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Big Data Unveils Exciting Head and Neck Cancer Targets
May 20, 2013 1:05 pm | by Cynthia Fox | Articles | Comments
Genome sequencing of head and neck cancers may quickly—and soon—spur new therapies. There are 20 tumor types being studied by the massive, $100 million Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) project. Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the eighth to be unveiled. The first, glioblastoma, has been cited in a whopping 2000-plus manuscripts.
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...
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...
QIAGEN acquires Ingenuity Systems
April 30, 2013 1:52 pm | News | Comments
QIAGEN N.V. announced the acquisition of Ingenuity Systems, Inc., a provider of software...
NYU Researchers Took Chinese Bribes
May 20, 2013 3:37 pm | by BY TOM HAYS - ASSOCIATED PRESS | News | CommentsThree New York University researchers from China divulged results from a federally funded study to Chinese competitors in exchange for tuition, rent and other expenses, federal prosecutors say. Yudong Zhu, a U.S.-educated NYU professor, and Xing Yang, a lab engineer, were released on bail after appearing in federal court in Manhattan to face commercial bribery and other charges. They left court without speaking to reporters.
'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.
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.
Hypothalamus May Hold Key to Aging
May 1, 2013 2:01 pm | by Einstein | News | CommentsWhile the search continues for the Fountain of Youth, researchers may have found the body’s “fountain of aging”: the brain region known as the hypothalamus. For the first time, scientists report that the hypothalamus of mice controls aging throughout the body.
Researcher Invents 'DNA Bardcode'
May 1, 2013 9:13 am | News | CommentsDNA evidence is invisible and remarkably easy to transfer, making it possible for a sample to be spilled or even planted on a piece of evidence. A researcher has developed a solution that permanently marks DNA samples to prevent contamination.
Mouse Brains Mapped in Greatest Detail Yet
April 29, 2013 10:44 am | News | CommentsHopes for a cure for many brain diseases may rest on the humble mouse, now that scientists can map the rodents' brains more thoroughly than ever before. Researchers have created the most detailed atlas of the mouse brain, a development that is helping in the fight against brain disease.
Hormone is Potential Diabetes Breakthrough
April 25, 2013 12:47 pm | by Harvard Medical School | News | CommentsResearchers have discovered a hormone that holds promise for a dramatically more effective treatment of type 2 diabetes, a metabolic illness afflicting an estimated 26 million Americans. The researchers believe that the hormone might also have a role in treating type 1, or juvenile, diabetes.
Leveraging LC/MS
April 25, 2013 11:44 am | by Mike May, PhD | Articles | CommentsSeparating samples and then analyzing them often requires liquid chromatography (LC) and mass spectrometry (MS) instrumentation, respectively. To explore the ongoing advances in LC/MS technology, we talked with experts from leading vendors.
Video Reveals How Drugs Kill Cancer
April 25, 2013 10:14 am | News | CommentsScientists have discovered why a particular cancer drug is so effective at killing cells. Their findings could be used to aid the design of future cancer treatments. Using high-powered laser-based microscopes, researchers made videos of the process by which rituximab binds to a diseased cell and then attracts white blood cells known as natural killer (NK) cells to attack.
Novel Therapy Safe for ALS
April 24, 2013 9:24 am | News | CommentsAn investigational treatment for an inherited form of Lou Gehrig’s disease has passed an early phase clinical trial for safety, researchers report. The researchers have shown that the therapy produced no serious side effects in patients with the disease, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The phase 1 trial’s results also demonstrate that the drug was successfully introduced into the central nervous system.
The Real Threat of Ricin
April 23, 2013 1:45 pm | by Christina Smith | Articles | CommentsMail-based bioterror attacks made headlines last week when traces of ricin, a poison derived from the castor bean and a common by-product of castor oil, was found in letters addressed to President Barack Obama, Mississippi Republican Sen. Roger Wicker and Lee County, Miss., Justice Court Judge Sadie Holland, according to reports from the Associated Press.
Gone, But Not Forgotten
April 23, 2013 12:16 pm | News | CommentsAn international team of neuroscientists has described for the first time in exhaustive detail the underlying neurobiology of an amnesiac who suffered from profound memory loss after damage to key portions of his brain. In a new paper, researchers recount the case of EP, a man who suffered radical memory loss and dysfunction following a bout of viral encephalitis.
Finding the Needle in a Haystack
April 22, 2013 12:13 pm | News | CommentsA contact lens on the bathroom floor, an escaped hamster in the backyard, a car key in a bed of gravel: How are we able to focus so sharply to find that proverbial needle in a haystack? Scientists ave discovered that when we embark on a targeted search, various visual and non-visual regions of the brain mobilize to track down a person, animal or thing.
Standing Room Only for Big Data
April 19, 2013 11:46 am | by Cynthia Fox | Articles | CommentsThe popularity of Big Data projects was highly evident at the April 6-10 American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) meeting, whose theme was “personalizing cancer care through discovery science.” Session after session featuring TCGA was Standing Room Only (SRO). Washington Convention Center attendants struggled to keep up.
Food Poisonings Up from Raw Milk, Poultry Bacteria
April 18, 2013 12:09 pm | by MIKE STOBBE - AP Medical Writer - Associated Press | News | CommentsHealth officials are seeing more food poisonings caused by a bacteria commonly linked to raw milk and poultry. A study released Thursday said campylobacter cases grew by 14 percent over the last five years. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report was based on foodborne infections in only 10 states- about 15 percent of the American population.
Analytik Jena Acquires UVP
April 18, 2013 11:25 am | News | CommentsAnalytik Jena AG, based in Jena, Germany has acquired all of the outstanding shares of Upland, California-based UVP, LLC, including its subsidiary, Ultra-Violet Products Ltd., located in Cambridge, UK. UVP is a manufacturer of bioimaging systems for applications in proteomics, genomics, plant and animal sciences.
