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UEA research could offer long-lasting solution to eating disorders

Researchers at the University of East Anglia have made a discovery in neuroscience that could offer a long-lasting solution to eating disorders such as obesity.

5 Apr 2013

Researchers diagnose genetic disease in embryonic DNA without biopsy

Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) technologies allow identification of genetic disorders in human preimplantation embryos after in vitro fertilization (IVF) and before the embryo is transferred back to the patient.

3 Apr 2013

Study: Neural-crest stem cells also play a key role in building olfactory sensory neurons

When our noses pick up a scent, whether the aroma of a sweet rose or the sweat of a stranger at the gym, two types of sensory neurons are at work in sensing that odor or pheromone.

26 Mar 2013

Study investigates new way to treat necrotizing enterocolitis

Stem cells taken from amniotic fluid were used to restore gut structure and function following intestinal damage in rodents, in new research published in the journal Gut.

25 Mar 2013

Scientists reveal genetic activity that led to development of wings in fruit flies

Scientists have delved deeper into the evolutionary history of the fruit fly than ever before to reveal the genetic activity that led to the development of wings - a key to the insect's ability to survive.

12 Mar 2013

Scientists develop new method for replacing missing teeth

Scientists have developed a new method of replacing missing teeth with a bioengineered material generated from a person's own gum cells.

11 Mar 2013

tRNA synthetases play unexpected and critical role in cancer metastasis

Studied for decades for their essential role in making proteins within cells, several amino acids known as tRNA synthetases were recently found to have an unexpected - and critical - additional role in cancer metastasis in a study conducted collaboratively in the labs of Karen Lounsbury, Ph.D., University of Vermont professor of pharmacology, and Christopher Francklyn, Ph.D., UVM professor of biochemistry.

5 Mar 2013

Researchers elucidate how Fgf8 is controlled by multiple regulatory elements in mammal embryos

During embryo development, genes are dynamically, and very precisely, switched on and off to confer different properties to different cells and build a well-proportioned and healthy animal. Fgf8 is one of the key genes in this process, controlling in particular the growth of the limbs and the formation of the different regions of the brain. Researchers at EMBL have elucidated how Fgf8 in mammal embryos is, itself, controlled by a series of multiple, interdependent regulatory elements.

1 Mar 2013

Stem cell line could also advance research into liver cancers, cystic fibrosis

Chronic or acute, liver failure can be deadly. Toxins take over, the skin turns yellow and higher brain function slows. "There is no effective therapy at the moment to deal with the toxins that build up in your body," said Neil Talbot, a Research Animal Scientist for the USDA Agricultural Research Service. "Their only option now is to transplant a liver."

1 Mar 2013

Blocking aPKC activity can stop growth of transplanted skin tumors resistant to vismodegib

Hailed as a major step forward in the effort to develop targeted cancer therapies, a recently approved drug for the most common type of skin cancer has been a mixed blessing for patients. Although the initial response is usually dramatic, the tumors often recur as the cancer becomes resistant to treatment.

28 Feb 2013

Study finds major risk factor behind increased risk of adverse outcomes in IVF pregnancies

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers have identified what may be a major factor behind the increased risk of two adverse outcomes in pregnancies conceived through in vitro fertilization (IVF).

26 Feb 2013

Leading cancer researcher, Dr. Lewis Cantley, named a winner of the inaugural Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences

Dr. Lewis Cantley, a leading cancer researcher credited with discovering a family of enzymes fundamental to understanding cancer, was named a winner of the inaugural Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, the world’s richest academic prize for medicine and biology. The prize, which carries a $3 million cash award, recognizes excellence in research aimed at curing intractable diseases and human life.

22 Feb 2013

Scientists explore development of unique dentition of 'toothed whales'

Whales are mammals, but they don't look like the mammals living around us, as they have a triangular fluke for tail, no hind legs and no body hair. And inside their mouths, their teeth are unfamiliar too - being much simpler and 'peg like'. A multidisciplinary team of researchers have now married together the fossil record and the embryonic development process to investigate how the whale got its teeth.

19 Feb 2013

Caffeine intake during pregnancy associated with low birth weight babies

Maternal nutrition is important to a developing embryo and to the health of the child later in life. Supplementing the diet with specific vitamins is known to increase health of the foetus for example folic acid (vitamin B9) reduces the risk of spina bifida. However not everything an adult might consume is beneficial to a developing baby.

19 Feb 2013

Article details mechanism by which long non-coding RNA-activators promote gene expression

Long segments of RNA- encoded in our DNA but not translated into protein-are key to physically manipulating DNA in order to activate certain genes, say researchers at The Wistar Institute. These non-coding RNA-activators (ncRNA-a) have a crucial role in turning genes on and off during early embryonic development, researchers say, and have also been connected with diseases, including some cancers, in adults.

18 Feb 2013

FOXC2 vital to epithelial-mesenchymal transition in breast cancer

Researchers have identified a pivotal protein in a cellular transformation that makes a cancer cell more resistant to treatment and more capable of growing and spreading, making it an inviting new target for drug development.

14 Feb 2013

High anti-M-llerian hormone levels signal increased likelihood of pregnancy, birth

Women with a high concentration of anti-M-llerian hormone stand a better chance of giving birth after in vitro fertilization, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).

13 Feb 2013

Frozen/thawed embryo replacement better than fresh in vitro fertilization

In a study to be presented on February 14 between 1:15 p.m., and 3:30 p.m. PST, at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting -, in San Francisco, California, researchers will present findings showing perinatal outcomes of frozen/thawed embryo replacement (FER) have better outcomes compared to fresh in vitro fertilization (IVF), but worse outcomes compared to the non-IVF general population.

12 Feb 2013

Congenital anomaly prevalence should spark ART policy change

Assisted reproductive technology may be associated with the increased proportion of multiple birth infants affected by congenital abnormalities since the 1980s, European research suggests.