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Vanderbilt researchers use cotton candy machines to produce artificial capillary system

For several years, Leon Bellan, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Vanderbilt University, has been tinkering with cotton candy machines, getting them to spin out networks of tiny threads comparable in size, density and complexity to the patterns formed by capillaries - the tiny, thin-walled vessels that deliver oxygen and nutrients to cells and carry away waste.

9 Feb 2016

Marijuana use could pose serious cognitive function risk later in life

Marijuana is the most frequently used illicit drug in the United States, according to a recent survey from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, and new data suggest that marijuana use now could pose a serious cognitive function risk later in life.

9 Feb 2016

New study pinpoints two tiny clusters of neurons responsible for changing normal breaths into sighs

"You must remember this: a kiss is just a kiss, a sigh is just a sigh." Contrary to the words immortalized by the piano singer in "Casablanca," a sigh is far more than a sigh. Heaving an unconscious sigh is a life-sustaining reflex that helps preserve lung function.

9 Feb 2016

Insulin remains expensive and beyond the reach of many diabetics worldwide

More than 90 years after it was first discovered, and despite being listed as an essential medicine by the World Health Organization (WHO) since 2007, the lifesaving diabetes drug, insulin, remains very expensive and beyond the reach of many people with type 1 and 2 diabetes who need it globally, say leading experts writing in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology journal.

9 Feb 2016

Vienna researchers investigate new light therapy treatment for people with migraines

Migraines often involve heightened sensitivity to light. In a project funded by the Austrian Science Fund FWF, a team of researchers from the Medical University of Vienna is investigating new therapies to treat light sensitivity, which greatly disturbs those affected.

9 Feb 2016

New discovery takes medical professionals a leap forward to effectively diagnose Alzheimer's disease

Medical professionals have to conduct a long series of tests to assess a patient's memory impairment and cognitive skills, functional abilities, and behavioral changes to accurately diagnose Alzheimer's disease. They also have to execute costly brain imagining scans and even, sometimes, invasive cerebral spinal fluid tests to rule out other diseases. The process is laborious at best -- and subjective at worst.

9 Feb 2016

Abnormal breakage of chromosomes in white blood cells triggers aggressive form of ALL

A research team led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists has discovered details of how the abnormal breakage and rearrangement of chromosomes in white blood cells triggers a particularly aggressive form of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Such leukemias are cancers of white blood cells, in which genetic mutations trigger overproduction of immature cells, called lymphoblasts.

9 Feb 2016

Aging brains work differently than younger brains, say cognitive scientists

Cognitive scientists have found more evidence that aging brains work differently than younger brains when performing the same memory task, pointing to a potentially new direction for age-related cognitive care and exploration.

9 Feb 2016

Wayne State inks exclusive license agreement with TRImaran Pharma for novel class of drugs

Wayne State University recently entered into an exclusive license agreement with TRImaran Pharma Inc. for a class of novel drugs developed at Wayne State University that aims to offer hope in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD), depression, ADHD and other neurological disorders.

9 Feb 2016

Researchers seek to better understand sequence of events that leads people to develop MS

A team of investigators at Brigham and Women's Hospital and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke has launched a study of individuals at risk for multiple sclerosis (MS).

9 Feb 2016

New biosensing platform could help determine Haptoglobin in human blood

We are pleased to announce that a new biosensing platform has been fabricated for the determination of Haptoglobin in human blood.

9 Feb 2016

Implantable device could help deliver toxic cocktail of drugs directly to pancreatic tumors

A highly lethal cancer sometimes requires large doses of highly toxic drugs. However, a blitzkrieg approach can be unfeasible for some patients due to severe side effects. Now a powerhouse team of researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has revealed that an implantable device can deliver a particularly toxic cocktail of drugs directly to pancreatic tumors to stunt their growth or in some cases, shrink them - all while showing signs that the rest of the body would be spared toxic side effects.

9 Feb 2016

Researchers show how antiretroviral therapy reduces HIV infection in female reproductive tract

For the first time, investigators in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine have determined how antiretroviral therapy (ART) affects the way HIV disseminates and establishes infection in the female reproductive tract.

9 Feb 2016

UM SOM researchers reveal genetic makeup of various strains of E. coli

A multi-disciplinary group of researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine have for the first time determined the genetic makeup of various strains of E. coli, which every year kills hundreds of thousands of people around the world.

9 Feb 2016

Study: Only one-third of patients receive living donor kidney transplant pre-emptively

A kidney transplant is a life-changing and life-saving procedure. Yet, a new study conducted by Mayo Clinic and the University of Michigan shows that only one-third of patients who ultimately receive a living donor kidney transplant receive it pre-emptively (i.e., before starting dialysis). Less than two-thirds receive a transplant either pre-emptively or within a year of starting dialysis.

9 Feb 2016

New evidence highlights benefits and harms of using artificial mesh for surgical repair of vaginal prolapse

New evidence published today highlights benefits and harms of using artificial mesh when compared with tissue repair in the surgical treatment of vaginal prolapse. Slightly better repair with mesh needs to be weighed carefully against increased risk of harms.

9 Feb 2016

Experimental nanoparticle therapy shows promise for fighting primary liver cancer

An experimental nanoparticle therapy that combines low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and fish oil preferentially kills primary liver cancer cells without harming healthy cells, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers report.

9 Feb 2016

New pain management strategies key to maximizing patient outcomes after TKR procedures

According to a new literature review in the February issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, a team-based care approach (consisting of the patient, family members, the orthopaedic surgeon and other medical practitioners) on total knee replacement (TKR) procedures, in conjunction with newer pain management strategies, is key to maximizing patient outcomes.

9 Feb 2016

TBX5 gene expression could play key role in congenital heart disease

Congenital heart disease is the most common birth defect and the leading cause of all infant deaths in the United States. Mutations in the gene TBX5 have been shown to cause both rare and more prevalent forms of congenital heart disease, yet the underlying mechanisms have remained unclear.

9 Feb 2016

Gut microbes influence severity of malaria

Microorganisms in the gut could play a role in reducing the severity of malaria, according to a new study co-authored by researchers at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and the University of Louisville.

9 Feb 2016

Medical Research News

Vanderbilt researchers use cotton candy machines to produce artificial capillary system

Marijuana use could pose serious cognitive function risk later in life

New study pinpoints two tiny clusters of neurons responsible for changing normal breaths into sighs

Insulin remains expensive and beyond the reach of many diabetics worldwide

Vienna researchers investigate new light therapy treatment for people with migraines

New discovery takes medical professionals a leap forward to effectively diagnose Alzheimer's disease

Abnormal breakage of chromosomes in white blood cells triggers aggressive form of ALL

Aging brains work differently than younger brains, say cognitive scientists

Wayne State inks exclusive license agreement with TRImaran Pharma for novel class of drugs

Researchers seek to better understand sequence of events that leads people to develop MS

New biosensing platform could help determine Haptoglobin in human blood

Implantable device could help deliver toxic cocktail of drugs directly to pancreatic tumors

Researchers show how antiretroviral therapy reduces HIV infection in female reproductive tract

UM SOM researchers reveal genetic makeup of various strains of E. coli

Study: Only one-third of patients receive living donor kidney transplant pre-emptively

New evidence highlights benefits and harms of using artificial mesh for surgical repair of vaginal prolapse

Experimental nanoparticle therapy shows promise for fighting primary liver cancer

New pain management strategies key to maximizing patient outcomes after TKR procedures

TBX5 gene expression could play key role in congenital heart disease

Gut microbes influence severity of malaria

This International Women’s Day, Meet the Scientist Changing Women’s Healthcare

Microphysiological systems in drug discovery

Considerations for taking ASO discovery programs into animal models

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