Medical Science News

RSS

Computationally designed antiviral proteins may fight against influenza

A research article May 12 in Science demonstrates the use of computational methods to design new antiviral proteins not found in nature, but capable of targeting specific surfaces of flu virus molecules.

16 May 2011

Simple, minimal invasive technique could help detect early-stage lung cancer

A simple, minimally-invasive technique using cells from the interior of the nose could help clinicians detect lung cancer in its earliest - and most treatable - stages, according to a study conducted by researchers in Boston.

16 May 2011

NewGene develops breakthrough test for hereditary breast cancer

A new breakthrough test for hereditary breast cancer developed by UK-based NewGene could see thousands of women being diagnosed with the genetic condition in around half the usual time and at around half the cost of conventional test methods.

16 May 2011

New York Academy of Sciences and Zeltia to host marine drug discovery forum on May 20, 2011

Substances produced by living organisms found in nature-so-called "natural products"-have played a critical role in the development of drugs for life-threatening conditions. The anticancer agent Taxol was sourced from a plant, penicillin from a fungus, and a number of recent breakthroughs have resulted in the development and approval of anticancer drugs derived from marine sources such as coral and sponges.

16 May 2011

Study reveals role of KLF14 regulatory gene in type 2 diabetes

A team of researchers, led by King's College London and the University of Oxford, have found that a gene linked to type 2 diabetes and cholesterol levels is in fact a 'master regulator' gene, which controls the behaviour of other genes found within fat in the body.

16 May 2011

Pre-existing malaria prevents secondary infection by another Plasmodium strain

A team of researchers have found that pre-existing malaria prevents secondary infection by another Plasmodium strain, the parasite responsible for malaria, by restricting iron availability in the liver of the host.

16 May 2011

Scientists discover single neuron that enables adaptive regulation of sparseness in olfactory codes

The brain is a coding machine: it translates physical inputs from the world into visual, olfactory, auditory, tactile perceptions via the mysterious language of its nerve cells and the networks which they form. Neural codes could in principle take many forms, but in regions forming bottlenecks for information flow or in areas important for memory, sparse codes are highly desirable.

16 May 2011

Study reveals crucial role of histone deacetylases in type 2 diabetes

A uniquely collaborative study by researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies uncovered a novel mechanism that turns up glucose production in the liver when blood sugar levels drop, pointing towards a new class of drugs for the treatment of metabolic disease.

16 May 2011

Scientists discover new class of compounds that selectively block 'serine hydrolases'

Scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have identified a class of compounds that could be a boon to basic research and drug discovery.

16 May 2011

Young scientists receive Intel Foundation top prize for groundbreaking cancer work

Matthew Feddersen and Blake Marggraff from Lafayette, Calif. were awarded the top prize at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, a program of Society for Science & the Public. They received $75,000 and the Gordon E. Moore Award, in honor of the Intel co-founder and retired chairman and CEO, for developing a potentially more effective and less expensive cancer treatment that places tin metal near a tumor before radiation therapy.

16 May 2011

Techulon receives U.S. patent protection for Glycofect Discovery and Therapeutic Delivery Platform

Techulon, Inc. announced today that its Glycofect Discovery and Therapeutic Delivery Platform has been awarded United States patent protection. The patented invention provides a new class of non-viral transfection vectors based on synthetic carbohydrate containing polyamides that can be used for both in vivo and in vitro applications.

16 May 2011

Study associates VDR gene variant with onset of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in men

Researchers have linked a variant in the vitamin D receptor gene (VDR) with the onset of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Caucasian men. The study population consisted of participants in the Veterans Administration Normative Aging Study, a multidisciplinary study of aging that began in 1963.

16 May 2011

Insight into male infertility

Around one in 20 men is infertile, but despite the best efforts of scientists, in many cases the underlying causes of infertility have remained a mystery.

16 May 2011

AgenoLAB acquires Roche´s RTCA Cardio Instrument

AgenoLAB, the Stuttgart-based service provider, is the first company in Germany to expand its service offering with the latest cell analysis technology from Roche. The company will use the RTCA Cardio Instrument to complement their analytical service portfolio for drug development.

13 May 2011

Researchers untangle two distinct ways in which tumor-suppressor protein works

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have untangled two distinct ways in which a common, naturally occurring "tumor-suppressor" protein works.

13 May 2011

Zaire ebolavirus may replicate in pigs and transmit to other animals

Canadian investigators have shown that a species of ebolavirus from Zaire that is highly virulent in humans can replicate in pigs, cause disease, and be transmitted to animals previously unexposed to the virus.

13 May 2011

PCR testing for B. burgdorferi bacteria in joint fluid may confirm Lyme arthritis diagnosis

New research shows that polymerase chain reaction testing for Borrelia burgdorferi DNA—the spirochetal bacteria transmitted by deer ticks—in joint fluid may confirm the diagnosis of Lyme arthritis, but is not a reliable indicator for active joint infection in patients whose arthritis persists after antibiotic therapy. Findings of this study are published in Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology.

13 May 2011

ISCO announces near-term marketing plans for Lifeline Skin Care products

International Stem Cell Corporation today announced the Company's near-term marketing plans for products manufactured by its Lifeline Skin Care subsidiary.

13 May 2011

Notum gene plays a key role in planarian's regeneration decision-making process

A seldom-studied gene known as notum plays a key role in the planarian's regeneration decision-making process, according to Whitehead Institute scientists. Protein from this gene determines whether a head or tail will regrow at appropriate amputation sites.

13 May 2011

Midbrain habenula region plays a key role in nicotine dependence

A person's vulnerability to nicotine addiction appears to have a genetic basis, at least in part. A region in the midbrain called the habenula plays a key role in this process, as Dr. In-s Iba-ez-Tallon and her team from the Max Delbr-ck Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch, Germany, have now shown.

13 May 2011