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New method to harvest stem cells reduces side effects for donors

Australian scientists have developed a new method for harvesting stem cells, which is less invasive and reduces side effects for donors.

16 Mar 2016

Researchers explore problem of obesity from the inside out

In the last 40 years, obesity has more than doubled around the world. In the United States, the average American is more than 24 pounds heavier today than in 1960. Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and the University of Washington are studying the problem of obesity from the inside out.

16 Mar 2016

Cell-based tests reveal no activity in cells exposed to vapour from Vype ePen

A series of cell-based tests developed to compare the biological impact of cigarette smoke with e-cigarette vapour revealed no activity in cells exposed to vapour from Vype ePen, a commercially available e-cigarette.

16 Mar 2016

Theoretical modelling helps to understand interior structures of cubosomes

Under certain conditions appropriately selected particles can form closed surfaces in liquids with surprisingly complex shapes, cutting through space by a regular network of channels. So far, we have looked at cubosomes - for this is what these spectacular three-dimensional nanostructures are called - only from the outside.

16 Mar 2016

Genetic study in Sub-Saharan Africa hopes to provide new information about etiology of prostate cancer

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers are leading a multicenter genetic study of prostate cancer in Sub-Saharan Africa to try to find new information about the genetic etiology of prostate cancer

16 Mar 2016

MicroRNA can help combat obesity and diabetes

Obesity, which is associated with low-grade inflammation, is an important contributor in the development of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. While the role of several organs including adipose tissue have been implicated in this process, the cell types and factors driving this process have not been clear.

16 Mar 2016

Global research links genes to five common, hard-to-treat inflammatory diseases

A global study involving 50 different research centres has found hundreds of genes which cause five common, hard-to-treat and debilitating inflammatory diseases, paving the way to new treatments for these conditions

16 Mar 2016

Omega-3 fatty acids improve cognitive function in older adults

Changes in cognitive function and memory decline form a normal part of aging. However, in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease or mild cognitive impairment (the pre-dementia phase of Alzheimer's disease), these changes occur more quickly. There are currently no effective treatments for these diseases.

16 Mar 2016

Scientists explore new strategies to prevent onset of type 1 diabetes

Type 1 diabetes affects 30,000 individuals throughout Germany and is the most common metabolic disease in children and adolescents. To halt the ever-increasing incidence, the young investigator group "Immunological Tolerance in Type 1 Diabetes" at the Institute of Diabetes Research directed by Prof. Dr. Anette-Gabriele Ziegler is exploring new strategies to prevent the onset of the disease.

16 Mar 2016

Blocking Mena protein could help prevent cancer metastasis, says MIT researcher

A new study from MIT reveals how cancer cells take some of their first steps away from their original tumor sites. This spread, known as metastasis, is responsible for 90 percent of cancer deaths.

16 Mar 2016

ROBO1 protein may delay progression of breast cancer

A protein called ROBO1 may delay the progression of breast cancer, according to a paper published in The Journal of Cell Biology. The study, "Loss of miR-203 regulates cell shape and matrix adhesion through ROBO1/Rac/FAK in response to stiffness" by Lily Thao-Nhi Le and colleagues, identifies a signaling pathway that may protect breast cells from the tumorigenic effects of stiff extracellular matrices.

16 Mar 2016

Diet-induced obesity, diabetes can be epigenetically inherited by offspring, say scientists

Scientists at Helmholtz Zentrum München, in collaboration with researchers from Technical University of Munich and the German Center for Diabetes Research, have shown that diet-induced obesity and diabetes can be epigenetically inherited by the offspring via both the oocytes and the sperm.

16 Mar 2016

Study: New SARS-like WIV1-CoV virus poised to infect humans

A SARS-like virus found in Chinese horseshoe bats may be poised to infect humans without the need for adaptation, overcoming an initial barrier that could potentially set the stage for an outbreak according to a study at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

16 Mar 2016

Decreased dietary diversity linked to reduced microbiotic richness

Changes in farming practices over the last 50 years have resulted in decreased agro-diversity which, in turn, has resulted in decreased dietary diversity. The significant impact of this change in dietary richness on human health is the topic of an insightful perspective in Molecular Metabolism by Mark Heiman, MicroBiome Therapeutics and Frank Greenway, Pennington Biomedical Research Center

15 Mar 2016

Researchers describe antibiotic resistance as either selfish or co-operative

Trace concentrations of antibiotic, such as those found in sewage outfalls, are enough to enable bacteria to keep antibiotic resistance, new research from the University of York has found. The concentrations are much lower than previously anticipated, and help to explain why antibiotic resistance is so persistent in the environment.

15 Mar 2016

MU researchers discover microbiome that may be linked to male reproductive disorders

Research shows that bacteria can be beneficial to body processes such as digestion; however, some bacteria housed in the human body may cause disease. These specialized communities of bacteria in the body are known as microbiomes.

15 Mar 2016

Learning complex tactile tasks activates the visual cortex

Biology lessons teach us that the brain is divided into separate areas, each of which processes a specific sense. But findings to be published in eLife show we can supercharge it to be more flexible.

15 Mar 2016

Researchers provide new mechanism for age-related macular degeneration

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of visual impairment in people over 50 in developed countries. Although this condition affects up to 20% of people between the ages of 65 and 75, what drives abnormal blood vessels to invade the retina is unknown.

15 Mar 2016

UCSF study marks important step toward finding cure for Ebola

In experiments carried out partly at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, scientists have determined in atomic detail how a potential drug molecule fits into and blocks a channel in cell membranes that Ebola and related "filoviruses" need to infect victims' cells.

15 Mar 2016

HIV drug could delay drug resistance, making skin cancer treatment effective for longer time

An HIV drug could stop one of the early changes in skin cancer cells that leads to them becoming resistant to treatment, according to a Cancer Research UK-funded study published in Cancer Cell today

15 Mar 2016