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People who carry longevity gene variant have larger brain region

People who carry a variant of a gene that is associated with longevity also have larger volumes in a front part of the brain involved in planning and decision-making, according to researchers at UC San Francisco.

29 Jan 2015

UCSD professor wins 2015 Japan Prize

Theodore Friedmann, MD, professor in the Department of Pediatrics at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine was named today one of three recipients of the 2015 Japan Prize, a prestigious international award honoring laureates whose "original and outstanding achievements in science and technology have advanced the frontiers of knowledge and served the cause of peace and prosperity for mankind.

29 Jan 2015

Researchers receive DoD grant to develop new therapy against nerve agent exposure

University of Nebraska Medical Center researchers have received a $1.9 million grant from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency of the U.S. Department of Defense to develop a new therapy to protect military members from nerve agent exposure.

29 Jan 2015

Scientists publish catalog of genetic mutations found in head and neck cancers

Scientists have published the first comprehensive catalog of genetic mutations and other abnormal changes found in 279 cancers of the head and neck, and have identified several broken molecular pathways that might be targeted by existing and future cancer drugs.

28 Jan 2015

Study: Green tea compound may activate a cycle that kills oral cancer cells

A compound found in green tea may trigger a cycle that kills oral cancer cells while leaving healthy cells alone, according to Penn State food scientists. The research could lead to treatments for oral cancer, as well as other types of cancer.

28 Jan 2015

Researchers discover novel compound that helps curtail progression of temporal lobe epilepsy

Researchers at the LSU Health New Orleans Neuroscience Center of Excellence have found that a novel compound they discovered helps curtail the onset and progression of temporal lobe epilepsy.

28 Jan 2015

Researchers one step closer to identifying how lung cancer cells metastasize

Smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer, and it is estimated that more than 159,000 people in the United States died from the disease last year. Most of these deaths were because the cancer had spread to other organ sites. Following their recent discovery of a protein pathway, Moffitt Cancer Center researchers are one step closer to understanding how lung cancer cells metastasize.

28 Jan 2015

Brain inflammation linked to clinical depression

A new study by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health found that the measure of brain inflammation in people who were experiencing clinical depression was increased by 30 per cent. The findings, published today in JAMA Psychiatry, have important implications for developing new treatments for depression.

28 Jan 2015

Inhibiting CDK6 protein prevents leukemic stem cells

Despite enormous progress in cancer therapy, many patients still relapse because their treatment addresses the symptoms of the disease rather than the cause, the so-called stem cells. Work in the group of Veronika Sexl at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna has given a tantalizing clue to a solution.

28 Jan 2015

Researchers use game theory to predict interactions of cancer cells

Researchers at the University of Basel and the University of East Anglia were able to predict the interactions of cancer cells using game theory. Their results have been published by the scientific journal PNAS.

28 Jan 2015

Manchester researcher discover novel way to eradicate cancer stem cells

A way to eradicate cancer stem cells, using the side-effects of commonly used antibiotics, has been discovered by a University of Manchester researcher following a conversation with his young daughter.

28 Jan 2015

Preventing obesity-related inflammation may reverse type 2 diabetes

Preventing inflammation in obese fat tissue may hold the key to preventing or even reversing type 2 diabetes, new research has found.

28 Jan 2015

SCCA's Fred Hutch Bone Marrow Transplant Program achieves higher survival rates

The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Bone Marrow Transplant Program at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance was recently recognized for outperforming its anticipated one-year survival rate for allogeneic transplant patients.

28 Jan 2015

HCI researchers find cell mechanism that may trigger pancreatic cancer

Researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah have found that defects in how cells are squeezed out of overcrowded tissue to die, a process called extrusion, may be a mechanism by which pancreatic cancer begins. From these findings, they may have identified an effective way to reverse the defective extrusion's effects without destroying normal tissues nearby.

28 Jan 2015

Howard Hughes Medical Institute scientists identify the brain's on-off thirst switch

Howard Hughes Medical Institute scientists have identified a circuit in the brains of mice that regulates thirst. When a subset of cells in the circuit is switched on, mice immediately begin drinking water, even if they are fully hydrated. A second set of cells suppresses the urge to drink.

28 Jan 2015

New study shows mechanism behind tubulin transport in cilia

Defective cilia can lead to a host of diseases and conditions in the human body--from rare, inherited bone malformations to blindness, male infertility, kidney disease and obesity. Scientists knew that somehow these tiny cell organelles become deformed and cause these diseases because of a problem related to their assembly, which requires the translocation of vast quantities of the vital cell protein tubulin.

28 Jan 2015

Pollinator decline could increase risk of malnutrition, disease

A new study shows that more than half the people in some developing countries could become newly at risk for malnutrition if crop-pollinating animals -- like bees -- continue to decline.

28 Jan 2015

Reducing A2A adenosine receptor levels prevents memory impairments in Alzheimer's mouse model

A study by scientists from the Gladstone Institutes shows that decreasing the number of A2A adenosine receptors in a particular type of brain cells called astrocytes improved memory in healthy mice. What's more, reducing receptor levels also prevented memory impairments in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.

28 Jan 2015

Scientists identify critical molecule that helps explain why diabetics suffer from non-healing wound

One of the most troubling complications of diabetes is its effect on wound healing. Roughly 15 percent of diabetics will suffer from a non-healing wound in their lifetime. In some cases, these open ulcers on the skin lead to amputations.

28 Jan 2015

Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome can be compared to normal aging, say scientists

In a new research study, scientists from Vision Genomics, LLC, Insilico Medicine, Inc., and Howard University showed that Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS or Progeria) is comparable to normal aging with respect to cellular signaling pathways, and that HGPS truly recapitulates the normal aging process.

28 Jan 2015