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Anxious people detect threat in different region of the brain

New findings by French researchers show that the brain devotes more processing resources to social situations that signal threat than those that are benign.

29 Dec 2015

UAB's Undiagnosed Diseases Program finds answers for mysterious health issues

Stephanie and Christopher Smith have been on a long, difficult and often frustrating journey to find answers for the mysterious health issues of their children. It started 24 years ago when their third child, Gage, was born. Gage, his younger brother Aiden and then sister Mandalynn, now 13, all developed mysterious symptoms that mystified doctors.

29 Dec 2015

Scientists pin down structure of neuronal protein clumps associated with ALS

To create treatments for a disease without any, scientists need to study and understand the driving forces behind the faulty biology. Today, researchers at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine announced the first-ever evidence-based description of the neuronal protein clumps thought to be important in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, a fatal neurodegenerative condition.

29 Dec 2015

New study identifies activity of brain proteins linked to memory impairments in Alzheimer's disease

A new study conducted at the University of Haifa and published recently in the Journal of Neuroscience has identified activity of brain proteins associated with memory impairments in Alzheimer's disease, and has also found that "repairing" this activity leads to an improvement in memory.

29 Dec 2015

Marmosets appear to use auditory cues similar to humans to process pitch

The specialized human ability to perceive the sound quality known as 'pitch' can no longer be listed as unique to humans. Researchers at Johns Hopkins report new behavioral evidence that marmosets, ancient monkeys, appear to use auditory cues similar to humans to distinguish between low and high notes.

29 Dec 2015

Body can control pathogen-induced inflammatory response, find Georgia State researchers

The body can control inflammatory response triggered by invasions of microbial pathogens, such as bacteria and viruses, a discovery that could lead to the development of new therapeutic agents for uncontrolled inflammation, according to researchers at Georgia State University.

29 Dec 2015

E-cigarettes damage cells in ways that could lead to cancer

Adding to growing evidence on the possible health risks of electronic cigarettes, a lab team at the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System tested two products and found they damaged cells in ways that could lead to cancer. The damage occurred even with nicotine-free versions of the products.

29 Dec 2015

Researchers identify inherited traits related to sleep, wake and activity cycles

In the first study of its kind, a team of international scientists led by UT Southwestern Medical Center and UCLA researchers have identified a dozen inherited traits related to sleep, wake, and activity cycles that are associated with severe bipolar disorder.

29 Dec 2015

Infusing small dose of cytokine can prevent or reverse diabetes-related kidney failure

Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure, and scientists have found that infusing just a small dose of a cytokine, thought to help cause that failure, can instead prevent or reverse it.

29 Dec 2015

CMU researchers develop new method to survey learning-related changes in synapse properties

Carnegie Mellon University researchers have developed a new approach to broadly survey learning-related changes in synapse properties. In a study published in the Journal of Neuroscience and featured on the journal's cover, the researchers used machine-learning algorithms to analyze thousands of images from the cerebral cortex. This allowed them to identify synapses from an entire cortical region, revealing unanticipated information about how synaptic properties change during development and learning.

29 Dec 2015

Newly discovered molecular mechanism may provide alternative explanation for antibiotic resistance

The bacterium B. cereus had so far been considered to be exclusively endospore-forming. In response to harsh conditions, the bacteria form protective endospores enabling them to remain dormant for extended periods. When conditions are more favourable, the endospores reactivate to become fully functioning bacteria.

28 Dec 2015

Genetic modification in esophagus can lead to esophageal cancer

A genetic modification in the mucous membrane of the esophagus, the Barrett esophagus, can lead to esophageal cancer. If certain biomarkers are contained in these tissue alterations, so-called miDNA, these are extremely short DNA strands, it could be an indication that this preliminary stage of esophageal cancer indeed leads to cancer.

28 Dec 2015

Researchers identify new gene that helps maintain chromosome number in cells

Molecular biologists at UT Southwestern Medical Center have identified a gene called NORAD that helps maintain the proper number of chromosomes in cells, and that when inactivated, causes the number of chromosomes in a cell to become unstable, a key feature of cancer cells.

26 Dec 2015

Study shows why immune system fails to develop immunity during malaria infection

Australian scientists have for the first time revealed how malaria parasites cause an inflammatory reaction that sabotages our body's ability to protect itself against the disease.

26 Dec 2015

3D maps of spatial organization may help find genes involved in hereditary diseases

It has now been 15 years since scientists celebrated the completion of the human genome. At that point, scientists had determined the entire sequence of the genetic letters making up our DNA.

26 Dec 2015

Researchers identify liver-derived hormone that regulates sugar intake

We all love our sugar, especially during the holidays. Cookies, cake, and candy are simply irresistible. While sugar cravings are common, the physiological mechanisms that trigger our "sweet tooth" are not well defined.

24 Dec 2015

Ebola virus and bats waging molecular battle for survival

Ebola virus and bats have been waging a molecular battle for survival that may have started at least 25 million years ago, according to a study led by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, the University of Colorado-Boulder (CU-Boulder) and the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) that published online today in the journal eLife.

24 Dec 2015

Healthier weight using genetic data for customized diets and physical activity plans

Some health experts predict that the next big advance in helping overweight people achieve a healthier weight will be to use an individual's genetic data to customize diets and physical activity plans, an approach known as "precision weight loss.

24 Dec 2015

Pacemaker Induced Transient Asynchrony could help slow down progression of heart failure

Johns Hopkins has demonstrated in animals that applying a pacemaker's mild electrical shocks to push the heart in and out of normal synchronized contraction for part of each day may be an effective way to slow down the progression of heart failure, a disorder that afflicts millions of Americans.

24 Dec 2015

Study directly links common variants of Alzheimer's risk genes to atrophy

Two genetic variants previously linked to Alzheimer's disease have been more specifically tied to brain atrophy that is characteristic of the disease.

24 Dec 2015

Medical Science News

Anxious people detect threat in different region of the brain

UAB's Undiagnosed Diseases Program finds answers for mysterious health issues

Scientists pin down structure of neuronal protein clumps associated with ALS

New study identifies activity of brain proteins linked to memory impairments in Alzheimer's disease

Marmosets appear to use auditory cues similar to humans to process pitch

Body can control pathogen-induced inflammatory response, find Georgia State researchers

E-cigarettes damage cells in ways that could lead to cancer

Researchers identify inherited traits related to sleep, wake and activity cycles

Infusing small dose of cytokine can prevent or reverse diabetes-related kidney failure

CMU researchers develop new method to survey learning-related changes in synapse properties

Newly discovered molecular mechanism may provide alternative explanation for antibiotic resistance

Genetic modification in esophagus can lead to esophageal cancer

Researchers identify new gene that helps maintain chromosome number in cells

Study shows why immune system fails to develop immunity during malaria infection

3D maps of spatial organization may help find genes involved in hereditary diseases

Researchers identify liver-derived hormone that regulates sugar intake

Ebola virus and bats waging molecular battle for survival

Healthier weight using genetic data for customized diets and physical activity plans

Pacemaker Induced Transient Asynchrony could help slow down progression of heart failure

Study directly links common variants of Alzheimer's risk genes to atrophy

Flow chemistry, AI, and NMR: A next-gen approach to scalable API production

Digital pathology and the PathoVerse: A conversation with Dr. Singh

Bioprocess Efficiency with Cell Density Monitoring

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