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Stimulating specific neurons may reverse age-related memory defects

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have shown in animal models that the loss of memory that comes with aging is not necessarily a permanent thing.

3 Apr 2012

Scientists discover new serine protease: NSP4

Neutrophil granulocytes comprise important defences for the immune system. When pathogenic bacteria penetrate the body, they are the first on the scene to mobilise other immune cells via signal molecules, thereby containing the risk. To this end, they release serine proteases - enzymes that cut up other proteins to activate signal molecules. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology in Martinsried have now discovered a new serine protease: neutrophil serine protease 4, or NSP4.

3 Apr 2012

Researchers discover multiple genes associated with meconium ileus

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a devastating disease caused by mutations in the CFTR gene. In Canada, one in every 3,600 children born has the disease. Researchers have long been puzzled as to how individuals who carry the same CFTR mutations can experience such different courses of disease. Patients with CF are affected in multiple organs such as the lungs, pancreas and liver, to varying degrees.

3 Apr 2012

Clemson researcher to continue African sleeping sickness study

Clemson University researcher James Morris received a $360,079 competitive renewal grant from the National Institutes of Health to continue his study of Trypanosoma brucei, the single-celled parasite that causes African sleeping sickness.

3 Apr 2012

Cell Press introduces new career network for life scientists

Cell Press launches its new career network to help life scientists discover the best jobs in industry, academia, and government. The new site includes more ways to connect with Cell Press' network of millions of life scientists.

3 Apr 2012

CYP1B1 protein may be a potential target for intervention in head and neck cancer

Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck-which typically arises from thin, flat cells that line moist surfaces inside the mouth, nose and throat-is the sixth most common type of cancer worldwide, and it has a relatively low five-year survival rate and a high recurrence rate.

2 Apr 2012

PolyTherics, Spirogen enter research collaboration to produce novel ADCs for treatment of cancer

PolyTherics Limited, a provider of solutions to enable the development of better biopharmaceuticals, and Spirogen Limited, a leading oncology-focused company developing DNA sequence-targeted agents, announce that they have formed a research collaboration to develop antibody drug conjugates that combine PolyTherics' proprietary site-specific conjugation chemistry with Spirogen's highly potent novel cytotoxic drugs to produce novel ADCs for the treatment of cancer.

2 Apr 2012

Special fatty molecules pave novel way to treat infections, autoimmune diseases, allergies and cancer

An international research team led by scientists from Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN) under the Agency of Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) discovered that a special class of fatty molecules is essential for activating a unique group of early-responding immune cells.

2 Apr 2012

Safe method for destroying cancer cells using death cap mushroom poison

The mere thought of an identification error sends a chill down the spine of any mushroom lover: The death cap mushroom (Amanita phalloides), which resembles the common white button mushroom, contains one of the most deadly poisons found in nature, α-amanitin.

2 Apr 2012

Sleep enhances emotionally positive memories

Sleep plays a powerful role in preserving our memories. But while recent research shows that wakefulness may cloud memories of negative or traumatic events, a new study has found that wakefulness also degrades positive memories. Sleep, it seems, protects positive memories just as it does negative ones, and that has important implications for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder.

2 Apr 2012

Rare T follicular helper cells essential for developing antibody responses to infectious agents

The characterisation of a rare immune cell's involvement in antibody production and ability to 'remember' infectious agents could help to improve vaccination and lead to new treatments for immune disorders, say researchers from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute.

2 Apr 2012

Targeting inflammatory pathways may lead to new therapies

Scientists at Fox Chase Cancer Center have uncovered more details about how defects in components of the machinery that makes new proteins can lead to blood and other cancers.

2 Apr 2012

Novel tetracyclines with improved potency, efficacy against contemporary P. aeruginosa isolates

Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on next-generation antibiotics, announced today that it is presenting new results from studies that demonstrate the improved potency and pharmacokinetics of several of its newest discovery-stage tetracycline analogs.

2 Apr 2012

Study sheds light on cellular mechanisms involved in flu resistance

Scientists from the University of Utah School of Medicine have discovered that a mouse protein called IFITM3 contributes to the body's defense against some types of viral infections by binding to an enzyme responsible for regulating the pH of a cell's waste disposal system.

2 Apr 2012

New diagnostic test for Trichomonas vaginalis

Medical Diagnostic Laboratories, L.L.C. is a CLIA certified infectious disease laboratory which specializes in high-complexity, state-of-the-art, automated DNA-based molecular analyses.

2 Apr 2012

RainDance introduces new panel for cancer mutation screening

RainDance Technologies, Inc., the Digital Biology company, today announced the worldwide availability of its new panel for cancer mutation screening research using any next-generation sequencing (NGS) system.

2 Apr 2012

Life Technologies expands TaqMan Mutation Detection Assays

Life Technologies Corporation today announced the expansion to its TaqMan Mutation Detection Assays -- highly sensitive and novel molecular analysis research tools designed to detect an additional 241 of the most common mutations in 21 cancer genes.

2 Apr 2012

Blocking PRC2 protein may help protect against AML

Scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory have identified a candidate drug target for treating acute myeloid leukemia, a white blood cell cancer that proliferates out of control in the bone marrow.

2 Apr 2012

Ingenuity iReport for Real-Time PCR optimized for TaqMan Gene Expression Assays

Ingenuity Systems, a leading provider of information and analysis solutions for life science researchers, and Life Technologies Corporation today announced Ingenuity iReport for Real-Time PCR optimized for TaqMan Gene Expression Assays.

2 Apr 2012

ProteinSimple introduces Sally Western Blot

ProteinSimple today introduced Sally as the next member of the revolutionary Simple Western product family. Sally eliminates a critical bottleneck in large-scale protein research and biopharmaceutical development – manual Western Blot analysis. With Sally, researchers can perform 96 Simple Westerns in a single automated experiment.

From ProteinSimple 2 Apr 2012