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Centenary Institute researchers take lead on promising new class of drugs for melanoma treatment

Researchers at Sydney’s Centenary Institute have taken the lead on a promising new class of drugs that may prove to be highly effective for the treatment of certain cases of melanoma.

14 Aug 2015

Prion protein could play a role in depression

The discovery of antidepressant drugs in the 1950s led to the first biochemical hypothesis of depression, known as the monoamine hypothesis. This hypothesis proposes that an imbalance of certain brain chemicals is the key cause of depression.

14 Aug 2015

Neuroscientist discovers how animal's biological clock wakes up, goes to sleep

Fifteen years ago, an odd mutant fruit fly caught the attention and curiosity of Dr. Ravi Allada, a circadian rhythms expert at Northwestern University, leading the neuroscientist to recently discover how an animal's biological clock wakes it up in the morning and puts it to sleep at night.

14 Aug 2015

NSF awards EAGER grant to expand use of temperature-activated protein switches in neurons

Troy Zars, Mirela Milescu, and Lorin Milescu, faculty members of the Division of Biological Sciences and the Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program at the University of Missouri, have been awarded an Early Concept Grant for Exploratory Research (EAGER) from the National Science Foundation to expand the use of a temperature-activated protein switches in neurons. The new technology could lead to a better understanding of brain disorders in humans.

14 Aug 2015

UC San Diego researchers discover cells that regenerate better liver tissue than ordinary liver cells

The mechanisms that allow the liver to repair and regenerate itself have long been a matter of debate. Now researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have discovered a population of liver cells that are better at regenerating liver tissue than ordinary liver cells, or hepatocytes.

14 Aug 2015

Opioids produced by yeast; revealing the potential for cheaper pain relief

Researchers at Stanford University have genetically engineered yeast so it produces hydrocodone, a semi-synthetic opioid analgesic used in the United States for relief of moderate to severe pain.

14 Aug 2015

Low-fat diets better than low-carb diets for weight loss, NIH study finds

In a recent study, restricting dietary fat led to body fat loss at a rate 68 percent higher than cutting the same number of carbohydrate calories when adults with obesity ate strictly controlled diets. Carb restriction lowered production of the fat-regulating hormone insulin and increased fat burning as expected, whereas fat restriction had no observed changes in insulin production or fat burning.

14 Aug 2015

Improved method for building proteins into antibodies

Some proteins exist so fleetingly in the bloodstream that they can't be given effectively as therapies. However, building them into larger proteins, such as antibodies, can make them persist long enough to be useful. Now a team led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) has devised an improved method for accomplishing this protein-engineering feat.

14 Aug 2015

Researchers develop new genomic data set on Lassa virus

An international team of researchers has developed the largest genomic data set in the world on Lassa virus (LASV).

14 Aug 2015

New data assesses actionability of multigene panel testing for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer risk

Multigene testing of women negative for BRCA1 and BRCA2 found some of them harbored other harmful genetic mutations, most commonly moderate-risk breast and ovarian cancer genes and Lynch syndrome genes, which increase ovarian cancer risk, according to an article published online by JAMA Oncology.

14 Aug 2015

3D protein structure reveals new drug targets for cancer, neurodegenerative diseases

Protein Kinase C (PKC) is a family of enzymes that controls the activity of other proteins in a cell by attaching chemical tags. That simple act helps determine cell survival or death.

14 Aug 2015

Rice and UTHealth scientists awarded $1.02 million NSF grant to examine how the brain processes language

The National Science Foundation has awarded a $1.02 million grant to scientists at Rice University and the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Medical School to study how the brain processes language. The joint research may one day help people who lose the ability to communicate.

14 Aug 2015

TSRI-led team devises selection-based, protein-engineering method to work on obesity therapy

Some proteins exist so fleetingly in the bloodstream that they can’t be given effectively as therapies. However, building them into larger proteins, such as antibodies, can make them persist long enough to be useful. Now a team led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute has devised an improved method for accomplishing this protein-engineering feat.

14 Aug 2015

TSRI study reveals ancient roots of Lassa virus and how it has changed over time

Working as part of an international team in North America and West Africa, a researcher at The Scripps Research Institute has published new findings showing the ancient roots of the deadly Lassa virus, a relative of Ebola virus, and how Lassa virus has changed over time.

14 Aug 2015

New study uses big data analytical methods to reveal 'social character' of genes

A new study at the University of Haifa has used "big data" analytical methods to reveal the "social character" of genes - a phenomenon in certain diseases whereby genes operate jointly rather than independently.

14 Aug 2015

Researchers use advanced photodynamic therapy to combat ovarian cancer in laboratory animals

Researchers at Oregon State University have made a significant advance in the use of photodynamic therapy to combat ovarian cancer in laboratory animals, using a combination of techniques that achieved complete cancer cell elimination with no regrowth of tumors.

14 Aug 2015

Playing Tetris for few minutes a day can weaken cravings

Playing Tetris for as little as three minutes at a time can weaken cravings for drugs, food and activities such as sex and sleeping by approximately one fifth, according to new research.

14 Aug 2015

Rush researchers explore new stem cell therapy to treat spinal cord injuries

Researchers at Rush University Medical Center are exploring a new therapy using stem cells to treat spinal cord injuries within the first 14 to 30 days of injury. Rush is only the second center in the country currently studying this new approach.

14 Aug 2015

Researchers help explain how malaria infection increases children's risk of developing Burkitt's lymphoma

In equatorial Africa, a region of the globe known as the "lymphoma belt," children are ten times more likely than in other parts of the world to develop Burkitt's lymphoma, a highly aggressive blood cancer that can be fatal if left untreated. That area is also plagued by high rates of malaria, and scientists have spent the last 50 years trying to understand how the two diseases are connected.

14 Aug 2015

Scientists reveal how non-allergenic pollen mediators can increase allergic reactions

Scientists at Helmholtz Zentrum München and TU München discovered a new mechanism how non-allergenic pollen mediators can enhance allergic reactions. Especially the so-called B cells play a critical role in this process. The results were recently published in the Journal 'Allergy' and might lead to new approaches for therapies.

13 Aug 2015

Medical Science News

Centenary Institute researchers take lead on promising new class of drugs for melanoma treatment

Prion protein could play a role in depression

Neuroscientist discovers how animal's biological clock wakes up, goes to sleep

NSF awards EAGER grant to expand use of temperature-activated protein switches in neurons

UC San Diego researchers discover cells that regenerate better liver tissue than ordinary liver cells

Opioids produced by yeast; revealing the potential for cheaper pain relief

Low-fat diets better than low-carb diets for weight loss, NIH study finds

Improved method for building proteins into antibodies

Researchers develop new genomic data set on Lassa virus

New data assesses actionability of multigene panel testing for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer risk

3D protein structure reveals new drug targets for cancer, neurodegenerative diseases

Rice and UTHealth scientists awarded $1.02 million NSF grant to examine how the brain processes language

TSRI-led team devises selection-based, protein-engineering method to work on obesity therapy

TSRI study reveals ancient roots of Lassa virus and how it has changed over time

New study uses big data analytical methods to reveal 'social character' of genes

Researchers use advanced photodynamic therapy to combat ovarian cancer in laboratory animals

Playing Tetris for few minutes a day can weaken cravings

Rush researchers explore new stem cell therapy to treat spinal cord injuries

Researchers help explain how malaria infection increases children's risk of developing Burkitt's lymphoma

Scientists reveal how non-allergenic pollen mediators can increase allergic reactions

Sensing a Healthier Future

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

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