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Anesthetics interfere with certain proteins in excitatory neurons that transmit signals

Anesthetics have been used in surgical procedures for more than 150 years, but the mechanisms by which inhaled anesthesia actually work are poorly understood. Now, researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine have discovered that anesthetics bind to and interfere with certain proteins in excitatory neurons, which are necessary for these neurons to transmit signals involved in anesthesia and the perception of pain.

18 Mar 2015

International researchers reveal significance of water for functional protein dynamics

An international team of researchers from the CEA, the CNRS, the Institut Laue-Langevin, the Jülich Centre for Neutron Science, the University of California Irvine, the Australian Institute of Science and Technology Organisation, the Max Planck Institute Mülheim and the University of Perugia has shed light on the molecular mechanism behind the importance of water for functional protein dynamics.

18 Mar 2015

Study offers new neurological explanation for variability in roundworm's brain activity

Even worms have free will. If offered a delicious smell, for example, a roundworm will usually stop its wandering to investigate the source, but sometimes it won't. Just as with humans, the same stimulus does not always provoke the same response, even from the same individual. New research at Rockefeller University, published online today (March 12) in Cell, offers a new neurological explanation for this variability, derived by studying a simple three-cell network within the roundworm brain.

18 Mar 2015

Researchers develop new AFM system for imaging structural dynamics of living cells, neurons

While progress has been made over the past decades in the pursuit to optimize atomic force microscopy (AFM) for imaging living cells, there were still a number of limitations and technological issues that needed to be addressed before fundamental questions in cell biology could be address in living cells.

18 Mar 2015

New drug-like molecule shows promise in preventing MS progression

Walter and Eliza Hall Institute scientists have developed a new drug-like molecule that can halt inflammation and has shown promise in preventing the progression of multiple sclerosis (MS).

17 Mar 2015

Researchers find that exercise may slow tumor growth, improve chemotherapy

One way many cancers grow resistant to treatment is by generating a web of blood vessels that are so jumbled they fail to provide adequate oxygen to the tumor. With oxygen starvation, the tumor gains a sort of cloaking device that protects it from the toxic effects of chemotherapy drugs and radiation, which are designed to seek out well-oxygenated tissue.

17 Mar 2015

Researchers team up to study stomach flu

Rice University bioengineers are teaming with colleagues from Baylor College of Medicine and MD Anderson Cancer Center to apply the latest techniques in tissue engineering toward the study of one of the most common and deadly human illnesses -- the stomach flu.

17 Mar 2015

CUMC researchers identify mechanism of kidney transplant tolerance

Columbia University Medical Center researchers have pinpointed the immune system mechanism that allows a kidney transplant to be accepted without lifelong immunosuppressive drugs, a significant step toward reducing or eliminating the need for costly and potentially toxic immunosuppressant drugs and improving long-term transplant success.

17 Mar 2015

Penn researchers find evidence of new culprit in colon cancer

Colon cancer is a heavily studied disease -- and for good reason. It is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide, and its numbers are on the rise, from 500,00 deaths in 1990 to 700,000 in 2010.

17 Mar 2015

Researchers identify new gene variants that could contribute to sporadic motor neurone disease

Researchers have identified a new host of gene variants that could make people vulnerable to sporadic motor neurone disease, according to a report published today in the journal, Scientific Reports.

17 Mar 2015

Ludwig researchers establish proof of concept for new approach to drug design

Exploring the fundamental mechanism by which a cell-surface receptor transmits its signal, an international team of Ludwig researchers and their colleagues has established proof of concept for an entirely new approach to drug design. They report that a class of synthetic molecules known as diabodies can, from outside the cell, latch onto a target receptor and manipulate it in such a manner as to induce distinct and varying effects within cells and tissues.

17 Mar 2015

Study finds direct evidence of gadolinium deposition in neuronal tissues following contrast-enhanced MRI exams

Mayo Clinic research finds direct evidence of gadolinium deposition in neuronal tissues following intravenous administration of gadolinium-based contrast agents used in MRI exams. The findings were recently published online in the journal Radiology.

17 Mar 2015

TSRI scientists confirm ribosome assembly as new target for anti-cancer drugs

Ribosomes, ancient molecular machines that produce proteins in cells, are required for cell growth in all organisms, accomplishing strikingly complex tasks with apparent ease. But defects in the assembly process and its regulation can lead to serious biological problems, including cancer.

17 Mar 2015

Comprehensive review of sex hormones' role in female reproductive tract

Charles R. Wira, PhD, and colleagues at Dartmouth's Geisel School of Medicine have presented a comprehensive review of the role of sex hormones in the geography of the female reproductive tract and evidence supporting a "window of vulnerability" to HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

17 Mar 2015

Study defines new subtype of 'lethal' prostate cancer

A University of Colorado Cancer Center study published in the journal Cancer Research defines a new, distinct subtype of "lethal" prostate cancer marked by the loss of two genes, MAP3K7 and CHD1. Overall about 10 percent of men with prostate cancer will die from the disease.

16 Mar 2015

People’s health at the centre of new global blueprint to reduce disaster risks

Ten years since adopting the Hyogo Framework for Action shortly after the Indian Ocean Tsunami, government representatives have gathered in Sendai to negotiate a new framework for global action to reduce the risks of disasters. For the first time, protecting people's health is at the centre of such a framework.

16 Mar 2015

World Health Organisation (WHO) joins with ESCMID to fight global infections

The European Society for Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) has been joined by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to launch the 7th annual ‘International Day for Fighting Infection’ (April 24th, 2015).

16 Mar 2015

Fast and focused sequencing from single genes to entire exomes

Integrated DNA Technologies (IDT) will host a talk on maximizing efficiency of NGS enrichment panels at the qPCR & NGS 2015 Advanced Molecular Diagnostics for Biomarker Discovery Symposium on Monday March 23rd at 3PM. The talk will detail current technical issues faced by researchers when using hybridization enrichment panels and provide practical advice on how to increase successes while reducing time and costs in targeted sequencing.

From Integrated DNA Technologies 16 Mar 2015

Experts call for a tobacco-free world by 2040

Leading public health researchers have called for the sale of tobacco to be phased out by 2040, showing that with sufficient political support and stronger evidence-based action against the tobacco industry, a tobacco-free world – where less than 5% of adults use tobacco – could be possible in less than three decades.

16 Mar 2015

Two American scientists receive Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize

Two American scientists, James P. Allison and Carl H. June, will today receive the Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize in the Paulskirche in Frankfurt. Both give the patient's own immune system the lasting ability to fight cancer, Allison against late stage melanoma, June against leukemia.

16 Mar 2015