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Karolinska Institutet to study fundamental causes of diabetes

The Swedish medical university, Karolinska Institutet, has received a grant of 1.6 million Euro from the Stichting af Jochnick Foundation for research into the fundamental causes of diabetes. The grant will make it possible to use unique methods to study how the release of insulin is regulated in living organisms - and this will create new opportunities for developing more effective drugs against diabetes.

7 Feb 2012

Low-dose MNC hUCB therapy effective in ALS-modeled mice

Repeated, low-dose injections of mononuclear cells derived from human umbilical cord blood have been found effective in protecting motor neuron cells, delaying disease progression and increasing lifespan for mice modeling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, also referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, report University of South Florida researchers and colleagues from Saneron CCEL Therapeutics, Inc., and the Ribeirao Preto School of Medicine at the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil.

7 Feb 2012

Breathalyzer distinguishes normal and disease-state glucose metabolism

The future of disease diagnosis may lie in a "breathalyzer"-like technology currently under development at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

7 Feb 2012

Genomic Health plans to establish wholly owned subsidiary

Genomic Health, Inc. today announced plans to establish a wholly owned subsidiary with the goal of improving the quality of diagnosis, communication and support for millions of patients and their families faced with common and rare genetic conditions.

7 Feb 2012

Researchers derive vessel-forming stem cells from amniotic fluid

Researchers at Rice University and Texas Children's Hospital have turned stem cells from amniotic fluid into cells that form blood vessels. Their success offers hope that such stem cells may be used to grow tissue patches to repair infant hearts.

7 Feb 2012

Scientists capture finest nerve cell details in living mouse brain

To explore the most intricate structures of the brain in order to decipher how it functions - Stefan Hell's team of researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in G-ttingen has made a significant step closer to this goal. Using the STED microscopy developed by Hell, the scientists have, for the first time, managed to record detailed live images inside the brain of a living mouse.

7 Feb 2012

Researchers discover how SHP-2 genetic defect may result in heart malformation

UNC researchers have discovered how the genetic defect underlying one of the most common congenital heart diseases keeps the critical organ from developing properly. According to the new research, mutations in a gene called SHP-2 distort the shape of cardiac muscle cells so they are unable to form a fully functioning heart.

7 Feb 2012

Exposure to manganese may increase risk of clumsiness in former welders

Welders who are exposed to manganese from welding fumes, risk developing increased clumsiness - and the result may remain decades after exposure has ceased. This is the finding of a study at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, of former shipyard workers.

7 Feb 2012

Researchers describe genetic basis of endometriosis

Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have, for the first time, described the genetic basis of endometriosis, a condition affecting millions of women that is marked by chronic pelvic pain and infertility. The researchers' discovery of a new gene mutation provides hope for new screening methods.

6 Feb 2012

Vigorous exercise triggers MSC accumulation in skeletal muscle

University of Illinois researchers determined that an adult stem cell present in muscle is responsive to exercise, a discovery that may provide a link between exercise and muscle health. The findings could lead to new therapeutic techniques using these cells to rehabilitate injured muscle and prevent or restore muscle loss with age.

6 Feb 2012

Scientists search gene alterations in three-parent kids

Researchers from Australia want to find out if using the DNA of three parents will prevent children inheriting life-threatening diseases. They add that if the technique proves successful in preventing the transfer of mitochondrial DNA mutations from mothers to babies, then laws on the use of embryos will need to be changed to allow the procedure.

6 Feb 2012

Coronary patients with low levels of anti-PC at greater risk of complications

Coronary patients with low levels of an immune system antibody called anti-PC, which neutralises parts of the "bad" cholesterol, run a greater risk of suffering complications following an acute cardiac episode and thus of premature death.

6 Feb 2012

Body's zinc control mechanisms may be key to aggressive breast cancer treatments

The body's control mechanisms for delivering zinc to cells could be key to improving treatment for some types of aggressive breast cancer.

6 Feb 2012

McMaster receives $30M gift to accelerate innovations in health research, education and care

A Hamilton family is giving McMaster University $30 million to accelerate the university's innovations in health research, education and care.

6 Feb 2012

Precision receives U.S. patent allowance for genome engineering methods

Precision BioSciences, Inc., a leader in the field of genome engineering, today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) has issued Notices of Allowance for U.S. Patent Applications 13/246,270 and 13/246,346.

6 Feb 2012

Pyromaker can more accurately identify complex genetic mutations

DNA sequencing to detect genetic mutations can aid in the diagnosis and selection of treatment for cancer. Current methods of testing DNA samples, Sanger sequencing and pyrosequencing, occasionally produce complex results that can be difficult or impossible to interpret. Scientists at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have developed a free software program, Pyromaker, that can more accurately identify such complex genetic mutations.

6 Feb 2012

CD74 molecule plays a guiding role in immune responses against diseases

University of British Columbia researchers have discovered the molecular pathway that enables receptors inside immune cells to find, and flag, fragments of pathogens trying to invade a host.

6 Feb 2012

Scientists identify genetic variant that increases risk of ischemic stroke

A genetic variant that increases the risk of a common type of stroke has been identified by scientists in a study published online in Nature Genetics today. This is one of the few genetic variants to date to be associated with risk of stroke and the discovery opens up new possibilities for treatment.

6 Feb 2012

Two molecules hold promise as a biomarker for OA

Henry Ford Hospital researchers have identified for the first time two molecules that hold promise as a biomarker for measuring cartilage damage associated with osteoarthritis.

5 Feb 2012

Two different research groups make similar advances in AD study

Two different research groups have independently made the same important discoveries on how Alzheimer's disease spreads in the brain, according to a February 2 New York Times story. The groups' findings have the potential to give us a much more sophisticated understanding of what goes wrong in Alzheimer's disease and, more importantly, what can be done to prevent or repair damage in the brain.

4 Feb 2012