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Optical imaging can visualize cultured cancer cells' response to particular drug

Many cancer therapies target specific proteins that proliferate on the outside of some cancer cells, but the therapies are imperfect and the cancer does not always respond. Since it is beneficial for doctors to know as soon as possible how a cancer is affected by treatment, researchers from Vanderbilt University are striving to design tests that assess treatment response rapidly, accurately, and cost-effectively.

21 Dec 2011

Research into how flying fox spreads infectious diseases

The flying fox is an adorable doe-eyed bat with a dark side - it is the perfect vector for emerging infectious diseases from Asia. Susan Tsang, a PhD student in ecology and evolutionary biology at The City College of New York and the CUNY Graduate Center, turned to a revolutionary way to help fund her research into how this species spreads disease.

21 Dec 2011

Scientists identify why African naked mole-rat feels no pain when exposed to acid

British researchers of the Max Delbr-ck Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch have found out why the African naked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber), one of the world's most unusual mammals, feels no pain when exposed to acid.

21 Dec 2011

Study on how Antarctic worms survive current levels of ocean warming

Researchers at the University of Delaware are examining tiny worms that inhabit the frigid sea off Antarctica to learn not only how these organisms adapt to the severe cold, but how they will survive as ocean temperatures increase.

21 Dec 2011

Researchers discover how spinning microparticles can direct neuron growth

Researchers at UC Irvine and The University of Texas at Arlington have discovered how spinning microparticles can direct the growth of nerve fiber, a discovery that could allow for directed growth of neuronal networks on a chip and improve methods for treating spinal or brain injuries.

21 Dec 2011

Researchers discover one of vitamin E's normal body functions

It's rubbed on the skin to reduce signs of aging and consumed by athletes to improve endurance but scientists now have the first evidence of one of vitamin E's normal body functions.

21 Dec 2011

Optical coherence tomography measures changes in retinal cone cells

Humans see color thanks to cone cells, specialized light-sensing neurons located in the retina along the inner surface of the eyeball. The actual light-sensing section of these cells is called the outer segment, which is made up of a series of stacked discs, each about 30 nanometers (billionths of a meter) thick. This appendage goes through daily changes in length.

21 Dec 2011

New method uses cultured skin cells to detect contact allergy

Contact allergy affects around 20% of the population in the western world. Scientists are working intensively to develop alternative test methods that do not require animal testing. A research group at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, has now developed a unique test method that enables graded results to be obtained using cultured skin cells.

21 Dec 2011

CSF biomarkers can help detect early stage of Alzheimer's

Analysis of the cerebrospinal fluid can detect whether a person has Alzheimer's disease before symptoms appear. Researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have studied biomarkers that offer more reliable diagnosis and, in the longer term, the possibility of effective new treatments.

21 Dec 2011

GSK, ProteoTech enter R&D agreement to develop new Parkinson's therapeutics

ProteoTech, Inc., a privately held biotechnology company, has entered into a drug development agreement with GlaxoSmithKline (China) R&D Company Limited (GSK) to collaborate on ProteoTech's small molecule technology platform against misfolded proteins to specifically advance work on its alpha-synuclein therapeutic program for the treatment of Parkinson's disease and other synucleinopathies.

21 Dec 2011

CWRU receives NIDDK grant to study role of innate immunity in IBD

Investigators at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine received a $6.75 million Program Project Grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) to study the role of innate immunity in inflammatory bowel disease.

21 Dec 2011

Study assesses evidence of immunosuppression in sepsis

An analysis of lung and spleen tissue from patients who died of sepsis revealed certain biochemical, cellular and histological findings that were consistent with immunosuppression, according to a study in the December 21 issue of JAMA.

21 Dec 2011

Scientists create functional model of native extracellular matrix

Scientists at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) have created a functional model of the native extracellular matrix that provides structural support to cells to aid growth and proliferation. The model could lead to advances in regenerative medicine.

21 Dec 2011

University of Oxford scientists develop new candidate malaria vaccine

A new candidate malaria vaccine with the potential to neutralise all strains of the most deadly species of malaria parasite has been developed by a team led by scientists at the University of Oxford.

21 Dec 2011

Women with breast cancer more likely to develop heart disease

Women who are at risk for breast cancer may also be at greater risk for heart disease, new research has found.

21 Dec 2011

BMDCs can contribute to olfactory neurons through plasticity mechanism

Bone marrow-derived stem cells (BMDCs) have been recognized as a source for transplantation because they can contribute to different cell populations in a variety of organs under both normal and pathological conditions.

20 Dec 2011

Study examines relationship between malaria, salmonella infection

People with malaria are more prone to developing bacterial infections, particularly from salmonella, and "researchers at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine [LSHTM] have discovered that the increased vulnerability to salmonella infections is a side effect of the body's attempts to protect itself from the damaging effects of the malaria infection," according to an LSHTM press release.

20 Dec 2011

EETs may also drive growth and spread of cancer

A group of small molecules called EETs - currently under scrutiny as possible treatment targets for a host of cardiovascular diseases - may also drive the growth and spread of cancer, according to researchers at the Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Center (DF/CHCC) and other institutions.

20 Dec 2011

Hebrew University student wins Kaye Innovation Award for anti-cancer therapy

A strategy for inhibiting a protein that is associated with the spread of cancer has won for a Hebrew University of Jerusalem Ph.D. student in chemistry one of this year's Kaye Innovation Awards at the university.

20 Dec 2011

Kessler Foundation researcher earns Humboldt award for brain and behavior study

Jordan Grafman, PhD, director of traumatic brain injury research at Kessler Foundation, has received a Humboldt Research Award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. This prestigious award encourages collaborative research between German scientists and renowned investigators like Dr. Grafman, who specializes in the study of the human prefrontal cortex and cognitive neuroplasticity.

20 Dec 2011