Microscopy News and Research

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Ductal lavage is not an effective method for detecting breast cancer

Ductal lavage--a method used to collect cells from the milk ducts of the breast--has been proposed as a screening tool for cancer detection because ducts that yield fluid were thought to be more likely to contain cancer cells.

21 Oct 2004

Research shows brain cells move like a two-stroke engine

Following the often-quoted advice of Yogi Berra — "You can observe a lot by just watching" — Rockefeller University scientists show that nerve cells in the developing brains of humans and other mammals move in a two-part "step" led by a structure within the cell called the centrosome.

13 Oct 2004

Robotic microscope shows how mutant Huntington's disease protein affects neurons

Using a specially designed robotic microscope to study cultured cells, researchers have found evidence that abnormal protein clumps called inclusion bodies in neurons from people with Huntington's disease (HD) prevent cell death.

13 Oct 2004

Researchers analyze the mechanisms and proteins that underlie mitochondria

New findings explaining the complicated process by which the "energy substations" of human cells split apart and recombine may lay the groundwork for new treatment approaches to a wide range of diseases, including some cancers and neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.

12 Oct 2004

Carbon nanotubes offer a new approach to gene therapy

Many genes that are related to particular diseases have now been identified. Scientists are trying to use this knowledge to treat diseases.

11 Oct 2004

First use of technology called ubiquitin-mediated fluorescence complementation to study a cell-signaling mechanism called ubiquitination

Researchers at the University of Michigan Medical School and Howard Hughes Medical Institute have found a way to see proteins in cells that have been tagged by a molecular “sticky note” called ubiquitin.

8 Oct 2004

In a world first, scientists have successfully grown square bacteria in the lab

In a world first, Australian scientists have successfully grown an unusual square-shaped bacterium found in salt lakes that has mystified scientists for a quarter of a century.

7 Oct 2004

Novel compound that resembles vitamin E halves the size of tumors and the ability of cancer to spread

By studying cancer in mice, researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have gained preliminary evidence that a novel compound that resembles vitamin E halves the size of tumors and the ability of cancer to spread to other body sites.

30 Sep 2004

Half of sildenafil samples purchased on the internet were fake

Around half of the Viagra samples purchased on the Internet were counterfeit, according to researchers who are today announcing a new technique that detects counterfeit medicines at the British Pharmaceutical Conference.

27 Sep 2004

Amyloid growth can occur independently of oligomers

Improperly folded proteins are normally destroyed. But in a wide range of diseases, including prion (from proteinaceous and infectious) diseases and neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson disease and Alzheimer disease, amyloid fibrils, or plaques--misshapen proteins that aggregate into characteristic ropelike configurations--accumulate in tissue.

22 Sep 2004

Microdebrider better than CO2 laser for removal of most pediatric airway lesions

Citing improved safety and effectiveness at lower cost, a major medical center has adopted the microdebrider to replace the CO2 laser for removal of most pediatric airway lesions, including stenoses, granulation tissue, and cysts.

18 Sep 2004

Jellyfish advance science

Salmon fishermen trolling along the waters off Puget Sound in Washington are often witness to an awesome sight when they haul in their catch: salmon captured in nets that glow brilliantly against the nighttime sky.

16 Sep 2004

Protein that causes juvenile Batten disease also plays a key role in normal cell function

The aberrant protein that causes juvenile Batten disease, a fatal neurodegenerative disorder of childhood, also plays a key role in normal cell function, Duke University Medical Center researchers have found.

16 Sep 2004

Researchers have discovered a possible way to distinguish lethal from localized prostate cancers

If future studies show their test -- measuring the level of activity of a signaling pathway called Hedgehog -- can predict which prostate cancers will spread, the results could revolutionize decision making processes for prostate cancer patients, the researchers say.

13 Sep 2004

New Zealand initiative to widen biotech industry

An initiative aimed at addressing the need for well-rounded, enterprise-savvy biotech scientists in New Zealand, will be launched at The University of Auckland next week.

10 Sep 2004

Study provides insight on how DNA code is turned into instructions for protein construction

A team of scientists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Weizmann Institute of Science has revealed the structure of a cellular editor that “cuts and pastes” the first draft of RNA straight after it is formed from its DNA template.

9 Sep 2004

International research sheds light on Escherichia coli

An unprecedented picture of how bacteria latch on to human cells has been published by UK, French and US scientists. They have produced a finely detailed model of one of the tools used by some of the nastiest varieties of the stomach bug, Escherichia coli, to stick to and gain entry to host cells.

1 Sep 2004

Ultra-sensitive measurement technique shows how biomolecular motors carry out essential tasks

In the human body, hundreds of different types of biomolecular motors help carry out such essential tasks as muscle contraction, moving chromosomes during cell division, and reloading nerve cells so they can repeatedly fire.

30 Aug 2004

High-resolution images reveal the molecular rearrangements that rotavirus uses to break into cells

High-resolution images constructed by researchers at Children's Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School reveal the molecular rearrangements that rotavirus – the most common cause of severe, dehydrating diarrhea and vomiting in children worldwide – uses to break into cells.

25 Aug 2004

Embryonic stem cell therapy show benefits in rebuilding damaged heart

Despite improvements in earlier diagnosis and treatment, cardiovascular disease is far and away the leading cause of death in the U.S. and the world.

18 Aug 2004