Health
Research Deciphers HIV Attack Plan
April 2, 2013 9:58 am | News | CommentsA new study defines previously unknown properties of transmitted HIV-1, the virus that causes AIDS.
Blood Clotting, Immune Response Linked
April 2, 2013 9:40 am | News | CommentsResearchers have found an unexpected link between a protein that triggers the formation of blood clots and other proteins that are essential for the body’s immune system.
How Cells Distinguish Friend from Foe
April 1, 2013 10:57 am | News | CommentsResearchers have shown how the innate immune system distinguishes between dangerous pathogens and friendly microbes.
Study Reveals Mutant Histone Mechanism in Brain Cancer
April 1, 2013 10:36 am | News | CommentsMost cancer treatments are blunt. In an attempt to eradicate tumors, oncologists often turn to radiation or chemotherapy, which can damage healthy tissue along with the cancerous growths. New research may bring scientists closer to designing cancer therapeutics that can target tumors with pinpoint accuracy.
Following the Body’s Own Prescription
April 1, 2013 10:22 am | by Cynthia Fox | Articles | CommentsAn intuitive approach, which co-opts the body’s own molecular machinery, has led to massive expansions of umbilical cord blood cells. It and other new approaches “will revolutionize all transplantation,” says University of Minnesota Blood and Marrow Transplantation Director John Wagner.
Code-reading Machinery Collisions Speed Gene Evolution
April 1, 2013 10:18 am | News | CommentsBacteria appear to speed up their evolution by positioning specific genes along the route of expected traffic jams in DNA encoding. Certain genes are in prime collision paths for the moving molecular machineries that read the DNA code, scientists explain.
ALS Discovery Holds Promise for New Treatments
April 1, 2013 10:03 am | News | CommentsScientists said they have evidence from animal studies that a type of central nervous system cell other than motor neurons plays a fundamental role in the development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a fatal degenerative disease.
Questions in China on Deadly, Lesser-Known Bird Flu
April 1, 2013 7:34 am | by GILLIAN WONG - Associated Press - Associated Press | News | CommentsHealth officials say they still don't understand how a lesser-known bird flu virus was able to kill two men and seriously sicken a woman in China, but that it's unlikely that it can spread easily among humans. Two men in Shanghai became the first known human fatalities from the H7N9 bird flu after contracting it in February.
CDC: E. Coli Outbreak Linked to Frozen Foods
March 29, 2013 6:09 pm | by MIKE STOBBE - AP Medical Writer - Associated Press | News | CommentsHealth officials say at least 24 people have become sick from an outbreak of E. coli infections linked to frozen snack foods marketed to children. No one has died, but eight people, mostly kids or teens, were hospitalized.
Technique Detects ‘Sugar-coated’ Proteins in Blood
March 29, 2013 11:23 am | News | CommentsScientists have developed a new technique that could be used in blood tests to detect a range of age-related conditions such as diabetes, dementia and Alzheimer’s.
Cells, Cell Fragments Move in Opposite Directions
March 29, 2013 11:07 am | News | CommentsLike tiny, crawling compass needles, whole living cells and cell fragments orient and move in response to electric fields— but in opposite directions, scientists have found.
Stem Cell Fate Depends on ‘Grip’
March 29, 2013 10:52 am | News | CommentsA team of researchers has generated new insight on how a stem cell’s environment influences what type of cell a stem cell will become. They have shown that whether human mesenchymal stem cells turn into fat or bone cells depends partially on how well they can “grip” the material they are growing in.
New Vaccine Approach Targets HIV, Other Fast-mutating Viruses
March 29, 2013 10:41 am | News | CommentsA team of scientists has unveiled a new technique for vaccine design that could be particularly useful against HIV and other fast-changing viruses.
Cell Reprogramming During Liver Regeneration
March 29, 2013 10:28 am | News | CommentsResearchers have been able to reprogram cells experimentally, but few have shown that cells can change their identities under normal physiological conditions in the body, particularly in mammals.
Riding the Exosome Shuttle from Neuron to Muscle
March 28, 2013 1:43 pm | News | CommentsImportant new research demonstrates how exosomes shuttle proteins from neurons to muscle cells where they take part in critical signaling mechanisms, an exciting discovery that means these tiny vehicles could one day be loaded with therapeutic agents, such as RNA interference (RNAi), and directly target disease-carrying cells.
Schwann Cells Play Role in Neuropathic Pain
March 28, 2013 10:49 am | News | CommentsAn international team of scientists says a key protein in Schwann cells performs a critical, perhaps overarching, role in regulating the recovery of peripheral nerves after injury.
Rare Brain Disorders Linked to Splicing Slip-ups
March 28, 2013 10:38 am | by Harvard Medical School | News | CommentsResearchers have found that missteps in a basic cellular process, RNA splicing, is the culprit behind a class of rare neurological disorders manifested by intellectual disability and stunted development.
Rats’ Brains are More Like Ours Than Previously Thought
March 28, 2013 10:05 am | News | CommentsNeuroscientists face a multitude of challenges in their efforts to better understand the human brain. If not for model organisms such as the rat, they might never know what really goes on inside our heads.
E. Coli Study Leads to New Therapeutic Target
March 28, 2013 9:57 am | News | CommentsA new study provides novel insight into how an emerging strain of the diarrhea-causing bacteria E. coli interacts with its host.
New Gene Markers for Cancer Risk Found
March 27, 2013 12:28 pm | by MALCOLM RITTER - AP Science Writer - Associated Press | News | CommentsA huge international effort involving more than 100 institutions and genetic tests on 200,000 people has uncovered dozens of signposts in DNA that can help reveal further a person's risk for breast, ovarian or prostate cancer, scientists reported Wednesday.
Researchers Build Functional Ovarian Tissue in Lab
March 27, 2013 11:17 am | News | CommentsA team of researchers report that in the laboratory setting, engineered ovaries showed sustained release of the sex hormones estrogen and progesterone.
Counting White Blood Cells at Home
March 27, 2013 10:19 am | News | CommentsEngineers have developed a portable device to count white blood cells that needs less than a pinprick's worth of blood and takes just minutes to run.
New Wrinkle for Botox: Two Botulinum Toxins Unsafe for Neurons
March 27, 2013 10:03 am | News | CommentsResearchers have investigated the effect that all seven botulinum toxins have on neuron survival, and they have discovered that not all botulinum toxins are equally safe for neurons.
Diabetes Drugs Linked to Abnormal Pancreatic Growth
March 27, 2013 9:50 am | News | CommentsIndividuals who had taken a type of drug commonly used to treat Type 2 diabetes showed abnormalities in the pancreas, including cell proliferation, that may be associated with an increased risk of neuroendocrine tumors, according to a new study.
Decoding Biology of Blood Disorders Leads to New Therapies
March 26, 2013 11:22 am | News | CommentsTwo new studies shed light on the molecular biology of three blood disorders, leading to novel strategies to treat these diseases.
