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Reducing levels of SUN1 protein increases life span of mice with progeria, heart disease

Scientists have discovered that they can dramatically increase the life span of mice with progeria (premature ageing disease) and heart disease (caused by Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy) by reducing levels of a protein called SUN1.

30 Apr 2012

Antibody that neutralizes enzyme Kallikrein 6 staves off MS

Researchers studying multiple sclerosis(MS) have long been looking for the specific molecules in the body that cause lesions in myelin, the fatty, insulating cells that sheathe the nerves.

30 Apr 2012

Protein vital for cell survival and immune balance has another form with different function

Research led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators suggests that safeguarding cell survival and maintaining a balanced immune system is just the start of the myeloid cell leukemia sequence 1 (MCL1) protein's work.

30 Apr 2012

Vitamin D strengthens innate immunity against viral infections

Vitamin D may be known as the sunshine vitamin, but a new research report appearing in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology shows that it is more than that. According to the report, insufficient levels of vitamin D are related to a deficiency in our innate immune defenses that protect us from infections, neoplasias or autoimmune diseases.

30 Apr 2012

FDA approves Levaquin for plague

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Levaquin (levofloxacin) to treat patients with plague, a rare and potentially deadly bacterial infection. The agency also approved the drug to reduce the risk of getting plague after exposure to Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes the disease.

30 Apr 2012

Human iPS cells accrue genetic changes at about the same rate as replicating cells

A team of researchers from Johns Hopkins University and the National Human Genome Research Institute has evaluated the whole genomic sequence of stem cells derived from human bone marrow cells—so-called induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells—and found that relatively few genetic changes occur during stem cell conversion by an improved method.

30 Apr 2012

Trovagene completes PCR assay development for detection of K-RAS mutations

Trovagene, Inc., a developer of trans-renal molecular diagnostics, announced today that the Company has successfully completed the analytical development of digital PCR assays for the detection of the most prevalent K-RAS mutations, which are, according to recent estimates, observed in more than 90% of pancreatic cancers, and in 23% of all solid tumors.

30 Apr 2012

Bacteria in belly buttons, armpits, and chronic wounds

Minutes after you were born, bacteria moved in. Since then, their populations have exploded, diversified and spread—on your skin and eyes and in your mouth and gut, not to mention other places. These bacterial cells now far outnumber your own cells.

30 Apr 2012

New class of drugs hold promise against aggressive forms of pancreatic cancer

Cancer Research UK-funded scientists have shown how a promising new class of drugs might be used to treat aggressive forms of pancreatic cancer, according to a study published in Nature.

30 Apr 2012

Scientists discover number of unknown brain networks linked with teen drug abuse

Why do some teenagers start smoking or experimenting with drugs-while others don't? In the largest imaging study of the human brain ever conducted-involving 1,896 14-year-olds-scientists have discovered a number of previously unknown networks that go a long way toward an answer.

30 Apr 2012

NCI-funded research to customize treatment for oral cancer patients

The National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has awarded a two-year grant to Dr. Brian L. Schmidt, professor of oral and maxillofacial surgery at the NYU College of Dentistry, and Dr. Donna G. Albertson, professor at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. The grant will fund groundbreaking research to customize treatment for oral cancer patients.

30 Apr 2012

Memory aging and brain maintenance

Aging may seem unavoidable, but that's not necessarily so when it comes to the brain. So say researchers in the April 27th issue of the Cell Press journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences explaining that it is what you do in old age that matters more when it comes to maintaining a youthful brain not what you did earlier in life.

30 Apr 2012

Mirror-microRNAs control multiple aspects of brain function

Our genes control many aspects of who we are - from the colour of our hair to our vulnerability to certain diseases - but how are the genes, and consequently the proteins they make themselves controlled? Researchers have discovered a new group of molecules which control some of the fundamental processes behind memory function and may hold the key to developing new therapies for treating neurodegenerative diseases.

30 Apr 2012

Glycolipids play an important role in intercellular signalling

In a new study, scientists at the University of Copenhagen show that a specific type of carbohydrate plays an important role in the intercellular signalling that controls the growth and development of the nervous system. In particular, defects in that carbohydrate may result in the uninhibited cell growth that characterizes the genetic disease neurofibromatosis and certain types of cancer.

30 Apr 2012

Breast-fed babies may have healthy gut microbial population

Early colonization of the gut by microbes in infants is critical for development of their intestinal tract and in immune development. A new study, published in BioMed Central's open access journal Genome Biology, shows that differences in bacterial colonization of formula-fed and breast-fed babies leads to changes in the infant's expression of genes involved in the immune system, and in defense against pathogens.

30 Apr 2012

Detrimental effect of tetracycline on male reproductive function, sperm viability of pseudoscorpions

In a paper published today in Nature's open access journal Scientific Reports, researchers at the University of Nevada, Reno report that male pseudoscorpions treated with the antibiotic tetracycline suffer significantly reduced sperm viability and pass this toxic effect on to their untreated sons. They suggest that a similar effect could occur in humans and other species.

30 Apr 2012

Cedars-Sinai scientist receives ALS Association Golden West Chapter Commitment to a Cure Award

Robert H. Baloh, MD, PhD, director of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's Neuromuscular Division, has received the ALS Association Golden West Chapter Commitment to a Cure Award.

30 Apr 2012

First idiothetic memory study in humans

It's night time. The light suddenly goes out in the room where you are. At the same time you hear somebody crying: "Fire!". You bolt. Will you be able to find your way out in total darkness? Most likely, yes - if the room is somewhat familiar to you and not too big. Escape will be possible because of idiothetic memory, one of two types of human spatial memory. This type of memory relies not on visual information, but on information coming from the body. In the Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw it was investigated whether this type of memory can be affected by age.

30 Apr 2012

UAB researcher wins HudsonAlpha Prize for work on sickle cell and related blood disorders

Tim Townes, Ph.D., University of Alabama at Birmingham, was awarded the HudsonAlpha Prize for his work on sickle cell and related blood disorders. The $20,000 monetary award acknowledges exceptional talent, dedication and discovery by Alabama's best and brightest researchers.

30 Apr 2012

Researchers use Moffitt's Total Cancer Care to create designer lymph nodes

Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center are in the first phase of creating "designer lymph nodes." Designer lymph nodes are built with specialized gene-modified cells that are injected into patients and produce a pre-planned immunologic response for cancer patients locally and then throughout their bodies. The researchers are examining a cancer vaccine "boosting" effect of the manufactured lymph nodes in patients with advanced melanoma.

30 Apr 2012

Medical Science News

Reducing levels of SUN1 protein increases life span of mice with progeria, heart disease

Antibody that neutralizes enzyme Kallikrein 6 staves off MS

Protein vital for cell survival and immune balance has another form with different function

Vitamin D strengthens innate immunity against viral infections

FDA approves Levaquin for plague

Human iPS cells accrue genetic changes at about the same rate as replicating cells

Trovagene completes PCR assay development for detection of K-RAS mutations

Bacteria in belly buttons, armpits, and chronic wounds

New class of drugs hold promise against aggressive forms of pancreatic cancer

Scientists discover number of unknown brain networks linked with teen drug abuse

NCI-funded research to customize treatment for oral cancer patients

Memory aging and brain maintenance

Mirror-microRNAs control multiple aspects of brain function

Glycolipids play an important role in intercellular signalling

Breast-fed babies may have healthy gut microbial population

Detrimental effect of tetracycline on male reproductive function, sperm viability of pseudoscorpions

Cedars-Sinai scientist receives ALS Association Golden West Chapter Commitment to a Cure Award

First idiothetic memory study in humans

UAB researcher wins HudsonAlpha Prize for work on sickle cell and related blood disorders

Researchers use Moffitt's Total Cancer Care to create designer lymph nodes

Innovating for impact: Jordi Labs on aligning methodologies with FDA expectation

Exploring the role of confocal-based high-content imaging in advancing core facilities

Transforming Cardiovascular Care: Insights from Mina Makar at AstraZeneca

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