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Bananas have healthier blend of sugars than sports drinks

Bananas have long been a favorite source of energy for endurance and recreational athletes. Bananas are a rich source of potassium and other nutrients, and are easy for cyclists, runners or hikers to carry.

30 May 2012

Scientists identify 20 distinct gene mutations in patients with FGD

A rare disease which often first presents in newborn babies has been traced to a novel genetic defect, scientists at Queen Mary, University of London have found.

30 May 2012

NanoBio-Europe conference to take place from June 18-20 in Varese

The 8th NanoBio-Europe conference will take place on 18 - 20 June 2012 in Varese (Lombardy, Northern Italy), showcasing the latest international developments in nanobiotechnology, and providing a platform to facilitate interdisciplinary communications, new collaborations for delegates from academic, industrial and clinical backgrounds.

30 May 2012

PKCZ protein could serve as new treatment target for prostate cancer

A newly-discovered protein found only in prostate cancer cells could be used as a marker of the disease and offer a new treatment target, according to a study in the British Journal of Cancer.

30 May 2012

Scientists develop synthetic peptide that overcomes cancer cells’ survival defenses

Scientists at the Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Center have developed an anti-cancer peptide that overcomes the stubborn resistance to chemotherapy and radiation often encountered in certain blood cancers when the disease recurs following initial treatment.

30 May 2012

Researchers discover new HIV-suppressing protein

Scientists have identified a new HIV-suppressing protein in the blood of people infected with the virus. In laboratory studies, the protein, called CXCL4 or PF-4, binds to HIV such that it cannot attach to or enter a human cell.

30 May 2012

Link between high levels of PCB and distribution of abdominal fat

There is a correlation between high levels of the environmental toxin PCB and the distribution of body fat to the abdomen. This is shown in a new study published today in the scientific journal Obesity. Abdominal fat is already known to increase the risk of diabetes and high blood pressure, among other conditions.

30 May 2012

Exendin-4 significantly minimizes damage in TBI animal models

Although the death toll is relatively low for people who suffer from traumatic brain injury (TBI), it can have severe, life-long consequences for brain function. TBI can impair a patient's mental abilities, impact memory and behavior, and lead to dramatic personality changes. And long-term medical treatment carries a high economic cost.

30 May 2012

Glia seem to play two opposing roles in protecting nerve cells from damage

A protein produced by the central nervous system's support cells seems to play two opposing roles in protecting nerve cells from damage, an animal study by Johns Hopkins researchers suggests: Decreasing its activity seems to trigger support cells to gear up their protective powers, but increasing its activity appears to be key to actually use those powers to defend cells from harm.

30 May 2012

Secreted vesicles play role in spread of cancer

Cancer researchers have known for well over a century that different tumor types spread only to specific, preferred organs. But no one has been able to determine the mechanisms of organ specific metastasis, the so-called "soil and seed" theory of 1889. New details that could help shed light on this hypothesis have been provided by a team of researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and their collaborators, proposing a new mechanism controlling cancer metastasis that offers fresh diagnostic and treatment potential.

29 May 2012

Neural protein plays two opposing roles

A protein produced by the central nervous system’s support cells seems to play two opposing roles in protecting nerve cells from damage, an animal study by Johns Hopkins researchers suggests: Decreasing its activity seems to trigger support cells to gear up their protective powers, but increasing its activity appears to be key to actually use those powers to defend cells from harm.

29 May 2012

Better education early in life may help protect cognitive abilities

Exposure to solvents at work may be associated with reduced thinking skills later in life for those who have less than a high school education, according to a study published in the May 29, 2012, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

29 May 2012

Cardiomyocytes can now be made cheaply and abundantly in the laboratory

Cardiomyocytes, the workhorse cells that make up the beating heart, can now be made cheaply and abundantly in the laboratory.

29 May 2012

Bioengineers develop first structure to grow small human blood vessels

Mice and monkeys don't develop diseases in the same way that humans do. Nevertheless, after medical researchers have studied human cells in a Petri dish, they have little choice but to move on to study mice and primates. University of Washington bioengineers have developed the first structure to grow small human blood vessels, creating a 3-D test bed that offers a better way to study disease, test drugs and perhaps someday grow human tissues for transplant.

29 May 2012

Heart-wall muscle fibers are locally arranged in a special ‘minimal surface’

A study led by researchers from McGill University provides new insights into the structure of muscle tissue in the heart - a finding that promises to contribute to the study of heart diseases and to the engineering of artificial heart tissue.

29 May 2012

Common sparrow and Tyrannosaurus Rex are more closely related than believed

At first glance, it's hard to see how a common house sparrow and a Tyrannosaurus Rex might have anything in common. After all, one is a bird that weighs less than an ounce, and the other is a dinosaur that was the size of a school bus and tipped the scales at more than eight tons.

28 May 2012

Giant cells protect fungus Cryptococcus neoformans during infection

Giant cells called "titan cells" protect the fungus Cryptococcus neoformans during infection, according to two University of Minnesota researchers. Kirsten Nielsen, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the department of microbiology, and recent Ph.D. recipient Laura Okagaki believe their discovery could help develop new ways to fight infections caused by Cryptococcus.

28 May 2012

Scientists develop super-sensitive test that could detect diseases earlier

Scientists have developed an ultra-sensitive test that should enable them to detect signs of a disease in its earliest stages, in research published today in the journal Nature Materials.

28 May 2012

Major new research facility opens at Imperial College London

A major new research facility at Imperial College London designed to expand and accelerate the translation of scientific discoveries into new ways of preventing, diagnosing and treating diseases was officially opened by George Osborne MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer, today.

28 May 2012

New medicine can start and hasten healing of diabetic and other chronic sores

A unique new medicine that can start and hasten healing of diabetic and other chronic sores is being developed at Umeå University in Sweden. After several years of successful experimental research, it is now ready for clinical testing.

28 May 2012