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Social connection: A basic human need

Facebook and gossip might seem like a waste of time, but they actually serve a basic human need.

11 Oct 2013

Osiris Therapeutics agrees to sell ceMSC business to Mesoblast

Osiris Therapeutics, Inc. announced today that it has entered into an agreement with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mesoblast Limited for the sale of Osiris' culture-expanded mesenchymal stem cell business, including Prochymal, in a transaction worth up to $100 million in initial consideration and milestone payments.

11 Oct 2013

Specialized cells in the stomach more often revert to stem cells

New research has shown that the stomach naturally produces more stem cells than previously realized, likely for repair of injuries from infections, digestive fluids and the foods we eat.

11 Oct 2013

Researchers find ways to identify, isolate HCC progenitor cells before tumors become evident

For the first time, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have isolated and characterized the progenitor cells that eventually give rise to malignant hepatocellular carcinoma tumors - the most common form of liver cancer. The researchers found ways to identify and isolate the HCC progenitor cells long before actual tumors were apparent.

11 Oct 2013

Researchers explore effects of soy, whey protein supplementation on hormonal responses to resistance exercise

A group of researchers recently expanded upon the limited prior research examining the effects of soy and whey protein supplementation on testosterone, sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), and cortisol responses to an acute bout of resistance exercise.

11 Oct 2013

Researchers identify gene that orchestrates important branching of nerve fibers

Our ability to detect heat, touch, tickling and other sensations depends on our sensory nerves. Now, for the first time, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have identified a gene that orchestrates the crucially important branching of nerve fibers that occurs during development. The findings were published online today in the journal Cell.

11 Oct 2013

Suppression of mitochondria: A dominant feature of diabetic kidney disease

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified 13 metabolites - small molecules produced by cellular metabolism - that are significantly different in patients with diabetes and chronic kidney disease compared to healthy controls.

11 Oct 2013

Small interfering RNAs in mammals act as specific antiviral weapons

Many viral infections are nipped in the bud by the innate immune response. This involves specific proteins within the infected cell that recognize the virus and trigger a signalling cascade - the so-called interferon response. This activates a protective mechanism in neighbouring cells and often results in the death of the primarily infected cell.

11 Oct 2013

New brain imaging technology maps how brain responds to poetry and prose

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11 Oct 2013

Genetic variation can affect how people see and experience the world

A new study by a University of British Columbia researcher finds that some people are genetically predisposed to see the world darkly.

11 Oct 2013

Research delves deeply into genomics of glioblastoma multiforme cases to better target disease

When The Cancer Genome Atlas launched its massively collaborative approach to organ-by-organ genomic analysis of cancers, the brain had both the benefit, and the challenge, of going first.

11 Oct 2013

Children who stutter have less grey matter in brain regions responsible for speech production

A new study by a University of Alberta researcher shows that children who stutter have less grey matter in key regions of the brain responsible for speech production than children who do not stutter.

11 Oct 2013

Researchers discover how the body's muscles accidentally fall asleep while awake

Normally muscles contract in order to support the body, but in a rare condition known as cataplexy the body's muscles "fall asleep" and become involuntarily paralyzed. Cataplexy is incapacitating because it leaves the affected individual awake, but either fully or partially paralyzed. It is one of the bizarre symptoms of the sleep disorder called narcolepsy.

11 Oct 2013

Drugs often fail to bring acromegaly under control in routine clinical practice

Over a quarter of UK patients treated for growth hormone-producing tumours do not achieve 'safe' growth hormone levels, according to a 30 year UK multi-centre study of clinical management of the rare disease acromegaly. The findings by the Society for Endocrinology UK Acromegaly Register, published in the November issue of Clinical Endocrinology, show that drugs to control acromegaly often fail to bring the disease completely under control in routine clinical practice.

10 Oct 2013

Combining gene therapy with stem cells leads to faster healing of burns

Johns Hopkins researchers, working with elderly mice, have determined that combining gene therapy with an extra boost of the same stem cells the body already uses to repair itself leads to faster healing of burns and greater blood flow to the site of the wound.

10 Oct 2013

Charles J. Sherr to receive Prize for Scientific Excellence in Medicine

Charles J. Sherr, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Department of Tumor Cell Biology and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, has been selected to receive the 2013 Prize for Scientific Excellence in Medicine by the American-Italian Cancer Foundation.

10 Oct 2013

Recovery sleep over weekend may not reverse all effects of sleep lost during workweek

In many modern societies, adults often sacrifice sleep during the workweek to make time for other demands, then snooze longer on the weekends to recoup that lost sleep. Research has shown that even a few days of lost sleep can have adverse effects, including increased daytime sleepiness, worsened daytime performance, an increase in molecules that are a sign of inflammation in the body, and impaired blood sugar regulation.

10 Oct 2013

Chemists discover mystery of how organic crystals form

New York University chemists have discovered crystal growth complexities, which at first glance appeared to confound 50 years of theory and deepened the mystery of how organic crystals form. But, appearances can be deceiving.

10 Oct 2013

Beta-blocker therapy controls heart rate, improves cardiovascular performance in septic shock patients

Andrea Morelli, M.D., of the University of Rome, Italy, and colleagues conducted a study to investigate the effect of the short-acting beta-blocker esmolol on the heart rate of patients with severe septic shock and high risk of death.

10 Oct 2013

Gene mutation offers clues to development of diverse neurological disorders

A research team, headed by Theodore Friedmann, MD, professor of pediatrics at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, says a gene mutation that causes a rare but devastating neurological disorder known as Lesch-Nyhan syndrome appears to offer clues to the developmental and neuronal defects found in other, diverse neurological disorders like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases.

10 Oct 2013