Microscopy News and Research

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Cigarette smoke may reshape the left ventricle

Prolonged exposure to cigarette smoke can increase levels of the stress hormone norepinephrine and enzymes in the heart that have the potential to reshape the left ventricle, according to new research at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

16 Nov 2008

New method of viewing cancer cells shows how breast cancer spreads

In a breakthrough study appearing in advance online publication of Nature Methods, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University describe for the first time a method of viewing individual breast cancer cells for several days at a time.

12 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

Visualizing asthma-causing immune cells at work

Immune cells known as eosinophils have a central role in causing asthma.

7 Nov 2008

Researchers screen 700 molecules by RNAi to identify host factors involved in malaria infection

The researchers of the Malaria Unit at Instituto de Medicina Molecular (IMM, Lisbon, Portugal) publish in the peer reviewed journal PLoS Pathogens the results of a large scale screening of more than 700 genes to identify host factors involved in the liver stage of malaria infection.

7 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

Accelr8 announces study results with BACcel diagnostic system for broad resistance in gram-negative pathogens

Accelr8 Technology Corporation announced study results today that were presented at the joint sessions of the 48 th Annual Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC, www.icaac.org) and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA, www.idsociety.org), October 25-29 in Washington, DC.

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

Brain development takes an unexpected bend

Organs, such as the brain or the heart, are not simply collections of the correct types of cells that are required for their function. If these cells are not organized and shaped properly, the organ simply does not function. One crucial part of this organization is to bend sheets of connected cells ("epithelia") so that they form a structure that is an integral part of the functional organ.

4 Nov 2008

Scientists step closer to finding a defense against superbugs

A discovery from the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation has put scientists are one step closer to finding a defense against dangerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria, sometimes called "superbugs."

4 Nov 2008

Discovery of biomarkers for esophageal cancer before it develops

Rhode Island Hospital researchers have identified genetic proteins, also known as biomarkers, capable of distinguishing changes at the microscopic level that can signal a precancerous condition in the esophagus.

4 Nov 2008

DIY high-tech microscope

A resourceful lecturer at the University of Essex has turned his hand to a spot of DIY and built a high-tech microscope that will transform the university's ability to undertake specialist medical and biological research.

3 Nov 2008

How the Nodal gene family keeps the heart in the right (asymmetric) place

Asymmetry is crucial for the heart proper functioning, and now, scientists from the Institute Gulbenkian of Science in Portugal and Harvard University, have discovered that a family of genes, called Nodal, is crucial determining this asymmetry by controlling the speed and direction of the heart muscle cells during embryonic development.

2 Nov 2008

Good genes behaving badly behind type 1 diabetes

Investigators combing the genome in the hope of finding genetic variants responsible for triggering early-onset diabetes may be looking in the wrong place, new research at the Stanford University School of Medicine suggests.

31 Oct 2008

Seeing nanotubes targeting tumors in vivo

Carbon nanotubes have significant potential for delivering both imaging and therapeutic agents to tumors, but there is still a need to better quantify how well these rolled-up sheets of graphite can target tumors.

27 Oct 2008

New technique sees into tissue at greater depth, resolution

By coupling a kicked-up version of microscopy with gold nanoparticles, investigators at Duke University have been able to peer so deeply into living tissue that they can see molecules interacting.

27 Oct 2008

Aperio awarded patent for use of TDI arrays in microscope slide scanners

Aperio Technologies, Inc. announced today that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued the company patent No. 7,428,324 entitled "System and Method for Data Management in a Linear-array based Microscope Slide Scanner."

13 Oct 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

Funding boost for Alzheimer's research in Bristol

Researchers at the University of Bristol are about to start work on new projects investigating the causes of Alzheimer's disease.

12 Oct 2008

Molecule provides new understanding of cause of colon cancer

Scientists investigating a molecule known to play a key role in causing colon cancer have made a series of ground-breaking discoveries that could have major implications for future treatment of the disease, responsible for 655,000 deaths worldwide per year. Their findings are published in the journal Cancer Research.

30 Sep 2008