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Scientists develop new way to create electromagnetic T-rays for medical scanners

Scientists have developed a new way to create electromagnetic Terahertz (THz) waves or T-rays - the technology behind full-body security scanners. The researchers behind the study, published recently in the journal Nature Photonics, say their new stronger and more efficient continuous wave T-rays could be used to make better medical scanning gadgets and may one day lead to innovations similar to the 'tricorder' scanner used in Star Trek.

21 Jan 2012

RBC storage duration not associated with transfusion-related pulmonary complications

There is no difference in early measures of pulmonary function, immunologic status or coagulation status after fresh versus standard issue single-unit red blood cell (RBC) transfusion, according to a new study from the Mayo Clinic.

21 Jan 2012

NCI-funded project aims to shed new light on implications for bone metastasis in prostate cancer

Prostate cancer is the most frequent and second deadliest cancer men face. A team of Wayne State University researchers recently received $363,660 from the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health for the project - "Bone-induced c-kit in prostate cancer cells: implications for bone metastasis" - that aims to shed new light on implications for bone metastasis in prostate cancer.

21 Jan 2012

Exercise fails to improve glucose metabolism in autophagy-deficient mice

The health benefits of exercise on blood sugar metabolism may come from the body's ability to devour itself, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers report in the journal Nature.

21 Jan 2012

Minuscule amounts of ethanol can double C. elegans' life span

Minuscule amounts of ethanol, the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, can more than double the life span of a tiny worm known as Caenorhabditis elegans, which is used frequently as a model in aging studies, UCLA biochemists report. The scientists said they find their discovery difficult to explain.

21 Jan 2012

Ambiguity makes language more efficient

Why did language evolve? While the answer might seem obvious - as a way for individuals to exchange information - linguists and other students of communication have debated this question for years. Many prominent linguists, including MIT's Noam Chomsky, have argued that language is, in fact, poorly designed for communication.

20 Jan 2012

ARCA biopharma receives method patent for treatment with bucindolol based on genetic targeting

ARCA biopharma, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing genetically targeted therapies for cardiovascular diseases, today announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a patent on methods for determining whether to administer or prescribe bucindolol to a patient based on whether the patient has a specific genotype - homozygous for the arginine 389 polymorphism in the beta-1 adrenergic receptor.

20 Jan 2012

Combination of gefitinib and miRNA-inhibitor might effectively treat NSCLC

New research published in Nature Medicine indicates that targeted drugs such as gefitinib might more effectively treat non-small cell lung cancer if they could be combined with agents that block certain microRNAs.

20 Jan 2012

Novel imaging platform reveals new details on aggressive cancer development

When cancers become aggressive and spread they are the most deadly. Unfortunately, little is known about how to stop this development. A new imaging platform developed by Lawson Health Research Institute's Drs. Ann Chambers and John Lewis is providing insight into just that - the exact moment when cancer cells turn deadly.

20 Jan 2012

Novel nano-carrier platform shows promise for cancer drug delivery

A new class of nanoparticles, synthesized by a UC Davis research team to prevent premature drug release, holds promise for greater accuracy and effectiveness in delivering cancer drugs to tumors. The work is published online in Angewandte Chemie, a leading international chemistry journal.

20 Jan 2012

WSU professors receive NSF grant to develop math model of liver metabolism

Predicting problems in one of the body's most complex organs soon may become easier because of work being done by Wayne State University researchers.

20 Jan 2012

Scientists discover unexpected way in which a neutrophil prepares for battle

UCSF scientists have discovered the unexpected way in which a key cell of the immune system prepares for battle. The finding, they said, offers insight into the processes that take place within these cells and could lead to strategies for treating conditions from spinal cord injury to cancer.

20 Jan 2012

CHORI senior scientist reveals mechanism for iron absorption from non-meat sources

A groundbreaking study conducted by Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI) Senior Scientist Elizabeth Theil, PhD, is the first to reveal the existence of at least two independent mechanisms for iron absorption from non-meat sources-and a potential treatment for iron deficiency, the most common nutrient deficiency worldwide.

20 Jan 2012

RHBDF2 gene plays a key role in growth of oesophageal cancer

New research from Queen Mary, University of London has uncovered a gene which plays a key role in the development of oesophageal cancer.

20 Jan 2012

New biomarkers can predict risk of kidney failure in patients with diabetes

Scientists at Joslin Diabetes Center have identified two novel markers that, when elevated in the blood stream, can predict accurately the risk of renal (kidney) failure in patients with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.

20 Jan 2012

Inflammation enhances pancreatic cancer cell progression

Ben Stanger, MD, PhD, assistant professor of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, and Andrew Rhim, MD, a Gastroenterology Fellow in the Stanger lab, discovered that pancreatic cancer cells in an animal model begin to spread before clinically obvious tumor tissue is detected.

20 Jan 2012

MSC-mediated RNAi transfer holds promise for Huntington's disease

A team of researchers at the UC Davis Institute for Regenerative Cures has developed a technique for using stem cells to deliver therapy that specifically targets the genetic abnormality found in Huntington's disease, a hereditary brain disorder that causes progressive uncontrolled movements, dementia and death.

20 Jan 2012

External stimuli control hormonal regulation of our eating behavior

Max Planck researchers have proven something scientifically for the first time that laypeople have always known: the mere sight of delicious food stimulates the appetite. A study on healthy young men has documented that the amount of the neurosecretory protein hormone ghrelin in the blood increases as a result of visual stimulation through images of food.

20 Jan 2012

Defect in neuronal RNA splicing process may contribute to neurological disease

A Jackson Laboratory research team led by Professor and Howard Hughes Medical Investigator Susan Ackerman, Ph.D., has discovered a defect in the RNA splicing process in neurons that may contribute to neurological disease.

20 Jan 2012

Distal-less gene plays a critical role in development of fruit fly olfactory system

Fruit flies don't have noses, but a huge part of their brains is dedicated to processing smells. Flies probably rely on the sense of smell more than any other sense for essential activities such as finding mates and avoiding danger. UW-Madison researchers have discovered that a gene called distal-less is critical to the fly's ability to receive, process and respond to smells.

20 Jan 2012