Body

Researchers discover link between obesity gene and breast cancer

New research aimed to better identify the genetic factors that lead to breast cancer has uncovered a link between the fat mass and obesity associated gene (FTO) and a higher incidence of breast cancer. According to the study conducted at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, people who possess a variant of the FTO gene have up to a 30 percent greater chance of developing breast cancer.

Innate immune system proteins attack bacteria by triggering bacterial suicide mechanisms

GARY, Ind. – A group of proteins that act as the body's built-in line of defense against invading bacteria use a molecular trick to induce bacteria to destroy themselves, researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine have determined. The research could point the way toward new anti-bacterial treatments that could take on bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics.

Researchers replicate human kidney gene changes in mouse model

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – University of Louisville researchers have replicated the inflammatory gene changes of a human kidney as it progresses from mild to severe diabetic nephropathy, using a mouse model developed by a UofL researcher, according to an article published today in the journal Experimental Nephrology. Diabetic nephropathy is the foremost cause of kidney failure.

Mount Sinai researchers discover possible new target for sarcoma treatment and prevention

Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine have discovered a protein signaling pathway that becomes hyperactivated in human sarcoma cells, suggesting that medications to inhibit this pathway may be effective in the treatment of human sarcomas. The research is published in the current issue of the journal Cancer Cell.

Ants give new evidence for interaction networks

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.

HIV-infected donors present novel source of organs for HIV-infected transplant candidates

A new study published in the American Journal of Transplantation reveals that HIV-infected deceased donors represent a potentially novel source of organs for HIV-infected transplant candidates that could decrease waitlist deaths and even shorten the national waitlist.

Stevens biomedical engineering students fight hypothermia on the battlefield

A Biomedical Engineering Senior Design team at Stevens Institute of Technology is working with the U.S. Army and New Jersey physicians to develop a new device to combat hypothermia among wounded soldiers.

Mechanism behind compound's effects on skin inflammation and cancer progression

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.

Consortium identifies genome regions that could influence severity of cystic fibrosis

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.

Pre-meal dietary supplement developed at Hebrew University can overcome fat and sugar problems

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.

USC research determines apparent genetic link to prostate cancer in African-American men

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).

Study of stem cell diseases advanced by new Stanford technique

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.

Mushroom compound suppresses prostate tumors

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.

New Stanford device could reduce surgical scarring

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.

UBC-led team develops platform to monitor hematopoietic stem cells

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.