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UTSA receives grant from NSF to study nanomaterials

The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) has received a five-year, $2.7 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to study nanomaterials and their biomedical applications.

11 Sep 2009

New study reveals that actual sex ratios can sway from the ideal

In a perfect world, for every boy there would of course be a girl, but a new study shows that actual sex ratios can sometimes sway very far from that ideal. In fact, the male-to-female ratio of one tropical butterfly has shifted rapidly over time and space, driven by a parasite that specifically kills males of the species, reveals a report published online on September 10th in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication.

11 Sep 2009

Fau and MELK genes may help improve breast cancer diagnosis and treatment

Researchers at Keele University have identified two genes which may help improve the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer patients.

11 Sep 2009

TrKA and CCM2 combination results in pediatric tumour regression

Why are some pediatric cancers able to spontaneously regress? Prof. Michael Fainzilber and his team of the Weizmann Institute's Biological Chemistry Department seem to have unexpectedly found part of the answer. Further research towards a better understanding of the mechanism of action might hopefully lead, in the future, to the development of drugs that will be able to induce regression of certain tumors.

10 Sep 2009

Scientist awarded grant to study the role of VENs in quick decision making

A scientist at Barrow Neurological Institute at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center has been awarded a $400,000 grant from the James S. McDonnell Foundation to help study a rare cell type that is believed to play a role in quick decision making and intuition. Abnormalities in this cell type have been seen in people suffering from autism and dementia.

10 Sep 2009

Endothelin research update to be presented at APS' 11th International Conference

Recent research to block the effects of endothelin, a powerful substance that constricts blood vessels and stimulates cell growth, has led to successful treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension and provides hope for treating other chronic diseases.

10 Sep 2009

Research on the role of microRNAs in cellular processes

RNAs, serving as a mere intermediary between DNA and proteins, were long regarded as a poor relation by researchers, attracting little interest. However, following the discovery of small RNAs known as microRNAs, they have increasingly been moving into the limelight. MicroRNAs bind to messenger RNA (mRNA), thereby regulating the translation of genes into proteins.

10 Sep 2009

Research reveals genetic conversation between X and Y chromosomes

In the week that the University of Leicester celebrates the 25th anniversary of the discovery of DNA fingerprinting (Thursday September 10) new findings from the world-renowned University of Leicester Department of Genetics reveal for the first time that the male and female do truly communicate -at least at the fundamental genetic level.

10 Sep 2009

Natural plant hormone can help eliminate pesticide residues in food crops

Scientists in China are reporting the "intriguing" discovery that a natural plant hormone, applied to crops, can help plants eliminate residues of certain pesticides. The study is scheduled for the Sept. 23 issue of ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, a bi-weekly publication.

10 Sep 2009

Nanobio hybrids for brain cancer therapy

In an advance toward better treatments for the most serious form of brain cancer, scientists in Illinois are reporting development of the first nanoparticles that seek out and destroy brain cancer cells without damaging nearby healthy cells. The study is scheduled for the Sept. 9 issue of ACS' Nano Letters, a monthly journal.

10 Sep 2009

Brain's SCN is the master clock that synchronizes other biological clocks in the body

Alexis Webb enters a small room at Washington University in St. Louis with walls, floor and ceiling painted dark green, shuts the door, turns off the lights and bends over a microscope in a black box draped with black cloth. Through the microscope, she can see a single nerve cell on a glass cover slip glowing dimly.

10 Sep 2009

Plant extract could lead to new drug development for H1N1

Scientists in China have discovered that roots of a plant used a century ago during the great Spanish influenza pandemic contains substances with powerful effects in laboratory experiments in killing the H1N1 swine flu virus that now threatens the world.

10 Sep 2009

Miracles of the immune system discussed at the 2nd European Congress of Immunology

"I think it will not surprise you if I say that the immune system is one of our most important organ systems. Its relevance is obvious if only for the fact that it has been reinvented several times throughout the evolution of life," says Professor Andreas Radbruch, President of the German Society of Immunology and Director of the Deutsches Rheuma-Forschungszentrum, Berlin. He lectured about the miracle of our immune system at the Opening Press Conference of the 2nd European Congress of Immunology.

10 Sep 2009

Yeast mutants may yield new opportunities for anticancer drug development

Until now, the mode of action of nitrogen-containing bisphosphonate (N-BP) cancer drugs, used to relieve bone pain and to prevent skeletal complications in bone metastasis, has been almost entirely unknown. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Genome Biology have used 'barcoded' yeast mutants to identify new biological processes involved in the cellular response to N-BPs, opening up opportunities for the development of new anticancer drugs.

10 Sep 2009

Researchers study the brain activity using magnetic resonance imaging

A woman looks familiar, but you can't remember her name or where you met her. New research by UC Irvine neuroscientists suggests the memory exists - you simply can't retrieve it.

10 Sep 2009

Psychological suffering crosses species lines, according to a study

A recent study documents the severe emotional trauma chimpanzees suffer as a result of laboratory use and confinement. Developmental Context Effects on Bicultural Post-Trauma Self Repair in Chimpanzees was published in the September issue, Vol. 45 (5), of the American Psychological Association journal Developmental Psychology.

9 Sep 2009

Research study on memory formation and storage process in the human brain

A new study that was carried out at the University of Haifa has identified another component in the chain of actions that take place in the neurons in the process of forming memories. This discovery joins a line of findings from previous studies that together provide a better understanding of the most complex processes in nature - the process of memory formation and storage in the human brain. The new study has been published in the prestigious Journal of Neuroscience.

9 Sep 2009

Study: Brain circuits may influence binge eating

Scientists led a rat to the fatty food, but they couldn't make it eat. Using an animal model of binge eating, University of Missouri researchers discovered that deactivating the basolateral amygdala, a brain region involved in regulating emotion, specifically blocked consumption of a fatty diet. Surprisingly, it had no effect on the rat wanting to look for the food repeatedly.

9 Sep 2009

Bioluminescence imaging demystifies causes of infectious diseases

By attaching light-emitting genes to infectious bacteria in an experimental system, researchers at University College, Cork, Ireland, have been able to track where in the body the bacteria go - giving an insight into the path of the infection process leading to the development of more targeted treatments.

9 Sep 2009