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$2 million grant to provide instrumentation, core facilities devoted to synthetic biology

The Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust has awarded a $2 million grant to the Institute for Genomic Biology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Under the leadership of Principal Investigator Dr. Huimin Zhao and co-Principal Investigator Dr. Christopher Rao, the grant will be disbursed over two years to provide instrumentation and core facilities for a new research theme devoted to the new scientific subdiscipline of synthetic biology.

29 May 2013

Scientists identify role of GSK-3 alpha protein in promoting oncogenic KRAS function

While the mutated KRAS oncogene is associated with many cancers, it has not yet been successfully targeted by a therapeutic agent. Scientists are trying to find another way to target the gene by blocking signals from another protein downstream.

29 May 2013

IUPUI assistant professor earns NSF CAREER Award for research on the brain

An assistant professor of computer science at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis has earned the prestigious CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation for research to identify the patterns by which neurons develop and connect to form a brain.

29 May 2013

Transplantation of human stem cells improves muscle function in rats used to model ALS

Transplantation of human stem cells in an experiment conducted at the University of Wisconsin-Madison improved survival and muscle function in rats used to model ALS, a nerve disease that destroys nerve control of muscles, causing death by respiratory failure.

29 May 2013

Research discovery may lead to development of new therapies for neurological disorders

For several years, the pharmaceutical industry has tried to develop drugs that target a specific neurotransmitter receptor in the brain, the NMDA receptor. This receptor is present on almost every neuron in the human brain and is involved in learning and memory. NMDA receptors also have been implicated in several neurological and psychiatric conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia and depression.

29 May 2013

Medical researchers identify genetic marker associated with sporadic breast cancer

Medical researchers at the University of Alberta have pinpointed a genetic marker for sporadic breast cancer - one of a handful identified to date in Caucasians.

29 May 2013

New approach to battle prostate cancer

Dr. Jung-Mo Ahn, associate professor of chemistry at The University of Texas at Dallas, has designed and synthesized a novel small molecule that might become a large weapon in the fight against prostate cancer.

29 May 2013

UT Southwestern researchers develop new class of drugs for prostate cancer

A new study on prostate cancer describes a novel class of drugs developed by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers that interrupts critical signaling needed for prostate cancer cells to grow.

29 May 2013

Harmless genetic variations may team up to increase risk of schizophrenia, find researchers

Using a novel method of analyzing genetic variations in families, researchers at Johns Hopkins have found that individually harmless genetic variations affecting related biochemical processes may team up to increase the risk of schizophrenia.

29 May 2013

Resolvins may help protect against cognitive decline after surgery

Resolvins are molecules naturally produced by the body from omega-3 fatty acids - a process that can be jumpstarted by common aspirin. In a new study, published in The FASEB Journal, researchers at Karolinska Institutet describe how resolvins could protect against the cognitive impairment that often affects recovery of surgical and critically ill patients.

28 May 2013

Common sugar molecule promising target for development of broad-spectrum vaccine

Developing new vaccines to protect against diseases that plague humans is fraught with numerous challenges-one being that microbes tend to vary how they look on the surface to avoid being identified and destroyed by the immune system. However, researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) have discovered a sugar polymer that is common on the cell surface of several pathogens.

28 May 2013

Study reveals that an epilepsy drug shows promise in preventing noise-induced tinnitus

An epilepsy drug shows promise in an animal model at preventing tinnitus from developing after exposure to loud noise, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

28 May 2013

Synthetic compound derived from sea anemone toxin shows potential to treat obesity

Scientists at UC Irvine reported this week that a synthetic compound ShK-186, originally derived from a sea anemone toxin, has been found to enhance metabolic activity and shows potential as a treatment for obesity and insulin resistance.

28 May 2013

Molecular switch protects salmonella from harm during infection

For the first time, researchers have found a particular kind of molecular switch in the food poisoning bacteria Salmonella Typhimurium under infection-like conditions. This switch, using a process called S-thiolation, appears to be used by the bacteria to respond to changes in the environment during infection and might protect it from harm, researchers report this week online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition.

28 May 2013

Human foetal stem cell therapy improves structural integrity of the spine

Human foetal stem cell grafts improve both motor and sensory functions in rats suffering from a spinal cord injury, according to research published this week in BioMed Central's open access journal Stem Cell Research and Therapy.

28 May 2013

More evidence of high oxidative stress levels found in Down syndrome neurons

Down syndrome, the most common genetic form of intellectual disability, results from an extra copy of one chromosome. Although people with Down syndrome experience intellectual difficulties and other problems, scientists have had trouble identifying why that extra chromosome causes such widespread effects.

28 May 2013

New animal model provides insight into early stages of Parkinson's disease

At the present, no cure exists for Parkinson's disease, although symptomatic intervention, including treatment with dopamine agonists, can alleviate patients' motor impairment. Parkinson's is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder, after Alzheimer's disease; it is estimated that 100,000 to 300,000 patients are affected by Parkinson's disease in Germany alone.

28 May 2013

Single injection of human neural stem cells improves acute spinal cord injuries in rats

An international team led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine reports that a single injection of human neural stem cells produced neuronal regeneration and improvement of function and mobility in rats impaired by an acute spinal cord injury.

28 May 2013

Scientists question strategy to target critical protein in the brain to combat Alzheimer's disease

In the search for medication against Alzheimer's disease, scientists have focused - among other factors - on drugs that can break down Amyloid beta (A-beta). After all, it is the accumulation of A-beta that causes the known plaques in the brains of Alzheimer's patients. Starting point for the formation of A-beta is APP. Alessia Soldano and Bassem Hassan (VIB/KU Leuven) were the first to unravel the function of APPL - the fruit-fly version of APP - in the brain of healthy fruit flies.

28 May 2013

Neuroscientists identify key circuit elements that contribute to everyday decision in ACC

You are sitting on your couch flipping through TV channels trying to decide whether to stay put or get up for a snack. Such everyday decisions about whether to "stay" or to "go" are supported by a brain region called the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), which is part of the prefrontal cortex.

27 May 2013

Medical Science News

$2 million grant to provide instrumentation, core facilities devoted to synthetic biology

Scientists identify role of GSK-3 alpha protein in promoting oncogenic KRAS function

IUPUI assistant professor earns NSF CAREER Award for research on the brain

Transplantation of human stem cells improves muscle function in rats used to model ALS

Research discovery may lead to development of new therapies for neurological disorders

Medical researchers identify genetic marker associated with sporadic breast cancer

New approach to battle prostate cancer

UT Southwestern researchers develop new class of drugs for prostate cancer

Harmless genetic variations may team up to increase risk of schizophrenia, find researchers

Resolvins may help protect against cognitive decline after surgery

Common sugar molecule promising target for development of broad-spectrum vaccine

Study reveals that an epilepsy drug shows promise in preventing noise-induced tinnitus

Synthetic compound derived from sea anemone toxin shows potential to treat obesity

Molecular switch protects salmonella from harm during infection

Human foetal stem cell therapy improves structural integrity of the spine

More evidence of high oxidative stress levels found in Down syndrome neurons

New animal model provides insight into early stages of Parkinson's disease

Single injection of human neural stem cells improves acute spinal cord injuries in rats

Scientists question strategy to target critical protein in the brain to combat Alzheimer's disease

Neuroscientists identify key circuit elements that contribute to everyday decision in ACC

Edoardo Fabini

Reducing polypharmacy through innovative drug formulation technologies

How innovation in dried blood spot testing is transforming neurological disease monitoring

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