Medical Science News

RSS

Researchers examine relationship between vitamin D deficiency and cognitive impairment

Vitamin D deficiency and cognitive impairment are common in older adults, but there isn't a lot of conclusive research into whether there's a relationship between the two.

16 Apr 2014

Measurement of calcium in coronary arteries can predict heart disease risk

With growing evidence that a measurement of the buildup of calcium in coronary arteries can predict heart disease risk, Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute (LA BioMed) researchers found that the process of "calcium scoring" was also accurate in predicting the chances of dying of heart disease among adults with little or no known risk of heart disease.

16 Apr 2014

New mouse model breakthrough for Alzheimer's disease research

Alzheimer's disease, the primary cause of dementia in the elderly, imposes a tremendous social and economic burden on modern society. In Japan, the burden of the disease in 2050 is estimated to be a half a trillion US dollars, a figure equivalent to the government's annual revenues.

15 Apr 2014

Irvine Scientific announces launch of BalanCD MDCK cell culture medium

Irvine Scientific is pleased to announce the launch of its BalanCD MDCK cell culture medium, a next generation cell culture product responding to today's requirements for media used in cell-based vaccine manufacturing. This new flagship product expands Irvine Scientific's current BalanCD product portfolio of animal component-free and chemically-defined media with the addition of a new purpose-built product.

15 Apr 2014

Researchers identify new Chinese herbal medicine that inhibits hepatitis C virus activity

Data from a late-breaking abstract presented at the International Liver CongressTM 2014 identifies a new compound, SBEL1, that has the ability to inhibit hepatitis C virus (HCV) activity in cells at several points in the virus' lifecycle.

15 Apr 2014

TSRI announces formation of Scripps Advance

The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) today announced the formation of Scripps Advance, a new drug discovery initiative to translate early-stage biomedical research projects, both internal and external to TSRI, into clinical development candidates.

15 Apr 2014

New technique of single-cell genomic analysis to reverse tissue engineering

Consider the marvel of the embryo. It begins as a glob of identical cells that change shape and function as they multiply to become the cells of our lungs, muscles, nerves and all the other specialized tissues of the body.

15 Apr 2014

New study identifies potential target for colorectal cancer treatment

A new study identifies a molecule that is a probable driving force in colorectal cancer and suggests that the molecule could be an important target for colorectal cancer treatment and a valuable biomarker of tumor progression.

15 Apr 2014

Engineers develop tools to efficiently analyze living cells

For more than a decade Chang Lu, associate professor of chemical engineering at Virginia Tech, has worked on the development of tools to efficiently analyze living cells. The long-term goal is to gain a better understanding of a range of diseases.

15 Apr 2014

Researchers investigate role of microRNAs in breast cancer cells

Metastasis — the spreading of cancer cells from a primary tumor site to other parts of the body — generally leads to poorer outcomes for patients, so oncologists and researchers are constantly seeking new ways to detect and thwart this malicious process.

15 Apr 2014

Hospital sees success by temporarily connecting major blood vessels

Doctors at Henry Ford Hospital reached a medical milestone April 3, performing the 25th successful transcatheter valve replacement using a novel way to access the heart.

15 Apr 2014

1/4 human tumor exist genetic polymorphisms linked with increased risk of cancer

In 10% of human tumors there is a family history of hereditary disease associated with mutations in identified genes. The best examples are the cases of polyps in the large intestine associated with the APC gene and breast cancer associated with BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes.

11 Apr 2014

Researchers identify eight new active molecules against Alzheimer

Researchers of the Unit of Medicine Design and Molecular Topology (Department of Physics Chemistry) of the University of Valencia have discovered eight new active molecules against Alzheimer by a novel mechanism of action, different to the currently used medicines. The work has just been published in the "Plos One" magazine.

11 Apr 2014

Study suggests nestin+ cholinergic neurons may have closer connection to olfactory bulb neurons

Dr. Yuhong Zhao and co-workers from Sun Yat-sen University in China explored the projection of nestin+ neurons to the olfactory bulb and the time course of nestin+ neurons in the medial septum-diagonal band of Broca in adult rats during injury recovery after olfactory nerve transection.

11 Apr 2014

Researchers uncover new aspect of autism

A team of researchers from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the Center for Cancer Systems Biology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute has uncovered a new aspect of autism, revealing that proteins involved in autism interact with many more partners than previously known. These interactions had not been detected earlier because they involve alternatively spliced forms of autism genes found in the brain.

11 Apr 2014

Scientists report first human recipients of laboratory-grown vaginal organs

Scientists reported today the first human recipients of laboratory-grown vaginal organs. A research team led by Anthony Atala, M.D., director of Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center's Institute for Regenerative Medicine, describes in the Lancet long-term success in four teenage girls who received vaginal organs that were engineered with their own cells.

11 Apr 2014

Findings pave way for potential therapy to combat H1N1 flu virus

Flu epidemics cause up to half a million deaths worldwide each year, and emerging strains continually threaten to spread to humans and cause even deadlier pandemics. A study by McGill University professor Maziar Divangahi published by Cell Press on April 10 in the journal Immunity reveals that a drug that inhibits a molecule called prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) increases survival rates in mice infected with a lethal dose of the H1N1 flu virus.

11 Apr 2014

Targeting enzyme responsible for glucose metabolism halts tumor growth, say researchers

Cancer cells generate energy differently than normal cells, a characteristic that helps them to survive and metastasize. A major goal in the field of cancer metabolism is to find ways to overcome this survival advantage.

11 Apr 2014

Scientists discover protein potentially good target for influenza A virus

Scientists at The University of Texas at Austin have discovered that a protein produced by the influenza A virus helps it outwit one of our body's natural defense mechanisms. That makes the protein a potentially good target for antiviral drugs directed against the influenza A virus.

11 Apr 2014

Researchers develop novel assay to identify genes controlling pharynx regeneration in flatworms

As multicellular creatures go, planaria worms are hardly glamorous. To say they appear rudimentary is more like it. These tiny aquatic flatworms that troll ponds and standing water resemble brown tubes equipped with just the basics: a pair of beady light-sensing "eyespots" on their head and a feeding tube called the pharynx (which doubles as the excretory tract) that protrudes from a belly sac to suck up food.

11 Apr 2014