Electron News and Research

RSS

How to enhance non-thermal effects of ultrasound

In recent years HIFU has been widely used for the treatment of solid tumors, such as liver tumor, bone tumor, and breast cancer.

30 Dec 2008

Evolutionary roots of ancient bacteria may open new line of attack on cystic fibrosis

The redox-active pigments responsible for the blue-green stain of the mucus that clogs the lungs of children and adults with cystic fibrosis (CF) are primarily signaling molecules that allow large clusters of the opportunistic infection agent, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, to organize themselves into structured communities.

16 Dec 2008

Biologists spy close-up view of poliovirus linked to host cell receptor

Researchers from Purdue and Stony Brook universities have determined the precise atomic-scale structure of the poliovirus attached to key receptor molecules in human host cells and also have taken a vital snapshot of processes leading to infection.

8 Dec 2008

How microscopy can unlock the key to disease

A leading international scientist will reveal how the latest techniques in microscopy - including time-lapse imaging of living cells - are leading to breakthroughs in understanding genetic and acquired diseases.

26 Nov 2008

Scientists shed light on how DNA is unwound so that its code can be read

Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute have figured out how a macromolecular machine is able to unwind the long and twisted tangles of DNA within a cell's nucleus so that genetic information can be "read" and used to direct the synthesis of proteins, which have many specific functions in the body.

24 Nov 2008

Scientists create new soap free emulsion polymerization process

Research chemists at the University of Warwick have devised an elegant process which simply and cheaply covers small particles of polymer with a layer of silica-based nanoparticles.

24 Nov 2008

Mechanisms of cardiovascular disease and cancer give clues to new therapies

Cardiovascular conditions leading to heart attacks and strokes are treated quite separately from common cancers of the prostate, breast or lung, but now turn out to involve some of the same critical mechanisms at the molecular level.

21 Nov 2008

Scientists develop unlimited pure insulin-producing cells from mouse embryonic stem cells

These pure insulin-producing cells, which according to electron microscopy studies, have the same sub-cellular structures as the insulin-producing cells naturally found in the pancreas, were highly effective in treating diabetes in the mouse model.

20 Nov 2008

How is our left brain is different from our right?

Since the historical discovery of the speech center in the left cortex in 150 years ago, functional differences between left and right hemisphere have been well known; language is mainly handled by left hemisphere, while spatial recognition is more specialized to the right hemisphere.

17 Nov 2008

'Enlightened' atoms stage nano-riot againsts uniformity

When atoms in a crystal are struck by laser light, their electrons, excited by the light, typically begin moving back and forth together in a regular pattern, resembling nanoscale soldiers marching in a lockstep formation.

17 Nov 2008

First-ever glimpse of the cell-wall structure in three dimensions

The bacterial cell wall that is the target of potent antibiotics such as penicillin is actually made up of a thin single layer of carbohydrate chains, linked together by peptides, which wrap around the bacterium like a belt around a person, according to research conducted by scientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

17 Nov 2008

Stem cells from umbilical cord blood may help build new heart valves

Children with heart defects may someday receive perfectly-matched new heart valves built using stem cells from their umbilical cord blood, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2008.

11 Nov 2008

Discovery of gene that regulates mold's resistance to drugs

Montana State University scientists concerned about lethal mold infections have found a gene that regulates the mold's resistance to drugs.

8 Nov 2008

How RNA polymerase kick starts gene activation revealed

How 'molecular machines' inside cells swing into action to activate genes at different times in a cell's life is revealed in new research published in Molecular Cell.

7 Nov 2008

H5N1 protein hides in tiny tubules

A protein found in the virulent avian influenza virus strain called H5N1 forms tiny tubules in which it "hides" the pieces of double-stranded RNA formed during viral infection, which otherwise would prompt an antiviral immune response from infected cells, said Baylor College of Medicine researchers in an online report in the journal Nature.

6 Nov 2008

Scientists image transfer of antibodies from mother's milk, to baby's gut

The transportation of antibodies from a mother to her newborn child is vital for the development of that child's nascent immune system. Those antibodies, donated by transfer across the placenta before birth or via breast milk after birth, help shape a baby's response to foreign pathogens and may influence the later occurrence of autoimmune diseases.

13 Oct 2008

Scientists develop nanometer-sized 'cargo ships' to target and destroy tumors

Scientists have developed nanometer-sized 'cargo ships' that can sail throughout the body via the bloodstream without immediate detection from the body's immune radar system and ferry their cargo of anti-cancer drugs and markers into tumors that might otherwise go untreated or undetected.

11 Sep 2008

Corn protein, zein being researched for drug delivery

The key to a better drug delivery method for cancer patients may be growing all across the Midwest, South Dakota State University research suggests.

29 Jul 2008

Ultra-miniature bialy-shaped drug delivery particles

Ultra-miniature bialy-shaped particles - called nanobialys because they resemble tiny versions of the flat, onion-topped rolls popular in New York City - could soon be carrying medicinal compounds through patients' bloodstreams to tumors or atherosclerotic plaques.

29 Jul 2008

Oily fish protect Japanese men against clogged arteries

If you're fishing for ways to reduce the risk of heart disease, you might start with the seafood-rich diet typically served up in Japan. According to new research, a lifetime of eating tuna, sardines, salmon and other fish appears to protect Japanese men against clogged arteries, despite other cardiovascular risk factors.

28 Jul 2008