Boston, MA - Charles J. Dimitroff, MS, PhD and colleagues in the Dimitroff Lab at Brigham and Women's Hospital, have developed a fluorinated analog of glucosamine, which, in a recent study, has been shown to block the synthesis of key carbohydrate structures linked to skin inflammation and cancer progression. These findings appear in the April 14, 2011, issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.
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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – A team of researchers, including a number from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, have pinpointed regions of the genome that contribute to the debilitating lung disease that is the hallmark of cystic fibrosis.
Their findings provide insight into the causes of the wide variation in lung disease severity experienced by CF patients. It also points the way to new diagnostic markers and therapeutic approaches for this and more common lung diseases such as COPD.
Jerusalem, May 23, 2011 – A little bitter with a little sweet, in the form of a nano-complex dietary supplement taken before meals, can result in a substantial reduction of fat and sugar absorption in the body, Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Harvard University researchers have found.
The researchers previously showed that naringenin, the molecule responsible for the bitter taste in grapefruits, could potentially be used in the treatment of diabetes, arteriosclerosis and hyper-metabolism.
Be it through the Internet, Facebook, the local grapevine or the spread of disease, interaction networks influence nearly every part of our lives.
Scientists previously assumed that interaction networks without central control, known as self-directed networks, have universal properties that make them efficient at spreading information. Just think of the local grapevine: Let something slip, and it seems like no time at all before nearly everyone knows.
Los Angeles, Calif., May 22, 2011—Some men of African descent may have a higher genetic risk of developing prostate cancer, according to research conducted at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC).
STANFORD, Calif. — A rare genetic disease called dyskeratosis congenita, caused by the rapid shortening of telomeres (protective caps on the ends of chromosomes), can be mimicked through the study of undifferentiated induced pluripotent stem cells, according to new findings from the Stanford University School of Medicine. Although dyskeratosis affects only about one in a million people, the scientists' findings could greatly facilitate research into this and other diseases caused by stem cell malfunctions, including some bone marrow failure syndromes and, perhaps, pulmonary fibrosis.
A mushroom used in Asia for its medicinal benefits has been found to be 100 per cent effective in suppressing prostate tumour development in mice during early trials, new Queensland University of Technology (QUT) research shows.
The compound, polysaccharopeptide (PSP), which is extracted from the 'turkey tail' mushroom, was found to target prostate cancer stem cells and suppress tumour formation in mice, an article written by senior research fellow Dr Patrick Ling in the international scientific journal PLoS ONE said.
STANFORD, Calif. — Researchers at Stanford University have developed a special wound dressing that they report was able to significantly reduce scar tissue caused by incisions.
Results of animal tests and of an early clinical trial of the dressing were "stunning," said Michael Longaker, MD, MBA, the Deane P. and Louise Mitchell Professor at the School of Medicine and senior author of a study that details the findings. "It was a surprisingly effective treatment."
The study will be published online May 23 in the Annals of Surgery.
A Canadian research team has developed an automated microfluidic cell culture platform to monitor the growth, survival and responses of hundreds of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) at the single cell level.
This new tool allows scientists to study multiple temporally varying culture conditions simultaneously and to gain new insights on the growth factor requirements for HSC survival.
Study identifies novel role for a protein that could lead to new treatments for rheumatoid arthritis
A new study by rheumatologists at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York has shown that a powerful pro-inflammatory protein, tumor necrosis factor (TNF), can also suppress aspects of inflammation. The researchers say the identification of the mechanism of how this occurs could potentially lead to new treatments for diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. The study was published May 22 online in advance of publication in the journal Nature Immunology.
Researchers have identified a new protein involved in the development of drug resistance in breast cancer which could be a target for new treatments, they report today in the journal Nature Medicine.
In a mouse model of breast cancer, blocking production of the protein using genetic techniques caused tumours to shrink. The scientists are now looking for new drugs which could achieve a similar effect.
Boston, MA – The physical forces that guide how cells migrate—how they manage to get from place to place in a coordinated fashion inside the living body— are poorly understood. Scientists at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) have, for the first time, devised a way to measure these forces during collective cellular migration. Their surprising conclusion is that the cells fight it out, each pushing and pulling on its neighbors in a chaotic dance, yet together moving cooperatively toward their intended direction.
Boston - A study by researchers at Children's Hospital Boston and collaborators at other institutions has provided new insights into the means by which bone cells produce new bone in response to mechanical stresses, such as exercise. Their findings lay a path for developing new strategies for treating diseases characterized by low bone density, such as osteoporosis in adults and osteogenesis imperfecta in children.
NEW ORLEANS, LA – May 22, 2011 -- Combining the cutting-edge technology of whole genome sequencing of bacteria with social networking analysis, public health officials can get a more detailed picture of disease outbreaks that will better help track and stop them, say researchers today at the 111th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology.
NEW ORLEANS, LA – May 22, 2011 -- The stomach bacteria responsible for ulcers could also play a role in the development of Parkinson's disease according to research presented today at the 111th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology.