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Rothman researchers to develop gold standard definition for periprosthetic joint infection

A rise in periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) rates has the orthopedic community moving to develop it's first-ever agreed upon definition and diagnostic criteria to help better treat patients.

5 Nov 2011

Pall launches new Acrodisc MS syringe filter

Pall Corporation, today introduced the Pall Acrodisc MS Syringe Filter the first syringe filter certified for low extractables in high performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LCMS) applications.

From Pall Corporation 5 Nov 2011

MicroRNAs may predict risk of recurrence in post-resection gastric cancer patients

Rosetta Genomics, Ltd., a leading developer and provider of microRNA-based molecular diagnostics, announces that results from a joint study by researchers at the Institutes of Oncology, Davidoff Center, Rabin Medical Center, Beilinson Hospital and Golda-Hasharon Hospital in Petach-Tikva, Israel show that in post-resection gastric cancer patients microRNAs may serve to predict the risk of recurrence.

4 Nov 2011

Psychotherapy could have diverse cerebral effects depending on certain genes

Problems like anxiety and depression are caused by psychological and environmental factors, and are known to be influenced by genetic proclivities. However, it is still not clear how each factor affects the brain's functions to induce anxious and depressive symptoms.

4 Nov 2011

'Medicine that grows' confronts antibiotics resistance

It's been called "the trots," "Montezuma's Revenge," "the runs" and worse. But no matter the name, when it strikes, victims wish for a medicine that could go straight to the offending bacteria to quickly knock it dead.

4 Nov 2011

New technologies could aid in malignant melanoma diagnosis and therapy

Because the incidence of malignant melanoma is rising faster than any other cancer in the U.S., researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., and colleagues at Tampa-based Intezyne Technologies, Inc., Western Carolina University and the University of Arizona are working overtime to develop new technologies to aid in both malignant melanoma diagnosis and therapy.

4 Nov 2011

Asuragen announces data from microRNA biomarker study on pancreatic cancer

Asuragen, Inc. announced today that data from a collaborative study with Johns Hopkins regarding microRNA biomarkers for use on pancreatic cyst fluid specimens was presented at the American Pancreatic Association Annual Meeting being held November 2-5, 2011 in Chicago.

4 Nov 2011

Brain and cooperation

When Nancy Grace and her partner danced a lively rumba to Spandau Ballet's 1980's hit, "True," on a recent "Dancing with the Stars," more was going on in the legal commentator's brain than worry over a possible wardrobe malfunction. Deep in Grace's cortex, millions of neurons were hard at work doing what they apparently had been built to do: act and react to partner Tristan MacManus's movements to create a pas de deux that had the dancers functioning together (for the most part) like a well-oiled machine.

4 Nov 2011

Study reveals how default-mode network neurones interfere with our ability to pay attention

A study carried out by a team at the Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon has just revealed how this network interferes with our ability to pay attention, by assessing the activity of the human brain's default-mode network neurones on a millisecond scale for the first time ever, in collaboration with Philippe Kahane's epilepsy department in Grenoble.

4 Nov 2011

Cerebellum contributes to creation of cognitive map in the hippocampus

The cerebellum is far more intensively involved in helping us navigate than previously thought. To move and learn effectively in spatial environments our brain, and particularly our hippocampus, creates a "cognitive" map of the environment. The cerebellum contributes to the creation of this map through altering the chemical communication between its neurones. If this ability is inactivated, the brain is no longer able to to create an effective spatial representation and thus navigation in an environment becomes impaired.

4 Nov 2011

Impulsive men have lower levels of GABA in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex

Impulsive individuals tend to display aggressive behavior and have challenges ranging from drug and alcohol abuse, to problem gambling and difficult relationships. They are less able to adapt to different social situations. Impulsivity is also a common feature of psychiatric disorders.

4 Nov 2011

Early diagnosis of large intestine cancer could be feasible in the long term

Itxaro Perez, a biochemist at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), has contributed in such a way that, in the long term, the early diagnosis of cancer of the large intestine could be feasible.

4 Nov 2011

Inserm researchers successfully rejuvenate cells from elderly donors

Inserm's AVENIR "Genomic plasticity and aging" team, directed by Jean-Marc Lemaitre, Inserm researcher at the Functional Genomics Institute, has recently succeeded in rejuvenating cells from elderly donors.

4 Nov 2011

Whole genome sequencing can identify strains of caries-causing bacteria

Severe early childhood caries can destroy most of a child's teeth by age three, and disproportionately affects underserved populations, including American Indians and Alaskan natives. Although the link between Lactobacilli bacteria (Lb) and severe early childhood caries has been known for almost a century, progress in delineating which of 140 Lb species are responsible for the disease has remained elusive.

4 Nov 2011

New way to screen hirsutism among women

Examining the chin and upper and lower abdomen is a reliable, minimally invasive way to screen for excessive hair growth in women, a key indicator of too much male hormone, researchers report.

4 Nov 2011

Einstein scientists receive two NCI grants to study cancer metastasis

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has awarded Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University two grants totaling $8 million to study the microenvironments that drive the spread of cancer from the primary tumor to other parts of the body in the process known as metastasis.

4 Nov 2011

Scientists discover alternative mechanism for extension of telomeres

Scientists of the German Cancer Research Center have discovered an alternative mechanism for the extension of the telomere repeat sequence by DNA repair enzymes.

4 Nov 2011

Amphetamine use in adolescence can affect brain chemistry and behaviour

Amphetamine use in adolescence can cause neurobiological imbalances and increase risk-taking behaviour, and these effects can persist into adulthood, even when subjects are drug free. These are the conclusions of a new study using animal models conducted by McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) researcher Dr. Gabriella Gobbi and her colleagues.

4 Nov 2011

Scientists identify mechanism by which GBM promotes neurodegeneration

Researchers from Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center and the VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine have discovered a mechanism by which glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most common form of brain cancer, promotes the loss of function or death of neurons, a process known as neurodegeneration.

4 Nov 2011

Scientists discover neurons responsible for light-induced arousal response

Bright light arouses us. Bright light makes it easier to stay awake. Very bright light not only arouses us but is known to have antidepressant effects. Conversely, dark rooms can make us sleepy. It's the reason some people use masks to make sure light doesn't wake them while they sleep.

4 Nov 2011