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AHAF announces glaucoma and macular degeneration research grants

The American Health Assistance Foundation, a nonprofit organization with a history of funding breakthrough research on age-related vision diseases, announced today that it has awarded 21 new grants totaling $2.1 million to scientists worldwide who are studying glaucoma and macular degeneration. The two conditions are the leading causes of irreversible blindness in the world.

26 Jul 2012

Researchers discover new cause of congenital myopathy

University of Michigan researchers have discovered a new cause of congenital myopathy: a mutation in a previously uncharacterized gene, according to research published this month in the American Journal of Human Genetics.

26 Jul 2012

How an opportunistic fungal pathogen knows when to attack

The opportunistic fungal pathogen Candida albicans inconspicuously lives in our bodies until it senses that we are weak, when it quickly adapts to go on the offensive. The fungus, known for causing yeast and other minor infections, also causes a sometimes-fatal infection known as candidemia in immunocompromised patients. An in vivo study, published in mBio, demonstrates how C. albicans can distinguish between a healthy and an unhealthy host and alter its physiology to attack.

25 Jul 2012

Cepheid launches new Xpert BCR-ABL Monitor test

Cepheid today announced the release of an updated Xpert BCR-ABL Monitor test, now incorporating lot-specific standardization using the WHO (World Health Organization) BCR-ABL standards.

25 Jul 2012

NIH grants aim at creating 3-D tissue chips to help identify drug safety signals

Seventeen National Institutes of Health grants are aimed at creating 3-D chips with living cells and tissues that accurately model the structure and function of human organs such as the lung, liver and heart. Once developed, these tissue chips will be tested with compounds known to be safe or toxic in humans to help identify the most reliable drug safety signals - ultimately advancing research to help predict the safety of potential drugs in a faster, more cost-effective way.

25 Jul 2012

MASL protein from plant's seeds may halt spread of melanoma

An international team of scientists led by Gary Goldberg, PhD, of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-School of Osteopathic Medicine (UMDNJ-SOM), has found that a protein from the seeds of a plant used for centuries in traditional medicines may be able to halt the spread of melanoma, a lethal form of skin cancer.

25 Jul 2012

Scientists use inactive, fat rats to study juvenile obesity

Childhood obesity has nearly tripled in the past three decades, and by 2009, 17 percent of those 2-19 years of age were classified as obese. If actions against childhood obesity do not take place it is likely that today's children could be the first generation in over a century to experience a decline in life expectancy due to the epidemic of childhood obesity which leads to complications in later life.

25 Jul 2012

Human neutrophil peptide 1 effectively prevents HIV entry into cells in multiple ways

Human defensins, aptly named antimicrobial peptides, are made in immune system cells and epithelial cells (such as skin cells and cells that line the gut). One of these peptides, human neutrophil peptide 1, under certain circumstances hinders HIV infection, but exactly how it works remains unclear.

25 Jul 2012

WASC accredits Cedars-Sinai PhD program in biomedical sciences and translational medicine

The Graduate Program in Biomedical Sciences and Translational Medicine at Cedars-Sinai has been accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, an affirmation that the PhD-awarding educational effort meets the most rigorous standards of higher learning.

25 Jul 2012

Rutgers cell biologist to receive Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers

Fewer than 100 researchers nationwide are chosen each year to receive the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), and this year Dr. Nihal Altan-Bonnet is one of the 96 to receive this honor.

25 Jul 2012

Study uncovers pathways by which yoga impacts biological processes

Six months ago, researchers at UCLA published a study that showed using a specific type of yoga to engage in a brief, simple daily meditation reduced the stress levels of people who care for those stricken by Alzheimer's and dementia. Now they know why.

25 Jul 2012

Insights into link between fat-hoarding genes and ancient diet

Why do Native Americans experience high rates of diabetes? A common theory is that they possess fat-hoarding "thrifty genes" left over from their ancestors - genes that were required for survival during ancient cycles of feast and famine, but that now contribute to the disease in a modern world of more fatty and sugary diets.

25 Jul 2012

Researchers discover important link between sodium and calcium

The scientific community has always wanted to know why people who eat high-salt diets are prone to developing medical problems such as kidney stones and osteoporosis.

25 Jul 2012

Mice have different neural subsystem associated with instinctually important smells

A new study finds that mice have a distinct neural subsystem that links the nose to the brain and is associated with instinctually important smells such as those emitted by predators. That insight, published online this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, prompts the question whether mice and other mammals have specially hardwired neural circuitry to trigger instinctive behavior in response to certain smells.

25 Jul 2012

Giving patients a new immune system can cure Crohn's disease

Researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have opened a clinical trial to test the theory that giving a patient a new immune system can cure severe cases of Crohn's disease, a chronic inflammatory condition of the gastrointestinal tract.

25 Jul 2012

RhoC gene promotes breast cancer stem cell progression

Researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center have found that a cancer gene linked to aggressive spread of the disease promotes breast cancer stem cells. The finding implies a new way to target the behavior of these lethal cells.

25 Jul 2012

Moderate-to-severe TBI can disrupt proteins that regulate enzyme associated with Alzheimer's

A study, performed in mice and utilizing post-mortem samples of brains from patients with Alzheimer's disease, found that a single event of a moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) can disrupt proteins that regulate an enzyme associated with Alzheimer's.

25 Jul 2012

Vanderbilt researchers receives new $2.1M grant to develop microbrain bioreactor

Take a millionth of a human brain and squeeze it into a special chamber the size of a mustard seed. Link it to a second chamber filled with cerebral spinal fluid and thread both of them with artificial blood vessels in order to create a microenvironment that makes the neurons and other brain cells behave as if they were in a living brain. Then surround the chambers with a battery of sensors that monitor how the cells respond when exposed to minute quantities of dietary toxins, disease organisms or new drugs under development.

25 Jul 2012

Deep look into how brain mechanisms for memory retrieval differ between adults and children

Neuroscientists from Wayne State University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are taking a deeper look into how the brain mechanisms for memory retrieval differ between adults and children.

25 Jul 2012

New algorithm can help scientists predict gene and drug interactions

Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine have developed a new computational method that will make it easier for scientists to identify and prioritize genes, drug targets, and strategies for repositioning drugs that are already on the market. By mining large datasets more simply and efficiently, researchers will be able to better understand gene-gene, protein-protein, and drug/side-effect interactions. The new algorithm will also help scientists identify fellow researchers with whom they can collaborate.

25 Jul 2012

Medical Science News

AHAF announces glaucoma and macular degeneration research grants

Researchers discover new cause of congenital myopathy

How an opportunistic fungal pathogen knows when to attack

Cepheid launches new Xpert BCR-ABL Monitor test

NIH grants aim at creating 3-D tissue chips to help identify drug safety signals

MASL protein from plant's seeds may halt spread of melanoma

Scientists use inactive, fat rats to study juvenile obesity

Human neutrophil peptide 1 effectively prevents HIV entry into cells in multiple ways

WASC accredits Cedars-Sinai PhD program in biomedical sciences and translational medicine

Rutgers cell biologist to receive Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers

Study uncovers pathways by which yoga impacts biological processes

Insights into link between fat-hoarding genes and ancient diet

Researchers discover important link between sodium and calcium

Mice have different neural subsystem associated with instinctually important smells

Giving patients a new immune system can cure Crohn's disease

RhoC gene promotes breast cancer stem cell progression

Moderate-to-severe TBI can disrupt proteins that regulate enzyme associated with Alzheimer's

Vanderbilt researchers receives new $2.1M grant to develop microbrain bioreactor

Deep look into how brain mechanisms for memory retrieval differ between adults and children

New algorithm can help scientists predict gene and drug interactions

Bioprocess Efficiency with Cell Density Monitoring

Exploring electron microscopy for plant and microbial imaging at the John Innes Centre

Extending the reach of Amperia™

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