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Tethered bilayer membrane may unlock secrets of early-stage Alzheimer's

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and three collaborating institutions are using a new laboratory model of the membrane surrounding neurons in the brain to study how a protein long suspected of a role in early-stage Alzheimer's disease actually impairs a neuron's structure and function.

23 Jul 2008

Researchers identify compound in human saliva that greatly speeds wound healing

A report by scientists from The Netherlands published online in The FASEB Journal identifies a compound in human saliva that greatly speeds wound healing.

23 Jul 2008

Controlling plaque without toothpaste

Leeds Dental Institute, ranked the top school in the UK for dentistry is currently looking at new and better ways to improve dental treatment and take the fear factor out of the patient experience for good.

23 Jul 2008

The brain under pressure: Bristol Neuroscience attracts BBSRC grant

The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) has awarded a grant of over £0.5 million to groups in the Laboratories for Integrative Neuroscience and Endocrinology and the MRC Centre for Synaptic Plasticity (project leader, Professor Kei Cho). The funding will support research into how brain cells maintain their performance, and create memories, during periods of acute stress.

23 Jul 2008

Can knowledge of objects be used to identify color?

One of the easiest ways to identify an object is by its color -- perhaps it is because children's books encourage us to pair certain objects with their respective colors. Why else would so many of us automatically assume carrots are orange, grass is green and apples are red?

22 Jul 2008

Notch protein helps human embryonic stem cells 'decide' their own fate

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have discovered that the Notch protein helps human embryonic stem cells 'decide' their own fate, a finding which may eventually be useful in programming cells for the development of stem cell therapies. Their results are reported in the May 2008 issue of Cell Stem Cell.

22 Jul 2008

Science of magic - understanding human cognition and perception

Magic tricks, like those by Derren Brown and David Blaine, should be studied more closely to gain a deeper knowledge of the way human beings think and act, according to research by British and Canadian psychologists.

22 Jul 2008

Discovery of cells for spinal-cord repair

A researcher at MIT's Picower Institute for Learning and Memory has pinpointed stem cells within the spinal cord that, if persuaded to differentiate into more healing cells and fewer scarring cells following an injury, may lead to a new, non-surgical treatment for debilitating spinal-cord injuries.

22 Jul 2008

Discovery of new anatomical path through which the brain and spleen communicate

In a major step in understanding how the nervous system and the immune system interact, scientists at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research have identified a new anatomical path through which the brain and the spleen communicate.

21 Jul 2008

Suspect protein HMGB1 found to promote DNA repair, prevent cancer

An abundant chromosomal protein that binds to damaged DNA prevents cancer development by enhancing DNA repair, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science.

21 Jul 2008

Cranberry juice shows promise for urinary tract infections

For generations, people have consumed cranberry juice, convinced of its power to ward off urinary tract infections, though the exact mechanism of its action has not been well understood.

21 Jul 2008

Genetic mechanisms at play in blood cells important in Parkinson’s disease

What does the genetics of blood cells have to do with brain cells related to Parkinson's disease? From an unusual collaboration of neurologists and a pharmacologist comes the surprising answer: Genetic mechanisms at play in blood cells also control a gene and protein that cause Parkinson's disease.

21 Jul 2008

Gene expression test could help determine who needs more aggressive treatment

Researchers from four leading cancer centers have confirmed that an analysis involving a panel of genes can be used to predict which lung cancer patients will have the worst survival. The finding could one day lead to a test that would help determine who needs more aggressive treatment.

21 Jul 2008

Evolutionary back-and-forth for humans and viruses

For millennia, humans and viruses have been locked in an evolutionary back-and-forth - one changes to outsmart the other, prompting the second to change and outsmart the first.

21 Jul 2008

Regular meals important for the health

It is obvious to most people that our health is affected by what we eat; now, however, scientists have shown that it is also a matter of how often we eat.

21 Jul 2008

Oxytocin may inhibit social phobia

Swedish and British scientists have shown using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) that the hormone oxytocin can inhibit feelings of anxiety in specific individuals. Their discovery might lead to a better understanding and the improved treatment of psychiatric affections in which people feel distressed when meeting others, such as in cases of autism and social phobia.

20 Jul 2008

Fluoroquinolones can enhance gene-silencing tool

A way to turn off one gene at a time has earned acceptance in biology laboratories over the last decade. Doctors envision the technique, called RNA interference, as a tool to treat a variety of diseases if it can be adapted to humans.

20 Jul 2008

Obsessive compulsive disorder linked to activity in lateral orbitofrontal cortex

Cambridge researchers have discovered that measuring activity in a region of the brain could help to identify people at risk of developing obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).

19 Jul 2008

Potentially new biomarkers for Alzheimer's

Every aging baby boomer listens for the footsteps of Alzheimer's, and for good reason: It's estimated that 10 million American boomers will develop the disease. The need to develop preventative strategies, ideally long before Alzheimer's destructive, clinical symptoms appear, is critical.

19 Jul 2008

Regular walking protects the Masai against cardiovascular disease

Scientists have long been puzzled by how the Masai can avoid cardiovascular disease despite having a diet rich in animal fats. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet believe that their secret is in their regular walking.

18 Jul 2008