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New technology delivers electrical signals from brain directly to muscles

A new Northwestern Medicine brain-machine technology delivers messages from the brain directly to the muscles -- bypassing the spinal cord -- to enable voluntary and complex movement of a paralyzed hand. The device could eventually be tested on, and perhaps aid, paralyzed patients.

20 Apr 2012

Breakdown of white-matter pathways affects decision-making as we age

If you are an aging baby boomer and you've noticed it's a bit harder to drive to unfamiliar locations or to pick a new brand of olive oil at the supermarket, you can blame it on the white matter in your brain.

20 Apr 2012

Entire HCV lifecycle can be recapitulated in murine cells

A US study presented today at The International Liver CongressTM 2012 demonstrates that the entire HCV lifecycle can be recapitulated in murine cells, implying that HCV permissive mouse models could soon be developed.

20 Apr 2012

Rare CARD14 gene mutations can lead to plaque psoriasis

Scientists led by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified the first gene directly linked to the most common form of psoriasis, a chronic skin condition.

20 Apr 2012

Scientists discover new ways to help detect and treat osteoporosis

Scientists at the University of Sheffield have discovered new ways to help detect and treat the debilitating brittle bone disease osteoporosis.

20 Apr 2012

Social status can affect configuration of neural circuitry

Researchers at Georgia State University have discovered that in one species of freshwater crustaceans, social status can affect the configuration of neural circuitry.

20 Apr 2012

Cholesterol may slow or stop cancer cell growth

A Simon Fraser University researcher is among four scientists who argue that cholesterol may slow or stop cancer cell growth. They describe how cholesterol-binding proteins called ORPs may control cell growth in A Detour for Yeast Oxysterol Binding Proteins, a paper published in the latest issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

20 Apr 2012

Researchers discover new stem cell in the adult brain

Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have discovered a new stem cell in the adult brain. These cells can proliferate and form several different cell types -- most importantly, they can form new brain cells. Scientists hope to take advantage of the finding to develop methods to heal and repair disease and injury in the brain.

20 Apr 2012

Gut microbiota has profound systemic effect on bile acid metabolism

A new study presented today at the International Liver Congress- 2012 demonstrates that the gut microbiota has a profound systemic effect on bile acid metabolism.

20 Apr 2012

HDAC9 gene can lead to obesity-induced body fat dysfunction

Cardiac researchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC) have found that a certain cellular pathway is linked to obesity-related disorders, like diabetes, heart disease and fatty liver disease.

20 Apr 2012

UH to conduct research on causes and treatment of learning disabilities

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a five-year, $9 million grant to the University of Houston's Texas Center for Learning Disabilities to conduct research on the causes and treatment of learning disabilities in children and adolescents. UH is one of four universities nationally to receive funding from the NIH for a learning disability research center.

20 Apr 2012

BuruliVac project getting closer to a vaccine

During a meeting in Lisbon, the partners of the BuruliVac research consortium found the project to be running smoothly, and getting closer to a vaccine against Buruli ulcer, a disfiguring and mutilating disease that causes a lot of suffering and now is difficult to treat. Several vaccine candidates work well in mice and are ready for further testing on blood of patients; one is ready for testing in mice.

19 Apr 2012

Gut microbiota plays a causal role in development of diabetes and NAFLD

Exciting new data presented today at the International Liver Congress 2012 shows the gut microbiota's causal role in the development of diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), independent of obesity.

19 Apr 2012

Merkin Family Foundation pledges new commitment to the Broad Institute

The Merkin Family Foundation today announced a commitment to the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT to establish the Merkin Institute Fellows, a program that will support some of the most promising and ambitious scientists pursuing bold research at the Broad Institute.

19 Apr 2012

Researchers describe how they combine two pieces of technology to create neuroprosthesis

An artificial connection between the brain and muscles can restore complex hand movements in monkeys following paralysis, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health.

19 Apr 2012

NSCLC patients with EGFR mutations benefit from erlotinib-first regimen

Patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer should only receive treatment with the drug erlotinib before receiving standard chemotherapy if their tumor is known to harbor EGFR mutations, researchers report at the 3rd European Lung Cancer Conference in Geneva, Switzerland.

19 Apr 2012

Physical exercise, meditation can change brains for the better

Practices like physical exercise, certain forms of psychological counseling and meditation can all change brains for the better, and these changes can be measured with the tools of modern neuroscience, according to a review article now online at Nature Neuroscience.

19 Apr 2012

New passive vaccine reverses dangerous symptoms of cocaine overdose

Scientists are reporting development and successful testing in laboratory mice of a substance that shows promise for becoming the first antidote for cocaine toxicity in humans. According to a report in ACS' journal Molecular Pharmaceutics, the new so-called "passive vaccine" reversed the motor impairment, seizures and other dangerous symptoms of a cocaine overdose, which claims thousands of lives each year among users of the illicit drug.

19 Apr 2012

Secondary Speckle Sensing Microscopy may rapidly and accurately diagnose malaria

Correctly and quickly diagnosing malaria is essential for effective and life-saving treatment. But rapid detection, particularly in remote areas, is not always possible because current methods are time-consuming and require precise instrumentation and highly skilled microscopic analysis. Now, a promising new optical imaging system, described in a paper published today in the Optical Society's (OSA) open-access journal Biomedical Optics Express, may make the diagnosis of this deadly disease much easier, faster, and more accurate.

19 Apr 2012

First specific antidote for cocaine toxicity

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have shown that an injectable solution can protect mice from an otherwise lethal overdose of cocaine. The findings could lead to human clinical trials of a treatment designed to reverse the effects of cocaine in case of emergency. Cocaine is involved in more than 400,000 emergency-room visits and about 5,000 overdose deaths each year in the United States.

19 Apr 2012