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Johns Hopkins researchers discover role of TDP-43 protein in autopsy brain cells of patients with ALS

Autopsies of nearly every patient with the lethal neurodegenerative disorder amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and many with frontotemporal dementia (FTD), show pathologists telltale clumps of a protein called TDP-43. Now, working with mouse and human cells, Johns Hopkins researchers report they have discovered the normal role of TDP-43 in cells and why its abnormal accumulation may cause disease.

7 Aug 2015

Study: Dietary carbohydrate essential for evolution of modern big-brained humans

Understanding how and why we evolved such large brains is one of the most puzzling issues in the study of human evolution. It is widely accepted that brain size increase is partly linked to changes in diet over the last 3 million years, and increases in meat consumption and the development of cooking have received particular attention from the scientific community.

7 Aug 2015

Scientists publish new important clues about marrow fat

While most of us worry about the fat cells building up on the fleshy parts of our bodies, scientists have started to pay serious attention to another kind of fat cell deep inside our bones, in what's called the marrow.

7 Aug 2015

Researchers identify genome-organizing mechanism that transmits vital genetic materials during mitosis

Chromosomes are responsible for carrying our genes and essentially protecting the information that helps ensure normal, healthy growth, with vital instructions being passed on from cell to cell by a process known as mitosis. While this copying mechanism has been well understood for decades, scientists have been unable to describe exactly how genetic information is protected and properly segregated as mitosis is happening.

7 Aug 2015

Researcher reveals link between inflammatory response of neutrophils and spread of oral cancer

An abnormal immune response or "feedback loop" could very well be the underlying cause of metastases in oral cancers, according to Dr. Marco Magalhaes, Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Dentistry and lead researcher in a study published in the journal Cancer Immunology Research.

7 Aug 2015

Study may lead to effective antimicrobial treatment strategies for people with uncontrolled diabetes

Case Western Reserve scientists may have uncovered a molecular mechanism that sets into motion dangerous infection in the feet and hands often occurring with uncontrolled diabetes. It appears that high blood sugar unleashes destructive molecules that interfere with the body's natural infection-control defenses.

7 Aug 2015

UNC researchers show how a genetic mutation disables molecular switch and causes autism

Last December, researchers identified more than 1,000 gene mutations in individuals with autism, but how these mutations increased risk for autism was unclear. Now, UNC School of Medicine researchers are the first to show how one of these mutations disables a molecular switch in one of these genes and causes autism.

7 Aug 2015

BIDMC scientists discover new vitamin B3 pathway that regulates liver metabolism

Researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center have identified a new vitamin B3 pathway that regulates liver metabolism. The discovery provides an opportunity to pursue the development of novel drug therapies to address obesity, type 2 diabetes and related metabolic diseases.

7 Aug 2015

Experimental Ebola virus vaccine protects cynomolgus macaques against current EBOV outbreak strain

National Institutes of Health scientists report that a single dose of an experimental Ebola virus (EBOV) vaccine completely protects cynomolgus macaques against the current EBOV outbreak strain, EBOV-Makona, when given at least seven days before exposure, and partially protects them if given three days prior.

7 Aug 2015

USC researchers develop yeast model to study gene mutation that disrupts DNA duplication

Researchers at USC have developed a yeast model to study a gene mutation that disrupts the duplication of DNA, causing massive damage to a cell's chromosomes, while somehow allowing the cell to continue dividing.

7 Aug 2015

New fly model developed to study motor neuron degeneration

Researchers at the Babraham Institute and University of Massachusetts Medical School in the United States have developed a new model to study motor neuron degeneration and have used this to identify three genes involved in the neurodegeneration process. These findings could have relevance for understanding the progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other forms of motor neuron disease (MND).

7 Aug 2015

Einstein and Montefiore researchers receive $1.2 million grant to advance spinal cord injury research

Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System have received a $1.2 million grant from New York State to advance their promising technology for treating paralysis and other effects of spinal cord injuries (SCI).

7 Aug 2015

FAU researchers identify endogenous process that controls reproduction of cardiac muscle cells

Heart failure is the most common cause of death worldwide. The main reason for this is that damage to the human heart causes cardiac muscle cells to die, which in turn leads to reduced heart function and death. However, this is not the case for zebrafish or amphibians. If their hearts become damaged and cardiac muscle cells die, their remaining cardiac muscle cells can reproduce, allowing the heart to regenerate.

7 Aug 2015

Scientific consensus paper highlights health benefits of UV exposure and vitamin D

The Journal of the American College of Nutrition is pleased to offer Open Access to a scientific consensus paper, Sunlight and Vitamin D: Necessary for Public Health, authored by scientists from the University of California, San Diego, Creighton University, Boston University Medical Center, and the Medical University of South Carolina, along with other research contributors.

7 Aug 2015

Scientists develop biosensor to measure abnormal activity of cell 'fuel' carrier

To be able to function, cell mitochondria import "fuel" using a carrier, the Mitochondrial Pyruvate Carrier (MPC). In order to determine whether the MPC is still functional in malignant cells, the team of Professor Jean-Claude Martinou, at the University of Geneva, Switzerland, has just developed a biosensor to measure its live activity.

7 Aug 2015

Researchers develop new technology to track DNA-protein binding in live cells

Researchers have developed a new technology that precisely marks where groups of regulatory proteins called transcription factors bind DNA in the nuclei of live cells.

7 Aug 2015

TSRI study shows antioxidants slow aging process, reduce risk of infection

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have shown how aging cripples the production of new immune cells, decreasing the immune system’s response to vaccines and putting the elderly at risk of infection.

7 Aug 2015

NFIX protein drives NSC differentiation toward oligodendrocytes

An international team of researchers has shown that NFIX, a protein that regulates neuronal stem cell activity (NSC), also has a role in driving NSC differentiation toward oligodendrocytes, a type of glial cell. These cells produce the myelin that surrounds and protects neurons.

7 Aug 2015

Study: Men's and women's ideas of perfect mate differ due to evolutionary pressures

Men's and women's ideas of the perfect mate differ significantly due to evolutionary pressures, according to a cross-cultural study on multiple mate preferences by psychologists at The University of Texas at Austin.

7 Aug 2015

WPI awarded NIH grant to explore ways to turn genetic tables against cancer

Taking aim at the fundamental biology of cancer cells, the National Institutes of Health has awarded $747,000 to Worcester Polytechnic Institute for a three-year research project to explore the molecular mechanisms associated with the genetic mutations and chromosome instability observed in all cancer cells.

7 Aug 2015

Medical Science News

Johns Hopkins researchers discover role of TDP-43 protein in autopsy brain cells of patients with ALS

Study: Dietary carbohydrate essential for evolution of modern big-brained humans

Scientists publish new important clues about marrow fat

Researchers identify genome-organizing mechanism that transmits vital genetic materials during mitosis

Researcher reveals link between inflammatory response of neutrophils and spread of oral cancer

Study may lead to effective antimicrobial treatment strategies for people with uncontrolled diabetes

UNC researchers show how a genetic mutation disables molecular switch and causes autism

BIDMC scientists discover new vitamin B3 pathway that regulates liver metabolism

Experimental Ebola virus vaccine protects cynomolgus macaques against current EBOV outbreak strain

USC researchers develop yeast model to study gene mutation that disrupts DNA duplication

New fly model developed to study motor neuron degeneration

Einstein and Montefiore researchers receive $1.2 million grant to advance spinal cord injury research

FAU researchers identify endogenous process that controls reproduction of cardiac muscle cells

Scientific consensus paper highlights health benefits of UV exposure and vitamin D

Scientists develop biosensor to measure abnormal activity of cell 'fuel' carrier

Researchers develop new technology to track DNA-protein binding in live cells

TSRI study shows antioxidants slow aging process, reduce risk of infection

NFIX protein drives NSC differentiation toward oligodendrocytes

Study: Men's and women's ideas of perfect mate differ due to evolutionary pressures

WPI awarded NIH grant to explore ways to turn genetic tables against cancer

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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