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Study explores impact of IL1β on brain function alterations associated with schizophrenia

There are a growing number of clues that immune and inflammatory mechanisms are important for the biology of schizophrenia. In a new study in Biological Psychiatry, Dr. Mar Fatjó-Vilas and colleagues explored the impact of the interleukin-1β gene (IL1β) on brain function alterations associated with schizophrenia.

2 Nov 2012

CSHL scientists discover new way to specifically target and kill cancer cells

Cancer cells grow fast. That's an essential characteristic of what makes them cancer cells. They've crashed through all the cell-cycle checkpoints and are continuously growing and dividing, far outstripping our normal cells. To do this they need to speed up their metabolism.

1 Nov 2012

Nisin may slow or prevent squamous cell head and neck cancers

Nisin, a common food preservative, may slow or stop squamous cell head and neck cancers, a University of Michigan study found.

1 Nov 2012

Clinical hypnosis can effectively reduce hot flashes among postmenopausal women

Clinical hypnosis can effectively reduce hot flashes and associated symptoms among postmenopausal women, according to a new study conducted by researchers at Baylor University's Mind-Body Medicine Research Laboratory.

1 Nov 2012

Transformatix Technologies, NCH partner to create BioLinQ

The latest significant biomedical informatics technology is not coming from the biotech industry or a university. In fact, it's coming from a children's hospital.

1 Nov 2012

Scientists develop new micropump for hand-held medical devices

In an advance toward analyzing blood and urine instantly at a patient's bedside instead of waiting for results from a central laboratory, scientists are reporting development of a new micropump capable of producing pressures almost 500 times higher than the pressure in a car tire. Described in ACS' journal Analytical Chemistry, the pumps are for futuristic "labs-on-a-chip," which reduce entire laboratories to the size of a postage stamp.

1 Nov 2012

Encouraging results from Gilead’s TAF Phase 2 trial on HIV-1 infection

Gilead Sciences, Inc. today announced that a Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating tenofovir alafenamide fumarate, an investigational novel prodrug of tenofovir for the treatment of HIV-1 infection, met its primary objective.

1 Nov 2012

Exosomes alone could protect infants' lungs from dangerous inflammation

Researchers at Boston Children's Hospital have found that microscopic particles containing proteins and nucleic acids called exosomes could potentially protect the fragile lungs of premature babies from serious lung diseases and chronic lung injury caused by inflammation.

1 Nov 2012

Controlling depression can improve health status and social functioning in patients with heart failure

Controlling depression in patients with heart failure can improve health status, social functioning and quality of life, according to a new study by psychiatrists and cardiologists at the UC Davis and Duke University schools of medicine.

1 Nov 2012

Scientists discover first selective inhibitors of DAGL enzymes

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have discovered the first selective inhibitors of an important set of enzymes. The new inhibitors, and chemical probes based on them, now can be used to study the functions of enzymes known as diacylglycerol lipases (DAGL), their products, and the pathways they regulate.

1 Nov 2012

Ceramide might play a leading role in muscle deterioration in older adults

As men and women age, increasing quantities of fat tissue inevitably take up residence in skeletal muscle. A small study of older and younger men conducted at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University suggests that a build-up of a fat molecule known as ceramide might play a leading role in muscle deterioration in older adults.

1 Nov 2012

BWH researchers propose new model that shifts how we think about mindfulness

Achieving mindfulness through meditation has helped people maintain a healthy mind by quelling negative emotions and thoughts, such as desire, anger and anxiety, and encouraging more positive dispositions such as compassion, empathy and forgiveness. Those who have reaped the benefits of mindfulness know that it works. But how exactly does it work?

31 Oct 2012

Thermo Fisher launches Sorvall LYNX superspeed centrifuge series

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., the world leader in serving science, today announced the new Thermo Scientific Sorvall LYNX superspeed centrifuge series, delivering productivity, safety and reliability to maximize everyday centrifuge use in shared laboratory settings.

From Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. 31 Oct 2012

Intravenous catheter replacement: an interview with Claire Rickard

Peripheral intravenous catheters (“IV drips”) are small plastic tubes inserted into veins, most frequently in the hand or arm.

30 Oct 2012

Researchers decode software instructions that drive 3 different forms of acute lymphoblastic leukemia

30 Oct 2012

Scientists discover β2-syntrophin protein as new prognosis marker for prostate cancer

Scientists have discovered a molecular 'tell' in laboratory experiments that could help doctors determine the severity of a patient's prostate cancer.

30 Oct 2012

Scientists decode epigenetic programming of three virulent forms of acute lymphoblastic leukemia

A team of national and international researchers, led by Weill Cornell Medical College scientists, have decoded the key "software" instructions that drive three of the most virulent forms of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). They discovered ALL's "software" is encoded with epigenetic marks, chemical modifications of DNA and surrounding proteins, allowing the research team to identify new potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets.

29 Oct 2012

Botanical treatment holds hope for triple-negative breast cancer

A unique formula made from medicinal mushrooms, traditional Chinese herbs and other natural ingredients inhibits aggressive, human triple-negative breast cancer and breast-to-lung metastasis in mice. This is the third peer-reviewed study to demonstrate the botanical formula's anticancer effects.

29 Oct 2012

The App That's Transforming Blood Banking

An interview with Celia Tombalankian, discussing the benefits of automation in blood banking and the development of a new blood banking app.

From Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics, Inc. 29 Oct 2012

Light-sensitive protein to study Parkinson's disease

Introducing a light-sensitive protein in transgenic nerve cells... transplanting nerve cells into the brains of laboratory animals... inserting an optic fibre in the brain and using it to light up the nerve cells and stimulate them into releasing more dopamine to combat Parkinson's disease...

29 Oct 2012