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Nutrition and exercise have significant impact on one's vision

With the New Year comes many resolutions, including resolving to exercise more and eat better. While many individuals understand that nutrition and exercise play an important role in helping to prevent diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disorders, not many may be aware that these two elements have a significant impact on one's vision as well. Dr. Sandy T. Feldman, a renowned ophthalmologist and corneal expert at Clearview Eye & Laser Center in San Diego, advises patients to examine their physical fitness and eating habits in order to achieve optimum vision.

11 Feb 2014

Engineers place tiny synthetic motors inside live human cells

For the first time, a team of chemists and engineers at Penn State University have placed tiny synthetic motors inside live human cells, propelled them with ultrasonic waves and steered them magnetically. It's not exactly "Fantastic Voyage," but it's close. The nanomotors, which are rocket-shaped metal particles, move around inside the cells, spinning and battering against the cell membrane.

11 Feb 2014

Long-distance signaling molecules tell brain to produce anti-viral interferon

The brain contains a defense system that prevents at least two unrelated viruses-and possibly many more-from invading the brain at large. The research is published online ahead of print in the Journal of Virology.

11 Feb 2014

UCLA researchers awarded $6M grant to explore new therapies for spinal-cord injuries

The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering has awarded UCLA researchers Dr. Daniel Lu (Brentwood) and Dr. Reggie Edgerton (Bel Air) a $6 million, five-year grant to explore new therapies for the approximately 273,000 Americans living with spinal-cord injuries. Some 12,000 Americans suffer such injuries each year.

10 Feb 2014

Two oncogenes work together to sustain population of cells in lung squamous cell carcinoma

Patients with a common form of lung cancer — lung squamous cell carcinoma — have very few treatment options. That situation may soon change.

10 Feb 2014

Researchers find biological weakness in the workings of mutated gene involved in human cancers

NYU Langone Medical Center researchers have found a biological weakness in the workings of the most commonly mutated gene involved in human cancers, known as mutant K-Ras, which they say can be exploited by drug chemotherapies to thwart tumor growth.

10 Feb 2014

Pancreatic stellate cells help pancreatic cancer grow and spread in cell hijack method

Pancreatic stellate cells, which normally aid tissue repair, unwittingly help pancreatic cancer grow and spread in a method of 'cell hijack' only seen before in brain and breast cancer, according to new research from Queen Mary University of London.

10 Feb 2014

Scientists identify factors that predict flu severity in patients

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have identified a signature immune response that might help doctors identify which newly diagnosed influenza patients are most likely to develop severe symptoms and suffer poor outcomes. The findings also help explain why infants and toddlers are at elevated risk for flu complications. The research appears in the upcoming issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

10 Feb 2014

Rubicon Genomics introduces PicoPLEX DNA-seq Kits for use with Illumina NGS platforms

Rubicon Genomics, Inc. today announced the launch of its PicoPLEX DNA-seq Kits for use with Illumina next-generation sequencing (NGS) platforms. PicoPLEX's outstanding robustness and reproducibility have made it the worldwide standard for single-cell DNA amplification for microarray and PCR-based pre-implantation genetic screening and diagnosis. PicoPLEX DNA-seq now enables researchers and clinicians to access PicoPLEX technology for analyses conducted on Illumina NGS systems.

10 Feb 2014

Scientists identify twenty proteins specifically secreted by primary effusion lymphoma cell lines

Primary effusion lymphoma (PEL) is a rare B-cell neoplasm distinguished by its tendency to spread along the thin serous membranes that line body cavities without infiltrating or destroying nearby tissue.

10 Feb 2014

Findings may help physicians choose precise treatments for women with advanced breast cancer

The first large-scale study testing all the DNA—the entire genome—of tumour cells from more than 400 women with advanced breast cancer has identified individuals with a good chance of benefiting from specific treatments already being tested in clinical trials.

10 Feb 2014

Scientists develop new approach to design drugs from genome sequence

In research that could ultimately lead to many new medicines, scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have developed a potentially general approach to design drugs from genome sequence. As a proof of principle, they identified a highly potent compound that causes cancer cells to attack themselves and die.

10 Feb 2014

Optogenetics technique allows scientists to control neurons' electrical activity

Optogenetics is a technique that allows scientists to control neurons' electrical activity with light by engineering them to express light-sensitive proteins. Within the past decade, it has become a very powerful tool for discovering the functions of different types of cells in the brain.

10 Feb 2014

Researchers examine link between gender and genetic disorder

A genetic disorder that affects about 1 in every 2,500 births can cause a bewildering array of clinical problems, including brain tumors, impaired vision, learning disabilities, behavioral problems, heart defects and bone deformities. The symptoms and their severity vary among patients affected by this condition, known as neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1).

9 Feb 2014

Study identifies seven new genetic regions associated with type 2 diabetes

Seven new genetic regions associated with type 2 diabetes have been identified in the largest study to date of the genetic basis of the disease.

9 Feb 2014

Study points to molecular pathway to treat recurring, deadly malignancies

Analyzing the genomes of twin 3-year-old sisters – one healthy and one with aggressive leukemia – led an international team of researchers to identify a novel molecular target that could become a way to treat recurring and deadly malignancies.

9 Feb 2014

Scientists find a clue as to why muscles weaken with age

Scientists from the School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio have found a clue as to why muscles weaken with age. In a study published Feb. 5 in The Journal of Neuroscience, they report the first evidence that "set points" in the nervous system are not inalterably determined during development but instead can be reset with age. They observed a change in set point that resulted in significantly diminished motor function in aging fruit flies.

9 Feb 2014

New study provides important understanding of what drives appetite

While the function of eating is to nourish the body, this is not what actually compels us to seek out food. Instead, it is hunger, with its stomach-growling sensations and gnawing pangs that propels us to the refrigerator - or the deli or the vending machine. Although hunger is essential for survival, abnormal hunger can lead to obesity and eating disorders, widespread problems now reaching near-epidemic proportions around the world.

9 Feb 2014

Researchers shed light on role of genes and blood lipid levels in cardiovascular health

New genetic evidence strengthens the case that one well-known type of cholesterol is a likely suspect in causing heart disease, but also casts further doubt on the causal role played by another type. The findings may guide the search for improved treatments for heart disease.

9 Feb 2014

BGSU's Olivucci leverages OSC systems to study retina's melanopsin pigment

Researchers have found that the melanopsin pigment in the eye is potentially more sensitive to light than its more famous counterpart, rhodopsin, the pigment that allows for night vision.

9 Feb 2014

Medical Science News

Nutrition and exercise have significant impact on one's vision

Engineers place tiny synthetic motors inside live human cells

Long-distance signaling molecules tell brain to produce anti-viral interferon

UCLA researchers awarded $6M grant to explore new therapies for spinal-cord injuries

Two oncogenes work together to sustain population of cells in lung squamous cell carcinoma

Researchers find biological weakness in the workings of mutated gene involved in human cancers

Pancreatic stellate cells help pancreatic cancer grow and spread in cell hijack method

Scientists identify factors that predict flu severity in patients

Rubicon Genomics introduces PicoPLEX DNA-seq Kits for use with Illumina NGS platforms

Scientists identify twenty proteins specifically secreted by primary effusion lymphoma cell lines

Findings may help physicians choose precise treatments for women with advanced breast cancer

Scientists develop new approach to design drugs from genome sequence

Optogenetics technique allows scientists to control neurons' electrical activity

Researchers examine link between gender and genetic disorder

Study identifies seven new genetic regions associated with type 2 diabetes

Study points to molecular pathway to treat recurring, deadly malignancies

Scientists find a clue as to why muscles weaken with age

New study provides important understanding of what drives appetite

Researchers shed light on role of genes and blood lipid levels in cardiovascular health

BGSU's Olivucci leverages OSC systems to study retina's melanopsin pigment

Redefining control and consistency in anaerobic microbiome workflows

AI in Healthcare: How generative tools are transforming clinical practice

The future of automation: Machine learning–driven hepatocyte and organoid counting

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