Petri Dish News and Research

RSS

Scientists use two methods to manipulate disease-causing mutations in stem cells

Using two distinct methods, Whitehead Institute researchers have successfully and consistently manipulated targeted genes in both human embryonic stem (ES) cells and induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells.

16 Jul 2011

New technique may help scientists understand how neuronal circuits work

Machine logic is based on human logic. But although a computer processor can be dissembled and dissected in logical steps, the same is not true for the way our brains process information, says Mark Shein of Tel Aviv University's School of Electrical Engineering.

13 Jul 2011

Pill for rare ageing disease on the horizon

Scientists have found that a drug used in transplant patients could reverse the effects of premature ageing and extend human life by over 10 years.

1 Jul 2011

Scientists observe key aspects of how memory circuits in the brain refine themselves

Scientists at the University of Michigan Health System have for the first time demonstrated how memory circuits in the brain refine themselves in a living organism through two distinct types of competition between cells.

23 Jun 2011

Scientists coax tumor cells to grow into 3-D spheres

A team of scientists has developed a way to coax tumor cells in the lab to grow into 3-D spheres. Their discovery takes advantage of an earlier technique of producing spherical cavities in a common polymer and promises more accurate tests of new cancer therapies.

10 Jun 2011

International team identifies key protein in development of drug-resistant leukemia

Now an international team led by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco and joined by scientists of the Freiburg excellence cluster BIOSS - Centre for Biological Signalling Studies, has identified a protein called BCL6 which plays a key role in the development of drug-resistance in leukemia.

20 May 2011

New test can diagnose deadly human fungal infections

Deadly human fungal infections caused by certain strains of Aspergillus fungi appear to be developing resistance to current drug treatments at an alarming rate, say scientists.

5 May 2011

Scientists weaken long-term memory

Could veterans of war, rape victims and other people who have seen horrific crimes someday have the traumatic memories that haunt them weakened in their brains? In a new study, UCLA life scientists report a discovery that may make the reduction of such memories a reality.

28 Apr 2011

Low-cost colorimetric sensing array identifies bacterial infections

Bacterial infections really stink. And that could be the key to a fast diagnosis.

28 Apr 2011

Blueberries may help fight obesity

Recently a study out of the Texas Women's University looked at whether blueberries with their high polyphenol content could help in fighting obesity. Blueberries after all have already been cited as having positive health effects on other conditions like cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome. The study was conducted in Petri dishes (not live animals) using a blueberry polyphenol extract and tissue cultures from mice.

27 Apr 2011

New nonviral method to create cardiac cells

Johns Hopkins scientists have developed a simplified, cheaper, all-purpose method they say can be used by scientists around the globe to more safely turn blood cells into heart cells. The method is virus-free and produces heart cells that beat with nearly 100 percent efficiency, they claim.

11 Apr 2011

CFN scientists develop 2-component polymer scaffolds for controlled 3-D cell culture

At Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), researchers of the DFG Center for Functional Nanostructures (CFN) succeeded in specifically cultivating cells on three-dimensional structures. The fascinating thing is that the cells are offered small "holds" in the micrometer range on the scaffold, to which they can adhere. Adhesion is possible to these holds only, not to the remaining structure.

7 Apr 2011

NCI awards Case Western Reserve with $1.6 million grant for cancer research

Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine has received a $1.6 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to study how tumor cells avoid detection by the body's immune system, allowing cancer to develop and spread.

1 Apr 2011

Researchers can grow and manipulate personalized gut microbes in laboratory

Each of us carries a unique collection of trillions of friendly microbes in our intestines that helps break down food our bodies otherwise couldn't digest.

22 Mar 2011

Study unravels molecular mechanism of biomolecule RNA that plays dynamic regulatory role in protein selection

If a big bunch of your brain cells suddenly went rogue and decided to become fat cells, it could cloud your decision-making capacity a bit. Fortunately, early in an organism's development, cells make firm and more-or-less permanent decisions about whether they will live their lives as, say, skin cells, brain cells or, well, fat cells.

21 Mar 2011

Scientific advances at Scripps Research lay foundation for new lupus drug Benlysta

Scientific advances at The Scripps Research Institute were key to laying the foundation for the new drug Benlysta® (belimumab), approved today by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Benlysta®, which treats the most common type of lupus, is the first in a new class of pharmaceuticals that prevents the body from attacking its own critical tissues.

11 Mar 2011

Trade name ‘The Stem Cell Group’ registered for Celulas Genetica

Emerging Healthcare Solutions, Inc. announced today that it registered a trade name, "The Stem Cell Group," for use in marketing and branding its subsidiary company, Celulas Genetica.

9 Mar 2011

Heterotaxin useful for studying intestinal birth defects may also inhibit cancerous tumor growth

In an interesting bit of scientific serendipity, researchers at North Carolina State University have found that a chemical compound useful for studying the origins of intestinal birth defects may also inhibit the growth and spread of cancerous tumors.

1 Mar 2011

Researchers identify probiotic bacterial strain that may treat ulcers caused by H. pylori

Researchers from Spain have identified a strain of probiotic bacteria that may be useful in treating ulcers caused by Helicobacter pylori. They report their findings in the February 2011 issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

25 Feb 2011

Rare heart defect reproduced in petri dish, hope for cure

U.S. researchers have created beating heart cells in the lab with the same heart defect using skin cells taken from children with a rare heart defect. This means they can now test new drugs in human cells instead of mice.

13 Feb 2011