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Human milk hormones may play vital role in shaping healthy infant microbiome

A new University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus study finds that hormones in breast milk may impact the development of healthy bacteria in infants' guts, potentially protecting them from intestinal inflammation, obesity and other diseases later in life.

5 May 2016

Long-term use of herbal remedies may not guarantee safety

Millions of people around the world use herbal health remedies, following a tradition that began millennia ago. Many believe that herbs are safe because they have been used for many years, but researchers from Baylor College of Medicine and Stony Brook University are raising awareness that long-term use of herbal remedies is no guarantee of their safety. The invited commentary appears in EMBO reports.

4 May 2016

Researchers reveal how bile component taurine attracts Vibrio cholera

A group of researchers from Osaka University, Hosei University, and Nagoya University have revealed the molecular mechanism that Vibrio cholerae, the etiological agent of cholera, is attracted by bile. This group has also successfully detected the ligand binding to the bacteria chemoreceptor in vivo for the first time. These results may significantly advance research on mechanism and control of V. cholerae.

26 Apr 2016

Scientists derive first molecular model of critical transporter at blood-brain barrier

Scientists from Duke-NUS Medical School have derived a structural model of a transporter at the blood-brain barrier called Mfsd2a. This is the first molecular model of this critical transporter, and could prove important for the development of therapeutic agents that need to be delivered to the brain --- across the blood-brain barrier. In future, this could help treat neurological disorders such as glioblastoma.

25 Apr 2016

Macrophages play key role in quick tissue repair

While scientists have known for many years that there are cells living in the cavities surrounding various organs such as the heart, lung and liver, their function has remained unknown. A recent Cumming School of Medicine study examined these cells, and discovered they play an integral role in fast tissue repair. The study was published in the journal Cell this month.

22 Apr 2016

Hot packs or hot-water immersion may be effective in treating jellyfish stings

A recent study by researchers at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, published this month in the journal Toxins, may finally put to rest the ongoing debate about whether to use cold or heat to treat jellyfish stings. Their systematic and critical review provides overwhelming evidence that clinical outcomes from all kinds of jellyfish stings are improved following treatment with hot packs or hot-water immersion.

21 Apr 2016

Proteins can be used as targets to deliver drugs into stressed cancer cells

Targeted missiles that can enter cancer cells and deliver lethal cell toxins without harming surrounding healthy tissue. This has been a long-standing vision in cancer research, but it has proved difficult to accomplish. A research group at Lund University in Sweden has now taken some crucial steps in this direction.

20 Apr 2016

Researchers focus on novel target to treat bacterial infection

Bacterial infection takes hold in the body when a pathogenic microorganism delivers toxins to healthy cells. One way bacteria accomplish this is by releasing vesicles, which act as tiny envelopes transporting toxins and other virulence factors to host cells. These toxins allow the bacteria to "make themselves at home" in cells.

19 Apr 2016

UA researchers developing new treatment to delay serious consequences of venomous snakebites

Time is of the essence for treating venomous snakebites, and a product being developed by researchers at the University of Arizona College of Medicine - Tucson may extend that window for treatment.

18 Apr 2016

Scientists use FAN1 knockout mice to refine detailed mechanisms involved in damaged DNA repair

Like jewels in a vault, our precious genetic material is stored in the nucleus of a cell--sequestered away from potentially damaging cellular components and toxins so that no harm can come to it. Yet over the course of a life moving through this world, our DNA does get damaged, and our cells have a host of complicated repair mechanisms to deal with such injuries.

13 Apr 2016

Novel metabolic pathways help cancer cells thrive under certain conditions

Scientists at the Children's Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern (CRI) have identified a novel metabolic pathway that helps cancer cells thrive in conditions that are lethal to normal cells.

7 Apr 2016

Versatile Automated Microplate Sample Screening Applications

In this interview, News Medical speaks Tobias Pusterla, Ph.D from BMG Labtech about versatile automated microplate sample screening applications.

From BMG LABTECH GmbH 30 Mar 2016

Changing one atom in InsP6 inhibitor can increase its ability to neutralize toxins in the gut

Infections with bacterium Clostridium difficile have rapidly become a significant medical problem in hospitals and long-term care facilities. The bacteria cause diarrhea and life-threatening inflammation of the colon by producing toxins that kill the endothelial cells that form the lining of the gut.

26 Mar 2016

Inactivation of protein-coding gene promotes liver tissue regeneration in mammals

Scientists at the Children's Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern (CRI) report that inactivating a certain protein-coding gene promotes liver tissue regeneration in mammals.

26 Mar 2016

Virus-generated DNA lurking between human genes, show research

Think your DNA is all human? Think again. And a new discovery suggests it's even less human than scientists previously thought.

24 Mar 2016

Anthim (obiltoxaximab) injection approved for treatment of inhalational anthrax

On Friday, March 18, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Anthim (obiltoxaximab) injection to treat inhalational anthrax in combination with appropriate antibacterial drugs. Anthim is also approved to prevent inhalational anthrax when alternative therapies are not available or not appropriate.

21 Mar 2016

Research shows how recreational ketamine abuse harms the bladder

Research conducted by scientists at the University of York has revealed how recreational ketamine abuse damages the bladder

21 Mar 2016

Manipulation of NAD could lead to potential therapy for acute kidney injury

Approximately one out of five hospitalized adults and one out of three hospitalized children worldwide experience acute kidney injury, the sudden loss of kidney function. Many different factors, including surgery, chemotherapy or shock, can lead to acute kidney injury, but exactly why the kidneys are so vulnerable to these and other stressors has not been well understood.

19 Mar 2016

Could environmental toxins trigger amyloid plaques in the brain? An interview with Dr Paul Alan Cox

Many Chamorro villagers on the island of Guam perished from a puzzling paralytic disease that combines aspects of ALS, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's disease.

From Huron Technologies 14 Mar 2016

Study highlights new approach to produce coral snake antivenom from synthetically designed DNA

Coral snake venom carries significant neurotoxicity and human injuries can be severe or even lethal. Despite this, antivenom treatments are scarce due to challenges collecting adequate amounts of venom needed to produce anti-elapidic serum. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases highlights exciting new research from the Butantan Institute in Brazil using synthetically designed DNA to produce coral-snake antivenom.

4 Mar 2016