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Chemical breakthrough could simplify drug development process

A new chemical process developed by a team of Harvard researchers greatly increases the utility of Positron Emission Tomography (PET) in creating real-time 3-D images of chemical process occurring inside the human body.

5 Nov 2011

Researchers identify surprising mechanism that facilitates protein interactions

Research led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists has identified an unexpected mechanism facilitating some protein interactions that are the workhorses of cells and, in the process, identified a potential new cancer drug development target.

5 Nov 2011

Pioneering neuroscientist receives Rockefeller's Pearl Meister Greengard Prize

Brenda Milner, Ph.D., a pioneer in the field of cognitive neuroscience whose discoveries revolutionized the understanding of memory, was awarded the 2011 Pearl Meister Greengard Prize from The Rockefeller University yesterday.

5 Nov 2011

Princeton University's bone marrow research to prevent breast cancer metastasis

Two teams of Princeton University researchers will study bone marrow to help explain and potentially prevent breast cancer from spreading, with national research funding announced today by Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

5 Nov 2011

International research explains why measles virus spreads so quickly

An international collaboration involving Inserm has revealed how the measles virus leaves the body of an infected person to contaminate another individual. The researchers have identified a key receptor, located in the trachea, which allows the virus to spread through the air rapidly from one organism to another. The receptor, nectine-4, is also known to be a biomarker for some cancers.

5 Nov 2011

Active ingredient in saffron shows promise against MS

Medical researchers at the University of Alberta have discovered that an active ingredient in the Persian spice saffron may be a potential treatment for diseases involving neuroinflammation, such as multiple sclerosis.

5 Nov 2011

X-ray crystallography identifies structure of apoA-I molecule

Using a sophisticated technique of x-ray crystallography, researchers Xiaohu Mei, PhD, and David Atkinson, PhD, from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have for the first time obtained an "image" of the structure and the precise arrangement of the atoms in a truncated form of the apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) molecule.

5 Nov 2011

Common gut pathogen increases activity of SMO gene and causes colon tumors

Working with lab cultures and mice, Johns Hopkins scientists have found that a strain of the common gut pathogen Bacteroides fragilis causes colon inflammation and increases activity of a gene called spermine oxidase (SMO) in the intestine.

5 Nov 2011

Arginase-2 enzyme plays a major role in diabetic nephropathy

The enzyme arginase-2 plays a major role in kidney failure, and blocking the action of this enzyme might lead to protection against renal disease in diabetes, according to researchers.

5 Nov 2011

Heidelberg scientists identify single protein responsible for varicose veins

Dr. Thomas Korff and his group at the Division of Cardiovascular Physiology of Heidelberg University's Institute of Physiology and Pathophysiology have now shown that the pathological remodeling processes causing varicose veins are mediated by a single protein.

5 Nov 2011

Toxoplasma gondii directly affects production of dopamine in brain

A research group from the University of Leeds has shown that infection by the brain parasite Toxoplasma gondii, found in 10-20 per cent of the UK's population, directly affects the production of dopamine, a key chemical messenger in the brain.

5 Nov 2011

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