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Competing endorsements for Obama, Romney; Health law's unfinished business on the ballot

Mr. Obama has achieved the most sweeping health care reforms since the passage of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965. The reform law takes a big step toward universal health coverage, a final piece in the social contract.

29 Oct 2012

New therapy to treat rare form of cystic fibrosis works in unconventional way, scientists say

Scientists at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto have established that a drug recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat a rare form of cystic fibrosis works in an unconventional way.

29 Oct 2012

Study identifies essential mechanism that regulates calcium flow into mitochondria

Most healthy cells rely on a complicated process to produce the fuel ATP. Knowing how ATP is produced by the cell's energy storehouse - the mitochondria -- is important for understanding a cell's normal state, as well as what happens when things go wrong, for example in cancer, cardiovascular disease, neurodegeneration, and many rare disorders of the mitochondria.

26 Oct 2012

Research team finds elusive self-healing formulation for defense, aerospace

A research team at the University of Nevada, Reno has developed a new environmentally-friendly coating for aluminum to replace the carcinogenic chromate coatings used in aerospace applications. The chromate conversion coatings have been used for more than 50 years to protect aluminum from corrosion.

24 Oct 2012

Insight into calcium pumps in cells

When animals and plants are exposed to influences such as bacterial attack, odour and cold, calcium ions flow into the cells. The calcium provides the cells with a signal about what is going on outside, but as high concentrations of calcium are toxic to the cells, it must be quickly pumped out again.

22 Oct 2012

New way to image how brain cells coordinate with each other to control specific behaviors

A team led by MIT neuroscientists has developed a way to monitor how brain cells coordinate with each other to control specific behaviors, such as initiating movement or detecting an odor.

19 Oct 2012

Study identifies multipotent and unipotent stem cells that contribute to prostate postnatal development

Publication in Nature Cell Biology advanced on line publication: researchers at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, ULB identify multipotent and unipotent Stem Cells (SCs) that contribute to prostate postnatal development.

16 Oct 2012

IspH protein accepts two completely different classes of molecules as partners

The iron-sulfur protein IspH plays a central role in the terpene metabolism of several pathogens. The mechanism of the reaction provides an approach for developing new antibiotics, particularly against malaria and tuberculosis. While researching this enzyme, biochemists at the Technische Universitat Munchen discovered a previously unknown reaction: IspH accepts two completely different classes of molecules as partners.

10 Oct 2012

Anesthetics and protein interactions: an interview with José A. Fernández

For a long time there was a controversy about how anesthetics work. The large number of molecules that have anesthetic properties (from benzodiazepines to nitrous oxide) and their very different structures...

8 Oct 2012

Nanoprobe inventor awarded NJIT Board of Overseers Excellence in Research Prize and Medal

NJIT Research Professor Reginald C. Farrow, PhD, who with his research team have discovered how to make nanoscale arrays of the world's smallest probe for investigating the electrical properties of individual living cells was awarded yesterday, Oct. 4, 2012, the NJIT Board of Overseers Excellence in Research Prize and Medal. This prize is the most prestigious research award at NJIT. It is the fifth time the award has been made.

6 Oct 2012

Stereocilia not only move sideways but also change in length: Study

The sensory cells of the inner ear have tiny hairs called stereocilia that play a critical part in hearing. It has long been known that these stereocilia move sideways back and forth in a wave-like motion when stimulated by a sound wave. After having designed a microscope to observe these movements, a research team at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden has discovered that the hairs not only move sideways but also change in length.

4 Oct 2012

Inhibiting TRPV4 protects against diet-induced obesity, inflammation and insulin resistance

Ember Therapeutics, Inc., a company harnessing breakthroughs in brown fat biology and insulin sensitization to revolutionize the treatment of metabolic disease, today announced the publication of key preclinical data demonstrating that inhibition of the Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid (TRPV) family of ion channels - specifically TRPV4 - resulted in activation of brown/beige fat and protection from diet-induced obesity, inflammation and insulin resistance. Ember holds an exclusive option to license these TRPV4 findings and technology.

28 Sep 2012

UNMCC researcher to investigate possible mechanism for cancer tumor development

Most of us think of DNA mutations as the culprits that cause cancer. Scott Ness, PhD, University of New Mexico Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology and Associate Director at the UNM Cancer Center, thinks there may be another, more elusive culprit. If Dr. Ness is right his research, funded as part of the National Cancer Institute's Provocative Questions Project, might open a whole new arena in which to target anticancer drugs.

28 Sep 2012

New understanding about functionality of CFTR protein

CFTR is an important protein that, when mutated, causes the life-threatening genetic disease cystic fibrosis. A study in The Journal of General Physiology (JGP) details how an accidental discovery has provided new understanding about CFTR functionality.

27 Sep 2012

Alitair receives U.S. patent allowance for ion exchange resin formulation of benzonatate

Alitair Pharmaceuticals, Inc., today announced that it received a Notice of Allowance from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for its ion exchange resin formulation of benzonatate.

27 Sep 2012

Bruker introduces Toxtyper clinical mass spectrometry solution

At the annual conference of the DGKL, Bruker today announced the European launch of the novel, automated Toxtyper clinical mass spectrometry solution to meet the increasing demands for LC-MS/MS throughput and data quality in routine toxicology laboratories without the need for mass spectrometry expertise.

26 Sep 2012

New technique allows cells to make terpenes

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have shown how to synthesize in the laboratory an important set of natural compounds known as terpenes. The largest class of chemicals made by living organisms, terpenes are made within cells by some of the most complex chemical reactions found in biology.

24 Sep 2012

Hypertonic solution effective in reducing inflammation

Research carried out at The University of Manchester has found further evidence that a simple solution, which is already used in IV drips, is an effective treatment for reducing inflammation.

From The University of Manchester 21 Sep 2012

ChanTest announces Phase II SBIR grant to optimize cardiomyocyte-based assays

ChanTest, the leading CRO expert in ion channels and nonclinical cardiac safety testing, announces funding of a Phase II SBIR grant. ChanTest will use the grant from the National Heart Lung & Blood Institute to optimize drug safety and discovery assays using stem cell-derived human cardiomyocytes

18 Sep 2012

UCSF-led research team targets physiological factors that lead to asthma attack

A new study that identifies ways to reduce the factors that lead to an asthma attack gives hope to asthma sufferers. A UCSF researcher and his colleagues believe they have found a way to help asthma sufferers by impeding the two most significant biological responses that lead to an asthma attack.