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Novel device can reduce contamination of blood cultures, study finds

A study at the University of Nebraska Medical Center found that a novel device can significantly reduce contamination of blood cultures, potentially reducing risky overtreatment and unnecessary use of antibiotics for many patients.

17 May 2017

Mother cells pass on DNA damage to offspring, study shows

A new University of Colorado Boulder study has shown that some dividing human cells are "kicking the can down the road," passing on low-level DNA damage to offspring, causing daughter cells to pause in a quiescent, or dormant, state previously thought to be random in origin.

17 May 2017

Study shows that humans reprocess recent memories in sleep

Sleep helps us to retain the information that we have learned during the day. We know from animal experiments that new memories are reactivated during sleep.

17 May 2017

3-D printed ovary produces offspring in animal model

Researchers in the U.S., have managed to create an artificial ovary that enabled a mouse to conceive and produce babies.

17 May 2017

Small molecules in saliva show potential for early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease

Your spit may hold a clue to future brain health. Investigators at the Beaumont Research Institute, part of Beaumont Health in Michigan, are hopeful that their study involving small molecules in saliva will help identify those at risk of developing Alzheimer's disease - a neurologic condition predicted to reach epidemic proportions worldwide by 2050.

17 May 2017

Experimental gene therapy proven safe for preserving vision of people with AMD

In a small and preliminary clinical trial, Johns Hopkins researchers and their collaborators have shown that an experimental gene therapy that uses viruses to introduce a therapeutic gene into the eye is safe and that it may be effective in preserving the vision of people with wet age-related macular degeneration.

17 May 2017

Researchers discover likely cause for visual impairment in Finnish variant of NCL

Researchers from the University of Eastern Finland have discovered a likely cause for visual impairment and eventual loss of vision in the Finnish variant of Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis.

17 May 2017

Researchers find macrophages to be crucial for tissue regeneration in mammals

A team of University of Kentucky researchers has discovered that macrophages, a type of immune cell that clears debris at injury sites during normal wound healing and helps produce scar tissue, are required for complex tissue regeneration in mammals.

16 May 2017

Spanish scientists develop promising gene therapy method to treat Wilson's disease

Scientists at the Center for Applied Medical Research at the University of Navarra have designed a promising gene therapy method to treat Wilson's disease, a rare pathology caused by the lack of or malfunction of a gene.

16 May 2017

Researchers identify many dangerous strains of TB pathogens

Researchers from the Vavilov Institute of General Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences (VIGG) and the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology have established a catalog of mutations in 319 virulence genes of mycobacteria that cause tuberculosis.

16 May 2017

Scientists unravel mystery of T cell signaling process vital to immune response

The immune system cells known as T cells play a central role in the body's ability to fight infections and cancer. For decades, however, details of the molecular signaling process that leads to T cell activation have remained a mystery.

16 May 2017

Breast cancer cells undergo stiffening state prior to becoming malignant, study shows

A study published now on Nature Communications shows that breast cancer cells undergo a stiffening state prior to acquiring malignant features and becoming invasive.

16 May 2017

Deep-well plate removes risk of false peaks in uHPLC and MS applications

The new Glass Vial Deep-well plate from Porvair Sciences is designed to ensure that absolutely no extractables or leachates are present in a withdrawn sample, thereby removing the risk of false peaks in sensitive uHPLC and MS applications

From Porvair Sciences Limited 16 May 2017

Prototype drug prevents lung cancer tumors in mice by using novel mechanism

Lung cancer tumors were prevented in mice by a novel small molecule that directly activates a tumor suppressor protein.

16 May 2017

Study unravels new clues to cause and treatment of spinal muscular atrophy

Spinal muscular atrophy, a neurodegenerative disease that causes progressive muscle wasting and paralysis, may be partly due to abnormalities in the synapses that connect sensory neurons and motor neurons, according to researchers at Columbia University Medical Center.

16 May 2017

JAX researcher awarded federal grant for genomic studies of healthy aging and Alzheimer's disease

A grant totaling $2,668,127 over five years will fund studies of the complex processes involved in both healthy aging and Alzheimer's disease, in the laboratory of Jackson Laboratory (JAX) Assistant Professor Catherine Kaczorowski, Ph.D.

16 May 2017

New gene variant linked to Lou Gehrig's disease

For the first time, a variant in UBQLN4 gene has been associated with Lou Gehrig's disease or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) - a progressive disease resulting in the loss of nerve cells that control muscle movement, which eventually leads to paralysis and death.

15 May 2017

New research explores small fly’s amazing sense of directional hearing

Ormia ochracea's sense of directional hearing is second to none in the animal kingdom. But, according to new University of Toronto Scarborough research, what makes its hearing so incredible may also complicate efforts in using it as a model for new technology, including hearing aids.

15 May 2017

New type of eye drop could potentially revolutionize treatment of AMD

Scientists at the University of Birmingham have developed a type of eye drop which could potentially revolutionize the treatment of one of the leading causes of blindness in the UK.

15 May 2017

Study sheds new light on inherent ability of normal cells to prevent cancer at the initial stage

A new study shows cells in the initial stage of cancer change their metabolism before getting eliminated by the surrounding normal cells, providing a novel target for developing cancer prevention drugs.

15 May 2017