Medical Science News

RSS

Study addresses the problem of how cells tackle naturally occurring variation

Everyone who has played in a band or orchestra knows that playing in time creates music, while playing out of time creates cacophony. In an orchestra, each player may be out of tune when warming up, but eventually, all players must reach the same pitch, rhythm, and timing to produce a viable piece of music.

31 Oct 2015

Nuclear membrane fixes potentially fatal breaks in DNA strands

Scientists have found a new function of the nuclear membrane, the envelope that encases and protects DNA in the nucleus of a cell - it fixes potentially fatal breaks in DNA strands.

31 Oct 2015

Lack of adequate sleep can interfere with fundamental cellular process

Lack of adequate sleep can do more than just make you tired. It can short-circuit your system and interfere with a fundamental cellular process that drives physical growth, physiological adaptation and even brain activity, according to a new study from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

30 Oct 2015

University of Kansas professor recognized with MERIT Award

Emily Scott, professor of medicinal chemistry at the University of Kansas, has been recognized with a MERIT Award from the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of General Medical Sciences. It's a rare and important recognition -- researchers can receive them only once in a career.

30 Oct 2015

Diet missing soluble fiber promotes inflammation in the intestines, leading to weight gain

Eating too much high-fat, high-calorie food is considered the primary cause of obesity and obesity-related disease, including diabetes. While the excess calories consumed are a direct cause of the fat accumulation, scientists suspect that low-grade inflammation due to an altered gut microbiome may also be involved.

30 Oct 2015

Mayo Clinic cancer experts find gaps in current colorectal cancer screening approaches

Colorectal cancer remains the second leading cause of cancer death for men and women combined in the U.S. The goal of screening is to reduce the number of people who die from this common cancer. According to Mayo Clinic cancer experts there are gaps in current screening approaches in terms of detection accuracy, patient willingness to use them, and accessibility.

30 Oct 2015

Specialized type of immunotherapy can boost survival from pancreatic cancer

A new study in mice by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has found that a specialized type of immunotherapy — even when used without chemotherapy or radiation — can boost survival from pancreatic cancer, a nearly almost-lethal disease, by more than 75 percent. The findings are so promising, human clinical trials are planned within the next year.

30 Oct 2015

New online tool may allow researchers explore formation of hair follicles

A new online database will empower researchers exploring how hair follicles and the surrounding skin develop, according to an article published recently in the journal Developmental Cell. The work is central to understanding the interactions between stem cells and their environment - or "niche cells" - during fetal development, and will specifically facilitate future attempts to make skin grafts with functional hair follicles or to regenerate lost hair in patients.

30 Oct 2015

Findings could lead to new treatment for ALS, dementia

University of Toronto (U of T) researchers are proposing a new way of understanding Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), the devastating and incurable neurological disease. Their findings, published today in the journal Neuron, could be a major milestone on the path to a treatment for both ALS and dementia.

30 Oct 2015

Study reports discovery of new class of DNA repair enzyme

This year's Nobel Prize in chemistry was given to three scientists who each focused on one piece of the DNA repair puzzle. Now a new study, reported online Oct. 28 in the journal Nature, reports the discovery of a new class of DNA repair enzyme.

30 Oct 2015

Study sheds light on mechanism of neuronal activity

Neurons communicate by passing electrical messages, known as action potentials, between each other. Each neuron has a highly specialized structural region, the axon initial segment (AIS), whose primary role is in the generation and sending of these messages.

30 Oct 2015

Novel enzyme therapy offers possible treatment for cocaine overdose

A long-acting enzyme that rapidly and safely metabolizes cocaine in the blood stream is currently being investigated in animal models as a possible treatment for cocaine overdose.

30 Oct 2015

Study suggests a neural pathway through which early life stress may contribute to depression

Early life stress is a major risk factor for later episodes of depression. In fact, adults who are abused or neglected as children are almost twice as likely to experience depression.

30 Oct 2015

Study finds no major difference in hippocampal size between men and women

A research study at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science has debunked the widely-held belief that the hippocampus, a crucial part of the brain that consolidates new memories and helps connect emotions to the senses, is larger in females than in males.

30 Oct 2015

Exercise can protect brain function, reduce occurrence of PTSD

Experiencing a traumatic event often results in an acute stress response and the lingering memory may lead to mental and physical changes that negatively impact one's health.

30 Oct 2015

New clinical trial on breast cancer may help treat and control disease

A new clinical trial at Sanford Health is exploring how genetic changes that occur during breast cancer might help health care providers better identify, treat and control the disease.

30 Oct 2015

Study reveals mechanism behind protein-related diseases

Dartmouth researchers have found that some proteins turn into liquid droplets on the way to becoming toxic solids implicated in neurodegenerative diseases and other genetic disorders.

30 Oct 2015

New magnetic field delivery method could help treat traumatic brain injury

Treating traumatic brain injury (TBI) using stem cell therapy is an important area of current research. However, injecting stem cells into the central nervous system has serious drawbacks, including intracranial hemorrhage and cells failing to reach TBI-affected areas of the brain.

30 Oct 2015

Researchers identify molecular switch that can convert unhealthy white fat into energy-burning brown fat

A research team led by UC San Francisco scientists has identified a molecular switch capable of converting unhealthy white fat into healthy, energy-burning brown fat in mice. Drugs that flip this switch rapidly reduced obesity and diabetes risk factors in mice fed a high fat diet.

30 Oct 2015

Basic research for developing toxoplasma vaccine underway

Toxoplasma gondii is a common parasite which causes the development of fatal encephalosis or pneumonia in immunodeficient patients under treatment of AIDS or cancer. Pregnant women who are infected may suffer a miscarriage or the newborn child may suffer from a congenital disease. Currently, a toxoplasma vaccine for humans is not available. Using experimental animals such as mice, basic research for developing an inactivated vaccine is underway.

30 Oct 2015