of ascomycetes that includes e.g. truffles and morels - only one representative has been analysed so far: the truffle Tuber melanosporum.

21 Sep 2013

Scientists discover that copper alloys shut down highly infectious norovirus

Scientists from the University of Southampton have discovered that copper and copper alloys rapidly destroy norovirus - the highly-infectious sickness bug.

12 Sep 2013

Peru: Liver cancer affects young people and children who do not have related risk factors

Liver cancer is the sixth most common cancer worldwide and the third most deadly. It mainly affects men over the age of 40, most often with cirrhosis or hepatitis B or C. But in Peru, it also uncharacteristically affects young people, even children, who do not have the identified related risk factors.

5 Sep 2013

Researchers explore seas and oceans to discover novel antibiotics and other medical compounds

The life that inhabits the world's oceans has almost infinite variety. It remains an untapped source of diversity. "The oceans can be deep or shallow, they can be more or less tidal, and they can include unique environments such as volcanic vents," says Brian McNeil ofStrathclyde University in Scotland, UK.

5 Sep 2013

Leading researchers and health professionals to explore health benefits of mushrooms at summit

Leading researchers, scientists and government, industry and health professionals will gather in the nation's capital for a groundbreaking, two-day exploration of the research supporting the health benefits of mushrooms - one of the most popular items found in the produce aisle and often thought of as a vegetable though technically belonging to the unique Fungi kingdom.

30 Aug 2013

HIV-infected people who carry gene face greater risk of contracting cryptococcal disease

HIV-infected people who carry a gene for a specific protein face a 20-fold greater risk of contracting cryptococcal disease, according to a study published in mBio-, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

27 Aug 2013