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FDA-approved drug repairs gut leakiness associated with ulcerative colitis

A research team led by biomedical scientists at the University of California, Riverside, has found that a drug approved by the FDA to treat rheumatoid arthritis and ulcerative colitis can repair permeability defects in the gut's epithelium.

4 Dec 2019

New technology developed for treatment of children suffering from respiratory diseases

A new technology to unblock and remove secretions from the respiratory tract of children has been developed as part of a collaboration between researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and its affiliated Soroka University Medical Center, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, and the University of Cincinnati.

4 Dec 2019

Cleveland Clinic to study ecological, evolutionary mechanisms that contribute to lung cancer

Jacob Scott, M.D., Ph.D., a physician researcher from Cleveland Clinic's Department of Translational Hematology and Oncology Research, recently received a $2.8 million grant from the National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, to study how ecological and evolutionary mechanisms contribute to lung cancer development and progression, and how the interplay between these mechanisms may provide novel treatment insights.

4 Dec 2019

Newly developed cell models can open up new avenues for ocular drug discovery

Researchers at the University of Eastern Finland have developed two new cell models that can open up new avenues for ocular drug discovery. The new cell models are continuously growing retinal pigment epithelial cells, which have many benefits over the models currently used by researchers and pharmaceutical companies. The models were developed by Professor Arto Urtti's Ocular Drug Delivery group at the University of Eastern Finland.

4 Dec 2019

New discovery may bring scientists a step closer to developing hearing loss treatments

A new discovery from a team led by Massachusetts Eye and Ear researchers may bring scientists a step closer to developing treatments that regrow the lost cells that cause hearing loss.

4 Dec 2019

Study identifies improved treatment option for neuroblastoma

Neuroblastoma is a rare form of malignant tumor, primarily affecting children under the age of six. A research team led by molecular pathologist Lukas Kenner from MedUni Vienna's Department of Pathology has now discovered, through genome sequencing, that the protein ALK and the cancer gene PIM1 are involved in the development of this tumor.

4 Dec 2019

Scientist earns prestigious award for research into cell suicide

Apoptosis is a form of “cell suicide”, where a cell self-terminates, ideally as planned or programmed, enabling multi-cellular organisms to continue to live, develop and thrive.

4 Dec 2019

Why some sperm swim in circles – it’s a protein defect

A new study published in the journal PNAS shows that some sperm cannot swim straight because they lack a protein called VSP. This motility defect seriously impacts the rates of successful fertilization. In addition, VSP is also found to regulate the amount of calcium that enters the flagellum, the whiplike organelle that propels the sperm towards the waiting ovum or egg. This important discovery may help treat infertility more effectively.

3 Dec 2019

“Tic-Tac-Toe” tackles Alzheimer’s disease

Drawing on multiple scientific disciplines, a new team is gearing up for a fresh onslaught on Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the extremely common age-related condition associated with loss of memory and disability.

3 Dec 2019

Novel approach to reach the most difficult-to-access physiological locations

A team led by Professor Sylvain Martel at the Polytechnique Montréal Nanorobotics Laboratory has developed a novel approach to tackling one of the biggest challenges of endovascular surgery: how to reach the most difficult-to-access physiological locations.

3 Dec 2019

Newer safer way to effectively treat deadly brain cancer

A new engineering solution may help deliver tumor killing drugs directly to the brain tumor without the toxic body effects of systemic chemotherapy. The new study published in the journal Nature Scientific Reports reports on the use of coaxial electrospinning, an industrial fabrication technology, in the production of membranes that incorporate drugs to treat glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), an aggressive cancer of the brain.

3 Dec 2019

New screening method can rapidly discover potential cancer-treating compounds

Scientists at Scripps Research have developed a method for rapidly discovering potential cancer-treating compounds that work by resurrecting anti-tumor activity in immune cells called T cells.

3 Dec 2019

Dynamics of crucial immune system proteins revealed

Of the many marvels of the human immune system, the processing of antigens by the class I proteins of the major histocompatability complex (MHC-I) is among the most mind-boggling. Exactly how these proteins carry out their crucial functions has not been well understood.

3 Dec 2019

Using genomics to identify promising novel treatment for lymphatic filariasis

Using innovative RNA sequencing techniques, researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine Institute for Genome Sciences identified a promising novel treatment for lymphatic filariasis, a disabling parasitic disease that is difficult to treat.

3 Dec 2019

Zebrafish study supports accuracy of CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing tool

Along with the promise that CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology can offer new human therapies is the need to ensure its safety. A recent study showed that CRISPR-Cas9 did not produce off-target gene mutations in zebrafish. These results, published in Frontiers in Genetics, confirm previous data in animal models that the risk to the rest of the genome from gene editing is minimal.

3 Dec 2019

Failure in proteasome transportation system may cause neurodegenerative diseases

All neurodegenerative diseases have a common thread: the appearance of protein clumps in the brain such as amyloid-beta plaques in Alzheimer's disease and alpha synuclein aggregates in Parkinson's.

3 Dec 2019

Isolated components of Saussurea have positive effect on bone tissue regeneration

Saussurea controversa is a perennial herbaceous plant that has been traditionally used by the people of the Far East, Siberia, Tibet, and Mongolia to treat liver, kidney, digestive tract, and locomotive diseases. Its dried leaves are sold in pharmacies because their decoction is widely used as a medicine against cold and bronchitis. To understand what substances this plant owes its medicinal properties to, a team of scientists from Siberian State Medical University and Tomsk Polytechnic University extracted individual components from the plant and determined their composition.

3 Dec 2019