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Sea Squirts found to have pacemaker cells similar to human heart

An international team of molecular scientists have discovered that star ascidians, also known as sea squirts, have pacemaker cells similar to that of the human heart. The research, published in the JEZ A: Ecological Genetics and Physiology, may offer a new insight into the early evolution of the heart as star ascidians are one of the closest related invertebrates to mammals.

2 Aug 2011

New cold electron source could improve quality and speed of nanoimaging for drug development

A new source of very cold electrons will improve the quality and speed of nanoimaging for drug and materials development to a trillionth of a second.

2 Aug 2011

Race and the personalized medicine debate

Federal examiners have rejected patents for genetic screening tests because the applicants did not explore their effectiveness for different races, adding to the debate about whether race has scientific validity in modern DNA-based medicine.

2 Aug 2011

Prison research to examine neural circuitry of criminal psychopaths

A leading University of Chicago researcher on empathy is launching a project to understand psychopathy by studying criminals in prisons.

2 Aug 2011

Antibody discovery leads researchers one step closer to universal influenza A vaccine

"The first human antibody that can knock out all influenza A viruses has been shown effective in lab mice, an exciting step forward in the hunt for a universal vaccine, researchers said Friday," Agence France-Presse reports.

2 Aug 2011

Lack of TLR1 surface expression linked with increased susceptibility to tuberculosis

Are you genetically predisposed to tuberculosis? Scientists may now be able to answer this question and doctors may be able to adjust their therapeutic approach based on what they learn. That's because new research presented in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology suggests that two frequent mutations in an immune system gene called TLR1 are responsible for cellular changes that ultimately make us less likely to resist the disease.

2 Aug 2011

New liquid material shows promise for people with facial deformities

Biomedical engineers at Johns Hopkins have developed a new liquid material that in early experiments in rats and humans shows promise in restoring damaged soft tissue relatively safely and durably.

2 Aug 2011

New insight into causes of pronoun confusion in autism

Autism is a mysterious developmental disease because it often leaves complex abilities intact while impairing seemingly elementary ones. For example, it is well documented that autistic children often have difficulty correctly using pronouns, sometimes referring to themselves as "you" instead of "I."

2 Aug 2011

Nicotine protects against Parkinson's disease

If you've ever wondered if smoking offered society any benefit, a new research report published in The FASEB Journal offers a surprising answer. Nicotine protects us from Parkinson's disease, and the discovery of how nicotine does this may lead to entirely new types of treatments for the disease.

2 Aug 2011

Blocking IGF-1 receptor cripples cancer growth in T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Blocking a growth factor receptor cripples cancer growth in a form of T cell leukemia, according to a study published online on August 1 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine.

2 Aug 2011

Scientists produce first systematic network map of plant protein interactions

An international consortium of scientists has produced the first systematic network map of interactions that occur between proteins in the plant Arabidopsis thaliana.

2 Aug 2011

Taxoxifen combined with dasatinib reverses chemo-resistance in breast cancer cells

Taking a leukemia chemotherapy drug may help breast cancer patients who don't respond to tamoxifen overcome resistance to the widely-used drug, new research from the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson suggests.

2 Aug 2011

Ursodeoxycholic acid could help prevent disturbances in heart's normal rhythm

A synthesised compound which is also found in bear bile could help prevent disturbances in the heart's normal rhythm, according to research published today in the journal Hepatology by a team from Imperial College London.

2 Aug 2011

Scientists design octapeptides to fight drug resistant ovarian cancer cells

Italian and German scientists have designed peptides to target the protein-protein interface of a key enzyme in DNA synthesis crucial for cancer growth. The peptides act by a novel inhibitory mechanism and curb cancer cell growth in drug resistant ovarian cancer cells.

2 Aug 2011

Elsevier launches new interactive feature for life sciences journals

Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, introduces the Genome Viewer, a new interactive feature on SciVerse ScienceDirect for applicable life sciences journals.

2 Aug 2011

Drink wine to prevent sunburns: Flavonoid research

According to a new Spanish study wine could protect against harmful sunburns. The researchers from the University of Barcelona and the Spanish National Research Council find that a compound found in grapes or grape derivatives may protect skin cells from skin-damaging ultraviolet radiation.

1 Aug 2011

Mathematical model predicts progress of tumors from early stages to metastasis

Researchers from the University of Miami (UM) and the University of Heidelberg in Germany have developed a mathematical model to understand and predict the progress of a tumor, from its early stages to metastasis, in hopes of creating highly personalized treatment strategies for patients who have cancer. The findings are published in Nature's new online journal Scientific Reports.

1 Aug 2011

Nature Biotechnology publishes BGI, GT Life Sciences' study on CHO K1 genome

BGI, the world's largest genomics organization, and GT Life Sciences, Inc., a privately held biotechnology company that utilizes a proven metabolic modeling and experimental platform to drive the discovery and design of new products and processes for the life sciences field, announced today that their collaborative study on the genomic sequence of the Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) K1 cell line was published July 31, 2011 online in Nature Biotechnology.

1 Aug 2011

Artificial nanoparticles have direct effect on heart rate and rhythm

Artificial nanoparticles are becoming increasingly pervasive in modern life. However, their influence on our health and the mechanisms by which they affect the human body remain largely shrouded in mystery.

1 Aug 2011

Stealth presents Bendavia at AHA's Cardiovascular Scientific Sessions

Stealth Peptides Inc. (Stealth), a privately held biopharmaceutical company developing innovative mitochondrial therapies for diseases with unmet medical needs, presented its lead clinical candidate, Bendavia, during the 2011 American Heart Association's (AHA) Cardiovascular Scientific Sessions.

1 Aug 2011