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LRI announces 12 new research grants to drive innovation in lupus

The Lupus Research Institute today announced the award of 12 new research grants, building on its decade-long commitment to drive innovation and discover novel approaches to understand and treat one of the world's most confounding and elusive diseases - lupus.

9 Mar 2011

ADAM-12 gene can serve as treatment target for cancer, arthritis, cardiac hypertrophy

ADAM-12 is not only the name of a 1970's television police drama - it's also the gene that University of Missouri researchers believe could be an important element in the fight against cancer, arthritis, and cardiac hypertrophy, or thickening of the heart's walls.

9 Mar 2011

Now get a 3-D kidney printout to replace damaged kidneys: A regeneration science innovation

In what seems like science fiction, Dr. Anthony Atala, a regenerative medicine specialist at Wake Forest University, is pioneering the use of printing techniques to reconstruct and repair human flesh and organs. His basis is a combination of cultured human cells and scaffolding built or woven from organic material.

7 Mar 2011

Baby frozen to correct brain damage at birth makes full recovery

Baby Ella was born starved of oxygen but doctors cooled her body for three days to reduce brain damage. She made a complete recovery. After birth Ella was wrapped in a special blanket filled with fluid which cooled her whole body down from the normal 37°c to 33.5°c by doctors at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge.

3 Mar 2011

Pluristem's PLX cells exhibit potential to treat accidental and intentionally induced muscle injuries

Pluristem Therapeutics, Inc. and the Berlin-Brandenburg Center for Regenerative Therapies (BCRT), in cooperation with the Charite - University of Medicine in Berlin,today announced the results of a pre-clinical study demonstrating that the local administration of PLX cells following muscle injury resulted in significant improvement in the recovery of muscle function when compared with the control group. This

2 Mar 2011

Maternal fructose intake during pregnancy leads to sex-specific changes in fetal, neonatal endocrinology

A recent study accepted for publication in Endocrinology, a publication of The Endocrine Society, reports for the first time that maternal fructose intake during pregnancy results in sex-specific changes in fetal and neonatal endocrinology.

25 Feb 2011

Scientists discover evidence linking brain function variations to birth size, weight of placenta

Scientists have discovered the first evidence linking brain function variations between the left and right sides of the brain to size at birth and the weight of the placenta. The finding could shed new light on the causes of mental health problems in later life.

18 Feb 2011

Metallic copper surfaces kill bacteria on contact

Metallic copper surfaces kill microbes on contact, decimating their populations, according to a paper in the February 2011 issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology. They do so literally in minutes, by causing massive membrane damage after about a minute's exposure, says the study's corresponding author, Gregor Grass of the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. This is the first study to demonstrate this mechanism of bacteriocide.

17 Feb 2011

New research finds differences in cell fate commitment during embryonic development in mammals

New research shows that all not mammals are created equal. In fact, this work shows that the animals most commonly used by scientists to study mammalian genetics -- mice -- develop unusually quickly and may not always be representative of embryonic development in other mammals.

15 Feb 2011

Researchers find placentas of preeclampsic women have abundance of genes linked with immune system regulation

Researchers at North Carolina State University have discovered that the placentas of women who suffer preeclampsia during pregnancy have an overabundance of a gene associated with the regulation of the body's immune system. Their discovery may lead to improved screening and prenatal care for these patients and their babies.

14 Feb 2011

Babies born to HIV-infected mothers have lower antibody levels against bacterial infections

Babies whose mothers have HIV, but who are not HIV-infected themselves, are born with lower levels of specific proteins in their blood called antibodies, which fight infection, compared with babies not exposed to HIV, a new study has found.

9 Feb 2011

Cord Blood America signs second Supply Agreement with premier cell and tissue bank

Cord Blood America, Inc., the umbilical cord blood stem cell preservation company focused on bringing the life saving potential of stem cells to families nationwide and internationally, announced today that it has signed a Supply Agreement with a premier national and international cell and tissue bank to provide placenta, umbilical cord blood and whole umbilical cord collection services for research purposes.

4 Feb 2011

Study suggests human amniotic cells 'cross talk' with melatonin receptor MT1

Human amniotic epithelial cells, stem cells derived from human placenta left over from live births and generally discarded, proliferated and differentiated when they interacted with one kind of melatonin receptor, MT1. This potentially therapeutic response occurred when the stem cells were transplanted into laboratory test tube and animal models of stroke. The same cells did not perform similarly when interacting with melatonin receptor MT2.

2 Feb 2011

Placental colonization by bacteria could lead to preterm birth and other developmental problems

The type of bacteria that colonize the placenta during pregnancy could be associated with preterm birth and other developmental problems in newborns according to research published in the current issue of the online journal mBio-.

28 Jan 2011

Gestational diabetes raises risk of diabetes and weight problems in babies: Study

The latest Australian research suggests that women who have diabetes during pregnancy – also known as gestational diabetes, are more likely to have children who will battle diabetes and weight problems through their lives. The research is published in the journal Diabetologia, now online.

27 Jan 2011

Researchers find food-borne bacteria can cause difficult-to-treat heart infections

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine have found that particular strains of a food-borne bacteria are able to invade the heart, leading to serious and difficult-to-treat heart infections.

27 Jan 2011

Pluristem completes parallel scientific advisory process with EMA and FDA for PLX-PAD clinical development

Pluristem Therapeutics, Inc. today announced the successful completion of a parallel scientific advisory process with the European Medical Agencies (EMA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding the Company's planned clinical development program for PLX-PAD.

19 Jan 2011

Eating less during early pregnancy impairs fetal brain development: Study

Eating less during early pregnancy impaired fetal brain development in a nonhuman primate model, researchers from The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio reported today.

18 Jan 2011

Banned chemicals found in pregnant women

The bodies of virtually all U.S. pregnant women carry multiple chemicals, including some banned since the 1970s and others used in common products such as non-stick cookware, processed foods and personal care products, according to a new study from UCSF. The study marks the first time that the number of chemicals to which pregnant women are exposed has been counted.

14 Jan 2011

New Down syndrome non-invasive test for ‘mums-to-be’ on the horizon

According to experts a simple DNA test for Down syndrome could save nearly all pregnant women from invasive tests like amniocentesis. Usually 3% to 5% of pregnant women in the UK or some 30,000 women have to undergo invasive tests like amniocentesis that increases the risk of miscarriage to 1%. The new DNA blood test could bring this down to 0.1%, according to a study in the British Medical Journal.

12 Jan 2011