Medical Science News

RSS

Worm protein controls key aspects of secretion of growth factors out of cells

Research in the worm is shedding light on a protein associated with a number of different human cancers, and may point to a highly targeted way to treat them.

22 Apr 2011

Valuable insight into immune response

An article in Science Signaling by researchers at the RIKEN Research Center for Allergy and Immunology has clarified for the first time the mechanism governing differentiation of B cells into antibody-producing plasma cells.

22 Apr 2011

Nanotechnology in sunscreens is safe, says Nanodermatology Society

The Nanodermatology Society (NDS), a physician-led organization dedicated to the scientific and medical aspects of nanotechnology and dermatology, released its first position statement on the safety of nanotechnology in sunscreens.

22 Apr 2011

Unanticipated structure at chromosome ends could be key ingredient in biological 'elixir of life'

In stark contrast to normal cells, which only divide a finite number of times before they enter into a permanent state of growth arrest or simply die, cancer cells never cease to proliferate. Now, scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have uncovered an important clue to one of the mechanisms underlying cancer cell immortality.

22 Apr 2011

Human placenta plays an active role in serotonin synthesis

Research at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California's Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute shows for the first time that the human placenta plays an active role in synthesizing serotonin, paving the way to new treatment strategies that could mitigate health impacts such as cardiovascular disease and mental illness.

22 Apr 2011

Researchers reveal how immune system distinguishes between beneficial and pathogenic organisms

The human gut is filled with 100 trillion symbiotic bacteria-ten times more microbial cells than our own cells-representing close to one thousand different species. "And yet, if you were to eat a piece of chicken with just a few Salmonella, your immune system would mount a potent inflammatory response," says Sarkis K. Mazmanian, assistant professor of biology at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

22 Apr 2011

Coquitlam student earns top prize in 2011 British Columbia SABC competition

Ground-breaking research by a 17-year-old Coquitlam student who found a way to observe the effects of ethanol on early brain development in an intact and awake brain has earned him the top prize in the 2011 British Columbia sanofi-aventis BioTalent Challenge.

22 Apr 2011

Research sheds new light on pathogenesis of diabetes

New research identifies a distinctive population of immune cells that may play a key role in the pathogenesis of diabetes.

22 Apr 2011

Engineering researchers use carbon nanotubes to create synthetic brain

Engineering researchers the University of Southern California have made a significant breakthrough in the use of nanotechnologies for the construction of a synthetic brain. They have built a carbon nanotube synapse circuit whose behavior in tests reproduces the function of a neuron, the building block of the brain.

22 Apr 2011

Roundtable to discuss about advances in neuroscience

Jamie Tyler, assistant professor in the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute and the Virginia Tech-Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences, has been invited to speak at a Royal Society of London high level workshop on May 11-12 on the security implications of advances in neuroscience.

22 Apr 2011

Mindfulness meditation may enhance mental abilities

The positive effects of mindfulness meditation on pain and working memory may result from an improved ability to regulate a crucial brain wave called the alpha rhythm.

22 Apr 2011

Scientists decode entire genome of lyre-leaved rock cress

It would appear reasonable to assume that two closely related plant species would have similar genetic blueprints. However, scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in T-bingen, working in cooperation with an international research team have now decoded, for the first time, the entire genome of the lyre-leaved rock cress (Arabidopsis lyrata), a close relative of the thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana), the model plant used by geneticists.

22 Apr 2011

Organophosphates exposure during pregnancy may impair child cognitive development

Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have found that exposure during pregnancy to a family of pesticides called organophosphates may impair child cognitive development. The findings are published online in Environmental Health Perspectives.

22 Apr 2011

Scientists discover new mechanism behind Salmonella invasion into gut cells

Scientists from the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research in Braunschweig, Germany have discovered a new, hitherto unknown mechanism of Salmonella invasion into gut cells: In this entry mode, the bacteria exploit the muscle power of cells to be pulled into the host cell cytoplasm.

22 Apr 2011

March of Dimes honors Whitehead Institute Director for Developmental Biology work

Whitehead Institute Director David Page has been named a recipient of the 2011 March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology. The prize honors Page's groundbreaking body of research on the human Y chromosome.

22 Apr 2011

UC Berkeley researchers form new Synthetic Biology Institute

An alliance of top researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, has formed the UC Berkeley Synthetic Biology Institute, advancing efforts to engineer cells and biological systems in ways that promise to transform technology in health and medicine, energy, the environment, new materials, and a host of other critical arenas.

22 Apr 2011

GM-SCF therapy can reduce flu symptoms and prevent death

New research on mice has shown that pulmonary administration of granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor significantly reduces flu symptoms and prevents death after a lethal dose influenza virus.

22 Apr 2011

Nature solves complex topological puzzles in DNA substrate recognition with elegant simplicity

A major discovery about an enzyme's structure has opened a window on understanding DNA repair. Scientists at Duke University Medical Center have determined the structure of a nuclease that will help scientists to understand several DNA repair pathways, a welcome development for cancer research.

21 Apr 2011

Genetic variation associated with MUC5B gene may increase risk of developing Pulmonary Fibrosis

A new discovery in a deadly lung disease may change the direction of research while uncovering increased risk for many patients and families. The Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis (CPF) and the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation (PFF) applaud the efforts of scientists that led to the discovery of a genetic variation associated with the MUC5B gene which may increase the risk of developing Pulmonary Fibrosis (PF).

21 Apr 2011

Nutlin-3a molecules stimulate signal to induce cell death and senescence in brain cancer

Researchers of Apoptosis and Cancer Group of the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) have found that a small molecule, Nutlin-3a, an antagonist of MDM2 protein, stimulates the signalling pathway of another protein, p53.

21 Apr 2011