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Study: 172K polymorphism makes certain forms of HIV less resistant to drugs

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) can contain dozens of different mutations, called polymorphisms. In a recent study an international team of researchers, including MU scientists, found that one of those mutations, called 172K, made certain forms of the virus more susceptible to treatment. Soon, doctors will be able to use this knowledge to improve the drug regiment they prescribe to HIV-infected individuals.

14 Sep 2012

Scientists describe how DNA origami can enhance effect of cytostatics in cancer treatment

Scientists at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden describe in a new study how so-called DNA origami can enhance the effect of certain cytostatics used in the treatment of cancer. With the aid of modern nanotechnology, scientists can target drugs direct to the tumour while leaving surrounding healthy tissue untouched.

14 Sep 2012

Researchers hold new implications for pathogenesis of myotonic dystrophy

An important breakthrough could help in the fight against myotonic dystrophy. The discovery, recently published in the prestigious scientific journal Cell, results from an international collaboration between researchers at the IRCM, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the University of Southern California and Illumina.

13 Sep 2012

Treating elderly patients with elevated thyroid-stimulating hormone levels may be unnecessary

There is no evidence to link mildly elevated thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels to an increase in mortality among the elderly, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).

13 Sep 2012

Changes in Troponin I protein can lead to cardiac muscle malfunction and precipitate heart failure

A new Johns Hopkins study has unraveled the changes in a key cardiac protein that can lead to heart muscle malfunction and precipitate heart failure.

13 Sep 2012

Pam2Cys nasal spray may be useful agent against pandemics and emerging viral strains

In an advance toward development of a nasal spray that protects against infection with influenza and spread of the disease, scientists are reporting identification of a substance that activates the first-line defense system against infection inside the nose. They describe effects of a synthetic form of a natural substance found in bacterial cell walls in ACS' journal Molecular Pharmaceutics.

13 Sep 2012

Sanford-Burnham professor to develop personalized models of inherited heart conditions

The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) has awarded a $1.58 million grant to Huei-Sheng Vincent Chen, Ph.D., associate professor at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham). Chen's proposal was one of 28 new projects funded as part of CIRM's Basic Biology IV awards program, which supports basic research aimed at increasing our understanding of stem cells and how to work with them.

13 Sep 2012

ICREA researcher updates latest findings in applied epigenetics

The research team led by Manel Esteller, director of the Cancer Epigenetics and Biology Program at the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), professor of genetics at the University of Barcelona and ICREA researcher, has updated the latest findings in applied epigenetics in a review paper published in Nature Reviews Genetics.

13 Sep 2012

Brigham Young University scientists discover cellular cause of birth defects

The cellular cause of birth defects like cleft palates, missing teeth and problems with fingers and toes has been a tricky puzzle for scientists. Now Professor Emily Bates and her biochemistry students at Brigham Young University have placed an important piece of the developmental puzzle. They studied an ion channel that regulates the electrical charge of a cell. In a new study published by the journal Development, they show that blocking this channel disrupts the work of a protein that is supposed to carry marching orders to the nucleus.

13 Sep 2012

NDC to advance study and treatment of Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases

The Neurodegeneration Consortium (NDC), a transformative multi-institutional initiative, will advance the study and treatment of Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases, thanks to an inaugural $25 million gift from the Robert A. and Renee E. Belfer Family Foundation to The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

13 Sep 2012

Endocannabinoids may contribute to pregnancy complications

New research indicates marijuana-like compounds called endocannabinoids alter genes and biological signals critical to the formation of a normal placenta during pregnancy and may contribute to pregnancy complications like preeclampsia.

13 Sep 2012

Loss of normal microbial diversity may be culprit behind chronic sinusitis

A common bacteria ever-present on the human skin and previously considered harmless, may, in fact, be the culprit behind chronic sinusitis, a painful, recurring swelling of the sinuses that strikes more than one in ten Americans each year, according to a study by scientists at the University of California, San Francisco.

13 Sep 2012

Case Western Reserve researcher discovers new antivirulence drugs against MRSA and strep

Menachem Shoham, PhD, associate professor of biochemistry at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, has discovered novel antivirulence drugs that, without killing the bacteria, render Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) and Streptococcus pyogenes, commonly referred to as strep, harmless by preventing the production of toxins that cause disease.

13 Sep 2012

Some gut microbes increase absorption of dietary fats

You may think you have dinner all to yourself, but you're actually sharing it with a vast community of microbes waiting within your digestive tract. A new study from a team including Carnegie's Steve Farber and Juliana Carten reveals that some gut microbes increase the absorption of dietary fats, allowing the host organism to extract more calories from the same amount of food.

13 Sep 2012

Changes in physical characteristics of regulatory T cell can predict MDS progression risk

Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center and colleagues have discovered that changes in the physical characteristics of the effector memory regulatory T cell can predict the progression risk of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) to acute myeloid leukemia. The finding could improve prognostication for patients with MDS and better inform therapeutic decision making.

13 Sep 2012

Melbourne researchers develop genetic test to predict risk of autism spectrum disorder

A team of Australian researchers, led by University of Melbourne has developed a genetic test that is able to predict the risk of developing Autism Spectrum Disorder, ASD.

13 Sep 2012

Scheduled high-fat diet can reset circadian metabolism and reduce body weight

New research from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem shows that a carefully scheduled high-fat diet can lead to a reduction in body weight and a unique metabolism in which ingested fats are not stored, but rather used for energy at times when no food is available.

13 Sep 2012

BRCA1/2 gene mutations lethal to human embryos

BRCA1/2 gene mutations, widely associated with breast and ovarian cancer risks in women, are, in principle, lethal to human embryos, according to new research conducted by three teams of researchers from the Center for Human Reproduction (CHR) in New York City, the Medical University Vienna in Vienna, Austria, and the Medical University Graz, Graz, Austria.

13 Sep 2012

Ageing in neurons follows same rules as in senescing fibroblasts

The ageing process has its roots deep within the cells and molecules that make up our bodies. Experts have previously identified the molecular pathway that react to cell damage and stems the cell's ability to divide, known as cell senescence.

12 Sep 2012

Molecular beacons allow scientists to monitor gene expression during stem cell transformation

A novel set of custom-designed "molecular beacons" allows scientists to monitor gene expression in living populations of stem cells as they turn into a specific tissue in real-time. The technology, which Brown University researchers describe in a new study, provides tissue engineers with a potentially powerful tool to discover what it may take to make stem cells transform into desired tissue cells more often and more quickly.

12 Sep 2012

Medical Science News

Study: 172K polymorphism makes certain forms of HIV less resistant to drugs

Scientists describe how DNA origami can enhance effect of cytostatics in cancer treatment

Researchers hold new implications for pathogenesis of myotonic dystrophy

Treating elderly patients with elevated thyroid-stimulating hormone levels may be unnecessary

Changes in Troponin I protein can lead to cardiac muscle malfunction and precipitate heart failure

Pam2Cys nasal spray may be useful agent against pandemics and emerging viral strains

Sanford-Burnham professor to develop personalized models of inherited heart conditions

ICREA researcher updates latest findings in applied epigenetics

Brigham Young University scientists discover cellular cause of birth defects

NDC to advance study and treatment of Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases

Endocannabinoids may contribute to pregnancy complications

Loss of normal microbial diversity may be culprit behind chronic sinusitis

Case Western Reserve researcher discovers new antivirulence drugs against MRSA and strep

Some gut microbes increase absorption of dietary fats

Changes in physical characteristics of regulatory T cell can predict MDS progression risk

Melbourne researchers develop genetic test to predict risk of autism spectrum disorder

Scheduled high-fat diet can reset circadian metabolism and reduce body weight

BRCA1/2 gene mutations lethal to human embryos

Ageing in neurons follows same rules as in senescing fibroblasts

Molecular beacons allow scientists to monitor gene expression during stem cell transformation

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