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Adenosine plays major role in parlaying effects of acupuncture

Scientists have taken another important step toward understanding just how sticking needles into the body can ease pain.

31 May 2010

Researchers identify gene responsible for Meckel-Gruber and Joubert syndromes

An international group of researchers has identified the genetic cause of an inherited condition that causes severe foetal abnormalities.

31 May 2010

Yeast produce a hormone that triggers fungal cells to become more infectious

In their ongoing studies of how yeast (fungi) can infect a host and cause disease, a research team at the Life Sciences and Bioengineering Center at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) has made an unexpected discovery. They found that yeast produce a hormone previously known to be made by plants, and that the presence of that hormone in sufficient quantity within the yeast's immediate environment triggers the fungal cells to become more infectious.

29 May 2010

Various aspects of consumer genetics to be discussed at 2nd Annual Consumer Genetics Conference

At the 2nd Annual Consumer Genetics Conference taking place in Boston from June 2-4 at the Hynes Convention Center, these issues will be addressed and preeminent leaders from varying areas of expertise will provide perspectives on these crucial topics that are shaping the way we approach clinical medicine and helping to improve patient outcomes.

29 May 2010

RNA viruses hijack cellular enzyme to create viral replication factories on cell membranes

Nihal Altan-Bonnet, assistant professor of cell biology, Rutgers University in Newark, and her research team have made a significant new discovery about RNA viruses and how they replicate themselves.

29 May 2010

UC Riverside botanist receives BSA Merit Award for outstanding contributions to botanical science

Darleen DeMason, a professor of botany in UC Riverside's Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, has been elected as one of this year's six Botanical Society of America Merit Award recipients.

29 May 2010

Circumstantial evidence suggests first identified Alzheimer disease patient carried N141I presenilin-2 mutation

Writing the latest pages of an anthropological mystery, scientists propose in this month's Archives of Neurology that it is highly possible that Auguste Deter, the first identified Alzheimer disease patient, carried the N141I presenilin-2 mutation—the same one as in present-day U.S. families descended from German emigrants who settled near the river Volga in Russia.

29 May 2010

Famous painters, musicians, and writers who fought against neurological disorders

The third part of Neurological Disorders in Famous Artists presents painters, musicians, and writers who had to fight against an acute or chronic neurological disease. Sometimes this fight was without success (e.g. Shostakovich, Schumann, Wolf, Pascal), but often a dynamic and paradoxical creativity of the clinical disorder was integrated into their artistic production (e.g. Klee, Ramuz).

29 May 2010

RNAi therapy shuts down gene critical to RSV, prevents virus replication

John DeVincenzo, MD, professor and researcher in the Departments of Pediatrics and Molecular Sciences at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC), has proven for the first time that a totally new concept in drug design can be used to treat human disease. Dr. DeVincenzo, who also serves as a children's infectious diseases specialist at Le Bonheur Children's Hospital, conducted his study at the Children's Foundation Research Center, a UT Health Science Center partner located at Le Bonheur.

29 May 2010

Study demonstrates protection against Ebola infection in nonhuman primates using RNAi

Scientists using tiny particles of genetic material to interfere in the replication process of the deadly Ebola virus have successfully prevented monkeys exposed to that virus from dying of hemorrhagic fever. The proof-of-concept study, published in this week's issue of The Lancet, suggests that such protection also should be possible in humans.

29 May 2010

Preimplantation Factor essential for pregnancy to succeed: Study

Researchers at Yale School of Medicine and their colleagues at the Society for the Investigation of Early Pregnancy have helped clarify the function of a unique protein called Preimplantation Factor, which is produced by healthy embryos to direct embryo attachment and help the mother adapt to pregnancy.

29 May 2010

Allergic reactions prevent people with allergic asthma from generating healthy immune response to influenza

New research from UT Southwestern Medical Center suggests that allergic reactions to pet dander, dust mites and mold may prevent people with allergic asthma from generating a healthy immune response to respiratory viruses such as influenza.

29 May 2010

New, non-controversial source of stem cells can form heart muscle cells, repair heart damage

A new and non-controversial source of stem cells can form heart muscle cells and help repair heart damage, according to results of preliminary lab tests reported in Circulation Research: Journal of the American Heart Association.

29 May 2010

Pancreatic cancer patients with circulating tumor cells tend to have worse outcomes: Study

Fox Chase Cancer Center investigators find that pancreatic cancer patients who have circulating tumor cells tend to have worse outcomes than patients without circulating tumor cells. Additionally, the team has uncovered evidence that not all circulating tumor cells are the same, and some may predict worse outcomes than others.

29 May 2010

Novel pipette technique for study of structural properties of tissues

A collaboration of French and Canadian researchers have found that sucking a portion of a spherical globule of cells into a tiny pipette provides information about the adhesion between cells and the elastic properties of the tissue. The method is a novel approach for the study of the structural properties of tissues, and should offer insights into processes such as embryonic development, tissue growth and cancer. A paper describing the research appears online in Physical Review Letters on May 24.

28 May 2010

Researchers discover bitter taste inhibitor

Researchers have discovered a chemical that specifically blocks people's ability to detect the bitter aftertaste that comes with artificial sweeteners such as saccharin. The key is a molecule known only as GIV3727 that specifically targets and inhibits a handful of human bitter taste receptors, according to a report published online on May 27th in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication.

28 May 2010

Study papers shows how nutrients affect gene expression

Awareness of the influence of our genetic variation to dietary response (nutrigenetics) and how nutrients may affect gene expression (nutrigenomics) is prompting a revolution in the field of nutrition. Nutrigenetics/Nutrigenomics provide powerful approaches to unravel the complex relationships among nutritional molecules, genetic variants and the biological system.

28 May 2010

Novel imaging system helps visualize and monitor cellular immune responses of transplanted tissue in real time

A group of "color-coded" laboratory mice are providing researchers with a novel way of tracking T-cells, enabling them to visualize and monitor the cellular immune responses of transplanted tissue in real time. The new imaging system is described in the June issue of Nature Medicine, which appears on-line this week.

28 May 2010

Helicobacter pylori's helical shape helps it colonize the stomach

The bacterium Helicobacter pylori, which lives in the human stomach and is associated with ulcers and gastric cancer, is shaped like a corkscrew, or helix. For years researchers have hypothesized that the bacterium's twisty shape is what enables it to survive - and thrive - within the stomach's acid-drenched environment, but until now they have had no proof.

28 May 2010

Amorfix, Aragen Bioscience collaborate to develop high-affinity monoclonal antibodies against targets for cancer

Amorfix Life Sciences and Aragen Bioscience, Inc. announced today that they have entered into an agreement to develop high-affinity monoclonal antibodies against a number of targets for cancer. Using its proprietary ProMIS(TM) computational platform discovery technology, Amorfix has identified several disease specific epitopes ("DSEs") on misfolded Fas receptor. Aragen will use those DSEs to generate highly specific monoclonal antibodies ("mAbs").

28 May 2010

Medical Science News

Adenosine plays major role in parlaying effects of acupuncture

Researchers identify gene responsible for Meckel-Gruber and Joubert syndromes

Yeast produce a hormone that triggers fungal cells to become more infectious

Various aspects of consumer genetics to be discussed at 2nd Annual Consumer Genetics Conference

RNA viruses hijack cellular enzyme to create viral replication factories on cell membranes

UC Riverside botanist receives BSA Merit Award for outstanding contributions to botanical science

Circumstantial evidence suggests first identified Alzheimer disease patient carried N141I presenilin-2 mutation

Famous painters, musicians, and writers who fought against neurological disorders

RNAi therapy shuts down gene critical to RSV, prevents virus replication

Study demonstrates protection against Ebola infection in nonhuman primates using RNAi

Preimplantation Factor essential for pregnancy to succeed: Study

Allergic reactions prevent people with allergic asthma from generating healthy immune response to influenza

New, non-controversial source of stem cells can form heart muscle cells, repair heart damage

Pancreatic cancer patients with circulating tumor cells tend to have worse outcomes: Study

Novel pipette technique for study of structural properties of tissues

Researchers discover bitter taste inhibitor

Study papers shows how nutrients affect gene expression

Novel imaging system helps visualize and monitor cellular immune responses of transplanted tissue in real time

Helicobacter pylori's helical shape helps it colonize the stomach

Amorfix, Aragen Bioscience collaborate to develop high-affinity monoclonal antibodies against targets for cancer

Unlocking live single-cell functional insights

Fluidics in Modern Healthcare & Medical Device Innovation

How microRNA is transforming science: From discovery to diagnostics

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