Medical Science News

RSS

Study provides new insight into the mechanism of bacterial invasion protein

Spoiled meat is one of the sources for Listeria infections leading to listeriosis. Pregnant women, newborns and immune compromised people are susceptible for a severe progression of this disease. Firstly, the pathogen breaches the intestinal barrier and thus enters the body. The key for further spreading is the invasion protein internalin B that is located on the bacterial surface.

30 Nov 2009

Novel initiative to improve NMR structure determination

In structural biology, the only technique available to predict the three dimensional structure of large complex molecules in solution, such as proteins and DNA, is NMR spectroscopy. To catalyze improvements in the techniques behind these predictions, the "eNMR" project has launched a new initiative. In September's Nature Methods the project issued an invitation to the entire biomolecular Nuclear Magnetic Resonance community to participate in a large scale test of modern computing algorithms.

30 Nov 2009

Exiqon announces the recognition of ICCB-L

Exiqon A/S announced today that the Harvard Medical School ICCB-Longwood Screening Facility (ICCB-L) has been recognized as a MicroRNA Screening Center of Excellence.

30 Nov 2009

Study explores brain's rewiring processes during motor learning

New connections begin to form between brain cells almost immediately as animals learn a new task, according to a study published this week in Nature. Led by researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, the study involved detailed observations of the rewiring processes that take place in the brain during motor learning.

30 Nov 2009

Men and women respond differently to emotional stimuli, says new study

Researchers using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to study brain activation have found that men and women respond differently to positive and negative stimuli, according to a study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

30 Nov 2009

Scientists provide the first comprehensive picture of minimal cell

What are the bare essentials of life, the indispensable ingredients required to produce a cell that can survive on its own? Can we describe the molecular anatomy of a cell, and understand how an entire organism functions as a system? These are just some of the questions that scientists in a partnership between the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, and the Centre de Regulacio Genòmica (CRG) in Barcelona, Spain, set out to address.

28 Nov 2009

Study on placebo effect

A short time ago, Swedish scientists published a paper suggesting the existence of a genetic disposition to respond to placebo, thus giving rise to debate in the media about a possible "placebo gene." In the current issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2009; 106[46]: 751-5), Matthias Breidert and Karl Hofbauer summarize the most recent data about placebos.

28 Nov 2009

Researchers devise new tools for typing cells from children with acute lymphatic leukemia

Researchers at Uppsala University and University Children's Hospital in Uppsala have devised powerful new tools for typing cells from children with acute lymphatic leukemia and for prediction of how children with leukemia will respond to chemotherapy.

28 Nov 2009

Study examines fundamental aspects of fertility in yeast

Research at the University of Leicester analyzing common Baking and Brewers yeast is providing new insights into aspects of human health and fertility.

27 Nov 2009

B cells and their antibodies defend against microbes and control commensal microflora

Microbes populated the earth long before any eukariotic cell. Therefore, in order to survive, mono and multi-cellular organisms had to develop mechanisms of adaptation, cohabitation and defense against bacteria, fungi and viruses. One of these mechanisms is mediated by immunoglobulins in the serum and at mucosal surfaces.

27 Nov 2009

Scientists demonstrate stem cells heal lungs of newborn rats; study anticipated to benefit premature babies

Dr. Bernard Th-baud lives in two very different worlds. As a specialist in the Stollery Children's Hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Royal Alexandra Hospital, he cares for tiny babies, many of whom struggle for breath after being born weeks before they are due.

27 Nov 2009

Sexual selection to greatly enlarge the scope for adaptive speciation, finds new research

Darwin suggested that the action of natural selection can produce new species, but 150 years after the publication of his famous book, 'On the Origin of Species', debate still continues on the mechanisms of speciation.

27 Nov 2009

New approach for repairing damaged nerve fibers in spinal cord injuries using nano-spheres discovered

Researchers at Purdue University have discovered a new approach for repairing damaged nerve fibers in spinal cord injuries using nano-spheres that could be injected into the blood shortly after an accident.

27 Nov 2009

NCKU, ScinoPharm Taiwan sign MOU to establish university-industry cooperation

National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), Taiwan signed a MOU with ScinoPharm Taiwan Ltd. on Nov. 24th.

27 Nov 2009

Whitehead researchers develop new type of genetic screen for human cells

Whitehead researchers have developed a new type of genetic screen for human cells to pinpoint specific genes and proteins used by pathogens, according to their paper in Science.

27 Nov 2009

Experts say vitamin D assists body's immune system to fight against H1N1

The world's leading vitamin D experts say that raising your levels of "the sunshine vitamin" this winter might be the best way to help your body naturally raise its resistance to all forms of the flu virus - including the H1N1 swine flu virus.

26 Nov 2009

International collaborative research projects to decipher the biology behind the ageing process

Research efforts to help the world's ageing population live longer healthier lives have been given a major boost with the announcement of six new transatlantic research projects aiming to understanding the biology of the ageing process.

26 Nov 2009

BodyLogicMD opens 13 new bioidentical hormone specialty practices in 2009

For many businesses, 2009 has been a painful year. Not so for BodyLogicMD. The nation's largest and fastest growing network of expert physicians specializing exclusively in medically supervised bioidentical hormones has grown the number of physicians in its network since November 2008 - from 21 to 36 physicians - and is in progress to add more physician-owned centers, including one in Puerto Rico, by the end of this year.

26 Nov 2009

Researchers identify a set of molecular brakes that stabilize the developing brain's circuitry

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have identified a set of molecular brakes that stabilize the developing brain's circuitry. Moreover, experimentally removing those brakes in mice enhanced the animals' performance in a test of visual learning, suggesting a long-term path to therapeutic application.

26 Nov 2009

GIS scientists publish the first genetic historical map of Han Chinese

The first genetic historical map of the Han Chinese, the largest ethnic population in the world, as they migrated from south to north over evolutionary time was published online today by the American Journal of Human Genetics by scientists at the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS).

26 Nov 2009