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MRI-based technique allows researchers to follow neural stem cells in vivo

Carnegie Mellon University biologists have developed an MRI-based technique that allows researchers to non-invasively follow neural stem cells in vivo.

30 Sep 2011

G-Zero receives NIAID's Phase II Small Business Innovation Research Grant

G-Zero Therapeutics, an RTP company started in 2008 based on technologies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has been awarded a $3 million Phase II Small Business Innovation Research Grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health.

30 Sep 2011

Study provides insight into earliest stages of some cancers

A novel technique that enables scientists to measure and document tumor-inducing changes in DNA is providing new insight into the earliest events involved in the formation of leukemias, lymphomas and sarcomas, and could potentially lead to the discovery of ways to stop those events.

30 Sep 2011

Beta-blockers can prevent breast cancer metastasis and improve survival

Cancer Research UK scientists are investigating whether beta-blockers hold the key to preventing breast cancer spread and improving survival. Promising early results will be presented on the eve of breast cancer awareness month at the Royal Society of Medicine.

30 Sep 2011

Lin28/let-7 pathway plays an unexpected key role in type 2 diabetes

A pathway activated in cancer plays an unexpected key role in metabolic diseases like type 2 diabetes, according to a study by researchers at Children's Hospital Boston. Evidence that the Lin28/let-7 pathway influences the cellular response to glucose provides a unifying theme to perplexing data that associates human genetic variation with diabetes risk.

30 Sep 2011

Plausible way to circumvent drug resistance in breast cancer cells

Breast cancer cells that mutate to resist drug treatment survive by establishing tiny pumps on their surface that reject the drugs as they penetrate the cell membrane - making the cancer insensitive to chemotherapy drugs even after repeated use.

29 Sep 2011

Anti-caking agents may hasten degradation of vitamin C

Anti-caking agents in powdered products may hasten degradation of vitamin C instead of doing what they are supposed to do: protect the nutrient from moisture.

29 Sep 2011

Researchers reveal how motivation facilitates motor functional recovery in stroke, SCI patients

An effective recovery has been observed in stroke patients and those with spinal cord injuries who have strong vitality and motivation to rehabilitate in clinical practice. However, it was not really clear how motivation facilitates functional recovery in brain science.

29 Sep 2011

New process makes linear peptides circular

Peptides and proteins have long been an attractive class of drug candidates because of their natural involvement in cellular processes and fewer potential side effects. Dr. Andrei Yudin, Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, has developed a new and effective process that makes linear peptides circular, which allows these molecules, called macrocycles, to enter cells more effectively and increase their stability compared to linear peptides.

29 Sep 2011

Researchers describe how memory is divided into discrete individual packets

An experiment published in the 28 September issue of Nature in which rats are "teleported" shows how memory is organized into discrete 125 millisecond-long packets, enabling a smooth transition between one memory and the next.

29 Sep 2011

Large-scale study on cat intestinal cancer could ultimately benefit humans

A recent, large-scale study on cat intestinal cancer has provided new insight into a common pet disease and its causes; the findings could ultimately benefit humans.

29 Sep 2011

DSMB authorizes ACT to proceed with next set of patients in stem cell clinical trials

Advanced Cell Technology, Inc., a leader in the field of regenerative medicine, announced today that the independent Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) overseeing the Company's two ongoing stem cell clinical trials in the United States authorized ACT to move forward with enrolling and treating the next set of patients in each of the trials.

29 Sep 2011

UCSF scientists identify how normal cells transform into brain tumors

Brain tumor specimens taken from neurosurgery cases at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center has given scientists a new window on the transformation that occurs as healthy brain cells begin to form tumors.

29 Sep 2011

Three papers reveal structure and workings of G protein-coupled receptors

Three international teams of scientists, led by researchers at the University of California San Diego, University of Michigan and Stanford University, have published a trio of papers describing in unprecedented detail the structure and workings of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), a large family of human proteins that are the target of one-third to one-half of modern drugs.

29 Sep 2011

Genetic variant may increase severity of coronary artery disease in patients with diabetes

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified the first genetic variant associated with severity of coronary artery disease in patients with type 2 diabetes.

29 Sep 2011

Researchers identify 'programmed cell death' pathway in parasitic worms

Researchers from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute have for the first time identified a 'programmed cell death' pathway in parasitic worms that could one day lead to new treatments for one of the world's most serious and prevalent diseases.

29 Sep 2011

Researchers discover kibra protein controls sculpting of brain circuitry

Researchers working with adult mice have discovered that learning and memory were profoundly affected when they altered the amounts of a certain protein in specific parts of the mammals' brains.

29 Sep 2011

Researchers use patient's own stem cells to correct genetic alteration that causes SCD

Using a patient's own stem cells, researchers at Johns Hopkins have corrected the genetic alteration that causes sickle cell disease (SCD), a painful, disabling inherited blood disorder that affects mostly African-Americans. The corrected stem cells were coaxed into immature red blood cells in a test tube that then turned on a normal version of the gene.

29 Sep 2011

Simple low-cost method for isolation and collection of fragile prostate cancer cells

At the Oct. 2-6 microTAS 2011 conference, the premier international event for reporting research in microfluidics, nanotechnology and detection technologies for life science and chemistry, University of Cincinnati researchers will present a simple, low-cost, method for separating and safely collecting concentrated volumes of fragile prostate cancer cells.

29 Sep 2011

FOX06 protein contributes to liver overproduction of glucose in diabetes

Researchers at the John G. Rangos Sr. Research Center at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have identified a powerful molecular pathway that regulates the liver's management of insulin and new glucose production, which could lead to new therapies for diabetes.

29 Sep 2011