Human Studies
The Lead
The Great Clamping Debate
April 4, 2013 11:40 am | by Cynthia Fox | Articles | Comments
Most of us born after 1960 have missed out on what was, since ancient times, “mankind’s first stem cell transplant.” For umbilical cords of most born after 1960 were—are—clamped right after birth. This denied us a last blast of stem-cell rich placenta blood, 40% of our circulation, before our first breath.
Decoding Cancer Metastasis
May 6, 2013 12:25 pm | by Christina Smith | Articles | Comments
Combining two biological approaches, a research team from University of Michigan broke down the...
Platelet Rich Plasma Significantly Improves Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Tennis Elbow
March 21, 2013 11:58 am | News | Comments
Platelet rich plasma (PRP) therapy has been used to manage pain associated with torn tendons,...
Platelet Rich Plasma Significantly Improves Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Tennis Elbow
March 21, 2013 11:58 am | News | Comments
Platelet rich plasma (PRP) therapy has been used to manage pain associated with torn tendons,...
Huntington's Symptoms Prevented in Mice
May 24, 2013 10:57 am | News | CommentsResearchers have succeeded in preventing very early symptoms of Huntington’s disease, depression and anxiety, by deactivating the mutated huntingtin protein in the brains of mice. Huntington’s is a debilitating disease for which there is still neither cure nor sufficient treatment.
Determining the Fate of Living Cells
May 24, 2013 10:44 am | News | CommentsA newly developed tension gauge tether (TGT) laboratory method has broad applications for research into stem cells, cancer, infectious disease and immunology. Cells in the human body do not function in isolation. Living cells rely on communication with their environment—neighboring cells and the surrounding matrix—to activate a wide range of cellular functions.
Secret Neuron Rewiring Exposed
May 24, 2013 10:08 am | News | CommentsAs the human body fine-tunes its neurological wiring, nerve cells often must fix a faulty connection by amputating an axon— the “business end” of the neuron that sends electrical impulses to tissues or other neurons. It is a dance with death, however, because the molecular poison the neuron deploys to sever an axon could, if uncontained, kill the entire cell.
Cancer May be Prevented Before it Develops
May 24, 2013 9:34 am | News | CommentsScientists have uncovered a survival mechanism that occurs in breast cells that have just turned premalignant- cells on the cusp between normalcy and cancers- which may lead to new methods of stopping tumors. Researchers report that a protein known as transforming growth factor beta, considered a tumor suppressor in early cancer development, can actually promote cancer once a cell drifts into a pre-cancerous state.
Lymphoid Cells Control T-cell Response to Bacteria
May 23, 2013 11:47 am | News | CommentsThe human gut is loaded with commensal bacteria– “good” microbes that, among other functions, help the body digest food. The gastrointestinal tract contains literally trillions of such cells, and yet the immune system seemingly turns a blind eye.
Protein Fusion May Yield Universal Influenza Vaccination
May 23, 2013 11:47 am | News | CommentsA new approach for immunizing against influenza elicited a more potent immune response and broader protection than the currently licensed seasonal influenza vaccines when tested in mice and ferrets. The vaccine concept represents an important step forward in the quest to develop a universal influenza vaccine.
Enzyme Discovery Holds Possible Adavances for Stuttering
May 23, 2013 11:10 am | News | CommentsScientists have determined the 3-D structure of the chemically active part of an enzyme involved in stuttering. While the discovery is not likely to lead to a cure for stuttering any time soon, it is welcome news to scientists who have been studying this enzyme, known as "uncovering enzyme" or UCE, for decades.
Largest Sequencing Study of Autoimmune Diseases Completed
May 23, 2013 10:56 am | News | CommentsResearchers have led the largest sequencing study of human disease to date, investigating the genetic basis of six autoimmune diseases. The exact cause of these diseases– autoimmune thyroid disease, coeliac disease, Crohn’s disease, psoriasis, multiple sclerosis and type 1 diabetes– is unknown, but is believed to be a complex combination of genetic and environmental factors.
Depression Linked to Telomerase
May 23, 2013 10:41 am | News | CommentsThe first symptoms of major depression may be behavioral, but the common mental illness is based in biology— and not limited to the brain. In recent years, some studies have linked major, long-term depression with life-threatening chronic disease and with earlier death, even after lifestyle risk factors have been taken into account.
Ohio Boy Saved with 3-D 'Printed' Airway
May 22, 2013 5:06 pm | by MARILYNN MARCHIONE - AP Chief Medical Writer - Associated Press | News | CommentsIn a medical first, doctors used plastic particles and a 3-D laser printer to create an airway splint to save the life of a baby boy who used to stop breathing nearly every day. It's the latest advance from the booming field of regenerative medicine, making body parts in the lab.
Addiction-blocking Drug Under Development
May 22, 2013 12:50 pm | News | CommentsResearchers have unraveled the molecular foundations of cocaine’s effects on the brain, and identified a compound that blocks cravings for the drug in cocaine-addicted mice. The compound, already proven safe for humans, is undergoing further animal testing in preparation for possible clinical trials in cocaine addicts.
Radioactive Nanoparticles Target Cancer Cells
May 22, 2013 11:15 am | News | CommentsCancers of all types become most deadly when they metastasize and spread tumors throughout the body. Once cancer has reached this stage, it becomes very difficult for doctors to locate and treat the numerous tumors that can develop. Now, researchers have found a way to create radioactive nanoparticles that target lymphoma tumor cells wherever they may be in the body.
Researchers Closer to Alzheimer's Prevention, Treatment
May 22, 2013 11:10 am | News | CommentsImagine a pharmaceutical prevention, treatment or even cure for Alzheimer’s disease. It is almost impossible to overstate how monumental a development that would be and how it would answer the prayers of millions. Though science isn’t there yet, a new study offers a tantalizing glimpse of potential solutions.
RNA 'Transcriptome' Sequenced in Immune Cells
May 21, 2013 2:22 pm | by Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard | News | CommentsWhen studying any kind of population — people or cells — averaging is a useful, if flawed, form of measurement. According to the US Census Bureau, the average American household size in 2010 was 2.59. Of course, there are no homes with exactly 2.59 people.
Vitamin C Kills Drug-resistant TB
May 21, 2013 12:00 pm | by Einstein | News | CommentsResearchers have determined that vitamin C kills drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) bacteria in laboratory culture. The finding suggests that vitamin C added to existing TB drugs could shorten TB therapy, and it highlights a new area for drug design.
New Immune System Discovered
May 21, 2013 11:22 am | News | CommentsMucus may be slimy and gross, but a research team has discovered that it is also home to a powerful immune system that could change the way doctors treat a number of diseases. In this previously undocumented immune system, researchers uncovered bacteria-infecting viruses known as bacteriophage, which shield the body from invading infection.
A New Way to Open Clogged Arteries
May 21, 2013 11:03 am | News | CommentsOver the past few decades, scientists have developed many devices that can reopen clogged arteries, including angioplasty balloons and metallic stents. While generally effective, each of these treatments has drawbacks, including the risk of side effects.
Epigenetics Can Predict Postpartum Depression
May 21, 2013 10:04 am | News | CommentsResearchers say they have discovered specific chemical alterations in two genes that, when present during pregnancy, reliably predict whether a woman will develop postpartum depression. The epigenetic modifications, which alter the way genes function without changing the underlying DNA sequence, can apparently be detected in the blood of pregnant women during any trimester.
Multitasking Neurons Enhance Brain Flexibility
May 20, 2013 11:40 am | News | CommentsOver the past few decades, neuroscientists have made much progress in mapping the brain by deciphering the functions of individual neurons that perform very specific tasks, such as recognizing the location or color of an object. However, there are many neurons, especially in brain regions that perform sophisticated functions such as thinking and planning, that don’t fit into this pattern.
New MATH Method for Head, Neck Cancer
May 20, 2013 11:05 am | News | CommentsA new method of measuring the variety of genetic mutations found in cells within a tumor appears to predict treatment outcomes of patients with the most common type of head and neck cancer. The research describes how a new way of measuring tumor heterogeneity was a better predictor of survival than are most traditional risk factors in a small group of patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.
Biochemical Transformations Were Possible on Early Earth
May 20, 2013 10:50 am | News | CommentsThe study shows that RNA is capable of catalyzing electron transfer under conditions similar to those of the early Earth. Because electron transfer, the moving of an electron from one chemical species to another, is involved in many biological processes, the study’s findings suggest that complex biochemical transformations may have been possible when life began.
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.
UK Measles Surge Years After Vaccine Scare
May 20, 2013 6:00 am | by MARIA CHENG - AP Medical Writer - Associated Press | News | CommentsMore than a decade ago, British parents refused to give measles shots to at least a million children because of a vaccine scare that raised the specter of autism. Now, health officials are scrambling to catch up and stop a growing epidemic of the contagious disease. This year, the U.K. has had more than 1,200 cases of measles, after a record number of nearly 2,000 cases last year.
Researchers Aim to Map the 'Food Genome'
May 19, 2013 1:42 pm | by MARY CLARE JALONICK - Associated Press - Associated Press | News | CommentsDo your kids love chocolate milk? It may have more calories on average than you thought. Same goes for soda. Until now, the only way to find out what people in the United States eat and how many calories they consume has been government data, which can lag behind the rapidly expanding and changing food marketplace.
Obesity Linked to 'Vicious Cycle' in Brain
May 17, 2013 11:58 am | News | CommentsWith obesity reaching epidemic levels in some parts of the world, scientists have only begun to understand why it is such a persistent condition. A new study reports the discovery of a molecular chain of events in the brains of obese rats that undermined their ability to suppress appetite and to increase calorie burning.
