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East Asian BIM gene variant contributes to drug resistance in cancer

A multi-national research team led by scientists at Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School has identified the reason why some patients fail to respond to some of the most successful cancer drugs.

19 Mar 2012

Paper describes results of BMT in models of Rett Syndrome

A paper published online today in Nature describes the results of using bone marrow transplant (BMT) to replace faulty immune system cells in models of Rett Syndrome. The procedure arrested many severe symptoms of the childhood disorder, including abnormal breathing and movement, and significantly extended the lifespan of Rett mouse models.

19 Mar 2012

Study reveals how Bdnf gene mutation contributes to severe obesity

Researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center have revealed how a mutation in a single gene is responsible for the inability of neurons to effectively pass along appetite suppressing signals from the body to the right place in the brain. What results is obesity caused by a voracious appetite.

19 Mar 2012

Klf4 protein an important regulator of inflammation: HNK study

Microglia are the first line defence of the brain and are constantly looking for infections to fight off. Overactive microglia can cause uncontrolled inflammation within the brain, which can in turn lead to neuronal damage. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Journal of Neuroinflammation shows that, honokiol (HNK) is able to down-regulate the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and inflammatory enzymes in activated microglia via Klf4, a protein known to regulate DNA.

19 Mar 2012

Scientist generates mutant version of IL-2 protein to treat advanced cancers

The utility of a naturally occurring protein given, sometimes to great effect, as a drug to treat advanced cancers is limited by the severe side effects it sometimes causes. But a Stanford University School of Medicine scientist has generated a mutant version of the protein whose modified shape renders it substantially more potent than the natural protein while reducing its toxicity.

19 Mar 2012

Sexually rejected male fruit flies binge on alcohol more than sexually satisfied peers: Study

Male fruit flies whose sexual advances are rejected by females, turn to alcohol finds a new study. Scientists at the University of California, San Francisco discovered that rejected male flies have a tiny molecule in their brain that pushes them to drink far more than their sexually satisfied counterparts. The levels of the molecule, neuropeptide F, were higher in sexually satisfied males than in those who got no sex, leading scientists to speculate that their work could shed light on brain mechanisms behind human addiction. A similar human molecule - neuropeptide Y - may also link social triggers to behaviors such as heavy drinking and drug abuse, according to the study published in Science journal.

18 Mar 2012

Study of genes may hold the key to improved skin care

Ever wonder why two people who are the same age may look years apart? While extrinsic factors such as sun exposure and smoking can contribute to skin aging, intrinsic factors - namely the genes inherited from our parents - can have an even greater influence on how our skin ages.

17 Mar 2012

Exposure to MEHP shortens reproductive life of female mice

Female mouse fetuses exposed to very high doses of a common industrial chemical that makes plastics more pliable develop significant reproductive alterations and precancerous lesions as they grow up, according to a new toxicology study conducted at Brown University.

17 Mar 2012

Life Length, Cenegenics Carolinas partner to offer telomere testing

Representatives from Cenegenics Carolinas, the Southeast's leading age management practice, today announced that the practice is now offering cutting-edge telomere length testing to provide an accurate prediction of biological age and risk for disease.

17 Mar 2012

Oral BRAF inhibitor can extend survival to 16 months for patients with MM

An international team of researchers from the United States and Australia, including researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., have found that the oral BRAF inhibitor vemurafenib (PLX4032) when tested in a phase II clinical trial offered a high rate of response in patients with previously treated metastatic melanoma and who had the BRAF mutation.

17 Mar 2012

Researchers use standard inkjet printer to print live cells

Researchers from Clemson University have found a way to create temporary holes in the membranes of live cells using a standard inkjet printer. The method will be published in JoVE, the Journal of Visualized Experiments, on March 16.

17 Mar 2012

Researchers describe preparation of chitosan nanoparticles

Nanoparticles containing chitosan have been shown to have effective antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus saprophyticus and Escherichia coli. The materials could be used as a protective wound-healing material to avoid opportunistic infection as well as working to facilitate wound healing.

17 Mar 2012

ApoE4 gene could cause early loss of synapses in Alzheimer's disease

Today, researchers at the Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute (BRNI) at West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia reported a significant advance in understanding how different forms of the ApoE gene raise the risk for Alzheimer's disease.

17 Mar 2012

Deletion of Hms1 protein inhibits Candida albicans infection

Scientists at the University of Toronto have found a molecular mechanism that plays a key role in the transition of Candida albicans yeast into disease-causing fungus-one of the leading causes of hospital-acquired infection.

17 Mar 2012

HGF/C-MET signaling pathway plays a key role in gestational diabetes development

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have identified a cell-signaling pathway that plays a key role in increasing insulin secretion during pregnancy and, when blocked, leads to the development of gestational diabetes.

17 Mar 2012

Infants' faces evoke species-specific patterns of brain activity in adults

Distinct patterns of activity-which may indicate a predisposition to care for infants-- appear in the brains of adults who view an image of an infant face-even when the child is not theirs, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and in Germany, Italy, and Japan.

17 Mar 2012

UAB researchers develop new vehicle to release proteins with therapeutic effects

UAB researchers developed a new vehicle to release proteins with therapeutic effects. The vehicles are known as "bacteria inclusion bodies", stable insoluble nanoparticles which are found normally in recombinant bacteria.

17 Mar 2012

Thermo Fisher launches HyCell CHO medium

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., the world leader in serving science, today introduced the Thermo Scientific HyCell CHO cell-culture medium, a versatile animal-derived- component-free (ADCF) and chemically defined (CD) medium for culturing a broad variety of CHO cells.

From Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. 17 Mar 2012

BRG1 gene loss implies lack of response of cells to retinoic acid and steroids

Retinoic acid (vitamin A) and steroids are hormones found in our body that protect against oxidative stress, reduce inflammation and are involved in cellular differentiation processes. One of the characteristics of tumours is that their cells have lost the ability to differentiate; therefore these hormones have useful properties to prevent cancer. Currently, retinoic acid and steroids are being used to treat some types of leukaemia.

16 Mar 2012

Collaborative research discovers genetic marker that identifies pigs with reduced susceptibility to PRRS

A collaborative discovery involving Kansas State University researchers may improve animal health and save the U.S. pork industry millions of dollars each year.

16 Mar 2012