Biomedicine News and Research

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The biopsychosocial model thirty years later

The dominant model of disease today is, as 30 years ago, still biomedical, with molecular biology being the basic scientific discipline.

22 Jan 2008

Salinispora tropica marine bacterium points to new ways to treat human diseases

An unexpected discovery in marine biomedical laboratories at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego has led to new, key information about the fundamental biological processes inside a marine organism that creates a natural product currently being tested to treat cancer in humans.

7 Jan 2008

The biomedical and sociological effects of sleep restriction

In spring 2005 a large European research and training network was established to investigate the causes and implications of poor sleep from a medical as well as from a social point of view. This EU-financed sleep research project, “The biomedical and sociological effects of sleep restriction”, is coordinated by Dr. Tarja Porkka-Heiskanen (Stenberg) MD, PhD, at the University of Helsinki, Institute of Biomedicine.

22 Oct 2007

The accumulation of sugar in neurons may explain the origin of several neurodegenerative diseases

A phenomenon considered healthy for cells, such as the accumulation of long chains of glucose (glycogen), which tissues store for energy purposes, is harmful for neurons.

22 Oct 2007

Sir Martin Evans wins Nobel prize for stem cell research

Medical Research Council funded scientist Sir Martin Evans, has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for 2007 alongside Mario R. Capecchi and Oliver Smithies for their discoveries of "principles for introducing specific gene modifications in mice by the use of embryonic stem cells".

9 Oct 2007

Clinical Trials Directive likely to turn Europe into the poor relation of clinical academic medicine

The Clinical Trials Directive, which came into force in May 2004 in order to create a harmonised framework for clinical drug research across Europe, is still hampering such research, according to new findings presented at the European Cancer Conference (ECCO 14).

27 Sep 2007

New UK stem cell and regenerative medicine research centre

The new Wolfson Centre for Stem Cells, Tissue Engineering and Modelling (STEM) will be officially opened at the University of Nottingham on the 21st September, 2007 by Sir Keith O’Nions, Director General Science and Innovation at the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills.

24 Sep 2007

3-D Petri dish that grows cells in three dimensions

A team of Brown University biomedical engineers has invented a 3-D Petri dish that can grow cells in three dimensions, a method that promises to quickly and cheaply produce more realistic cells for drug development and tissue transplantation.

20 Sep 2007

New clues to cracking brain's neural code

Decoding the complex electrical signals that brain cells use to "talk" to each other is a new and important frontier in neuroscience, one that could revolutionize the diagnosis and treatment of neurological and psychiatric disease.

12 Sep 2007

New method to create natural drug products

Until now, only the intricate machinery inside cells could take a mix of enzyme ingredients, blend them together and deliver a natural product with an elaborate chemical structure such as penicillin.

5 Sep 2007

Research on proteases and pathological processes

A research group of the UAB Institute of Biotechnology and Biomedicine and the UAB Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, directed by Francesc Xavier Aviles, is the coordinator of a European project aimed at studying proteases with fluorescent molecules that allow their monitoring in healthy and pathological situations.

18 Jul 2007

Novel type of communication between nerve cells in the brain discovered

The findings may have relevance for the prevention and treatment of epilepsy, and possibly in the exploration of other aspects of brain functions, from creative thought processes to mental illnesses such as schizophrenia.

17 Jul 2007

Natural polymer Chitin shows great healing properties

Chitin is a polymer very common in nature as part of animals' and plants' physical structures.

16 Jul 2007

New data about the laws governing embryo development in organisms

Research aimed at understanding the mechanisms underlying embryo development has taken a step forward thanks to collaborative work between biologists specialized in the study of the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) and scientists specialized in the design of mathematical models that simulate the functioning of biological systems.

12 Jul 2007

New genetic function involved in embryo development in organisms

11 Jul 2007

A new system for collaboration in cell communication

Investigators from the Institute of Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) have identified a new signalling mechanism among cells in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster.

27 Jun 2007

Ethical dilemma of international tissue donation

When the world's poorest sell their bodies to the world's wealthiest in the international tissue donation market they often secure their economic health at the cost of their physical health.

19 Jun 2007

Secrets of working memory revealed

A newly discovered interplay of cells in one of the brain's memory centers sheds light on how you recall your grocery list, where you laid your keys, and a host of important but fleeting daily tasks.

8 Jun 2007

New drugs to fight colon and breast cancer

A study on epithelial cell lines has allowed for the development of six new drugs to fight colon and breast cancer more effectively than other currently used drugs.

3 Jun 2007

Human antibodies protect mice from H5N1 avian influenza

An international team of scientists, including researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), report using antibodies derived from immune cells from recent human survivors of H5N1 avian influenza to successfully treat H5N1-infected mice as well as protect them from an otherwise lethal dose of the virus.

30 May 2007