Editor's Picks
The Lead
Digging Out DNA with Digital PCR
May 23, 2013 10:44 am | by Mike May, PhD | Articles | Comments
The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) plays a leading role in today’s biology. PCR started with an endpoint approach that detected a particular nucleic-acid sequence. Then, real-time PCR provided relative quantification of the sequences. Most recently, digital PCR (dPCR) allowed scientists to absolutely quantify sequences of nucleic acids.
Cell Sorting Based on RNA Detection in Living Cells
May 1, 2013 12:10 pm | by Don Weldon, Yuko Williams, Alex Ko, EMD Millipore Corporation | Articles | Comments
Identifying cell types and sorting cells based on RNA expression levels without any transfection...
Ohio State Implants First Brain Pacemaker to Treat Alzheimer's
February 7, 2013 4:55 pm | News | Comments
During a five-hour surgery last October at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center,...
Ohio State Implants First Brain Pacemaker to Treat Alzheimer's
February 7, 2013 4:55 pm | News | Comments
During a five-hour surgery last October at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center,...
Drawing Pad Monitors Learning-disabled Brains
June 18, 2013 10:58 am | News | CommentsFor less than $100, University of Washington researchers have designed a computer-interfaced drawing pad that helps scientists see inside the brains of children with learning disabilities while they read and write. To create the system, researchers hollowed out a ballpoint pen and inserted two optical fibers that connect to a light-tight box in an adjacent control room where the pen’s movement is recorded.
Melanoma Tumors 'Eradicated' in Mice
June 17, 2013 11:10 am | News | CommentsResearchers eradicated most melanoma tumors by exposing them to a fast-acting virus, according to a report in the Journal of Virology. Melanoma is the deadliest type of skin cancer and can spread throughout the body and even into the brain.
Technique Clears Major Diabetes Transplant Hurdle
June 17, 2013 11:04 am | News | CommentsResearchers have identified a way to trigger reproduction in the laboratory of clusters of human cells that make insulin, potentially removing a significant obstacle to transplanting the cells as a treatment for patients with type 1 diabetes.
Developmental Protein Regulates Cancer Spread
June 14, 2013 9:43 am | News | CommentsA protein used by embryo cells during early development, and recently found in many different types of cancer, apparently serves as a switch regulating the spread of cancer, known as metastasis, new research reports. Metastasis is responsible for 90 percent of cancer-related deaths.
US Court Rules Against Gene Patents
June 13, 2013 11:08 am | by BY JESSE J. HOLLAND - ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER | News | CommentsThe Supreme Court ruled today that companies cannot patent parts of naturally-occurring human genes, a decision with the potential to profoundly affect the emerging and lucrative medical and biotechnology industries. The high court's unanimous judgment reverses three decades of patent awards by government officials.
New Human Cornea Layer Discovered
June 12, 2013 9:08 am | News | CommentsScientists have discovered a previously undetected layer in the cornea, the clear window at the front of the human eye. The breakthrough could help surgeons to dramatically improve outcomes for patients undergoing corneal grafts and transplants.
1-D to 3-D Genomics
June 11, 2013 11:21 am | News | CommentsNew breakthroughs in research on protein-DNA recognition may have profound implications for furthering research into cancer and other genetically based diseases. The research— which integrates two fields, genomics and structural biology— sheds light on the mechanisms underlying how proteins recognize their DNA binding sites by translating genome sequences into three-dimensional structures.
Bioengineered Vein Successfully Implanted
June 7, 2013 10:21 am | News | CommentsIn a first-of-its-kind operation in the United States, a team of doctors helped create a bioengineered blood vessel and transplanted it into the arm of a patient with end-stage kidney disease. The procedure is a milestone in the field of tissue engineering.
Anesthesia Effects Depend on Age of Neurons, Not Patient
June 6, 2013 11:07 am | News | CommentsAs pediatric specialists become increasingly aware that surgical anesthesia may have lasting effects on the developing brains of young children, new research suggests the threat may also apply to adult brains. Researchers recently reported that testing in laboratory mice shows anesthesia’s neurotoxic effects depend on the age of brain neurons– not the age of the animal undergoing anesthesia.
The Fight Against Genome Parasites
June 5, 2013 10:23 am | News | CommentsIn the gonads of animals, genome parasites, such as transposons, pose a serious threat to evolutionary fitness. To protect genomic integrity, animals evolved the so-called piRNA pathway to silence the deleterious transposons. Researchers have now identified almost 50 genes that play important roles in the piRNA pathway of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster.
Neuron Circuits Overexcited in Fragile X Brains
June 4, 2013 10:58 am | News | CommentsThe genetic malady known as Fragile X syndrome is the most common cause of inherited autism and intellectual disability. Brain scientists know the gene defect that causes the syndrome and understand the damage it does in misshaping the brain's synapses, but how this abnormal shaping of synapses translates into abnormal behavior is unclear. Now, researchers believe they know.
Altered Gut Microbiota Can Predict Diabetes
May 30, 2013 10:39 am | News | CommentsIntestinal bacteria may have a greater influence on us than was previously thought. In a recent study, researchers showed that patients with Type 2 diabetes have an altered gut microbiota. Their findings have led to a new model to identify patients at increased risk of developing diabetes.
Scientists Announce Top 10 New Species
May 24, 2013 9:11 am | News | CommentsAn amazing glow-in-the-dark cockroach, a harp-shaped carnivorous sponge and the smallest vertebrate on Earth are just three of the newly discovered top 10 species selected by the International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University.
'Lifespan Machine' Monitors Worm Aging
May 20, 2013 12:00 pm | by Harvard Medical School | News | CommentsThe worm’s tail wriggles, a micrometer-scale twitch. A scanner captures the new posture. Software recognizes the motion. Life goes on in the Lifespan Machine, a new system devised in the lab of Walter Fontana that, essentially, counts dead worms.
Osteoarthritis Progression Halted
May 20, 2013 10:30 am | News | CommentsScientists have turned their view of osteoarthritis (OA) inside out. Literally. Instead of seeing the painful degenerative disease as a problem primarily of the cartilage that cushions joints, they now have evidence that the bone underneath the cartilage is also a key player and exacerbates the damage.
Nanogel Secretes Insulin on Demand
May 16, 2013 11:49 am | News | CommentsInjectable nanoparticles developed at MIT may someday eliminate the need for patients with Type 1 diabetes to constantly monitor their blood-sugar levels and inject themselves with insulin. The nanoparticles were designed to sense glucose levels in the body and respond by secreting the appropriate amount of insulin, thereby replacing the function of pancreatic islet cells, which are destroyed in patients with Type 1 diabetes.
New Drug Slows Alzheimer's
May 15, 2013 10:17 am | News | CommentsA drug developed by scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, known as J147, reverses memory deficits and slows Alzheimer's disease in aged mice following short-term treatment. The findings may pave the way to a new treatment for Alzheimer's disease in humans.
Gel Implant Restores Paralyzed Nerves
May 14, 2013 11:33 am | News | CommentsA team of researchers has invented a method for repairing damaged peripheral nerves. Through a biodegradable implant in combination with a newly-developed Guiding Regeneration Gel (GRG) that increases nerve growth and healing, the functionality of a torn or damaged nerve could ultimately be restored.
Product Roundup: Fume Hoods and Biological Safety Cabinets
May 10, 2013 2:34 pm | News | CommentsIn any laboratory, safety of both the researchers and the samples are integral to a successful experiment. Fume hoods and biological safety cabinets offer protection from hazardous fumes with proper ventilation that will ensure the safety of all scientists in the laboratory and the samples they are working with.
Protein Reverses Age-related Heart Failure
May 10, 2013 10:53 am | News | CommentsResearchers have identified a protein in the blood of mice and humans that may prove to be the first effective treatment for the form of age-related heart failure that affects millions of Americans. When the protein was injected into old mice, the hearts were reduced in size and thickness, resembling the healthy hearts of younger mice.
Diabetes Cured in Mice
May 9, 2013 11:03 am | News | CommentsResearchers have made a significant first step with newly engineered biomaterials for cell transplantation that could help lead to a possible cure for Type 1 diabetes, which affects about 3 million Americans. Engineers and clinicians have successfully engrafted insulin-producing cells into a diabetic mouse model, reversing diabetic symptoms in the animal in as little as 10 days.
Life Span Extended 25% in Fruit Flies
May 7, 2013 4:25 pm | News | CommentsScientists have identified a gene previously implicated in Parkinson's disease that can delay the onset of aging and extend the healthy life span of fruit flies. The research, they say, could have important implications for aging and disease in humans.
Device Extracts DNA in Minutes
May 6, 2013 3:51 pm | News | CommentsTake a swab of saliva from your mouth and within minutes your DNA could be ready for analysis and genome sequencing with the help of a new device. Engineers and NanoFacture, a Bellevue, Wash., company, have created a device that can extract human DNA from fluid samples in a simpler, more efficient and environmentally friendly way than conventional methods.
Sex at Zero Gravity
May 2, 2013 1:38 pm | by Skip Derra | Articles | CommentsIf the long-term goal of humans is, indeed, space exploration and colonization, then there are many survivability questions that need to be answered. Leaving Earth means leaving the friendly confines of a planet on which we have evolved over the eons and to which our bodies have adapted. And it turns out gravity has a role in successful sexual reproduction, at least for plants.
Physical by Smartphone a Growing Possibility
May 2, 2013 12:20 am | by LAURAN NEERGAARD - AP MEDICAL WRITER | News | CommentsIt's not a "Star Trek" tricorder, but by hooking a variety of gadgets onto a smartphone you could almost get a complete physical- without the paper gown or even a visit to the doctor's office. Blood pressure? Just plug the arm cuff into the phone for a quick reading.
