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Dual role of Notch signalling pathway

Scientists headed by ICREA researcher Marco Mil-n, at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), reveal a surprising new function of Notch protein that contrasts with the one known to date. Found in the cell membrane, this protein activates a signalling pathway that regulates the expression of genes that make the cell divide, grow, migrate, specialise or die.

16 Mar 2010

Keynote speakers to discuss regenerative medicine therapies at upcoming forum

What regenerative medicine therapies are being applied to patients today? What hurdles stand between stem cell therapies and real treatments in the clinic? Keynote speakers at the upcoming inaugural Translational Regenerative Medicine Forum will discuss these topics as well as provide an update on various national and regional stem cell initiatives.

16 Mar 2010

FDA approves Irvine Scientific's Vit Kit-Freeze and Vit Kit-Thaw for cryopreservation of all stages of embryos

Irvine Scientific, a pioneer in developing products specifically for the Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) community, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved their products intended for vitrification of pronuclear (PN) zygotes through day 3 cleavage and blastocyst stage embryos within the fertility area.

16 Mar 2010

Banana lectin discovery may lead to potential new treatments for preventing sexual transmission of HIV

A potent new inhibitor of HIV, derived from bananas, may open the door to new treatments to prevent sexual transmission of HIV, according to a University of Michigan Medical School study published this week.

16 Mar 2010

Study suggests HuR gene plays a critical role in inducing cells' inflammatory response

To understand the role of inflammation in cardiovascular and other diseases, it is essential to identify and characterize genes that induce an inflammatory response in the body -- and the genes that regulate them.

16 Mar 2010

Long-term tobacco dependence may affect memory and thinking in women

Men and women with a history of alcohol abuse may not see long-term negative effects on their memory and thinking, but female smokers do, a new study suggests.

16 Mar 2010

Childhood stress and trauma may accelerate cellular aging

Children who suffer physical or emotional abuse could be faced with accelerated cellular aging as adults, according to new research published by Elsevier in Biological Psychiatry.

16 Mar 2010

MIT biochemist joins Thomson Reuters’ annual ‘Top 12’ list

The world's "hottest" researcher is biochemist Rudolf Jaenisch from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is joined by scientists scattered from Ann Arbor to Osaka on the annual Thomson Reuters list of the world's 12 hottest researchers.

16 Mar 2010

MMG effectively locates nerves during minimally invasive spine surgery

An electronic device is an accurate technique for locating and avoiding nerves during spinal procedures, suggests a study by Henry Ford Hospital researchers.

16 Mar 2010

Human brain processes predictable sensory input more efficiently

The human brain processes predictable sensory input more efficiently. Alink and colleagues based this conclusion on the characteristics of responses in the primary visual cortex. It is known that the primary visual cortex is critical for vision and that responses in this brain area create a map of what we are currently looking at.

16 Mar 2010

Link between potential hyper-activity of mTOR signalling pathway and cancer cells

The link between obesity and disease has been well documented. There's evidence now that obesity and cancer have a strong link, as they've shown in the United States at least 90,000 cancer deaths a year can be attributed to obesity. University of Alberta researcher Richard Lamb is on his way to understanding the correlation and it's a good example of how the scientific process works.

16 Mar 2010

Concurrent use of proton-pump inhibitor and clopidogrel does not elevate cardiovascular risk

Heart patients who took a stomach acid-suppressing proton-pump inhibitor along with clopidogrel - a drug that prevents blood clots - were only half as likely to be hospitalized for upper digestive tract bleeding than those who used clopidogrel alone, according to a new study supported by HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health.

16 Mar 2010

CLC bio releases groundbreaking whole-genome de novo assembler

Today, CLC bio released a groundbreaking whole-genome de novo assembler that will assemble genomes of any size, including human and plant genomes on a single workstation computer. Equally important, CLC bio’s de novo assembler is the first assembler that enables molecular biologists to set up, adjust, and run their large genome de novo assemblies through a graphical user-interface.

16 Mar 2010

MIF exhibits potential as viable therapeutic target for Type 2 diabetes

An experimental oral drug has lowered blood sugar levels and inflammation in mice with Type 2 diabetes, suggesting that the medication could someday be added to the arsenal of drugs used by millions of Americans with this disease, according to new research.

16 Mar 2010

A guide on ethics and neuroscience

As scientists continue to explore how the brain works, using ever more sophisticated technology, it seems likely that new findings will radically alter the traditional understanding of human nature.

16 Mar 2010

Study offers new possibilities for breast and other cancer therapies

Conventional biological wisdom holds that living cells interact with their environment through an elaborate network of chemical signals. As a result many therapies for the treatment of cancer and other diseases in which cell behavior goes awry focus on drugs that block or disrupt harmful chemical signals.

16 Mar 2010