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New proteomics-based approach to analyze bone quality

A new technique developed at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute allows researchers to collect large amounts of biochemical information from nanoscale bone samples.

23 Jun 2011

Resveratrol may make old age more tolerable, but not prevent it

A University of Florida review of research finds the polyphenol compound known as resveratrol found in red wine, grapes and other fruits may not prevent old age, but it might make it more tolerable.

23 Jun 2011

GUMC neuroscientists: Speech perception must have evolved from animals

Neuroscientists at Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) have defined, for the first time, three different processing stages that a human brain needs to identify sounds such as speech - and discovered that they are the same as ones identified in non-human primates.

23 Jun 2011

Fat substituted snack foods may contribute to weight gain

Fat substitutes used in popular snack foods to help people control weight may have the opposite effect, according to Purdue University research.

23 Jun 2011

Insights into type I diabetes

A new signal pathway that renders the insulin-releasing beta cell more sensitive to high levels of blood glucose has been discovered by researchers at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet. A second new study reveals a possible way to delay the disease by inhibiting a lipoprotein.

23 Jun 2011

SNP identification may help predict patients’ susceptibility to postoperative nausea and vomiting

There are several anesthetic complications that may have a hereditary background, including postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV). Past observations have shown PONV to occur in blood relatives as far back as two to three generations.

23 Jun 2011

New sAPPβ biomarker may identify people at risk of developing Alzheimer's

A new biomarker may help identify which people with mild memory deficits will go on to develop Alzheimer's disease, according to a new study published in the June 22, 2011, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

23 Jun 2011

PNAS publishes Roche manuscript on generation of human bispecific IgG antibodies

The Roche manuscript: "Immunoglobulin Domain Crossover as a Generic Approach for the Production of Bispecific IgG Antibodies" has been published in the prestigious Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA.

23 Jun 2011

Unraveling molecular dysfunction due to environmental toxin exposure

In a new article published in the journal Molecular Neurodegeneration, researchers at the University of Missouri School of Medicine take some of the first steps toward unraveling the molecular dysfunction that occurs when proteins are exposed to environmental toxins. Their discovery helps further explain recent NIH findings that demonstrate the link between Parkinson's disease and two particular pesticides - rotenone and paraquat.

23 Jun 2011

New surprising details about flow of neurotransmitters between brain neurons

Two studies featuring research from Weill Cornell Medical College have uncovered surprising details about the complex process that leads to the flow of neurotransmitters between brain neurons -- a dance of chemical messages so delicate that missteps often lead to neurological dysfunction.

23 Jun 2011

CPDC, UHN to advance use of medical isotopes for cancer treatment and diagnosis

CanProbe, a unique, not-for-profit joint venture to advance the use of medical isotopes for diagnosing and treating cancer and other serious diseases, was announced today by the Centre for Probe Development and Commercialization (CPDC) and the University Health Network.

23 Jun 2011

HKU releases draft genome sequence of scarlet fever strain

Scarlet fever has revealed unusual high infect rate in Hong Kong this year. So far, 466 children were infected and 2 of them dead. Scarlet fever is caused by Streptococcus pyogenes, a gram-positive pathogen that can be transmitted via skin wound and airborne droplet.

23 Jun 2011

Incivek-combination therapy increases chances of HCV patients achieving viral cure

The drug Incivek, when given in combination with two other medications, can dramatically increase the chances of people chronically infected with untreated genotype 1 hepatitis C virus achieving a viral cure. That's the finding of a study published in the June 23rd issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

23 Jun 2011

Adding leucine to diets improves insulin sensitivity, pre-diabetic condition and metabolic syndrome

A study led by researchers at the Joslin Diabetes Center suggests that adding the amino acid leucine to their diets may help those with pre-diabetes or metabolic syndrome.

23 Jun 2011

Weak neural synchronization could serve as powerful, new biological marker of autism

In a novel imaging study of sleeping toddlers, scientists at the University of California, San Diego Autism Center of Excellence report that a diminished ability of a young brain's hemispheres to "sync" with one another could be a powerful, new biological marker of autism, one that might enable an autism diagnosis at a very young age.

23 Jun 2011

New genetic research holds promise for patients with Chuvash polycythemia

New research conducted at UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, offers hope for people with a rare disorder called Chuvash polycythemia.

23 Jun 2011

Nontoxic gold nanoparticles could detect growth of early tumors in liver

Hepatocellular carcinoma is the most common cancer to strike the liver. More than 500,000 people worldwide, concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, are diagnosed with it yearly. Most of those afflicted die within six months.

23 Jun 2011

Penn State College of Medicine researchers create brief exam that identifies cognitive changes in ALS patients

Patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) could lose brain function earlier than is noticeably detectable, affecting their ability to make decisions about their care. Physicians need a method to assess these sensitive changes in brain function, without the need for extensive neuropsychological tests.

23 Jun 2011

Scientists observe key aspects of how memory circuits in the brain refine themselves

Scientists at the University of Michigan Health System have for the first time demonstrated how memory circuits in the brain refine themselves in a living organism through two distinct types of competition between cells.

23 Jun 2011

Molecularly targeted glue for cancer

"This is a totally new approach to cancer therapy," says Professor Patrick Gunning of the Department of Chemical and Physical Sciences. "Everything prior to this has targeted functionally relevant binding sites. Our approach inhibits the mobility of cancer-promoting proteins within cells-essentially, it's like molecularly targeted glue."

23 Jun 2011