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Leeches back to relieve pain

The leech was indispensable in 19th Century medicine for bloodletting, a practice believed to be a cure for anything from headaches to gout. Leeching was largely abandoned as medical science advanced, only occasionally being called upon to treat bruising and black eyes.

13 Apr 2004

Prosthetic heart valve made completely of the body’s own tissue

Eight out of every 1000 children are born with a heart problem. Out of these, every fifth child needs a heart valve. While today’s mechanical or biological heart valves allow children to continue their lives, a research team at RWTH is developing a significantly more compatible heart valve that grows along with the body’s growth.

13 Apr 2004

Protein sequences harder to predict than originally thought

Scientists have believed for decades that the sequencing of the human genome would automatically yield the sequences of proteins, the functional products of genes, and thus lead to the unraveling of the mechanisms behind human cell biology and disease.

12 Apr 2004

Vitamin C can reduce levels of C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation and chronic disease

Vitamin C supplements can reduce levels of C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation and chronic disease risk in humans, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley.

12 Apr 2004

Gene therapy helps damaged heart cells regain strength and beat normally

Researchers at Jefferson Medical College and Duke University have used gene therapy to help damaged heart cells regain strength and beat normally again in the laboratory. The work takes the scientists one step closer to eventual clinical trials in humans.

12 Apr 2004

Researchers pinpoint pathway to muscle regeneration

A team including MDA grantee Gordon Lynch in the Department of Physiology at the University of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, found that a biological signaling pathway may help explain why mice with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) can regenerate their muscles much better than can humans with the same disease.

12 Apr 2004

New process to extract proteins from membranes by using chemicals

Proteins are complex compounds that are essential for the growth and repair of tissue. While scientists understand much about the structure and stability of water-soluble proteins that ‘float’ around in humans, they know very little about the shape and stability of proteins that are embedded, or folded, into the lipid membrane of cells. Such membrane proteins make up about 30 percent of all proteins in the body.

8 Apr 2004

New microgel could potentially recover any enzyme and save manufacturers considerable money

Carnegie Mellon University scientists have employed biological molecules to create a microgel that could recover costly enzymes for repeated use in catalyzing commercially important reactions. The microgel could potentially recover any enzyme and theoretically save manufacturers considerable money.

8 Apr 2004

University of Florida researchers have used a common gel to successfully deliver gene therapy to the diaphragm

The technique, described in the current issue of Molecular Therapy, could eventually lead to a method to correct genetic conditions in humans that cause diaphragm weakness and respiratory failure -- a leading cause of death in tens of thousands of patients with forms of muscular dystrophy, including Pompe’s disease. Thousands of Americans with muscle-weakening diseases are placed on ventilators each year, according to the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

7 Apr 2004

Alcohol screening can spot addiction

Have you ever felt like you needed a drink? If an occasional cocktail changes into a need, it could mean an alcohol problem. National Alcohol Screening Day is April 8. In cities and towns throughout the United States, screening programs will be offered to help people determine whether they exhibit drinking behaviors that could be signs of alcohol addiction.

7 Apr 2004

Protein kinase complex influences the outer layer of skin to control the eventual shape of the full-grown skeleton and skull

Continuing studies about an important regulatory protein kinase complex called I-kappa-B kinase (or IKK) have now shown that a subunit of IKK – IKK alpha – influences the outer layer of skin in developing mice to control the eventual shape of the full-grown skeleton and skull.

7 Apr 2004

Time-reversal acoustics research promises medical breakthroughs

Scientists have not yet found a way to actually make time run backward, but in the cutting-edge world of recent acoustics research, they have shown a way to make sound waves run backward in a kind of ultra-focused reverse echo. By the technology known as time-reversal acoustics, sound waves - in exact reverse order from the original sound - echo directly and very precisely back to their source point.

7 Apr 2004

Completion of the sequencing of human chromosome 19

The United States Department of Energy (DOE) Joint Genome Institute (JGI) and Stanford University report today the completion of the sequencing of human chromosome 19, the most gene-rich of all the human chromosomes. This achievement is described in the April 1, 2004 edition of the journal Nature.

7 Apr 2004

Analysis of Bacterial Genomes Begins to Unravel Complex Story of Metabolic Evolution

In a paper published in the current issue of the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution , Arizona State University biochemists Jason Raymond, Christopher Staples and Robert Blankenship and Rice University's Janet Siefert do an analysis of the genomes of a large group of bacteria and archaea, comparing in particular similar genes that produce the protein nitrogenase.

7 Apr 2004

A new technique for engineering protein crystals is helping scientists figure out the three-dimensional structures of some important biological molecules

A new technique for engineering protein crystals is helping scientists figure out the three-dimensional structures of some important biological molecules, including a key plague protein whose structure has eluded researchers until now. The technique, developed with support from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), promises to help pharmaceutical companies develop more effective drugs to treat various diseases by tailor-making molecules to "fit" a protein's shape.

6 Apr 2004

Scientists studying vaccinia virus, a relative of smallpox, have determined that a gene necessary for virus replication also has a key role in turning off inflammation

Scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign studying vaccinia virus, a close relative of smallpox, have determined that a gene necessary for virus replication also has a key role in turning off inflammation, a crucial anti-viral immune response of host cells.

6 Apr 2004

A simple urine sample could soon be used to predict the complex toxic effects of new drugs

BlueGnome has pioneered the use of statistical signal modelling in the analysis of high throughput experimental data. Its first product BlueFuse for Microarrays uses statistical modelling techniques to eliminate Œnoise‚ generated in microarray experiments, enabling researchers to automatically identify the presence or absence of genes and proteins with a higher level of confidence than is currently possible.

5 Apr 2004

Michigan opens new center to treat exposure to Vermiculite, Taconite, Asbestos

In response to the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) identification of major sources of public asbestos exposure in Michigan, the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute and the Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine (COEM) affiliated with Wayne State University (WSU) have joined forces to establish The National Center for Vermiculite and Asbestos-Related Cancers.

5 Apr 2004

Upcoming symposium to examine mercury exposure

The AMA is co-sponsoring a symposium for CME credit this month in Tampa, Fla., on the medical and public health aspects of mercury exposure. "Mercury: Medical and Public Health Issues" will be held from April 28-30 at the Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel and Marina.

5 Apr 2004

Mathematicians Predict Patterns in Fingerprints

Patterns in nature can be seen every day, yet in many cases, little is understood about how and why they form. Now University of Arizona mathematicians have found a way to predict natural patterns, including fingerprints and the spirals seen in cacti.

4 Apr 2004

Medical Science News

Leeches back to relieve pain

Prosthetic heart valve made completely of the body’s own tissue

Protein sequences harder to predict than originally thought

Vitamin C can reduce levels of C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation and chronic disease

Gene therapy helps damaged heart cells regain strength and beat normally

Researchers pinpoint pathway to muscle regeneration

New process to extract proteins from membranes by using chemicals

New microgel could potentially recover any enzyme and save manufacturers considerable money

University of Florida researchers have used a common gel to successfully deliver gene therapy to the diaphragm

Alcohol screening can spot addiction

Protein kinase complex influences the outer layer of skin to control the eventual shape of the full-grown skeleton and skull

Time-reversal acoustics research promises medical breakthroughs

Completion of the sequencing of human chromosome 19

Analysis of Bacterial Genomes Begins to Unravel Complex Story of Metabolic Evolution

A new technique for engineering protein crystals is helping scientists figure out the three-dimensional structures of some important biological molecules

Scientists studying vaccinia virus, a relative of smallpox, have determined that a gene necessary for virus replication also has a key role in turning off inflammation

A simple urine sample could soon be used to predict the complex toxic effects of new drugs

Michigan opens new center to treat exposure to Vermiculite, Taconite, Asbestos

Upcoming symposium to examine mercury exposure

Mathematicians Predict Patterns in Fingerprints

Small solutions for big problems in drug discovery and delivery

Professor Nancy Ip: Pioneering New Paths in Neurodegenerative Therapy

Utilizing process Raman in optimizing cultivated meat production

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