# Latest advances in medical research thread



## ScienceRocks

New antibiotic cures disease by disarming pathogens, not killing them
 October 2, 2012


> A new type of antibiotic can effectively treat an antibiotic-resistant infection by disarming instead of killing the bacteria that cause it. Researchers report their findings in the October 2 issue of mBio, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology.
> 
> "Traditionally, people have tried to find antibiotics that rapidly kill bacteria. But we found a new class of antibiotics which has no ability to kill Acinetobacter that can still protect, not by killing the bug, but by completely preventing it from turning on host inflammation," says Brad Spellberg of the UCLA Medical Center and David Geffen School of Medicine, a researcher on the study. New drugs are badly needed for treating infections with the bacterium Acinetobacter baumannii, a pathogen that most often strikes hospital patients and immune- compromised individuals through open wounds, breathing tubes, or catheters.





> The bacterium can cause potentially lethal bloodstream infections. Strains of A. baumannii have acquired resistance to a wide range of antibiotics, and some are resistant to every FDA-approved antibiotic, making them untreatable. Spelling and his colleagues found that in laboratory mice it was possible to mitigate the potentially lethal effects of the bacterium by blocking one of its toxic products rather than killing it. "We found that strains that caused the rapidly lethal infections shed lipopolysaccharide [also called LPS or endotoxin] while growing. The more endotoxin shed, the more virulent the strain was," says Spellberg. This pinpointed a new therapy target for the researchers: the endotoxin these bacteria shed in the body.



 Read more at: New antibiotic cures disease by disarming pathogens, not killing them


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## ScienceRocks

Scientists make old muscles young again in attempt to combat aging



> An international team of scientists have identified for the first time a key factor responsible for declining muscle repair during aging, and discovered how to halt the process in mice with a common drug
> 
> An international team of scientists have identified for the first time a key factor responsible for declining muscle repair during ageing, and discovered how to halt the process in mice with a common drug. Although an early study, the findings provide clues as to how muscles lose mass with age, which can result in weakness that affects mobility and may cause falls.
> 
> The study, to be published in the journal Nature, involved researchers from King's College London, Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital.
> 
> The study looked at stem cells found inside muscle &#8211; which are responsible for repairing injury &#8211; to find out why the ability of muscles to regenerate declines with age. A dormant reservoir of stem cells is present inside every muscle, ready to be activated by exercise and injury to repair any damage. When needed, these cells divide into hundreds of new muscle fibres that repair the muscle. At the end of the repairing process some of these cells also replenish the pool of dormant stem cells so that the muscle retains the ability to repair itself again and again.
> 
> The researchers carried out a study on old mice and found the number of dormant stem cells present in the pool reduces with age, which could explain the decline in the muscle's ability to repair and regenerate as it gets older. When these old muscles were screened the team found high levels of FGF2, a protein that has the ability to stimulate cells to divide. While encouraging stem cells to divide and repair muscle is a normal and crucial process, they found that FGF2 could also awaken the dormant pool of stem cells even when they were not needed. The continued activation of dormant stem cells meant the pool was depleted over time, so when the muscle really needed stem cells to repair itself the muscle was unable to respond properly.
> 
> Following this finding, the researchers attempted to inhibit FGF2 in old muscles to prevent the stem cell pool from being kick-started into action unnecessarily. By administering a common FGF2 inhibitor drug they were able to inhibit the decline in the number of muscle stem cells in the mice.
> 
> Dr Albert Basson, Senior Lecturer at the King's College London Dental Institute, said: 'Preventing or reversing muscle wasting in old age in humans is still a way off, but this study has for the first time revealed a process which could be responsible for age-related muscle wasting, which is extremely exciting.
> 
> 'The finding opens up the possibility that one day we could develop treatments to make old muscles young again. If we could do this, we may be able to enable people to live more mobile, independent lives as they age.'
> 
> Dr Andrew Brack, senior and corresponding author of the study from Harvard University, said: 'Analogous to the importance of recovery for athletes training for a sporting event, we now know that it is essential for adult stem cells to rest between bouts of expenditure. Preventing stem cell recuperation leads to their eventual demise.'
> 
> Kieran Jones, co-author of the study from King's, added: 'We do not yet know how or why levels of the protein FGF2 increase with age, triggering stem cells to be activated when they are not needed. This is something that needs to be explored.
> 
> 'The next step is to analyse old muscle in humans to see if the same mechanism could be responsible for stem cell depletion in human muscle fibres, leading to loss of mass and wastage.'



Scientists make old muscles young again in attempt to combat aging[/QUOTE]


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## ScienceRocks

First Real Indicator of Longevity in Mammals Discovered[/B]


First real indicator of longevity in mammals discovered



> A team of researchers from the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO), headed by CNIO Director María Blasco, has demonstrated in a pioneering study on mammals that longevity is defined at a molecular level by the length of telomeres. The work -- which is published September 27 in the online edition of the journal Cell Reports -- opens the door to further study of these cellular components in order to calculate the rate at which cells age and thus be able to determine life expectancy for a particular organism.


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## ScienceRocks

A New Artificial Heart Pump That Mimics the Real Thing[/B]
A New Artificial Heart Pump That Mimics the Real Thing | Popular Science

Ferrofluid HeartSuprock Technologies



> Today&#8217;s artificial hearts contain pumps whose spinning rotors can damage blood cells, causing clotting that can lead to strokes. A new pump design could prevent that damage by mimicking the natural movement of human tissue.
> 
> Christopher Suprock, founder of product-design firm Suprock Technologies, made the demonstration pump using flexible membranes and a ferrofluid, or magnetic liquid. Suprock injected the ferrofluid between two 0.005-inch-thick elastic membranes and placed an electromagnet less than an inch away. When the electromagnet is turned on, it attracts the ferrofluid, stretching the membrane toward the magnet. When the electromagnet is off, the membrane springs back to its original position. Suprock says his next step is to team up with a medical-device maker, refine the design, and test it in a living animal.


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## ScienceRocks

Faster DNA Testing Helps Diagnose Disease in NICU Babies

By Alice Park | @aliceparkny | October 4, 2012 | +
Faster DNA Testing for More Accurate Diagnoses | Healthland | TIME.com

David Aaron Troy / Getty Images



> Fifty hours. That&#8217;s how long it now takes to decode and interpret a newborn baby&#8217;s genome &#8212; an undertaking that used to take weeks, or even months. And those two days can mean the difference between life and death for a critically ill infant.
> 
> In a paper published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, researchers led by Stephen Kingsmore, director of the Center for Pediatric Genomic Medicine at Children&#8217;s Mercy Hospital, describe a new genetic test that can rapidly screen the DNA of babies in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for about 3,500 diseases known to be linked to single-gene mutations. Of these, doctors can treat about 500.
> 
> Up to a third of babies admitted to the NICU have a genetic disease. But many newborns are not diagnosed properly and may therefore miss the opportunity for a potentially life-saving therapy. Many of the symptoms of such genetic diseases are both general and shared by many different conditions, which makes them difficult to diagnose; what&#8217;s more, many of the genetic conditions in question are rare, so most physicians, even NICU specialists, may not be familiar them or unable to recognize their symptoms. Currently used genetic tests are also too expensive and time-consuming to be clinically useful; because the tests can take weeks, or sometimes months, most NICU babies will have either gone home or died by the time the results are ready.


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## ScienceRocks

Nanoparticles Selectively Release Drugs in Aged Human Cells



> Published on October 4, 2012 at 5:29 AM
> Nanoparticles Selectively Release Drugs in Aged Human Cells
> 
> A team of Spanish scientists has developed an intelligent nanodevice that lays the foundations for the future development of new therapies against aging. The device consists of nanoparticles that can selectively release drugs in aged human cells. Its potential future use ranges from the treatment of diseases involving tissue or cellular degeneration such as cancer, Alzheimer's or Parkinson's, among others, to accelerated aging disorders (progeria).
> 
> Internalization and controlled release of the fluorescent molecule rhodamine in senescent fibroblasts of patients with dyskeratosis congenita, by MSN-S1 nanodevice
> 
> This research has been carried out by the Centro de Reconocimiento Molecular y Desarrollo Tecnológico (IDM), Mixed Unit Universitat Politècnica de València - Universitat de València; the Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas (UPV-CSIC), the Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas (CSIC/UAM), the CIBER of Rare Diseases (CIBERER) and CIBER on Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN). The work has been published in the prestigious journal Angewandte Chemie.
> 
> "The nanodevice that we have developed consists of mesoporous nanoparticles with a galactooligosaccharide outer surface that prevents the release of the load and that only selectively opens in degenerative phase cells or senescent cells. The proof of concept demonstrates for the first time that selected chemicals can be released in these cells and not in others," says Ramón Martínez Máñez, researcher at the IDN Centre - Universitat Politècnica de València and CIBER-BBN member.


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## ScienceRocks

*Researchers use magnets to cause programmed cancer cell deaths*

Researchers use magnets to cause programmed cancer cell deaths



> A major problem with treating cancer is how to effectively and efficiently apply a therapy, one that discriminates between cancer and healthy cells: killing the bad while retaining the good. Numerous methods have been tried over the years with varying degrees of success. In this new research, the team has been experimenting with the introduction of iron oxide nanoparticles, which attach to antibodies, into the system. The antibodies, in turn, bind to tumor cell receptors. When a magnetic field is introduced, the nanoparticles bunch up or cluster, which triggers a natural response called a death signal. When that happens, apoptosis (aka, programmed cell death) occurs, causing destruction of the tumor. The work is based on apoptosis, a process that continually occurs in living organisms.
> 
> This process is marked by biochemical events that lead to changes in cells causing their death; it is referred to as a programmed death because it controls the way cells grow in multi-cellular organisms. One clear example is the way cells between the fingers are allowed to die, while digits grow as individual members.
> 
> Therefore, apoptosis is considered a healthy process as opposed to necrosis, where cells die due to trauma. Normally the process occurs when old or faulty cells are detected, such as when skin cells are damaged from exposure to the elements. When such cells are detected, chemicals are delivered which cause the cells to break apart, effectively killing them. In the present study, researchers took advantage of this process by causing such chemicals to be sent to tumor cells. The researchers applied zinc-doped iron oxide nanoparticles to colon cancer cells, which naturally bind to antibodies. Those antibodies then bind very strongly to what is known as the death receptor 4(DR4) which exists on DLD-1 colon cancer cells. When a magnetic field is applied, the death receptor sends out a signal telling the system to attack the cell. Chemicals are then sent, killing the tumor.


Read more at: Researchers use magnets to cause programmed cancer cell deaths


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## ScienceRocks

*Liquorice nanotech component offers clue to cleaner medical implants *
October 8, 2012 


> A nanotech material containing an extract from liquorice can be used to sterilize and protect medical devices and implants which include biological components, and protects these functional bio-components during the sterilization process.
> 
> Publishing their findings in the latest issue of Materials Today, a team of researchers from Germany and Austria explain how conventional sterilization techniques based on a blast of radiation, or exposure to toxic gas can damage the functional biological components of the device. The coating, containing a component found in liquorice and developed by German biotech company LEUKOCARE AG, protects these sensitive components.
> 
> Joachim Koch of the Georg-Speyer Haus, Institute for Biomedical Research in Frankfurt am Main in Germany and colleagues explain how medical devices and implants are increasingly functionalized using pharmacologically active proteins, antibodies and other biomolecules. Harsh sterilization procedures, including beta and gamma irradiation or exposure to toxic ethylene oxide can damage these sensitive molecules and render the device useless. However, without sterilization the patient is at risk of infection when the device is used or implanted.



 Read more at: Liquorice nanotech component offers clue to cleaner medical implants


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## there4eyeM

Fascinating collection of info; have to check this out.


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## ScienceRocks

Laser injection less painful than needles  When microjet is fired from the laser, the liquid reaches the speed of 30m per second 



> A laser device for less painful injections has been developed by South Korean scientists.
> 
> The system could replace traditional needles, with a jab as painless as being hit with a puff of air.
> 
> The laser is already used in aesthetic skin treatments. The aim now is to make low-cost injectors for clinical use.
> 
> A team from Seoul National University in South Korea describe the process in the Optical Society's journal Optics Letters.
> 
> The researchers write that the laser, called erbium-doped yttrium aluminium garnet, or Er:YAG, propels a stream of medicine with the right force to almost painlessly enter the skin.
> 
> The jet is slightly larger than the width of a human hair and can reach the speed of 30m (100ft) per second.
> 
> "The impacting jet pressure is higher than the skin tensile strength and thus causes the jet to smoothly penetrate into the targeted depth underneath the skin, without any splashback of the drug," said Prof Jack Yoh of Seoul National University, who led the study.



BBC News - Laser injection less painful than needles


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## ScienceRocks

Alzheimer's drug 'slows memory loss by a third'


> A new Alzheimer&#8217;s drug could dramatically slow the pace of memory loss in those with the disease, it was revealed on Monday.
> 
> The drug, solanezumab, is the first to show that targeted the build up of brain proteins, called amyloid plaques, can slow Alzheimer's. Photo: Getty Images/Peter Macdiarmid
> By Stephen Adams, Medical Correspondent
> 8:28PM BST 08 Oct 2012
> 
> Combined results from two trials shows the drug, called solanezumab, slows the speed of mental decline by a third in those with mild-to-moderate disease.
> 
> Alzheimer&#8217;s disease is the most common form of dementia, with about 500,000 people in Britain suffering from it.
> 
> Despite enormous investment in experimental treatments, only a handful of drugs to tackle the degenerative brain disease have been approved. These drugs are effective at alleviating some of the symptoms but they do not tackle the underlying cause of disease.
> 
> Now Eli Lilly, a pharmaceutical firm, has announced results for its new drug, which works to help clear the protein &#8216;plaques&#8217; thought to cause Alzheimer&#8217;s.
> 
> Combined results from two trials showed that it slowed the pace of cognitive decline by 34 per cent, over an 18-month period, compared to those given a placebo.



Alzheimer's drug 'slows memory loss by a third' - Telegraph


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## strollingbones

do we really want people to live forever?  talk about overpopulation?

there is a sc fi on ...suddenly there is no death....only living and suffering....it did not go well


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## strollingbones

read the articles closely.....very closely....


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## ScienceRocks

strollingbones said:


> do we really want people to live forever?  talk about overpopulation?
> 
> there is a sc fi on ...suddenly there is no death....only living and suffering....it did not go well



If such advances could tame the suffering...I don't see the down side.


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## ScienceRocks

World's first successful clinical trial to protect the brain from damage caused by stroke 
October 9, 2012
*



			in Neuroscience A team of Canadian scientists and clinicians, led by Dr. Michael Hill of the Calgary Stroke Program at Foothills Medical Centre and University of Calgary's Hotchkiss Brain Institute (HBI), have demonstrated that a neuroprotectant drug, developed by Dr. Michael Tymianski at the Krembil Neuroscience Centre, located at the Toronto Western Hospital, protects the human brain against the damaging effects of stroke.

The study, "Safety and efficacy of NA-1 for neuroprotection in iatrogenic stroke after endovascular aneurysm repair: a randomized controlled trial," published online today in The Lancet Neurology, was conducted concurrently with a laboratory study published in Science Translational Medicine, that predicted the benefits of the stroke drug. This landmark clinical trial was a randomized, double blinded, multi-centre trial that was conducted in Canada and the USA. The study evaluated the effectiveness of NA-1[Tat-NR2B9c] when it was administered after the onset of small strokes that are incurred by patients who undergo neurointerventional procedures to repair brain aneurysms. This type of small ischemic stroke occurs in over 90% of aneurysm patients after such a procedure, but usually does not cause overt neurological disability.
		
Click to expand...

*
 Read more at: World's first successful clinical trial to protect the brain from damage caused by stroke


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## ScienceRocks

*Cell receptor work wins Nobel prize for chemistry*
3:14am EDT

STOCKHOLM | Wed Oct 10, 2012 6:40am EDT



> (Reuters) - Two American scientists won the 2012 Nobel Prize for chemistry for showing how cells in the body respond to stimuli such as a rush of adrenalin, work that is helping the development of more effective drugs, the prize committee said on Wednesday.
> 
> The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said the 8 million crown ($1.2 million) prize went to Robert Lefkowitz and Brian Kobilka for discovering the inner workings of G-protein-coupled receptors, gateways to cells that react to chemical messages.
> 
> "Around half of all medications act through these receptors, among them beta blockers, antihistamines and various kinds of psychiatric medications," the committee said.
> 
> Working out better ways to target the receptors, known as GPCRs, is an area of keen focus for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.
> 
> Lefkowitz told a news conference by telephone that he was asleep when the phone call came from Sweden.
> 
> "I did not hear it - I must share with you that I wear earplugs to sleep. So my wife gave me an elbow. So there it was, a total shock and surprise," he said.
> 
> Sven Lidin, Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at Lund University and chairman of the committee, told a news conference the discovery had been key in medical research.
> 
> "Knowing what they (the receptors) look like and how they function will provide us with the tools to make better drugs with fewer side effects," he added.
> 
> Chemistry was the third of this year's Nobel prizes. Prizes for achievements in science, literature and peace were first awarded in 1901 in accordance with the will of dynamite inventor and businessman Alfred Nobel.



Cell receptor work wins Nobel prize for chemistry | Reuters


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## ScienceRocks

Prospective Alzheimer's Drug Builds New Brain Cell Connections, Improves Cognitive Function of Rats



> Washington State University researchers have developed a new drug candidate that dramatically improves the cognitive function of rats with Alzheimer's-like mental impairment.
> 
> Their compound, which is intended to repair brain damage that has already occurred, is a significant departure from current Alzheimer's treatments, which either slow the process of cell death or inhibit cholinesterase, an enzyme believed to break down a key neurotransmitter involved in learning and memory development. Such drugs, says Joe Harding, a professor in WSU's College of Veterinary Medicine, are not designed to restore lost brain function, which can be done by rebuilding connections between nerve cells.
> 
> "This is about recovering function," he says. "That's what makes these things totally unique. They're not designed necessarily to stop anything. They're designed to fix what's broken. As far as we can see, they work."



http://www.scienceda...21011090653.htm


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## ScienceRocks

Will new treatment make eyeglasses obsolete?
Tuesday, October 09, 2012 08:01 AM    Views : 28by:GMA News



> Could this mean "Goodbye Glasses" in curing myopia?
> 
> Biomedical scientists led by David Troilo at the State University of New York (SUNY) College of Optometry are working on a potential cure for myopia by using specialty contact lenses.
> 
> Such special lenses can coax the eye to grow in a way that can correct myopia or nearsighted vision while reducing myopia progression, reported science site Phys.org.
> 
> "Troilo has shown that specially designed contact lenses that alter how light is focused in the peripheral retina can induce changes in growth that help reshape the eye in the desired way. The experimental lenses use different focal powers within a single lens: either alternating focal powers across the lens, or confined to the outer edge," Phys.org said.
> 
> Troilo will describe his findings at the Optical Society's (OSA) Annual Meeting, Frontiers in Optics (FiO) 2012, on Oct. 14 in Rochester, New York.
> 
> He also said several contact lens designs may soon be available to help eye doctors manage the progression of myopia in children.
> 
> Myopia develops when the eye is too long, making it difficult to focus light from distant objects on the retina.
> 
> He said that while glasses or ordinary contact lenses can correct the defocus on the main visual axis, they can create slight farsightedness in the peripheral retina.
> 
> Such peripheral farsightedness may worsen myopia because, as children grow, the eye grows to move the retina to where the light is focused, thus naturally lengthening the eye further.
> 
> Nearsightedness or myopia affects up to 90 percent of children in some areas in Asia, and more than 40 percent of people in the United States, Phys.org said.
> 
> It usually begins in childhood and often progresses with age, it added.
> 
> While standard prescription lenses can correct the defocus, they do not cure nearsightedness. Neither do they slow progression rates as children grow.
> 
> New lenses
> 
> Phys.org said the new lenses changed eye growth and refractive state, or focus, in a predictable way.
> 
> The lenses also successfully reduced the elongation of the eye that causes myopia progression.
> 
> Goodbye to glasses
> 
> A separate report on TechCrunch said the lenses may have other benefits: unlike glasses, they are less likely to get a child bullied, they&#8217;re not too expensive, and they can be used in sports.


 

Source:Will new treatment make eyeglasses obsolete? | SciTech | GMA News Online | The Go-To Site for Filipinos Everywhere


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## uscitizen

Meidcal science discovers that all people born will die.
Birth is the sole root cause of death!


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## ScienceRocks

*Starvation Hormone Markedly Extends Mouse Life Span, Without Need for Calorie Restriction *



> A study by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers finds that a starvation hormone markedly extends life span in mice without the need for calorie restriction.
> 
> "Restricting food intake has been shown to extend lifespan in several different kinds of animals. In our study, we found transgenic mice that produced more of the hormone fibroblast growth factor-21 (FGF21) got the benefits of dieting without having to limit their food intake. Male mice that overproduced the hormone had about a 30 percent increase in average life span and female mice had about a 40 percent increase in average life span," said senior author Dr. Steven Kliewer, professor of molecular biology and pharmacology.
> 
> The study published online in eLife -- a new peer-reviewed, open access journal -- defined average life span as the point at which half the members of a given test group remained alive. A study to determine differences in maximum life span is ongoing: While none of the untreated mice lived longer than about 3 years, some of the female mice that overproduced FGF21 were still alive at nearly 4 years, the researchers report.


 
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121016103411.htm


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## ScienceRocks

Complex Body Parts Could Soon Be Lab-Grown

Within a generation, there may be no limit to the kinds of organs and body parts that can be created from scratch.
http://news.discovery.com/human/stem-cell-complex-body-parts-121017.html#mkcpgn=rssnws1
.


> Scientists are getting better and better at creating human organs in the lab -- soon it may be possible to grow complex organs such as kidneys and hearts.
> 
> 
> Various groups of scientists have recently created thyroid cells in the lab, grown a new ear in the skin a woman's own arm, and won a Nobel Prize for figuring out how to reprogram cells so that they can turn into a variety of cell types.
> 
> In the future, there may be no limit to the kinds of organs and body parts that can be created from scratch.
> 
> One hope is to make donor organs obsolete, or at least far less necessary, eliminating long waiting lists for transplants. By using a patient's own cells, the new wave of regenerative medicine also circumvents ethical arguments and reduces the chance that recipients will reject their new parts.


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## ScienceRocks

*Drug From Chinese &#8216;Thunder God Vine&#8217; Slays Tumors in Mice*

Drug From Chinese

 By Drew Armstrong - 2012-10-17T18:00:00Z
.


> A drug made from a plant known as &#8220;thunder god vine,&#8221; or lei gong teng, that has been used in traditional Chinese medicine, wiped out pancreatic tumors in mice, researchers said, and may soon be tested in humans.
> 
> Mice treated with the compound showed no signs of tumors after 40 days or after discontinuing the treatment, according to researchers at the University of Minnesota&#8217;s Masonic Cancer Center. The research, funded by the university and the National Institutes of Health. was published today in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
> 
> 
> &#8220;This drug is just unbelievably potent in killing tumor cells,&#8221; said Ashok Saluja, vice chairman of research at the center and the study&#8217;s leader, said in a telephone interview. &#8220;You could see that every day you looked at those mice, the tumor was decreasing and decreasing, and then just gone.&#8221;
> 
> The plant, also known as Tripterygium wilfordii, contains triptolide, which earlier studies have shown can cause cancer cells to die. In traditional Chinese medicine, the plant is used as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis. While the researchers hope to start human trials in six months, Saluja said it&#8217;s still a long leap from mice to people.


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## ScienceRocks

Rejuvenation of senescent cells-the road to postponing human aging and age-related disease
Rejuvenation of senescent cells-the road to postponing human aging and age-related disease



> Making old cells younger either by making old cells into young stem cells or by effecting the TOR pathway for cells inside of old patients.
> 
> 
> Cellular senescence is the state of permanent inhibition of cell proliferation. Replicative senescence occurs due to the end replication problem and shortening telomeres with each cell division leading to DNA damage response (DDR). The number of short telomeres increases with age and age-related pathologies. Stress induced senescence, although not accompanied by attrition of telomeres, is also attributed to DDR induced by irreparable DNA lesions in telomeric DNA. Senescent cells characterized by the presence of &#947;H2AX, the common marker of double DNA strand breaks, and other senescence markers including activity of SA-&#946;-gal, accumulate in tissues of aged animals and humans as well as at sites of pathology. It is believed that cellular senescence evolved as a cancer barrier since non-proliferating senescent cells cannot be transformed to neoplastic cells. On the other hand senescent cells favor cancer development, just like other age-related pathologies, by creating a low grade inflammatory state due to senescence associated secretory phenotype (SASP). Reversal/inhibition of cellular senescence could prolong healthy life span, thus many attempts have been undertaken to influence cellular senescence. The two main approaches are genetic and pharmacological/nutritional modification of cell fate. The first one concerns cell reprogramming by induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), which in vitro is effective even in cells undergoing senescence, or derived from very old or progeroid patients. The second approach concerns modification of senescence signaling pathways just like TOR-induced by pharmacological or with natural agents. However, knowing that aging is unavoidable we cannot expect its elimination, but prolonging healthy life span is a goal worth serious consideration.


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## ScienceRocks

Pioneering lab-grown 'kidney' does its job in animals 
22:00 18 October 2012 by Andy Coghlan



> A kidney-like organ grown from scratch in the lab has been shown to work in animals  an achievement that could be the prelude to growing spare kidneys for someone from their own stem cells.
> 
> Donated kidneys are in huge demand worldwide. In the UK alone, there are 7200 people on the waiting list  a state of affairs that the new study takes a small step towards ending.
> 
> Christodoulos Xinaris of the Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research in Bergamo, Italy, and his colleagues extracted cells from the kidneys of mouse embryos as they grew in the mother. The cells formed clumps that could be grown for a week in the lab to become "organoids" containing the fine plumbing of nephrons  the basic functional unit of the kidney. A human kidney can contain over 1 million nephrons.



Pioneering lab-grown 'kidney' does its job in animals - life - 18 October 2012 - New Scientist


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## ScienceRocks

Da Vinci robot heart surgery at New Cross Hospital 
By Michele Paduano



> Surgeons have carried out the first ever robotic open-heart operations in Britain at the New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton.
> 
> The Da Vinci robot is remotely controlled by surgeons who are given a high definition view of the heart through a sophisticated camera.
> 
> Natalie Jones, of Stourbridge, 22, was the first patient to have the procedure to have a hole in her heart repaired.
> 
> Doctors claim the operation is safer for patients than conventional surgery.
> 
> Normal heart surgery involves cutting open the breast plate, but the robotic arms are inserted by making cuts between the patient's ribs.
> 
> A surgeon is given a 3D, high-definition view of the heart and can move the arms using a control panel.
> 
> Natalie Jones said she liked the idea of being the first
> Each time they move their hand 3mm, the robot arm moves just 1mm.
> 
> Heart surgeon Stephen Billing said: "There is less pain and patients are able to return home to their normal activities far sooner."
> 
> Mrs Jones had a 3.5cm (1.3in) hole in her heart repaired during surgery which lasted nine hours.



BBC News - Da Vinci robot heart surgery at New Cross Hospital


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## ScienceRocks

*Assembly of nano-machines mimics human muscle*
 October 23, 2012 


> For the first time, an assembly of thousands of nano-machines capable of producing a coordinated contraction movement extending up to around ten micrometers, like the movements of muscular fibers, has been synthesized by a CNRS team from the Institut Charles Sadron. This innovative work, headed by Nicolas Giuseppone, professor at the Université de Strasbourg, and involving researchers from the Laboratoire de Matière et Systèmes Complexes (CNRS/Université Paris Diderot), provides an experimental validation of a biomimetic approach that has been conceptualized for some years in the field of nanosciences.


 Read more at: Assembly of nano-machines mimics human muscle

http://www-ics.u-strasbg.fr/spip.php?article646

I give you another white man!!!


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## waltky

Granny says, "Dat's right...

*Longevity Traced to Grandmothers*
_October 24, 2012 - In modern society, grandmothers are often called upon to babysit. But a few million years ago, when primate grandmothers first started doing that, they apparently had a major impact on human evolution. Scientists believe its a big reason why we live much longer than other primates. Its called the grandmother hypothesis._


> University of Utah Anthropology Professor Kristen Hawkes says humans are distinct among primates when it comes to longevity.  One of the things thats really different about us humans, compared to our closest living relatives, the other great apes, is that we have these really long lifespans. We reach adulthood later and then we have much longer adult lives. And an especially important thing about that is that women usually live through the childbearing years and are healthy and productive well beyond, she said.
> 
> Other primates are not as lucky.  In other great apes, females, if they make it to adulthood, they usually die in their childbearing years and they get to be old, frail and gray and less able to do all the things that we associate with getting old. Well, of course, it happens to all of us, but it happens slower and later to us compared to the other great apes, she said.
> 
> Hawkes said climate change may have set things in motion by affecting food supplies. Savannahs started replacing forests in Africa.  One of the things it did was restrict the availability of the kinds of things that little kids, little apes, can feed themselves on. So that meant that ancestral moms had two choices. They could either follow the retreating forests, or if they stayed in those environments, then they just would have to feed their kids themselves. The kids couldnt do it, she said.
> 
> So, if mothers decided to feed their offspring themselves they would not be able to give birth as often. Theyd just be too busy finding food. Heres where granny primate steps in to help.  She said, It would also mean that older females, whose fertility was coming to an end, could now make a big difference in their fitness by helping their daughters feed those grandchildren. And that would mean that moms could wean earlier.  The act of early babysitting had long-range effects.
> 
> More Longevity Traced to Grandmothers


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New Gene Therapy Method Tested in Human Cells ... and It Works, Researchers Report*
New gene therapy method tested in human cells ... and it works, researchers report



> ScienceDaily (Oct. 24, 2012) &#8212; Oregon Health & Science University's development of a new gene therapy method to prevent certain inherited diseases has reached a significant milestone. Researchers at the university's Oregon National Primate Research Center and the OHSU Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology have successfully demonstrated their procedure in human cells. It's believed that this research, along with other efforts, will pave the way for future clinical trials in human subjects.
> 
> 
> The research results are online Oct. 24, in the journal Nature. Dr. Mitalipov also will present the results of his research at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine Conference in San Diego Oct. 24
> 
> The OHSU gene therapy method was initially devised through research in nonhuman primates led by Shoukhrat Mitalipov, Ph.D., associate scientist in the Division of Reproductive & Developmental Sciences at ONPRC, Oregon Stem Cell Center and OHSU School of Medicine departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Molecular and Medical Genetics.
> 
> The procedure was specifically developed to prevent diseases related to gene defects in the cell mitochondria. Mitalipov's previous work was published in the August 2009 edition of Nature. In the current study, Mitalipov, in collaboration with Paula Amato, M.D., associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology in the OHSU Center for Women's Health, demonstrated efficacy of this therapy in human gametes and embryos.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Genetic switch shuts down lung cancer tumors in mice
 October 25, 2012 


> Yale researchers manipulated a tiny genetic switch and halted growth of aggressive lung cancer tumors in mice and even prevented tumors from forming.
> 
> The activation of a single microRNA managed to neutralize the effects of two of the most notorious genes in cancer's arsenal, suggesting it may have a role treating several forms of cancer, the researchers report in the Nov. 1 issue of the journal Cancer Research. "This is pretty much the best pre-clinical data that show microRNAs can be effective in lung cancer treatment," said Frank Slack, professor of molecular, cellular & developmental biology, researcher for the Yale Cancer Center, and senior author of the paper. "These cancer genes are identical to ones found in many forms of human cancers and we are hopeful the microRNA will be of therapeutic benefit in human cancer."



 Read more at: Genetic switch shuts down lung cancer tumors in mice


----------



## ScienceRocks

Golden solution to inexpensive test for HIV 
18:00 28 October 2012 by Debora MacKenzie

Gold usually means extravagance, but now it could be the key to making vital medical tests cheaper.



> People in poor countries often do not get timely treatment for cancer or infections, because diagnostic tests that can spot diseases early are too expensive. Now, a team at Imperial College London have figured out that gold could be the solution.
> 
> One common type of diagnostic test is the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). It uses a tiny dish coated with antibodies that bind to a target molecule from a germ or tumour cell present in blood serum. A second lot of antibodies are then added that attach themselves to the bound targets. These antibodies carry an enzyme that can be made to change colour by adding a chemical. The colour change is measured by machine to determine the presence and concentration of the germ or tumour cells. Unfortunately, the machines are expensive.
> 
> Molly Stevens and her colleagues have done away with the need for machines by devising a "plasmonic ELISA" &#8211; a test which gives results readable with the naked eye. What's more, it is more sensitive than the best tests for HIV currently available.


Golden solution to inexpensive test for HIV - health - 28 October 2012 - New Scientist


----------



## RetiredGySgt

Got anything on inhaled Insulin?


----------



## RetiredGySgt

Inhaled Insulin

Darn, they had one but it was to expensive. And another is not being approved by the FDA.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New micropumps for hand-held medical labs produce pressures 500 times higher than car tire*




> In an advance toward analyzing blood and urine instantly at a patient's bedside instead of waiting for results from a central laboratory, scientists are reporting development of a new micropump capable of producing pressures almost 500 times higher than the pressure in a car tire. Described in ACS' journal Analytical Chemistry, the pumps are for futuristic "labs-on-a-chip," which reduce entire laboratories to the size of a postage stamp.
> 
> Shaorong Liu and colleagues explain that powerful pumps are critical for high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), a mainstay laboratory testing technology used in medical diagnosis, drug screening and numerous other purposes. HPLC can analyze 80 percent of all known chemical compounds. Scientists are trying to miniaturize HPLC for handheld devices, which would eliminate the need to send samples to central labs and wait for the results. One stumbling block, however, is the lack of suitable small, powerful pumps to push samples through HPLC devices.
> 
> They describe invention of a device six times more powerful than the best existing pump of this kind. Linked together in series, their electroosmotic pumps can produce more than 17,000 pounds per square inch of pressure. The pumps use electroosmotic flow, in which an electrical current makes charged particles flow through a narrow channel. The new pumps could produce even higher pressures, the scientists report.



 Read more at: New micropumps for hand-held medical labs produce pressures 500 times higher than car tire


----------



## ScienceRocks

http://www.scienceda...21101121532.htm


Quote


ScienceDaily (Nov. 1, 2012)  A gene that is associated with regeneration of injured nerve cells has been identified by scientists at Penn State University and Duke University. The team, led by Melissa Rolls, an assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Penn State, has found that a mutation in a single gene can entirely shut down the process by which axons -- the parts of the nerve cell that are responsible for sending signals to other cells -- regrow themselves after being cut or damaged. "We are hopeful that this discovery will open the door to new research related to spinal-cord and other neurological disorders in humans," Rolls said.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Gene therapy: Glybera approved by European Commission
By James Gallagher

BBC News - Gene therapy: Glybera approved by European Commission



> A treatment which corrects errors in a person's genetic code has been approved for commercial use in Europe for the first time.
> 
> The European Commission has given Glybera marketing authorisation, meaning it can be sold throughout the EU.
> 
> It is a gene therapy for a rare disease which leaves people unable to properly digest fats.
> 
> The manufacturers say it will be available next year.
> 
> Gene therapy has a simple premise. If there is a problem with part of a patient's genetic code then change the code.
> 
> However, the field has been plagued with problems. Patients have developed leukaemia and in one trial in the US a teenager died.
> 
> In Europe and the US, the therapies are used only in research labs.
> 
> Fat problems
> 
> Glybera is used to treat lipoprotein lipase deficiency. One in a million people have damaged copies of a gene which is essential for breaking down fats.
> 
> It means fat builds up in the blood leading to abdominal pain and life-threatening inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis).


----------



## konradv

Johns Hopkins Biomedical Engineering students invent new suturing device and take it to venture capitalists for marketing.

http://mobile.bthesite.com/p.p?m=b&a=rp&id=2937239&postId=2937239&postUserId=153&sessionToken=&catId=7255&curAbsIndex=1&resultsUrl=DID%3D6%26DFCL%3D1000%26DSB%3Drank%2523desc%26DBFQ%3DuserId%253A153%26DFC%3Dcat1%252Ccat2%252Ccat3%26DL.w%3D%26DL.d%3D10%26DQ%3DsectionId%253A7255%26DPS%3D0%26DPL%3D5


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New device could allow your heartbeat to power pacemaker*
 November 4, 2012


> An experimental device converted energy from a beating heart to provide enough electricity to power a pacemaker, in a study presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2012.
> 
> The findings suggest that patients could power their pacemakers&#8212;eliminating the need for replacements when batteries are spent. In a preliminary study, researchers tested an energy-harvesting device that uses piezoelectricity&#8212;electrical charge generated from motion. The approach is a promising technological solution for pacemakers, because they require only small amounts of power to operate, said M. Amin Karami, Ph.D., lead author of the study and research fellow in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
> 
> Piezoelectricity might also power other implantable cardiac devices like defibrillators, which also have minimal energy needs, he said. Today's pacemakers must be replaced every five to seven years when their batteries run out, which is costly and inconvenient, Karami said.


 Read more at: New device could allow your heartbeat to power pacemaker


----------



## ScienceRocks

Cystic kidney growth curbed



> Several million people worldwide suffer from the genetic disorder polycystic kidney disease. Previously, only the symptoms of the disease could be treated. Teaming up with colleagues, researchers from the University of Zurich have now succeeded in curbing the growth of these cysts in humans.
> 
> Autosomal-dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is one of the most common genetic disorders, affecting one in every 1,000 people and responsible for up to ten percent of patients on dialysis worldwide. The disease is characterized by the development of cysts that lead to progressive kidney failure and necessitate dialysis or a kidney transplant in most patients aged around fifty. Moreover, the persistent cyst growth causes high blood pressure and painful complications. Although we have known about the disease for over a century and its genetic basis for almost 20 years, there was no effective treatment until now.
> 
> Kidneys stopped growing
> 
> &#8220;Our study highlights a potential treatment that reduces kidney growth and the associated symptoms and slows the decline in kidney function,&#8221; explains Professor Olivier Devuyst from the Institute of Physiology at the University of Zurich &#8211; one of the chief researchers in the phase-three clinical trial just published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
> 
> Over 1,400 patients were given tolvaptan over a three-year period at 129 centers worldwide. The drug is a selective V2 vasopressin receptor antagonist that lessens the effect of the antidiuretic (urine-concentrating) vasopressin hormone and increases urination.



UZH Mediadesk - Cystic kidney growth curbed


----------



## ScienceRocks

*One test may 'find many cancers'*




> Targeting just one chemical inside cancerous cells could one day lead to a single test for a broad range of cancers, researchers say.
> 
> The same system could then be used to deliver precision radiotherapy.
> 
> Scientists told the National Cancer Research Institute conference they had been able to find breast cancer in mice weeks before a lump had been detected.
> 
> The same target chemical was also present in cancers of the lung, skin, kidney and bladder, they said.
> 
> The team, at the Gray Institute for Radiation Oncology and Biology at Oxford University, were looking for a protein, called gamma-H2AX, which is produced in response to damaged DNA. This tends to be one of the first steps on the road to a cell becoming cancerous.
> 
> Forming tumours
> 
> The scientists used an antibody that is the perfect partner to gamma-H2AX and able to seek it out in the body.
> 
> This was turned into a cancer test by attaching small amounts of radioactive material to the antibody. If the radiation gathered in one place it would be a sign of a potential tumour.
> 
> The researchers trialled the test on genetically modified mice, which are highly susceptible to forming tumours.
> 
> Prof Katherine Vallis said lumps could be felt when the mice were about 120 days old, but "we detected changes prior to that at 90 to 100 days - before a tumour is clinically apparent".
> 
> She told the BBC that gamma-H2AX was a "fairly general phenomenon" and it "would be the dream" to develop a single test for a wide range of cancers.
> 
> However this is still at a very early stage



http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20179560


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Human Disease Modeled in an Organ-On-A-Chip; 'Lung-On-A-Chip' Sets Stage for Next Wave of Research to Replace Animal Testing*



> ScienceDaily (Nov. 7, 2012) &#8212; Researchers at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University have mimicked pulmonary edema in a microchip lined by living human cells, as reported November 7 in the journal Science Translation Medicine. They used this "lung-on-a-chip" to study drug toxicity and identify potential new therapies to prevent this life-threatening condition.
> Human disease modeled in an organ-on-a-chip; 'Lung-on-a-chip' sets stage for next wave of research to replace animal testing



*New portable device enables RNA detection from ultra-small sample in only 20 minutes*



> A new power-free microfluidic chip developed by researchers at the RIKEN Advanced Science Institute (ASI) enables detection of microRNA from extremely small sample volume in only 20 minutes. By drastically reducing the time and quantity of sample required for detection, the chip lays the groundwork for early-stage point-of-care diagnosis of diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer's.
> 
> MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, non-coding RNA molecules that regulate gene expression in a wide range of biological processes including development, cell proliferation, differentiation and cell death (apoptosis). Concentration of certain miRNA in body fluids increases with the progression of diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer's, generating hope that these short RNA may hold the key to faster, more accurate diagnosis. Currently available techniques for sensitive miRNA detection, however, require days to reach a diagnosis and involve equipment operated only by trained personnel, making them impractical for use in many situations.
> 
> The research team set out to overcome these obstacles by developing a device that enables fast, easy-to-use point-of-care (POC) diagnosis from only a very small sample. In earlier research, the team developed a device in the form of a microchip which uses polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), a silicone compound known for its air absorption properties, to pull reagents into a capture probe for analysis. This pumping technique simplified design by eliminating the need for external power sources, but the device required a quantity of sample too large for practical applications.



http://phys.org/news/2012-11-portable-device-enables-rna-ultra-small.html


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New HIV vaccine shows promising results and no adverse side-effects*
New HIV vaccine shows promising results and no adverse side-effects

George Dvorsky




> Canadian researchers working to develop the world's first HIV vaccine announced on Tuesday that they have cleared a major hurdle. Initial results from a Phase I trial conducted by scientists at Western University has shown no adverse effects while significantly boosting immunity. The vaccine, which is based on a genetically modified, dead virus, can now progress to the next stage of testing. If all continues to go well, the vaccine could be commercially available in five years.


----------



## waltky

New study shows way to detect Alzheimer's earlier...

*Alzheimer's detected decades before symptoms*
_5 November 2012 - Researchers have found some of the earliest signs of Alzheimer's disease, more than two decades before the first symptoms usually appear._


> Treating the disease early is thought to be vital to prevent damage to memory and thinking.  A study, published in the Lancet Neurology, found differences in the brains of an extended Colombian family predisposed to develop an early form of Alzheimer's.  Experts said the US study may give doctors more time to treat people.  Alzheimer's disease starts long before anyone would notice; previous studies have shown an effect on the brain 10-15 years before symptoms.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The shrunken brain of an Alzheimer's patient compared with a healthy one
> 
> It is only after enough brain cells have died that the signs of dementia begin to appear - some regions of the brain will have lost up to 20% of their brain cells before the disease becomes noticeable.  However, doctors fear so much of the brain will have degenerated by this time that it will be too late to treat patients. The failure of recent trials to prevent further cognitive decline in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease has been partly put down to timing.
> 
> Early start
> 
> A team at the Banner Alzheimer's Institute in Arizona looked at a group of patients in Colombia who have familial Alzheimer's. A genetic mutation means they nearly always get the disease in their 40s. Alzheimer's normally becomes apparent after the age of 75.  Brain scans of 20 people with the mutation, aged between 18 and 26, already showed differences compared with those from 24 people who were not destined to develop early Alzheimer's.  The fluid which bathes the brain and spinal cord also had higher levels of a protein called beta-amyloid.
> 
> The researchers said differences could be detected "more than two decades before" symptoms would appear in these high-risk patients.  Dr Eric Reiman, one of the scientists involved, said: "These findings suggest that brain changes begin many years before the clinical onset of Alzheimer's disease.  "They raise new questions about the earliest brain changes involved in the predisposition to Alzheimer's and the extent to which they could be targeted by future prevention therapies."
> 
> MORE


----------



## ScienceRocks

It's either white, asian or Indian(from india) that makes 99% of the discovery's. Maybe once every 6 months will a black pop up with even something of low interest.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Could insulin-loaded nasal gel mean the end of injections for diabetics?*
November 9, 2012 



> (Phys.org)&#8212;Scientists have developed a once-a-day nasal gel formulation for the delivery of insulin that could put an end to injections for Type 1 diabetes sufferers.
> 
> In results published today in the Royal Society of Chemistry journal Biomaterials Science, researchers show that the insulin-loaded gel reduces blood glucose levels over 24 hours in a diabetic-rat model when administered via the nose.
> 
> Tests using mucus-producing cells to model conditions in the nose showed that eight times as much insulin was taken up by the cells when incubated with the insulin-loaded gel formulation, compared with a simple solution of insulin in water.
> 
> Scientists performed further tests on the gel formulation using diabetic-rat models. Their results showed that the rats' blood glucose levels fell following nasal administration of the insulin-loaded gel and then took around 24 hours to return to their original values.
> 
> By comparison, they found that it took only nine hours for blood glucose levels to return to their original values in control models treated with insulin by the normal route of subcutaneous injection.


Could insulin-loaded nasal gel mean the end of injections for diabetics?


----------



## ScienceRocks

New Portable Device Enables RNA Detection from Ultra-Small Sample in Only 20 Minutes
http://www.zeitnews.org/natural-sci...rna-detection-ultra-small-sample-only-20-minu



> A new power-free microfluidic chip developed by researchers at the RIKEN Advanced Science Institute (ASI) enables detection of microRNA from extremely small sample volume in only 20 minutes. By drastically reducing the time and quantity of sample required for detection, the chip lays the groundwork for early-stage point-of-care diagnosis of diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer's.MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, non-coding RNA molecules that regulate gene expression in a wide range of biological processes including development, cell proliferation, differentiation and cell death (apoptosis). Concentration of certain miRNA in body fluids increases with the progression of diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer's, generating hope that these short RNA may hold the key to faster, more accurate diagnosis. Currently available techniques for sensitive miRNA detection, however, require days to reach a diagnosis and involve equipment operated only by trained personnel, making them impractical for use in many situations.
> The sensitivity of this technique drastically reduces the sample quantity required for diagnosis to only 0.25 attomoles (10-18 mole),* a thousand-fold improvement over the team's earlier model*. Together with its detection time of only 20 minutes, these properties make the self-powered device ideal for use in resource-poor environments, promising portable point-of-care diagnosis for millions in developing countries and around the world.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Ketamine could rapidly treat depression, scientists say

10th November 2012



> Depression affects nearly one in five of the US population, causing over $100 billion in economic damage each year. Drug treatments are available, but typically require weeks or months to fully take effect. Now, researchers from Yale have revealed how small doses of ketamine can offer immediate relief from symptoms.
> 
> Synaptic links between brain cells are damaged by stress, anxiety and depression. Ketamine helps to regenerate these neural connections, according to a review of the scientific evidence by Yale School of Medicine published in the journal Science.
> 
> Ketamine works on a completely different type of neurotransmitter (chemical messenger between neurons) than current antidepressants which can take months to improve symptoms of depression and do not work at all for one in three patients. Understanding how ketamine works in the brain could lead to a new generation of medicine providing immediate relief to millions of people with chronic depression. This could bridge the gap in those critical few days when a suicidal patient may be a threat to themselves or others.
> 
> Professor Ronald Duman: "The rapid therapeutic response of ketamine in treatment-resistant patients is the biggest breakthrough in depression research in a half century."
> 
> Understanding how ketamine works is crucial because of the drug's limitations. Improvements in symptoms, which are evident just hours after ketamine is administered, last only a week to 10 days. In large doses, it can cause dreamlike states, hallucinations and short-term psychosis and is abused as the recreational party drug "Special K."
> 
> In their research, Duman and others show how in a series of steps, ketamine triggers release of neurotransmitter glutamate, which in turn stimulates the growth of synapses. Damage of these synaptic connections caused by chronic stress can be rapidly reversed by a single small dose of ketamine.




Ketamine could rapidly treat depression, scientists say


----------



## ScienceRocks

Touch-sensitive plastic skin heals itself 
November 11, 2012 by Kelly Servick


> A team of Stanford chemists and engineers has created the first synthetic material that is both sensitive to touch and capable of healing itself quickly and repeatedly at room temperature. The advance could lead to smarter prosthetics or more resilient personal electronics that repair themselves.
> 
> Nobody knows the remarkable properties of human skin like the researchers struggling to emulate it. Not only is our skin sensitive, sending the brain precise information about pressure and temperature, but it also heals efficiently to preserve a protective barrier against the world. Combining these two features in a single synthetic material presented an exciting challenge for Stanford Chemical Engineering Professor Zhenan Bao and her team. Now, they have succeeded in making the first material that can both sense subtle pressure and heal itself when torn or cut. Their findings will be published on November 11 in the journal Nature Nanotechnology. In the last decade, there have been major advances in synthetic skin, said Bao, the study's principal investigator, but even the most effective self-healing materials had major drawbacks. Some had to be exposed to high temperatures, making them impractical for day-to-day use. Others could heal at room temperature, but repairing a cut changed their mechanical or chemical structure, so they could only heal themselves once. Most importantly, no self-healing material was a good bulk conductor of electricity, a crucial property. "To interface this kind of material with the digital world, ideally you want them to be conductive," said Benjamin Chee-Keong Tee, first author of the paper.


 Read more at: Touch-sensitive plastic skin heals itself


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Extra chromosome 21 removed from Down syndrome cell line*

 By Leila Gray 
UW Health Sciences/UW Medicine
Extra chromosome 21 removed from Down syndrome cell line | UW Today



> University of Washington scientists have succeeded in removing the extra copy of chromosome 21 in cell cultures derived from a person with Down syndrome, a condition in which the body&#8217;s cells contain three copies of chromosome 21 rather than the usual pair.
> 
> A triplicate of any chromosome is a serious genetic abnormality called a trisomy. Trisomies account for almost one-quarter of pregnancy loss from spontaneous miscarriages, according to the research team. Besides Down syndrome (trisomy 21), some other human trisomies are extra Y or X chromosomes, and Edwards syndrome (trisomy 18) and Patau syndrome (trisomy 13), both of which have extremely high newborn fatality rates.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Two Years Out, Patients Receiving Stem Cell Therapy Show Sustained Heart Function Improvement, Study Suggests



> ScienceDaily (Nov. 6, 2012) &#8212; For a phase I clinical trial, these results are the Holy Grail. Yet researchers from the University of Louisville and Brigham and Women's Hospital reported just such almost-never-attained data.
> Two years out, patients receiving stem cell therapy show sustained heart function improvement, study suggests
> 
> In a Late-Breaking Clinical Trial session on Nov. 6 at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2012 meeting, Roberto Bolli, M.D., of the University of Louisville and Piero Anversa, M.D., of Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, presented data from their groundbreaking research in the use of autologous adult stem cells with patients who had previous heart attacks.
> 
> They report that after two years, all patients receiving the stem cell therapy show improvement in heart function, *with an overall 12.9 absolute unit increase in left ventricular ejection fraction* (LVEF), a standard measure of heart function that shows the amount of blood ejected from the left ventricle during a heartbeat. No adverse effects resulting from the therapy were seen. Moreover, MRIs performed on nine patients in the trial showed evidence of myocardial regeneration -- new heart tissue replacing former dead tissue killed by heart attack.
> 
> "The trial shows the feasibility of isolating and expanding autologous stem cells from virtually every patient," said Bolli, who is the Jewish Hospital Heart and Lung Institute Distinguished Chair in Cardiology and director of the Institute for Molecular Cardiology in the Department of Medicine at UofL. "The results suggest that this therapy has a potent, beneficial effect on cardiac function that warrants further study."





> One patient, Jim Dearing of Louisville, showed no trace of the two heart attacks he suffered prior to participating in the trial. Echocardiograms performed in 2011 and 2012 showed his ejection fraction went from 38 percent to 58 percent and his heart is working normally.
> 
> "Anyone who looks at his heart now would not imagine that this patient was (ever) in heart failure or that he had a heart attack," Bolli said.
> 
> "What's striking is that we are seeing what appears to be a long-lasting improvement in function," Anversa said.
> 
> The researchers plan to follow the study cohort for two more years and with funding, expand their research. "The findings warrant larger, phase 2 studies," Bolli said. "If the larger studies continue to confirm our findings, we potentially have a cure for heart failure because we will have something that conceivably, for the first time, actually regenerates dead heart tissue."


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Breakthrough Chemo Bath Treats Liver Cancer For First Time In UK*
Breakthrough Chemo Bath Treats Liver Cancer For First Time In UK



> A treatment that isolates the blood supply to a cancerous liver while the organ receives a "chemo bath" has been used for the first time in the UK. The procedure saturates the liver with high doses of chemotherapy without affecting the rest of the body.
> 
> This week, various media have reported how Brian Stedman, a consultant interventional radiologist at Southampton General Hospital, used the procedure, known as Chemosaturation with Percutaneous Hepatic Perfusion (CS-PHP), on two patients whose cancer had spread to the liver.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Innovative medical textiles eliminates bacteria
November 13, 2012 

 Credit: UPC



> Scientists at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya BarcelonaTech (UPC) in Spain have succeeded in eliminating infectious bacteria from medical textiles by using an enzymatic pre-treatment combined with simultaneous deposition of nanoparticles and biopolymers under ultrasonic irradiation. This was an outcome of the SONO ('A pilot line of antibacterial and antifungal medical textiles based on a sonochemical process') project, which is funded under the 'Nanosciences, nanotechnologies, materials and new production technologies' (NMP) Theme of the EU's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) to the tune of EUR 8.3 million. SONO is targeting the improvement of antimicrobial properties on medical textiles through the use of the state-of-the-art technique.
> 
> The researchers said the technique creates fully sterile antimicrobial textiles that help keep hospital-acquired infections at bay. One of the biggest challenges facing hospitals are nosocomial infections, which are infections not present and without evidence of incubation at the time of admission. These types of infections include bacterial and fungal infections, and they are aggravated by the reduced resistance of patients.
> 
> The SONO consortium, headed up by Bar-Ilan University in Israel and made up of 17 European partners, used enzymes that improve adhesion of the antimicrobial nanoparticles to the fabric under ultrasonic irradiation. The application of the enzymes allowed them to boost the durability of the nanoparticles on the fabric to a level that ensured their presence even after 70 laundry cycles.
> 
> Thanks to the results of this study, production of textiles with antimicrobial properties that are 100 % effective is possible. Another winning factor for the antimicrobial treatment's effectiveness is to incorporate hybrid materials into the fabric. These materials are based on organic and inorganic components, including zinc and chitosan nanoparticles. So not only do these materials eradicate the bacteria that are present, they also hinder the growth of new microbes.


Innovative medical textiles eliminates bacteria


----------



## ScienceRocks

Longevity gene makes Hydra immortal and humans grow older



> Why do we get older? When do we die and why? Is there a life without ageing? For centuries, science has been fascinated by these questions. Now researchers from Kiel (Germany) have examined why the polyp Hydra is immortal  and unexpectedly discovered a link to ageing in humans. The study carried out by Kiel University together with the University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein (UKSH) will be published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS). It was funded by the German Research Foundation DFG.
> 
> Hydra  mysteriously immortal
> The tiny freshwater polyp Hydra does not show any signs of ageing and is potentially immortal. There is a rather simple biological explanation for this: these animals exclusively reproduce by budding rather than by mating. A prerequisite for such vegetative-only reproduction is that each polyp contains stem cells capable of continuous proliferation. Without these stem cells, the animals could not reproduce any more. Due to its immortality, Hydra has been the subject of many studies regarding ageing processes for several years.
> 
> Ageing in humans
> When people get older, more and more of their stem cells lose the ability to proliferate and thus to form new cells. Ageing tissue cannot regenerate any more, which is why for example muscles decline. Elderly people tend to feel weaker because their heart muscles are affected by this ageing process as well. If it were possible to influence these ageing processes, humans could feel physically better for much longer. Studying animal tissue such as those of Hydra  an animal full of active stem cells during all its life  may deliver valuable insight into stem cell ageing as such.
> 
> Human longevity gene discovered in Hydra
> Surprisingly, our search for the gene that causes Hydra to be immortal led us to the so-called FoxO gene, says Anna-Marei Böhm, PhD student and first author of the study. The FoxO gene exists in all animals and humans and has been known for years. However, until now it was not known why human stem cells become fewer and inactive with increasing age, which biochemical mechanisms are involved and if FoxO played a role in ageing. In order to find the gene, the research group isolated Hydras stem cells and then screened all of their genes.
> 
> Immortality mechanism of Hydra revealed
> The Kiel research team examined FoxO in several genetically modified polyps: Hydra with normal FoxO, with inactive FoxO and with enhanced FoxO. The scientists were able to show that animals without FoxO possess significantly fewer stem cells. Interestingly, the immune system in animals with inactive FoxO also changes drastically. Drastic changes of the immune system similar to those observed in Hydra are also known from elderly humans, explains Philip Rosenstiel of the Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology at UKSH, whose research group contributed to the study.
> 
> FoxO makes human life longer, too
> Our research group demonstrated for the first time that there is a direct link between the FoxO gene and ageing, says Thomas Bosch from the Zoological Institute of Kiel University, who led the Hydra study. Bosch continues:  FoxO has been found to be particularly active in centenarians  people older than one hundred years  which is why we believe that FoxO plays a key role in ageing  not only in Hydra but also in humans. However, the hypothesis cannot be verified on humans, as this would require a genetic manipulation of humans. Bosch stresses however that the current results are still a big step forward in explaining how humans age. Therefore the next step must be to study how the longevity gene FoxO works in Hydra, and how environmental factors influence FoxO activity.
> 
> Without stem cells we all die
> Scientifically, the study has two major conclusions: On the one hand it confirms that the FoxO gene plays a decisive role in the maintenance of stem cells. It thus determines the life span of animals  from cnidarians to humans. On the other hand, the study shows that ageing and longevity of organisms really depend on two factors: the maintenance of stem cells and the maintenance of a functioning immune system.


Uni Kiel  |  Solving the mystery of ageing


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Injectable sponge delivers drugs, cells, and structure*
November 13, 2012 

Enlarge


> Bioengineers at Harvard have developed a gel-based sponge that can be molded to any shape, loaded with drugs or stem cells, compressed to a fraction of its size, and delivered via injection. Once inside the body, it pops back to its original shape and gradually releases its cargo, before safely degrading.
> 
> The biocompatible technology, revealed this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, amounts to a prefabricated healing kit for a range of minimally invasive therapeutic applications, including regenerative medicine.
> 
> "What we've created is a three-dimensional structure that you could use to influence the cells in the tissue surrounding it and perhaps promote tissue formation," explains principal investigator David J. Mooney, Robert P. Pinkas Family Professor of Bioengineering at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and a Core Faculty Member at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard.



Injectable sponge delivers drugs, cells, and structure


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Gene Nearly Triples Risk of Alzheimer's, International Research Team Finds*

ScienceDaily (Nov. 14, 2012) &#8212; A gene so powerful it nearly triples the risk of Alzheimer's disease has been discovered by an international team including researchers from Mayo Clinic. It is the most potent genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's identified in the past 20 years.

Gene nearly triples risk of Alzheimer's, international research team finds



> The findings were reported Wednesday in the online edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.
> 
> The team included researchers from 44 institutions around the world, including 10 from Mayo Clinic's campuses in Florida and Minnesota. The study was led by John Hardy, Ph.D., a researcher at the Institute of Neurology at University College London and a former professor at Mayo Clinic in Florida.
> 
> The researchers used new sequencing techniques to home in on the TREM2 gene. Additional TREM2 sequencing was then performed, in part, by scientist Aleksandra Wojtas in the Mayo Clinic in Florida laboratory of Rosa Rademakers, Ph.D. These studies led to identification of a set of rare variants in TREM2 that occurred more often in 1,092 Alzheimer's disease patients than in a control group of 1,107 healthy people


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New nanoparticle halts multiple sclerosis, now being tested in Type 1 diabetes and asthma *



> In a breakthrough for nanotechnology and multiple sclerosis, a biodegradable nanoparticle turns out to be the perfect vehicle to stealthily deliver an antigen that tricks the immune system into stopping its attack on myelin and halt a model of relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) in mice, according to new Northwestern Medicine research.



 Read more at: New nanoparticle halts multiple sclerosis, now being tested in Type 1 diabetes and asthma


----------



## pareshaegis

Hello Everybody.

I am interested in healthcare community. If you have any question about healthcare, clinical software development, medical billing software are welcome.

Thanks in advance.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Scientists use nose cells to heal dog&#8217;s paralysis

Channels Television - Nigeria's Award Winning Television Station



> Scientists have reversed paralysis in dogs after injecting them with cells grown from the lining of their nose.
> 
> The pets had all suffered spinal injuries which prevented them from using their back legs.
> 
> The Cambridge University team is cautiously optimistic the technique could eventually have a role in the treatment of human patients.
> 
> The study is the first to test the transplant in &#8220;real-life&#8221; injuries rather than laboratory animals.
> 
> In the study, funded by the Medical Research Council and published in the neurology journal Brain, the dogs had olfactory ensheathing cells from the lining of their nose removed.
> 
> These were grown and expanded for several weeks in the laboratory.
> 
> Treadmill
> 
> Of 34 pet dogs on the proof of concept trial, 23 had the cells transplanted into the injury site &#8211; the rest were injected with a neutral fluid.
> 
> Many of the dogs that received the transplant showed considerable improvement and were able to walk on a treadmill with the support of a harness.
> 
> None of the control group regained use of its back legs.
> 
> The research was a collaboration between the MRC&#8217;s Regenerative Medicine Centre and Cambridge University&#8217;s Veterinary School.
> 
> Professor Robin Franklin, a regeneration biologist at the Wellcome Trust-MRC Stem Cell Institute and report co-author, said: &#8216;Our findings are extremely exciting because they show for the first time that transplanting these types of cell into a severely damaged spinal cord can bring about significant improvement.
> 
> &#8220;We&#8217;re confident that the technique might be able to restore at least a small amount of movement in human patients with spinal cord injuries but that&#8217;s a long way from saying they might be able to regain all lost function. &#8216;
> 
> Prof Franklin said the procedure might be used alongside drug treatments to promote nerve fibre regeneration and bioengineering to substitute damaged neural networks.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Researchers define key events early in the process of cellular aging*

Researchers define key events early in the process of cellular aging



> Studies bring unprecedented clarity to aging process and provide paradigm for studying how genes and environment &#8211; including calorie restriction &#8211; may influence lifespan
> 
> SEATTLE &#8211; Nov. 21, 2012 &#8211; For the first time, scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have defined key events that take place early in the process of cellular aging.
> 
> Together the discoveries, made through a series of experiments in yeast, bring unprecedented clarity to the complex cascade of events that comprise the aging process and pave the way to understanding how genetics and environmental factors like diet interact to influence lifespan, aging and age-related diseases such as cancer and neurodegenerative disorders.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Neurons made from stem cells drive brain activity after transplantation



> Researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute have found a way to stimulate stem cell-derived neurons to direct cognitive function after transplantation to an existing neural network by using optogenetic stimulation  getting us a step closer to using these cells to treat Alzheimers disease and other neurodegenerative conditions.
> 
> Researchers and patients look forward to the day when stem cells might be used to replace dying brain cells in Alzheimers disease and other neurodegenerative conditions.


 
http://www.kurzweila...transplantation


----------



## rorystyris

Stunning information collection, generally people are need this type of information. Medical technologies are improving alot and lot from day to day, for any kind of diseases, they are having solutions. It's really great news to human beings.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Researchers develop mRNA based flu vaccine
November 26, 2012 by Bob Yirka  



> (Phys.org)A joint research effort by the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute and pharmaceutical company CureVac, both based in Germany, has resulted in the creation of a new type of flu vaccine. The vaccine, as the team describes in their paper published in the journal Nature Biotechnology, relies on the use of Messenger Ribonucleic Acid (mRNA) instead of the cultivation of cultures in chicken eggs, which means it can be created and manufactured in weeks rather than months.


Researchers develop mRNA based flu vaccine


----------



## ScienceRocks

*NEC is working on a suitcase-sized DNA analyzer*

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2016080/nec-is-working-on-a-suitcasesized-dna-analyzer.html
By Jay Alabaster, IDG News Service
Nov 22, 2012 9:00 AM
print



> NEC is working on a suitcase-sized DNA analyzer, which it says will be able to process samples at the scene of a crime or disaster in as little as 25 minutes.
> 
> The company said it aims to launch the device globally in 2014, and sell it for around 10 million yen, or US$120,000. It will output samples that can be quickly matched via the growing number of DNA databases worldwide.
> 
> &#8220;At first we will target investigative organizations, like police,&#8221; said spokeswoman Marita Takahashi. &#8220;We will also push its use on victims of natural disasters, to quickly match samples from siblings and parents.&#8221;
> 
> NEC hopes to use research and software from its mature fingerprint and facial matching technology, which have been deployed in everyday devices such as smartphones and ATMs.





> 25 minutes isn't as fast as the split-second DNA analyzers that you see in Gattaca, of course, but what's significant here is that the technology has improved from an hour to 25 minutes in just a year. It's not hard to imagine that analysis time might be down to about 10 minutes by 2015, and by 2020, it'll be in the seconds range. With analysis price likely to see a corresponding decrease, it's a sure thing that DNA analysis will be a lot more common: the only question is just what, exactly, it'll be used for when it becomes a little too fast, easy, and cheap.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Alzheimer's Disease in Mice Alleviated: Promising Therapeutic Approach for Humans*




> ScienceDaily (Nov. 25, 2012) &#8212; Pathological changes typical of Alzheimer's disease were significantly reduced in mice by blockade of an immune system transmitter. A research team from Charité -- Universitätsmedizin Berlin and the University of Zurich has just published a new therapeutic approach in fighting Alzheimer's disease in the current issue of Nature Medicine. This approach promises potential in prevention, as well as in cases where the disease has already set in.




Alzheimer's disease in mice alleviated: Promising therapeutic approach for humans


----------



## strollingbones

did you see all the new uses for botox?

Botox Used to Treat Cerebral Palsy | Cerebral Palsy Information


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Mind-Controlled Artificial Limbs Fusing Man and Machine Coming Next Year*

By Adam MannEmail Author
November 28, 2012 | 
3:02 pm | 
Categories: Biology, Medicine


Mind-Controlled Artificial Limbs Fusing Man and Machine Coming Next Year | Wired Science | Wired.com



> A postdoctoral student has developed a technique for implanting thought-controlled robotic arms and their electrodes directly to the bones and nerves of amputees, a move which he is calling &#8220;the future of artificial limbs&#8221;. The first volunteers will receive their new limbs early in 2013.
> 
> 
> 
> &#8220;The benefits have no precedent,&#8221; Max Ortiz Catalan, who carries out research in biomedicine and artificial intelligence at the Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, told Wired.co.uk. &#8220;They will be able to simultaneously control several joints and motions, as well as to receive direct neural feedback on their actions. These features are today not available for patients outside research labs. Our aim is to change that.&#8221;
> 
> Ordinary myoelectric prostheses work by placing electrodes over the skin to pick up nerve signals that would ordinarily be sent by the brain to the limb. An algorithm then translates these signals, and sends instructions to motors within the electronic limb. Since the electrodes are applied to the skin surface, however, they will undoubtedly encounter countless issues in maintaining the fluid transferal of information back and forth between the brain and the limb. By implanting those electrodes directly to the patient&#8217;s nerves, Catalan is hoping to get one step closer than anyone else to replicating natural movement.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Partial reversal of aging achieved in mice*

Control of telomerase gene appears to control process


By Richard Saltus

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Sunday, November 28, 2010



> Harvard scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute say they have for the first time partially reversed age-related degeneration in mice, resulting in new growth of the brain and testes, improved fertility, and the return of a lost cognitive function.
> 
> In a report posted online by the journal Nature in advance of print publication, researchers led by Ronald A. DePinho, a Harvard Medical School (HMS) professor of genetics, said they achieved the milestone in aging science by engineering mice with a controllable telomerase gene. The telomerase enzyme maintains the protective caps called telomeres that shield the ends of chromosomes.
> 
> As humans age, low levels of telomerase are associated with progressive erosion of telomeres, which may then contribute to tissue degeneration and functional decline in the elderly. By creating mice with a telomerase switch, the researchers were able to generate prematurely aged mice. The switch allowed the scientists to find out whether reactivating telomerase in the animals would restore telomeres and mitigate the signs and symptoms of aging. The work showed a dramatic reversal of many aspects of aging, including reversal of brain disease and infertility.
> 
> While human applications remain in the future, the strategy might one day be used to treat conditions such as rare genetic premature aging syndromes in which shortened telomeres play an important role, said DePinho, senior author of the report and the director of Dana-Farber&#8217;s Belfer Institute for Applied Cancer Science. &#8220;Whether this would impact on normal aging is a more difficult question,&#8221; he added. &#8220;But it is notable that telomere loss is associated with age-associated disorders and thus restoration of telomeres could alleviate such decline.&#8221; The first author is Mariela Jaskelioff, a research fellow in medicine in DePinho&#8217;s laboratory.
> 
> Importantly, the animals showed no signs of developing cancer. This remains a concern because cancer cells turn on telomerase to make themselves virtually immortal. DePinho said the risk can be minimized by switching on telomerase only for a matter of days or weeks &#8212; which may be brief enough to avoid fueling hidden cancers or cause new ones to develop. Still, he observed, it is an important issue for further study.
> 
> In addition, DePinho said these results may provide new avenues for regenerative medicine, because they suggest that quiescent adult stem cells in severely aged tissues remain viable and can be reactivated to repair tissue damage. After four weeks, the scientists observed remarkable signs of rejuvenation in the treated mice. Overall, the mice exhibited increased levels of telomerase and lengthened telomeres, biological changes indicative of cells returning to a growth state with reversal of tissue degeneration, and increase in size of the spleen, testes, and brain. &#8220;It was akin to a Ponce de León effect,&#8221; noted DePinho, referring to the Spanish explorer who sought the mythical Fountain of Youth.
> 
> &#8220;When we flipped the telomerase switch on and looked a month later, the brains had largely returned to normal,&#8221; said DePinho. More newborn nerve cells were observed, and the fatty myelin sheaths around nerve cells &#8212; which had become thinned in the aged animals &#8212; increased in diameter. In addition, the increase in telomerase revitalized slumbering brain stem cells so they could produce new neurons.



Partial reversal of aging achieved in mice | Harvard Gazette

HOLY FUCKING SHIT


----------



## ScienceRocks

Scanadu SCOUT Medical Tricorder recalls Star Trek &#8211; and it&#8217;s real
Chris Burns, Nov 29th 2012 Discuss [0] 



> 0 0 i For those of you waiting for the real-deal collection of Star Trek gadgets and gizmos, you&#8217;ll find that today is a great day &#8211; the tricorder has arrived. The folks at Scanadu have been developing a handheld device that, while not exactly service the same function as the 60&#8242;s series tech, is certainly Star Trek-worthy in its abilities. This device has been in development for less than a year and will be prototype ready by the end of 2012 &#8211; so says the NASA-Ames Research Center-based startup team themselves.
> 
> This unit goes by the name SCOUT and is ready to connect to your smartphone via Bluetooth in a snap. Once you&#8217;re synced up, you&#8217;ve only to press the SCOUT device up to your temple and let it sit for 10 seconds. In those 10 seconds you&#8217;ll find that your vital signs will be scanned with great accuracy, this including your temperature, heart rate, breathing rate, ECG, and SPO2.



Scanadu SCOUT Medical Tricorder recalls Star Trek &#8211; and it&#8217;s real - SlashGear


----------



## ScienceRocks

Scientists snap a picture of DNA&#8217;s double helix for the very first time



> Though they've never actually seen it with their own eyes, scientists know that DNA's structure is composed of a spiraling corkscrew. They know this thanks to molecular theory and and an old-time technique called X-ray crystallography, where patterns of dots are converted into an overarching image using mathematics. But now, for the first time ever, scientists have actually snapped a real image of DNA using an electron microscope &#8212; spiraling corkscrew and all.



Scientists snap a picture of DNA


----------



## ScienceRocks

*A Step Toward a Universal Cancer Blood Test *
ScienceNOW ^ | 28 November 2012 | Jocelyn Kaiser


A Step Toward a Universal Cancer Blood Test - ScienceNOW



> People usually find out that they have cancer after developing symptoms or through a screening test such as a mammogram&#8212;signs that may appear only after the cancer has grown or spread so much that it can't be cured. But what if you could find out from a simple, highly accurate blood test that you had an incipient tumor? By sequencing the abnormal DNA that a tumor releases into a person's bloodstream, researchers are now one step closer to a universal cancer test. Although the technique is now only sensitive enough to detect advanced cancers, that may be a matter of money: As sequencing costs decrease, the developers of the method say, the test could eventually pick up early tumors as well.
> 
> The new work is part of a wave of research on using either cells shed into the blood by tumors or free-floating tumor DNA in blood to track the growth and spread of tumors and tailor treatments. The free tumor DNA tests generally rely on looking for known alterations in cancer genes to distinguish cancerous DNA from normal DNA. Seeking a way to detect tumor DNA without knowing its genetic makeup beforehand, postdoctoral researcher Rebecca Leary and others in the labs of Victor Velculescu and Luis Diaz at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland, and collaborators at other institutions took advantage of an observation they and others have made: No matter the type of cancer, tumor cells almost invariably have substantially altered chromosomes, such as swapped pieces and extra copies of certain genes. This suggests that a test that could detect any chromosomal abnormalities in a person's blood could serve as a general test for cancer.


----------



## ScienceRocks

New patient-friendly way to make stem cells for fight against heart disease
New patient-friendly way to make stem cells for fight against heart disease | Science Codex



> Scientists &#8211; funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF), Medical Research Council (MRC) and Wellcome Trust &#8211; have today published a patient-friendly and efficient way to make stem cells out of blood, increasing the hope that scientists could one day use stem cells made from patients' own cells to treat cardiovascular disease (1).
> 
> The study, in the journal Stem Cells: Translational Medicine (2), outlines a way for scientists to get the cells they need to make induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells (3) from a routine blood sample. Previously scientists have struggled to find an appropriate type of cell in the blood that can be turned into a stem cell, and often make iPS cells from skin or other tissues, which can require a surgical procedure, like a biopsy.
> 
> Dr Amer Rana and his colleagues at the University of Cambridge grew patients' blood in the lab and isolated what are known as 'late outgrowth endothelial progenitor cells' (L-EPCs) to turn into iPS cells. The iPS cells can then be turned into any other cell in the body, including blood vessel cells or heart cells &#8211; using different cocktails of chemicals. Scientists use these cells to study disease, and ultimately hope to grow them into tissue to repair the damage caused by heart and circulatory diseases.
> 
> Dr Amer Rana, of the University of Cambridge, said of the research:


----------



## ScienceRocks

Multitasking plasmonic nanobubbles kill some cells, modify others
December 3, 2012 by Mike Williams 
Multitasking plasmonic nanobubbles kill some cells, modify others


> (Phys.org)&#8212;Researchers at Rice University have found a way to kill some diseased cells and treat others in the same sample at the same time. The process activated by a pulse of laser light leaves neighboring healthy cells untouched.
> 
> The unique use for tunable plasmonic nanobubbles developed in the Rice lab of Dmitri Lapotko shows promise to replace several difficult processes now used to treat cancer patients, among others, with a fast, simple, multifunctional procedure.
> 
> The research is the focus of a paper published online this week by the American Chemical Society journal ACS Nano and was carried out at Rice by Lapotko, research scientist and lead author Ekaterina Lukianova-Hleb and undergraduate student Martin Matonga, with assistance from the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), Texas Children's Hospital and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
> 
> Plasmonic nanobubbles that are 10,000 times smaller than a human hair cause tiny explosions. The bubbles form around plasmonic gold nanoparticles that heat up when excited by an outside energy source &#8211; in this case, a short laser pulse &#8211; and vaporize a thin layer of liquid near the particle's surface. The vapor bubble quickly expands and collapses. Lapotko and his colleagues had already found that plasmonic nanobubbles kill cancer cells by literally exploding them without damage to healthy neighbors, a process that showed much higher precision and selectivity compared with those mediated by gold nanoparticles alone, he said.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New Target for Alzheimer's Drug Development*



> Researchers at the University of Minnesota's Center for Drug Design have developed a synthetic compound that, in a mouse model, successfully prevents the neurodegeneration associated with Alzheimer's disease.
> 
> "While most other drugs under development and on the market attempt to slow down or reverse the Alzheimer's processes, our approach strikes at a root cause by enabling the brain itself to fight the disease at a very early stage," said Vince, the study's lead researcher and director of the Center for Drug Design. "As is the case with all drug development, these studies need to be replicated in human patients before coming to any firm conclusions."
> 
> After being administered with psi-GSH for 11 weeks, cognitive capabilities such as memory and chemical brain health indicators in Alzheimer's-predisposed mice remained intact.
> 
> For example, the treated mice retained complete memory in a standard Alzheimer's maze test while the untreated mice lost significant memory and ability to negotiate the maze, indications consistent with symptoms of advanced Alzheimer's.


 

http://www.scienceda...21203150012.htm


----------



## ScienceRocks

Study shows antibody therapy clears Alzheimer's plaques in mice



> Antibodies against amyloid beta (A&#946 protein deposits that are thought to play a role in Alzheimer's disease have shown some success in preventing the buildup of deposits in animals, but they have not been effective at removing preexisting deposits. Now researchers reporting in the December issue of the Cell Press journal Neuron show that a modified antibody was able to clear preexisting A&#946; deposits in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.
> 
> "These findings have important implications for current and future development of antibodies for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease," says first author Ronald DeMattos, PhD, of Eli Lilly and Company.



 Read more at: Study shows antibody therapy clears Alzheimer's plaques in mice

Removed the crap that was fucking up the brain of mice. This is good as I'm really hoping they can cure this within the next 20 years.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Researchers develop hybrid scaffold, potential for future skin tissue engineering*



> Researchers in Japan have created a hybrid scaffold which promotes regeneration of skin in live animals while maintaining mechanical strength making it a promising material for future skin tissue engineering. This research was recently published in the Science and Technology of Advanced Materials.
> 
> Open skin wounds need to be repaired quickly to prevent infection. Using artificial skin substitutes for repair avoids the difficulties of grafts, but an ideal material for a scaffold that's strong and allows regeneration of skin tissue has yet to be found



http://phys.org/news/2012-12-hybrid-scaffold-potential-future-skin.html

Supposly stronger...


----------



## ScienceRocks

http://www.scienceda...21206121728.htm


Quote



> Protein Linking Exercise to Bigger, Stronger Muscles Discovered; Finding Might Lead to New Therapies for Muscle-Wasting Diseases
> 
> 
> Scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have isolated a previously unknown protein in muscles that spurs their growth and increased power following resistance exercise. They suggest that artificially raising the protein's levels might someday help prevent muscle loss caused by cancer, prolonged inactivity in hospital patients, and aging.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Pioneering surgery repairs girl's spine with leg bone*
By James Gallagher




> A five-year old girl has had pioneering surgery to repair a large gap in her spine using bone taken from her legs.
> 
> Before the operation, Rosie Davies, from Walsall in the West Midlands, was "basically a timebomb", her family said.
> 
> Missing bones in her spine meant her upper body weight was unsupported and her inner organs were being crushed.
> 
> The lifesaving surgery came at the cost of her lower legs, which she had always been unable to move.


BBC News - Pioneering surgery repairs girl's spine with leg bone


----------



## ScienceRocks

*In U.S. First, Surgeons Implant Brain 'Pacemaker' for Alzheimer's Disease*




> ScienceDaily (Dec. 5, 2012) &#8212; Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine in November surgically implanted a pacemaker-like device into the brain of a patient in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, the first such operation in the United States. The device, which provides deep brain stimulation and has been used in thousands of people with Parkinson's disease, is seen as a possible means of boosting memory and



In U.S. first, surgeons implant brain 'pacemaker' for Alzheimer's disease


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Gene Therapy as a New Option for Bone Defects*





> Gene therapy involving modified stem cells obtained from fatty tissue and bone marrow could represent a new option for the treatment of severe orthopaedic injuries to the extremities. This treatment has been developed by Martina Hauser-Schinhan from the University Department of Orthopaedics at the MedUni Vienna during a research fellowship at the Center for Advanced Orthopedic Studies at the Harvard Medical School. The treatment could in future prevent threatened amputations or massive shortenings of bones.
> 
> The new method involves altering the body&#8217;s own stem cells, obtained from fat or bone marrow, with BMP-2 genes which are known to promote bone healing. The autologous stem cells that are genetically modified with ad.BMP-2 are embedded in a fibrin gel which is applied between the two broken parts of the bone. The stem cells continuously produce BMP-2, like a power plant. The stem cells and the BMP-2 cause the bones to heal. &#8220;Until now, in cases of severe injury that we would be able to treat with this method, amputations or bone shortening surgery were often necessary,&#8221; says Hauser-Schinhan.


Gene Therapy as a New Option for Bone Defects | ZeitNews


----------



## ScienceRocks

New drug cuts risk of deadly transplant side effect in half



> A new class of drugs reduced the risk of patients contracting a serious and often deadly side effect of lifesaving bone marrow transplant treatments, according to a study from researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center. The study, the first to test this treatment in people, combined the drug vorinostat with standard medications given after transplant, resulting in 21 percent of patients developing graft-vs.-host disease compared to 42 percent of patients who typically develop this condition with standard medications alone.



New drug cuts risk of deadly transplant side effect in half | e! Science News


----------



## ScienceRocks

*A 3D printer that manufactures new cancer drugs with drag-and-drop DNA*


George Dvorsky





> Researchers from Parabon NanoLabs have developed a new drug for combating a lethal brain cancer called glioblastoma multiforme. But what makes this particular drug unique is that it was printed &#8212; molecule by molecule &#8212; using a DNA self-assembly technique. And even more remarkable is that the DNA was custom designed with a drag-and-drop computer program. The breakthrough will not only drastically reduce the time it takes to both create and test medications, it will also open the door to completely novel drug designs.
> 
> The new technology, which was in part funded by the National Science Foundation, is called the Parabon Essemblix Drug Development Platform, and it combines computer-aided design (CAD) software called inSçquio with nanoscale fabrication technology.


A 3D printer that manufactures new cancer drugs with drag-and-drop DNA

Printing molecules...Wow.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*No need to prepare: New method to directly sequence small genomes without library preparation              *


> (Phys.org)&#8212;For the first time, researchers sequenced DNA molecules without the need for the standard pre-sequencing workflow known as library preparation.
> Using this approach, the researchers generated sequence data using considerably less DNA than is required using standard methods, even down to less than one nanogram of DNA; 500 times less DNA than is needed by standard practices.



Read more at: http://phys.org/news...ibrary.html#jCp

This is pretty big...


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Souped-up immune cells force leukaemia into remission*


Augmented immune cells have made an impressive impact on the survival of people with leukaemia.
Souped-up immune cells force leukaemia into remission - health - 11 December 2012 - New Scientist



> Thirteen people with a form of the cancer called multiple myeloma were treated with genetically engineered T-cells, and all improved. "The fact we got a response in all 13, you can't get better than that," says James Noble, CEO of Adaptimmune in Abingdon, UK, which developed the treatment.
> 
> Cancers often develop because T-cells have lost their ability to target tumour cells, which they normally destroy. To retune that targeting, a team led by Aaron Rapoport at the University of Maryland in Baltimore engineered T-cell genes that coded for a receptor on the cell's surface. They extracted T-cells from each person, then inserted the engineered genes into these cells and re-injected them.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Battle wound foam secures Pentagon funding*



> Researchers working on a foam designed to limit internal bleeding of soldiers injured on the battlefield have received $15.5m (£9.6m) from the US military to continue their work.
> 
> The foam is formed by two liquids, injected into the body, which mix, expand and harden to create an internal dressing.
> 
> Arsenal Medical's product is funded by the Pentagon's Darpa research unit.
> 
> One UK surgeon said it could help those far away from a medical facility.
> 
> The technology is still in early pre-clinical stages, but has already been tested on pigs.
> 
> The firm hopes that the polyurethane polymer foam will help control internal bleeding for at least an hour, increasing the survival chances of troops wounded on the battlefield.


 
http://www.bbc.co.uk...nology-20693705


----------



## ScienceRocks

Fast DNA origami opens way for nanoscale machines
Fast DNA origami opens way for nanoscale machines : Nature News & Comment

Molecules can now be folded into *shapes in minutes, not days.*
Katharine Sanderson

13 December 2012




> DNA strands can be coaxed to fold up into shapes in a matter of minutes, reveals a study. The finding could radically speed up progress in the field of DNA origami.
> 
> Biotechnologists are itching to be able to use DNA to make nanoscale machines, but so far they have made only simple forms &#8212; tubes, boxes, triangles &#8212; and the process has been laborious and time-consuming (see 'What to make with DNA origami').
> 
> The technique involves using short DNA strands to hold a longer, folded strand in place at certain points, like sticky tape. Until now, assembling the shape has involved heating the DNA and allowing it to cool slowly for up to a week.




----


*Biologists engineer algae to make complex anti-cancer &#8216;designer&#8217; drug*

December 13, 2012
.
http://www.kurzweilai.net/biologist...paign=e8f193ad0b-UA-946742-1&utm_medium=email



> Biologists at UC San Diego have succeeded in genetically engineering algae  to produce what has been a complex and expensive human therapeutic drug used to treat cancer.
> 
> Their achievement opens the door for making these and other &#8220;designer&#8221; proteins in larger quantities and much more cheaply than can now be made from mammalian cells.
> 
> &#8220;Because we can make the exact same drug in algae, we have the opportunity to drive down the price down dramatically,&#8221; said Stephen Mayfield, a professor of biology at UC San Diego and director of the San Diego Center for Algae Biotechnology (SD-CAB), a consortium of research institutions that is also working to develop new biofuels from algae.
> 
> Their method could even be used to make novel complex designer drugs that could be used to treat cancer or other human diseases in new ways.
> 
> *&#8220;You can&#8217;t make these drugs in bacteria, because bacteria are incapable of folding these proteins into these complex, three-dimensional shapes,&#8221;* said Mayfield. &#8220;And you can&#8217;t make these proteins in mammalian cells because the toxin would kill them.&#8221;
> 
> The advance is the culmination of seven years of work in Mayfield&#8217;s laboratory to demonstrate that Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, a green alga used widely in biology laboratories as a genetic model organism, can produce a wide range of human therapeutic proteins in greater quantity and more cheaply than bacteria or mammalian cells.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Repair damaged eyes with stem cell discs
 Futurity ^ | December 11, 2012 | Amy Stone-Sheffield 

Futurity.org &#8211; Repair damaged eyes with stem cell discs



> U. SHEFFIELD (UK) &#8212; Engineers have developed a new technique to graft a biodegradable disc loaded with stem cells onto damaged eyes.
> 
> The team at the University of Sheffield describes the method, which involves producing membranes to assist with grafting, in the journal Acta Biomaterialia. The goal is to treat damage to the cornea, the transparent layer on the front of the eye, which is one of the major causes of blindness in the world.
> 
> Using a combination of techniques known as microstereolithography and electrospinning, the researchers made a disc of biodegradable material that can be fixed over the cornea. The disc is loaded with stem cells that multiply, allowing the body to heal the eye naturally.
> Straight from the Source
> 
> Read the original study
> 
> DOI: 10.1016/j.actbio.2012.10.039
> 
> &#8220;The disc has an outer ring containing pockets into which stem cells taken from the patient&#8217;s healthy eye can be placed,&#8221; explains Ílida Ortega Asencio. &#8220;The material across the center of the disc is thinner than the ring, so it will biodegrade more quickly allowing the stem cells to proliferate across the surface of the eye to repair the cornea.&#8221;
> 
> A key feature of the disc is that it contains niches or pockets to house and protect the stem cells, mirroring niches found around the rim of a healthy cornea.
> 
> Standard treatments for corneal blindness are corneal transplants or grafting stem cells onto the eye using donor human amniotic membrane as a temporary carrier to deliver these cells to the eye. For some patients, the treatment can fail after a few years as the repaired eyes do not retain these stem cells, which are required to carry out on-going repair of the cornea.
> 
> Without this constant repair, thick white scar tissue forms across the cornea causing partial or complete sight loss. The researchers designed the small pockets built into the membrane to help cells group together and act as a useful reservoir of daughter cells so that a healthy population of stem cells can be retained in the eye.
> 
> &#8220;One advantage of our design is that we have made the disc from materials already in use as biodegradable sutures in the eye, so we know they won&#8217;t cause a problem in the body,&#8221; says Sheila MacNeil.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Wearable computers to monitor health *



> Dr. Roozbeh Jafari, assistant professor of electrical engineering at UT Dallas, is developing wearable wireless computers that are about the size of a button. At that size, the system can be easily worn on the body, opening possibilities to improved health monitoring for the elderly and assistance in determining changes in medication dosage needs.


 Read more at: Wearable computers to monitor health


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Virus rebuilds heart's own pacemaker in animal tests*

Health and science reporter, BBC News



> Researchers created a new pacemaker inside the heart
> 
> A new pacemaker has been built inside a heart by converting beating muscle into cells which can organise the organ's rhythm, US researchers report.
> 
> The heartbeat is controlled by electrical signals and if these go awry the consequences can be fatal.
> 
> Scientists injected a genetically-modified virus into guinea pigs to turn part of their heart into a new, working pacemaker.
> 
> The study was published in the journal Nature Biotechnology.
> 
> A human heart is made up of billions of cells, but researchers say fewer than 10,000 are responsible for controlling the heartbeat.
> 
> Age and disease can lead to problems such as the heart pumping too fast or too slow - and it can even stop completely, in what is known as a cardiac arrest.
> 
> The solution is an implanted battery-powered pacemaker which will jolt the heart to keep it in line.
> Dr Cho added: "Electronic devices are limited to their finite battery life, requiring battery changes.
> 
> "Complications such as displacement, breakage, entanglement of the leads are not uncommon and could be catastrophic, the incidence of devices with bacterial infection keeps going up and, for paediatric patients, the device does not 'grow' with the patients.



BBC News - Virus rebuilds heart's own pacemaker in animal tests


----------



## ScienceRocks

http://www.news24.co...Jaa8hY.facebook



Gene turns heart cells into 'pacemaker'
 2012-12-16 22:22



> Paris - A gene inserted into ordinary heart cells transformed them into rare "pacemaker" cells that regulate cardiac rhythm, according to experiments carried out on lab rodents.
> The research is a step toward the goal of a biological fix for irregular heartbeat, which at present is tackled by drugs or electronic pacemakers, its investigators said.
> The heart has 10 billion cells but fewer than 10 000 of them are pacemaker cells, which generate electrical activity that spreads to other cardiac cells, making the organ contract rhythmically and pump blood.
> The work, reported in the journal Nature Biotechology on Sunday, uses a virus to deliver a human gene called Tbx18, whose normal role is to coax immature cells into becoming pacemaker cells.
> Ordinary cells "infected" by the harmless Trojan horse were reprogrammed by Tbx 18 and became these important specialised cells.
> "The new cells generated electrical impulses spontaneously and were indistinguishable from native pacemaker cells," said Hee Cheol Cho at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute in Los Angeles, California.
> The promising technique builds on decade-long research into biological pacemakers. So it has so far been tested on guinea pigs and rats.
> *"We expect this to work in humans. It would be two to three years from now until the first clinical trial, the first target patients being the ones with pacemaker device infection,"* Cho said in an email to AFP.



A biological pace maker that doesn't poison you and doesn't demand a new battery.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Nanotechnology allows scientists to capture and preserve cancer cells circulating in the bloodstream *
December 17, 2012 




> A new-generation nano-platform capable of capturing circulating tumor cells and releasing them at reduced temperature. Credit: RIKEN Scientists from the RIKEN Advanced Science Institute in Japan and University of California Los Angeles report a new nanoscale Velcro-like device that captures and releases tumor cells that have broken away from primary tumors and are circulating in the bloodstream. This new nanotechnology could be used for cancer diagnosis and give insight into the mechanisms of how cancer spreads throughout the body.
> 
> The device provides a convenient and non-invasive alternative to biopsy, the current method for diagnosis of metastatic cancer. It could enable doctors to detect tumor cells that circulate in cancer patients' blood well before they subsequently colonize as tumors in other organs. The device also enables researchers to keep the tumor cells alive and subsequently study them.





Read more at: Nanotechnology allows scientists to capture and preserve cancer cells circulating in the bloodstream


The things that we will be able to do with Nano tech is pretty cool within the next 20 years.

======


*Nanoparticles amplify tumor signals, making them much easier to detect in the urine*

*Finding ways to diagnose cancer earlier could greatly improve the chances of survival for many patients. One way to do this is to look for specific proteins secreted by cancer cells, which circulate in the bloodstream. However, the quantity of these biomarkers is so low that detecting them has proven difficult. 

 A new technology developed at MIT may help to make biomarker detection much easier. The researchers, led by Sangeeta Bhatia, have developed nanoparticles that can home to a tumor and interact with cancer proteins to produce thousands of biomarkers, which can then be easily detected in the patient's urine. This biomarker amplification system could also be used to monitor disease progression and track how tumors respond to treatment, says Bhatia, the John and Dorothy Wilson Professor of Health Sciences and Technology and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT.*

 Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-12-nanoparticles-amplify-tumor-easier-urine.html#jCp


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Hybrid tunnel may help guide severed nerves back to health* 


Hybrid tunnel may help guide severed nerves back to health | News | R&D Magazine



> A design that incorporates a soft hydrogel external wall and a conducting polymer as a supporting internal wall may serve as a tunnel to reconnect severed nerves. Image: Mohammad Reza AbdianBuilding a tunnel made up of both hard and soft materials to guide the reconnection of severed nerve endings may be the first step toward helping patients who have suffered extensive nerve trauma regain feeling and movement, according to a team of biomedical engineers.
> 
> "Nerve injury in both central nervous system and peripheral nervous system is a major health problem," says Mohammad Reza Abidian, assistant professor of biomedical engineering, Penn State University. "According to the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center, there are approximately 290,000 individuals in the U.S. who suffer from spinal cord injuries with about 12,000 new injuries occurring each year."


----------



## ScienceRocks

Research proves bacteria to blame for obesity
Updated: 2012-12-19 07:59
By Wang Hongyi in Shanghai ( China Daily)



> The battle of the bulge can be frustrating, with small victories overshadowed by major losses.
> 
> But research may bring some comfort. Bacteria, and not just gluttony or laziness, may be to blame. The bacteria can actually make genes generate fat.
> 
> Scientists have believed that microscopic living organisms in the gut, microbiota, might play a crucial role in gaining weight but were never able to prove it.
> 
> Groundbreaking research by a Chinese scientist has revealed a precise link.


Research proves bacteria to blame for obesity[1]|chinadaily.com.cn


----
*Are bacteria making you hungry?*
December 19, 2012 



> Over the last half decade, it has become increasingly clear that the normal gastrointestinal (GI) bacteria play a variety of very important roles in the biology of human and animals. Now Vic Norris of the University of Rouen, France, and coauthors propose yet another role for GI bacteria: that they exert some control over their hosts' appetites. Their review was published online ahead of print in the Journal of Bacteriology.



http://phys.org/news/2012-12-bacteria-hungry.html

----

*Scientists develop new compound that reverses fatty liver disease*
December 19, 2012 



> (Phys.org)&#8212;Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have developed the first synthetic compound that can reverse the effects of a serious metabolic condition known as fatty liver disease. True to its name, the disease involves an abnormal buildup of fat in the liver.
> 
> The compound&#8212;known as SR9238&#8212;is the first to effectively suppress lipid or fat production in the liver, eliminating inflammation and reversing fat accumulation in animal models of fatty liver disease. The new compound also significantly lowered total cholesterol levels, although precisely how that occurred remains something of a mystery.
> 
> "We've been working on a pair of natural proteins called LXR&#945; and LXR&#946; that stimulate fat production in the liver, and we thought our compound might be able to successfully suppress this process," said Thomas Burris, a professor at TSRI who led the study, which was recent published in an online edition of the journal ACS Chemical Biology. "Once the animals were put on the drug, we were able to reverse the disease after a single month with no adverse side effects&#8212;while they ate a high-fat diet."
> 
> Fatty liver, which often accompanies obesity and type 2 diabetes, frequently leads to more serious conditions including cirrhosis and liver cancer. The condition affects some 10 to 24 percent of the general population, according to a 2003 study in GUT, an international journal of gastroenterology and hepatology.



http://phys.org/news/2012-12-scientists-compound-reverses-fatty-liver.html


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Cell Division May Prevent Cancer *

By Staff Reporter | Dec 18, 2012 05:11 AM EST

Cell Division May Prevent Cancer : news : NatureWorldNews


> A new type of cell division that could help scientists prevent cancer has been found, researchers at the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center have revealed in a study.
> 
> The study findings, presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Cell Biology in San Francisco Monday, suggest that the new form of cell division, named klerokinesis, acts as a natural mechanism against uncontrolled cell division that causes cancer.





> Researchers found the new cell division while studying human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells to establish the age-old hypothesis of German cell biology pioneer Theodor Boveri that aneuploidy, a condition of abnormal number of chromosomes in a cell, would lead to out-of-control cell division, causing cancer.



====


*Toward a pill to enable celiac patients to eat foods containing gluten*
December 19, 2012 



> Scientists are reporting an advance toward development of a pill that could become celiac disease's counterpart to the lactase pills that people with lactose intolerance can take to eat dairy products without risking digestive upsets. They describe the approach, which involves an enzyme that breaks down the gluten that causes celiac symptoms, in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.



http://phys.org/news/2012-12-pill-enable-celiac-patients-foods.html


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists develop potential anti-aging formula (for mice)*



> Whether we call it the fountain of youth, or just a beauty potion, humanity has long been on the hunt for a magic elixir to ward off the effects of aging. Now a research team in China has reportedly come up with what they believe could in fact be a real anti-aging formula.
> 
> Presented by scientists at the University of Hong Kong, this new formula was developed during research designed to explore the effects of progeria, a genetic disease that gives infants an aged appearance due to stunted growth, hair loss, a reduction in body fat, and other complications. The researchers identified a mutation in the Lamin A protein as the primary culprit in the body's process of repairing cells in a normal fashion, leading to rapid aging. In experiments on mice with progeria, the researchers found that binding
> Lamin A and SIRT1 (the gene associated with longevity) along with resveratrol (a compound found in red wine and believed to have antioxidant properties) allowed them to extend the lives of the mice by up to 30 percent.


Scientists develop potential anti-aging formula (for mice) | DVICE


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Ultrasound method could lead to non-invasive surgical knife*

20 December 2012




> A carbon-nanotube-coated lens that converts light to sound can focus high-pressure sound waves to finer points than ever before, claim researchers in the US.
> 
> Michigan University engineering researchers who developed the new therapeutic ultrasound approach said in a statement that* it could lead to an invisible knife for non-invasive surgery.*
> 
> Ultrasound technology enables far more than glimpses into the womb as doctors routinely use focused sound waves to destroy kidney stones and prostate tumours.




Read more: Ultrasound method could lead to non-invasive surgical knife | News | The Engineer


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Trojan-horse therapy 'completely eliminates' cancer in mice*
By James Gallagher




> An experimental "Trojan-horse" cancer therapy has completely eliminated prostate cancer in experiments on mice, according to UK researchers.
> 
> The team hid cancer killing viruses inside the immune system in order to sneak them into a tumour.
> 
> Once inside, a study in the journal Cancer Research showed, tens of thousands of viruses were released to kill the cancerous cells.
> 
> Experts labelled the study "exciting," but human tests are still needed.



BBC News - Trojan-horse therapy 'completely eliminates' cancer in mice


Sure, seems to be a lot of good news on this front. Thank god!


----------



## ScienceRocks

Wearable touchscreen lets doctors monitor patients remotel

 


> Some of the coolest sci-fi medical scenes show an injured person being monitored via some sort of slick visual interface controlled by a handheld device. Now a new product brings us a huge step closer towards that reality by delivering a wearable health monitor that doctors can check from their smartphones.
> 
> Developed by Sotera Wireless, the ViSi Mobile Monitor is a small health monitor with a colorful touchscreen display that can be strapped to a patient's arm to monitor their vitals in real-time. The device keeps an eye on blood pressure, heart and pulse rate, respiration rate, and skin temperature and includes the patient's name on the display as well as a dynamic graphic showing their current health status at a glance. The ViSi's wireless operation and small size means that it isn't limited to use in a hospital or an ambulance, and the patient can move around independently while health data continues to be collected by the device, which is also waterproof.
> 
> According to the developers, doctors can check the patient's vital signs remotely on standard PC, tablet, or smartphone, although the company hasn't announced which operating systems it supports. Nevertheless, Sotera recently received clearance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to sell the device to hospitals, which means we'll probably start seeing this amazing technology in the wild very soon.


Wearable touchscreen lets doctors monitor patients remotely | DVICE


----------



## ScienceRocks

Simple eye scan can reveal extent of Multiple Sclerosi
BBC ^ | 24 Dec 2012 

BBC News - Simple eye scan can reveal extent of Multiple Sclerosis



> A simple eye test may offer a fast and easy way to monitor patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), medical experts say in the journal Neurology.
> 
> Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is a scan that measures the thickness of the lining at the back of the eye - the retina.
> 
> It takes a few minutes per eye and can be performed in a doctor's surgery.
> 
> In a trial involving 164 people with MS, those with thinning of their retina had earlier and more active MS.
> 
> The team of researchers from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine say larger trials with a long follow up are needed to judge how useful the test might be in everyday practice.
> 
> The latest study tracked the patients' disease progression over a two-year period...


----------



## ScienceRocks

*LifeBot 5 &#8211; The Portable Emergency Room*








> In emergency care every second counts. LifeBot, the telemedicine unit that connects ambulances to hospitals with patient data and live video feeds, has just got even more mobile. No longer confined to the ambulance, the new version, LifeBot 5, is a lightweight portable unit that can go anywhere critical care is needed.
> 
> LifeBot originally served to relay realtime data between ambulance EMTs and emergency physicians at the hospital. EMTs could receive remote instructions and the hospital could get a head start on preparations for the inbound patient. Two cameras captured both the LifeBot operator and the patient and enabled webcam communication. LifeBot 5 adds to the original system to deliver a more complete monitoring system.
> 
> LifeBot&#8217;s Interceptor is a medical electronics module that enables full physiological monitoring of the patient. In addition to voice and video transmission, the Interceptor has leads for ECG, monitors heart rate and blood pressure, blood oxygen levels and body temperature. And to complement the movement toward medical record digitization, LifeBot 5 is equipped with Electronic Patient Call Report (ePCR), a web browser interface that provides access to Electronic Health Record systems. Its communication system, Disaster Relief and Emergency Medical Services, or DREAMS, has been field tested aboard five ambulances in Liberty County Texas for over six years now.
> 
> And the best part is that the new unit weighs just 15 pounds and has been ruggedized so it can be taken anywhere.


LifeBot 5


----------



## ScienceRocks

*A new way to build collagen scaffolds *



> Tufts University School of Engineering researchers have developed a novel method for fabricating collagen structures that maintains the collagen's natural strength and fiber structure, making it useful for a number of biomedical applications.
> 
> Collagen, the most abundant protein in the body, is widely used to build scaffolds for tissue engineering because it is biocompatible and biodegradable. Collagen is, however, hard to work with in its natural form because it is largely insoluble in water, and common processing techniques reduce its strength and disrupt its fibrous structure.
> 
> The Tufts engineers' new technique, called bioskiving, creates collagen structures from thin sheets of decellularized tendon stacked with alternating fiber directions that maintain much of collagen's natural strength.
> 
> Bioskiving does not dilute collagen's natural properties, says Qiaobing Xu, assistant professor of biomedical engineering, and inventor of the new technique. "Our method leverages collagen's native attributes to take advantage of the well-organized micro/nanostructures that nature already provides," he says.
> 
> Xu and Kyle Alberti, a PhD student in Xu's laboratory, describe their technology in the paper "Slicing, Stacking and Rolling: Fabrication of Nanostructured Collagen Constructs from Tendon Sections" published online in Advanced Healthcare Materials.


A new way to build collagen scaffolds | News | R&D Magazine


----------



## ScienceRocks

Panda blood compound 6x more powerful than current antibiotics



> In what could be either very good news or very bad news for our fluffy black and white friends, it's been discovered that panda blood contains an antibiotic compound that's vastly more powerful than anything we've got right now.
> 
> Researchers at the Life Sciences College of Nanjing Agricultural University in China have extracted a compound called cathelicidin-AM from the blood of giant pandas. Cathelicidin-AM is what's called a gene-encoded antimicrobial peptide, a natural antibiotic that's produced by a panda's immune cells. Testing has shown that cathelicidin-AM can kill even drug resistant strains of bacteria and fungi, and it can do in one hour what conventional antibiotics can barely do in six, without causing nearly as much resistance.


Panda blood compound 6x more powerful than current antibiotics | DVICE

Maybe we could clone some of this blood?


----------



## ScienceRocks

*The Petri Dish: Vaccines the next frontier in fighting cancer*
Summit Daily News 


> In previous articles, I have focused on vaccines as a highly effective public health tool in the battle against infectious disease. What may be less obvious is that vaccines can also be developed that harness the immune system to control cancer. While anti-cancer vaccines are less advanced than traditional vaccines against infectious disease, recent scientific breakthroughs are offering considerable hope for the future.
> 
> Cancer vaccines fall into two major categories. The first category acts against cancers that are caused by infectious agents, such as viruses. One such example is the human papilloma virus, which can sometimes cause cervical cancer. A recently developed vaccine against this virus prevents infection and the subsequent incidence of cervical cancer. Another example is the hepatitis B vaccine, which prevents infection by the hepatitis B virus and reduces the incidence of certain liver cancers. Several other infection-related cancers may also succumb to this strategy. Unfortunately, the cancers that can be controlled by this type of vaccine are relatively few.



The Petri Dish: Vaccines the next frontier in fighting cancer | SummitDaily.com


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Promising Compound Restores Memory Loss and Reverses Symptoms of Alzheimer's in Mice*

Promising compound restores memory loss and reverses symptoms of Alzheimer's in mice


> A new ray of hope has broken through the clouded outcomes associated with Alzheimer's disease. A new research report published in January 2013 print issue of the FASEB Journal by scientists from the National Institutes of Health shows that when a molecule called TFP5 is injected into mice with disease that is the equivalent of human Alzheimer's, symptoms are reversed and memory is restored -- without obvious toxic side effects.
> 
> To make this discovery, Pant and colleagues used mice with a disease considered the equivalent of Alzheimer's. One set of these mice were injected with the small molecule TFP5, while the other was injected with saline as placebo. The mice, after a series of intraperitoneal injections of TFP5, displayed a substantial reduction in the various disease symptoms along with restoration of memory loss. In addition, the mice receiving TFP5 injections experienced no weight loss, neurological stress (anxiety) or signs of toxicity. The disease in the placebo mice, however, progressed normally as expected. TFP5 was derived from the regulator of a key brain enzyme, called Cdk5. The over activation of Cdk5 is implicated in the formation of plaques and tangles, the major hallmark of Alzheimer's disease.


----------



## ScienceRocks

'Good progress' after first UK hand transplant 
By James Gallagher



> A former pub landlord from West Yorkshire has become the first person in the UK to have a hand transplant.
> 
> Mark Cahill, who is 51, had been unable to use his right hand after it was affected by gout.
> 
> Doctors say he is making good progress after an eight-hour operation at Leeds General Infirmary.
> 
> It is still very early to assess how much control of the hand will be gained - so far he can wiggle his fingers, but has no sense of touch.


BBC News - 'Good progress' after first UK hand transplant


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Dopamine-receptor gene variant linked to human longevity*

A variant of a gene associated with active personality traits in humans seems to also be involved with living a longer life, UC Irvine and other researchers have found.

Dopamine-receptor gene variant linked to human longevity


> This derivative of a dopamine-receptor gene &#8211; called the DRD4 7R allele &#8211; appears in significantly higher rates in people more than 90 years old and is linked to lifespan increases in mouse studies.
> 
> Robert Moyzis, professor of biological chemistry at UC Irvine, and Dr. Nora Volkow, a psychiatrist who conducts research at the Brookhaven National Laboratory, led a research effort that included data from the UC Irvine-led 90+ Study in Laguna Woods, California. Results appear online in The Journal of Neuroscience.
> 
> The variant gene is part of the dopamine system, which facilitates the transmission of signals among neurons and plays a major role in the brain network responsible for attention and reward-driven learning. The DRD4 7R allele blunts dopamine signaling, which enhances individuals' reactivity to their environment.
> 
> People who carry this variant gene, Moyzis said, seem to be more motivated to pursue social, intellectual and physical activities. The variant is also linked to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, along with addictive and risky behaviors.
> 
> "While the genetic variant may not directly influence longevity," Moyzis said, "it is associated with personality traits that have been shown to be important for living a longer, healthier life. It's been well documented that the more you're involved with social and physical activities, the more likely you'll live longer. It could be as simple as that."
> 
> Numerous studies &#8211; including a number from the 90+ Study &#8211; have confirmed that being active is important for successful aging, and it may deter the advancement of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New pill that 'helps you to stay fit without exercise'*
A new drug that could provide new treatment for a range of obesity related disorders without a need to hit the gym has been developed by scientists. 



> Researchers claim to have created the pill, which they claim provides all the same benefits of exercising without the exertion.
> 
> They claim that a hormone naturally found in muscle cells that triggers the calorie-burning benefits of exercise, may have potential as an obesity-fighting drug.
> 
> The newly identified hormone, called irisin, increases in the body during exercise, boosting energy expenditure and controlling blood glucose levels.
> 
> Medical experts from Harvard Medical School said the new hormone could lead to treatments for obesity, diabetes and even cancer as well as other disorders in which exercise may benefit weaker patients.
> 
> But doctors warned that the pill should not be used to replace exercising.


New pill that 'helps you to stay fit without exercise' - Telegraph


----------



## ScienceRocks

*BodyMedia CORE 2 hands-on*
Chris Davies, Jan 6th 2013 Discuss [0] 



> BodyMedia has revealed its latest health-monitoring system, the CORE 2, the company&#8217;s attempt to slim down its sensor-strap to help wearers slim-down too. Smaller than Apple&#8217;s iPod nano, and yet accommodating four sensors and Bluetooth Smart Ready 4.0, the CORE 2 &#8211; previewed in prototype form at CES 2013 this week &#8211; can funnel fitness stats directly to your smartphone and tablet.
> 
> Temperature, heat flux, galvanic skin response, and a 3-axis accelerometer are all squeezed inside a compact dongle that can be worn on an arm strap or elsewhere on the body. Each sensor tracks data at 5,000 records per minute, and the CORE 2 can be paired with an optional heart-rate monitor strap.


BodyMedia CORE 2 hands-on - SlashGear


----------



## ScienceRocks

Editing the genome: New method allows scientists to insert multiple genes in specific locations, delete defective genes
January 3, 2013 by Anne Trafton 





> Researchers at MIT, the Broad Institute and Rockefeller University have developed a new technique for precisely altering the genomes of living cells by adding or deleting genes. The researchers say the technology could offer an easy-to-use, less-expensive way to engineer organisms that produce biofuels; to design animal models to study human disease; and to develop new therapies, among other potential applications


Editing the genome: New method allows scientists to insert multiple genes in specific locations, delete defective genes


----------



## ScienceRocks

3D colour X-Ray imaging radically improved for identifying contraband, corrosion or cancer
January 7, 2013 



> (Phys.org)&#8212;Scientists at The University of Manchester have developed a camera that can be used to take powerful three dimensional colour X-ray images, in near real-time, without the need for a synchrotron X-ray source.
> 
> 
> Its ability to identify the composition of the scanned object could radically improve security screening at airports, medical imaging, aircraft maintenance, industrial inspection and geophysical exploration.
> 
> The X-Ray system developed by Professor Robert Cernik and colleagues from The School of Materials can identify chemicals and compounds such as cocaine, semtex, precious metals or radioactive materials even when they're contained inside a relatively large object like a suitcase.


3D colour X-Ray imaging radically improved for identifying contraband, corrosion or cancer


----------



## ScienceRocks

*NIST patent could give lab-on-a-chip technology long shelf life *

NIST patent could give lab-on-a-chip technology long shelf life | News | R&D Magazine
Wed, 01/09/2013 - 11:17am 



> A recent NIST patent shows that nanopores, which may one day help doctors perform quick analysis of blood samples, are not harmed by the polymerization process that could help nanopores operate in biochips. Polymerization hardens and stabilizes the membrane surrounding the nanopores, both of which are beneficial effects. Image: Robertson/NIST
> 
> Having blood drawn and analyzed to diagnose disease is a process that can take a few days, but what if your doctor could perform this analysis in moments, right before your eyes? That's the promise of "lab-on-a-chip" technology, and researchers are working on a variety of fronts to remove technical roadblocks. A new idea recently patented by NIST and the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) addresses the issue of sensor shelf life, showing how some such chips might be made to last for months or more until needed.
> 
> NIST's John Kasianowicz has spent decades trying to create technologies that will enable doctors to perform fast, real-time chemical analysis, and one promising approach involves building arrays of tiny pores, each small enough that only one protein or DNA molecule at a time can pass through and be identified. As our bodies respond to infection or other disease states, our cells release different proteins, and measuring the concentrations of these chemicals in a blood sample can provide a quick snapshot of our health. A membrane peppered with large numbers of these &#8220;nanopores&#8221; might give doctors a way to take that snapshot easily, if it could be mounted on a biochip compatible with electronics and computer technologies.


----------



## PixieStix

Matthew said:


> Simple eye scan can reveal extent of Multiple Sclerosi
> BBC ^ | 24 Dec 2012
> 
> BBC News - Simple eye scan can reveal extent of Multiple Sclerosis
> 
> 
> 
> 
> A simple eye test may offer a fast and easy way to monitor patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), medical experts say in the journal Neurology.
> 
> Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is a scan that measures the thickness of the lining at the back of the eye - the retina.
> 
> It takes a few minutes per eye and can be performed in a doctor's surgery.
> 
> In a trial involving 164 people with MS, those with thinning of their retina had earlier and more active MS.
> 
> The team of researchers from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine say larger trials with a long follow up are needed to judge how useful the test might be in everyday practice.
> 
> The latest study tracked the patients' disease progression over a two-year period...
Click to expand...


I do not think this would surprise many ophthalmologists. I was told by quite a few that by looking at the back of the eye, they can tell if a patient has arthritis and even cancers

This can be done the old fashioned way the dr, checks your eyes for scarring ect..

Sometimes trials turn into a scheme for more money for needless surgeries


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Sensory hair cells regenerated, hearing restored in mammal ear*



Medical Press



http://medicalxpress...ted-mammal.html



> Hearing loss is a significant public health problem affecting close to 50 million people in the United States alone. Sensorineural hearing loss is the most common form and is caused by the loss of sensory hair cells in the cochlea. Hair cell loss results from a variety of factors including noise exposure, aging, toxins, infections, and certain antibiotics and anti-cancer drugs. Although hearing aids and cochlear implants can ameliorate the symptoms somewhat, there are no known treatments to restore hearing, because auditory hair cells in mammals, unlike those in birds or fish, do not regenerate once lost. Auditory hair cell replacement holds great promise as a treatment that could restore hearing after loss of hair cells.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Surgeons may use hand gestures to manipulate MRI images in OR* 


Fri, 01/11/2013 - 7:44am 



Surgeons may use hand gestures to manipulate MRI images in OR | News | R&D Magazine



> This table shows hand gestures surgeons might use in the operating room to browse and display medical images of the patient during an operation. Surgeons routinely need to review medical images and records during surgery, but stepping away from the operating table and touching a keyboard and mouse can delay the surgery and increase the risk of spreading infection-causing bacteria.
> 
> 
> Doctors may soon be using a system in the operating room that recognizes hand gestures as commands to tell a computer to browse and display medical images of the patient during a surgery.
> 
> Surgeons routinely need to review medical images and records during surgery, but stepping away from the operating table and touching a keyboard and mouse can delay the procedure and increase the risk of spreading infection-causing bacteria, says Juan Pablo Wachs, an assistant professor of industrial engineering at Purdue University.
> 
> "One of the most ubiquitous pieces of equipment in U.S. surgical units is the computer workstation, which allows access to medical images before and during surgery," he says. "However, computers and their peripherals are difficult to sterilize, and keyboards and mice have been found to be a source of contamination. Also, when nurses or assistants operate the keyboard for the surgeon, the process of conveying information accurately has proven cumbersome and inefficient since spoken dialogue can be time-consuming and leads to frustration and delays in the surgery."


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Can't stop eating? Pump will suck your stomach contents*

Segway inventor Dean Kamen's AspireAssist has helped obese people lose half their excess weight.

Can't stop eating? Pump will suck your stomach contents | Cutting Edge - CNET News



> Meet the "apparatus for treating obesity by extracting food." That's what Dean Kamen's stomach pump is called in a recently granted U.S. patent, and it looks a lot less fun than Kamen's most famous invention, the Segway.
> 
> The good part is you can eat anything you like. The bad part is you have to get a tube put into your stomach and then suck the food out with a gadget called the AspireAssist.
> 
> Kamen and a team of physicians developed the pump as an obesity treatment that's reversible and, as they describe it, "minimally invasive."
> 
> During a 20-minute procedure, users are fitted with a removable stomach valve and a tube that leads from the top of the stomach to the valve's outside port.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Stem cells heal severely damaged artery in lab study*



> Scientists at the Texas Biomedical Research Institute have, for the first time, demonstrated that baboon embryonic stem cells can totally restore a severely damaged artery. These early results show promise for eventually developing stem cell therapies to restore human tissues or organs damaged by age or disease.
> 
> 
> John VandeBerg, Ph.D., Texas Biomed's chief scientific officer: "We first cultured the stem cells in petri dishes under special conditions to make them differentiate into cells that are the precursors of blood vessels, and we saw that we could get them to form tubular and branching structures, similar to blood vessels."
> 
> This finding gave VandeBerg and his team the confidence to do more complex experiments, to find out if these cells could actually heal a damaged artery. The results are published in the Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine.
> 
> The scientists found that cells derived from embryonic stem cells could actually repair experimentally damaged baboon arteries and "are promising therapeutic agents for repairing damaged vasculature of people," according to the authors.
> 
> Researchers completely removed the cells that line the inside surface from a segment of artery, and then put cells that had been derived from embryonic stem cells inside the artery. They then connected both ends of the arterial segment to plastic tubing inside a device called a bioreactor which is designed to grow cells and tissues. The scientists then pumped fluid through the artery under pressure as if blood were flowing through it. The outside of the artery was bathed in another fluid to sustain the cells located there.
> 
> Three days later, the complex structure of the inner surface was beginning to regenerate, and by 14 days, the inside of the artery had been perfectly restored to its complex natural state. It went from a non-functional tube to a complex fully functional artery.


 
Stem cells heal severely damaged artery in lab study


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## ScienceRocks

*Pill-sized scanner images gullet The scanner uses infrared to create images *

BBC News - Pill-sized scanner images gullet


> Doctors have made a pill-sized device that can take detailed microscopic images of inside the gullet.
> 
> It is hoped the US technology could become an easier way of screening people for a condition called Barrett's oesophagus, which can lead to cancer.
> 
> Unlike current imaging techniques, the device can be used while the patient is conscious and takes only a few minutes.
> 
> The device has been tested in a small number of patients so far, Nature Medicine reports.
> 
> Although researchers at Wellman Center for Photomedicine at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston say the device has potentially wide application, it could be particularly useful for Barrett's oesophagus where many people do not realise they have it, but there is no easy way to screen for it.


----------



## RoadVirus

Matthew said:


> *Pill-sized scanner images gullet The scanner uses infrared to create images *
> 
> BBC News - Pill-sized scanner images gullet



Cool stuff.

Now we need a pill that can scan for prostate cancer instead of that unspeakable horror that is the only current way.


----------



## ScienceRocks

We sure can hope so...Soon!



*Major step toward an Alzheimer's vaccine*
Major step toward an Alzheimer's vaccine



> A team of researchers from Université Laval, CHU de Québec, and pharmaceutical firm GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has discovered a way to stimulate the brain's natural defence mechanisms in people with Alzheimer's disease.
> 
> This major breakthrough &#8211; published in the 15th January early edition of PNAS &#8211; opens the door to a new treatment for Alzheimer's disease and a vaccine to prevent the illness.
> 
> One of the main characteristics of Alzheimer's is the production in the brain of a toxic molecule known as amyloid beta. Microglial cells, the nervous system's defenders, are unable to eliminate this substance, which forms deposits called senile plaques (illustrated above).
> 
> The team led by Dr. Serge Rivest identified a molecule that stimulates activity of the brain's immune cells. The molecule, known as MPL (monophosphoryl lipid A), has been used extensively as a vaccine adjuvant by GSK for many years, and its safety is already well established.
> 
> In mice with Alzheimer's symptoms, weekly injections of MPL over a 12-week period eliminated up to 80% of senile plaques. In addition, tests measuring the mice's ability to learn new tasks showed significant improvement in cognitive function over the same period.
> 
> The researchers see two potential uses for MPL in humans. It could be administered by intramuscular injection, to slow the progression of the illness. It could also be incorporated into a vaccine designed to stimulate the production of antibodies against amyloid beta.
> 
> "The vaccine could be given to people who already have the disease to stimulate their natural immunity," said Dr. Rivest. "It could also be administered as a preventive measure to people with risk factors for Alzheimer's disease."
> 
> With an 80% reduction in protein deposits, this method is even more successful than another breakthrough which was reported last year, in which turning off cytokines (immune system signal transmitters) reduced plaques in mice by 65%. How well this translates into humans, of course, remains to be seen.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Gene therapy has potential to nullify HIV, prevent AIDS*

Evan Ackerman

Friday, January 18, 2013 - 5:13pm

Gene therapy has potential to nullify HIV, prevent AIDS | DVICE


> .
> 
> A paper being published in the peer-reviewed journal Human Gene Therapy by researchers from the Queensland Institute of Medical Research suggests that genetic therapy, targeting one specific protein in HIV, may impede replication of the virus to the extent that HIV-infected humans will never develop AIDS.
> 
> The study is focused on a single protein that HIV depends on to make more of itself, called Tat. Researchers have developed a mutant form of Tat, called Nullbasic, that when introduced into an HIV cell by a retrovirus (purpose-built to sneak into viruses and hack their genetic code) prevents HIV from replicating. You can think of it a little bit like a book of instructions that each HIV cell has, telling it how to replicate: the Tat protein makes up three important pages of that book, but the retrovirus can get into the book without HIV noticing and rewrite those three pages with Nullbasic instead, which screws up the replication process. Testing on cultured human cells suggests that this technique works very, very well; here's the really meaty bit from the abstract:


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Non-coding Mutations May Drive Cancer *
The Scientist ^ | January 24, 2013 | Dan Cossins 

Non-coding Mutations May Drive Cancer | The Scientist Magazine®



> The majority of human melanomas contain mutations in a gene promoter, suggesting mutations in regulatory regions may spur some cancers.
> 
> 
> Human metastatic melanoma cellsWIKIMEDIA, NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE
> 
> Mutations in the regulatory, or non-coding, regions of the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) gene&#8212;a cancer-associated gene that encodes a component of telomerase, an enzyme known to help protect the ends of chromosomes and support cell longevity&#8212;may be at the root of most melanomas, according to two papers published today (January 24) in Science.
> 
> In both studies, researchers identified mutations that created new binding sites in the TERT promoter for particular transcription factors and resulted in increased transcriptional activity at the TERT promoter, which may in turn lead to increased expression of the gene and the endless cell division characteristic of cancer cells. The findings suggest that mutations in regulatory parts of the genome, in addition to those in protein-coding sequences, may be a key mechanism causing the growth of certain types of cancer.
> 
> &#8220;I am excited by the finding that regulatory mutations can apparently act as drivers of carcinogenesis,&#8221; Elaine Mardis, a cancer geneticist and co-director of the Genome Institute at Washington University, Missouri, who was not involved in the research, said in an email. &#8220;This is great news for labs like ours that have always emphasized the importance of whole genome sequencing over exome or targeted sequencing.&#8221;
> 
> Until recently, sequencing efforts focused almost exclusively on the protein encoding regions of cancer genomes, due to the high cost of whole genome sequencing and the fact that it&#8217;s easier to identify effects of mutations in protein-coding genes. As a result, scientists have identified many recurrent mutations in protein-coding regions that contribute to cancer development, but very few in non-coding regions.
> 
> To see if tumor genomes also harbor mutations in these under-explored regulatory regions, Franklin Huang and Eran Hodis of Harvard Medical School and colleagues took a closer look at whole genome sequences of malignant melanomas published last May. Sure enough, they found two somatic mutations, which they called C228T and C250T, in the TERT promoter region in 71 percent of the tumors they analysed&#8212;making them more common than the known melanoma mutations in the coding regions of the genes BRAF and RNAS.
> 
> &#8220;The fact that these mutations occur so frequently near what is a very important gene in cancer development was unexpected, but it was staring us in the face,&#8221; said Hodis.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*UM docs perform first FDA-approved Schwann cell transplant*

UM docs perform first FDA-approved Schwann cell transplant « Florida Biotechnology News

Quote



> The first-ever FDA-approved Schwann cell transplantation in a patient with a new spinal cord injury has been performed by doctors from The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis. The procedure, performed at the UM/Jackson Memorial Medical Center, is a Phase 1 clinical trial designed to evaluate the safety and feasibility of transplanting the patient&#8217;s own Schwann cells.





> &#8220;This historic clinical trial represents a giant step forward in a field of medicine where each tangible step has tremendous value. This trial, and these first patients in this trial specifically, are extremely important to our mission of curing paralysis,&#8221; said neurosurgeon Barth Green, M.D., Co-Founder and Chairman of The Miami Project, and Professor and Chair of Neurological Surgery. &#8220;The Miami Project team includes hundreds of scientists, clinicians, and technicians who have joined hands to make the &#8216;impossible possible,&#8217; for which this trial is a key goal and dream now being realized. This achievement reaffirms that the tens of millions of dollars and the incalculable work hours were well invested in this first of a kind human Schwann cell project.&#8221;




Wow, another advancement made possible by the WHITE man. I know my tech and science history very well. ---> http://www.miamiproject.miami.edu/page.aspx?pid=333 Most of the medical and physic advancement of the past 300 years wouldn't of been made without the white man.

Not saying Asians, Indians and middle easterns didn't advance anything...But seriously within these two important fields. Who can argue?


----------



## ScienceRocks

*FDA gives green light to RP-VITA hospital robot*
January 25, 2013 by Nancy Owano  




> (Phys.org)&#8212;The FDA has approved RP-VITA from iRobot and InTouch Health. This is an autonomous medical robot which will be able to make its rounds of hospital corridors in the U.S. within the next few months. The RP-VITA robot, to cost hospitals between $4,000 and $6,000 a month to operate, has the distinction of being an autonomous moving, telepresence robot that can allow doctors remotely to interact with their hospital patients.
> Autonomous movement is a key feature, as now doctors remotely can direct the robot to anywhere in a hospital. Analysts see this as an important step in the potential use of robots in real-world settings beyond the military. The robot is seen as helping busy hospitals leverage remote presence as part of their routine.
> 
> The RP-Vita has built-in mapping, obstacle detection, avoidance technology. Translation: the RP-VITA avoids smashing into objects and people through its use of lasers, sonar, and sensors. The human-sized robot is a 5-foot-6-inch device, and its "face" is a screen.


FDA gives green light to RP-VITA hospital robot


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## ScienceRocks

*Researchers identify new target for rheumatoid arthritis*
 January 25, 2013 in Arthritis & Rheumatism 



> Co-senior author and Program Director Carl Blobel, M.D., Ph.D., works with collaborator Lionel Ivashkiv, M.D., in the Arthritis and Tissue Degeneration Program lab at Hospital for Special Surgery. Credit: Hospital for Special Surgery/ Robert Essel Photography Researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery have identified a potential new target for drugs to treat patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a protein known as IRHOM2. The finding could provide an effective and potentially less toxic alternative therapy to tumor necrosis factor-alpha blockers (TNF-blockers), the mainstay of treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, and could help patients who do not respond to this treatment. Efforts to develop drugs that hone in on this new target are underway.
> 
> "This study is an elegant example of the capacity of basic science cell biologists to work with translational rheumatologists to address a clinically relevant question at a basic level," said Jane Salmon, M.D., Collette Kean Research Chair and co-director, Mary Kirkland Center for Lupus Research at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York City, and an author of the study. "We have identified a clinically relevant target that can be applied to patients in the near term." The study will appear online, ahead of print, on January 25, in the Journal of Clinical Investigation and in the February 2013 print issue.
> 
> Read more at: http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-rheumatoid-arthritis.html#jCp


 Read more at: Researchers identify new target for rheumatoid arthritis


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Needles to become a thing of the even-more-distant past*

Travis Andrews

Saturday, January 26, 2013 - 4:57pm



.


> Though my doctor hasn't gotten the note, needles are increasingly becoming a thing of the past. Weve replaced them with silk, with programmable hyposprays and now with lasers. Yet my good ol' doc insists on having this lovely nurse take a two-inch metal member of the arm-pain syndicate and stick it into my biceps.
> 
> The new technology is a laser-based system that shoots drugs through the skin in pulses of 250 millionths of a second each, making it completely painless if even noticeable. Not to mention the fact that it doesnt cause any actual tissue damage (meaning its not just masked pain; there simply isnt any reason to hurt).
> 
> While getting a flu shot isn't comfortable, this has further reaching implications for those folks who have to self-administer medicine on a regular basis, as it is with something like diabetes. And, sure, it doesnt hurt all that much. But over 20 million Americans have a needle phobia, which is some pretty serious stuff.


Needles become a thing of the even-more-distant past | DVICE


----------



## ScienceRocks

Star Trek style 'tractor beam' created by scientists The 'tractor beam' is hoped to have medical applications 



> A real-life "tractor beam", which uses light to attract objects, has been developed by scientists.
> 
> It is hoped it could have medical applications by targeting and attracting individual cells.
> 
> The research, published in Nature Photonics and led by the University of St Andrews, is limited to moving microscopic particles.
> 
> In science fiction programmes such as Star Trek, tractor beams are used to move much more massive objects.



BBC News - Star Trek style 'tractor beam' created by scientists


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists restore brain function to stroke-affected rats*



> Stem cells from bone marrow or fat can improve recovery after stroke in rats, according to a study published in BioMed Central's open access journal Stem Cell Research & Therapy. Treatment with stem cells improved the amount of brain and nerve repair and the ability of the animals to complete behavioural tasks.
> 
> 
> Stroke is among the leading causes of death worldwide, killing 5.7 million each year (just under 10% of total deaths). Approximately 9 million people had a stroke in 2008 and 30 million people have previously had a stroke and are still alive.
> 
> Stem cell therapy holds enormous promise for the future, but there are many questions which need to be answered regarding treatment protocols and which cell types to use. This study attempted to address some of these questions.
> 
> Rats were treated intravenously with stem cells or saline 30 minutes after a stroke. At 24 hours, the stem cell-treated rats showed a better functional recovery. By two weeks, the animals had near-normal scores in tests. This improvement was seen even though the stem cells did not actually migrate to the damaged area of brain. The treated rats also had higher levels of biomarkers implicated in brain repair &#8211; including the growth factor VEGF.
> 
> A positive result was seen for both fat (adipose) and bone-marrow derived stem cells. Dr Exuperio Díez-Tejedor from La Paz University Hospital, explained: "Improved recovery was seen regardless of origin of the stem cells, which may increase the usefulness of this treatment in human trials. Adipose-derived cells in particular are abundant and easy to collect without invasive surgery."



http://www.futuretimeline.net/blog/2013/01/29-2.htm


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## ScienceRocks

*Team Of Doctors Successfully Perform Double Arm Transplant On Veteran*






> The most extensive bilateral arm transplant to date has been successfully achieved thanks to an interdisciplinary team of doctors and nurses at John Hopkins Hospital. The operation, which was performed on December 18, lasted 13 hours and involved 16 physicians from orthopedics, vascular medicine, plastic surgery, and other disciplines from five hospitals.
> 
> 
> 
> Today, the 26-year-old patient, Sergeant Brendan Marrocco, can flex his left arm at the elbow along with slightly rotating his wrist, though the feeling in his hands have not returned.
> 
> 
> 
> In 2009, Sergeant Marrocco was driving an armored vehicle outside Baghdad when it was hit by a roadside bomb. He awoke at the Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington and found that all of his limbs had to be amputated, though he retained more of his left arm than his right. Though Brendan was the first soldier to survive as a quadruple amputee, he elected for the transplant surgery in order to be able to someday drive and get into athletics again, possibly even hand cycling a marathon.
> 
> 
> 
> Brendan now joins a growing list of patients worldwide to receive double arm transplants and becomes only the seventh to do so in the US. As doctors become more confident in the procedure and collaborate with various specialists, these double transplants will likely increase. A widely reported story last fall of a Texas woman who lost all of her limbs due to an invasive streptococcal infection (the flesh-eating bacteria) has been approved to also receive a double arm transplant, and was last known to be waiting for a donor.


 



http://singularityhu...ant-on-veteran/


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Caught in the act: Researchers capture key moments in cell death*



http://www.eurekaler...h-cit013113.php



February 2, 2013



Quote



> Scientists at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute have for the first time visualised the molecular changes in a critical cell death protein that force cells to die.
> 
> 
> The finding provides important insights into how cell death occurs, and could lead to new classes of medicines that control whether diseased cells live or die.
> 
> Cell death, called apoptosis, is important for controlling the number of cells in the body. Defects in cell death have been linked to the development of diseases such as cancer and neurodegenerative conditions. Insufficient cell death can cause cancer by allowing cells to become immortal while excessive cell death of neurons may be a cause of neurodegenerative conditions.
> 
> Dr Peter Czabotar, Professor Peter Colman and colleagues in the institute's Structural Biology division, together with Dr Dana Westphal from the institute's Molecular Genetics of Cancer division, made the discovery which is published in the latest edition of the journal Cell.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Experimental molecular therapy crosses blood-brain barrier to treat neurological disease* 



> Medical research Researchers have overcome a major challenge to treating brain diseases by engineering an experimental molecular therapy that crosses the blood-brain barrier to reverse neurological lysosomal storage disease in mice.
> 
> 
> Posted online in PNAS Early Edition on Feb. 4, the study was led by scientists at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. "This study provides a non-invasive procedure that targets the blood-brain barrier and delivers large-molecule therapeutic agents to treat neurological lysosomal storage disorders," said Dao Pan, PhD, principal investigator on the study and researcher in the Cancer and Blood Diseases Institute at Cincinnati Children's. "Our findings will allow the development of drugs that can be tested for other brain diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's."



 Read more at: Experimental molecular therapy crosses blood-brain barrier to treat neurological disease


----------



## ScienceRocks

Edinburgh scientists use 3D printing to produce stem cells The 3D printing technique produces clusters of stem cells 

BBC News - Edinburgh scientists use 3D printing to produce stem cells



> A 3D printing technique that produces clusters of stem cells could speed up progress towards creating artificial organs, Edinburgh scientists have claimed.
> 
> In the more immediate future it could be used to generate biopsy-like tissue samples for drug testing.
> 
> The technique relies on an adjustable "microvalve" to build up layers of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs).


----------



## ScienceRocks

The partially blind can now officially get bionic eyes

Raymond Wong

Thursday, February 14, 2013 - 7:14pm
The partially blind can now officially get bionic eyes | DVICE




> Second Sight's Argus II bionic eye is now officially approved for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) after its advisory panel concluded that the benefits of helping cure partial blindness outweighed the possible safety problems, such as post-surgical infections.
> 
> The Argus II consists of two parts: an artificial retina with embedded electrodes that's surgically implanted into the eye and a pair of glasses equipped with a camera and visual processor. The video camera captures footage, sends it to the processor and then relays the feed to the bionic eye, thus, allowing the impaired wearer to "see." That said, the Argus II doesn't restore complete vision and only allows people to see just enough light to help them move around. As Pop Sci puts it, "it's like watching TV on a screen with just 60 pixels."
> 
> Here's a video showing how the Argus II works:


----------



## waltky

The Crystal Lab uses robots...

*Diamond to shine light on infections*
_17 February 2013 - The UK's national synchrotron facility - the Diamond Light Source near Oxford - is to become a world centre for studying the structure of viruses and bacteria that cause serious disease._


> Diamond uses intense X-rays to reveal the molecular and atomic make-up of objects and materials.  It will now use this capability to image Containment Level 3 pathogens.  These are responsible for illnesses such as Aids, hepatitis and some types of flu.  Level 3 is one step down from the most dangerous types of infectious agent, such as Ebola, which can only be handled in the most secure government facilities.  "Viruses, as you know, are sort of tiny nanomachines and you can't see them in a normal microscope.  "But with the crystallography and X-ray techniques we use, we are able to get about 10,000 times the resolution of the normal light microscope," explained Dave Stuart, the life sciences director at Diamond and a professor of structural biology at Oxford University.  "This takes us from the regime of not being able to see them to being able to see individual atoms.  "And if we can look at 'live' viruses and get an atomic-level description of them, it opens up the possibility of using modern drug-design techniques to produce new pharmaceuticals."
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> A joint UK and Chinese team working at Diamond solved the structure of EV71 last year
> 
> Prof Stuart was speaking in Boston at the annual meeting for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).  Diamond has been working for some time to get its "Crystal Lab" ready for Level 3 work, and the Oxford researcher used the US conference to announce that the preparation was now complete.  Synchrotrons work by accelerating electrons in a giant magnetic ring to near light-speeds.  As the particles turn around the circle, they lose energy in the form of exceptionally intense X-rays.  This light is channelled down "beamlines" where it hits targets put in its path.  The way the X-rays scatter off the atoms in these targets reveals their arrangement. This allows scientists to glimpse the shape of virus and bacteria components and get some insight into how they function.
> 
> Diamond has already been studying pathogens at lower levels of containment.  A good recent example, says Prof Stuart, is the Human Enterovirus 71 (EV71) that causes hand-foot-and-mouth disease.  The infection is relatively common in infants and children, especially across the Asia-Pacific region, and is characterised by fever, painful sores in the mouth, and unpleasant blisters on the hands, feet and buttocks. There is currently no vaccine or anti-viral treatment available.  A joint UK and Chinese team working at Diamond solved the structure of EV71 last year.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Diamond is sited on the Harwell science campus just south of Oxford
> 
> This allowed the researchers to see a kind of breathing motion in the virus that it uses to initiate the infection process. Evident also was the small molecule it picks up from the body's cells to shift itself from one state to another.  "That molecule must be lost to cause an infection, but now that we can see in atomic detail what that molecule looks like, we can try to design a synthetic version that will attach more strongly," Prof Stuart told BBC News.  "That would stop the breathing and stop the infection process."
> 
> The British synchrotron's new status makes it now one of only two such facilities in the world where Level 3 study is undertaken; the other being in the US.  This means it will be a major draw for scientists across the world.  Prof Stuart stressed the operations at Diamond would pose no risk to others working on the Harwell site or in the immediate Oxfordshire area.  The pathogens will be brought to the synchrotron in crystal form in double-sealed containers that are not opened during their time at the facility.  They are manipulated robotically inside the Light Source and, what is more, they are destroyed in the very act of shining X-rays on them.
> 
> BBC News - Diamond to shine light on infections


----------



## ScienceRocks

*First bionic hand with a sense of touch to be transplanted*

Megan Wollerton

Monday, February 18, 2013 - 5:34pm

First bionic hand with a sense of touch to be transplanted | DVICE
.


> The first prosthetic on record dates back 3,000 years to an Egyptian noblewoman, who wore a leather and wood prosthetic in place of her right big toe. While that's a pretty remarkable example of ingenuity for the time, prosthetics have come quite a long way since then. In fact, a 20-year-old man who lives in Rome is scheduled to receive the first ever bionic hand with a working sense of touch later this year.
> 
> The hand will be wired to the patient's nervous system, so that he'll be able to control it in much the same way that he would control a real hand. And If everything goes smoothly, he should also be able to "feel" signals from the hand's touch sensors.
> 
> Dr. Silvestro Micera from the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne in Switzerland will be performing the transplant:
> 
> 
> This is real progress, real hope for amputees. It will be the first prosthetic that will provide real-time sensory feedback for grasping. It is clear that the more sensory feeling an amputee has, the more likely you will get full acceptance of that limb. We could be on the cusp of providing new and more effective clinical solutions to amputees in the next year.
> 
> This exciting advancement could help out so many individuals with artificial limbs, and we can't wait for an update once the transplant takes place


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists Reprogram Cells to Fight Diabetes*

by Orion Jones

February 23, 2013, 5:49 PM





> University of Pennsylvania researchers have successfully "reprogrammed" certain cells to produce more insulin in the body, representing a potential genetic treatment for patients diagnosed with diabetes. "For years researchers have been searching for a way to treat diabetics by reactivating their insulin-producing beta cells, with limited success. Turning related alpha cells into beta cells may one day offer a novel and complementary approach for treating type 2 diabetes. Treating human and mouse cells with compounds that modify cell nuclear material called chromatin induced the expression of beta cell genes in alpha cells."
> 
> Type 1 and type 2 diabetes are not only caused by an insufficient amount of insulin (produced by beta cells) but also by an excess of glucagon (produced by alpha cells). "In theory, transplantation of healthy beta cellsfor type 1 diabetics in combination with immunosuppression to control autoimmunityshould halt the disease, yet researchers have not yet been able to generate these cells in the lab at high efficiency, whether from embryonic stem cells or by reprogramming mature cell types." Researchers now reason that they might reprogram alpha cells towards the beta-cell phenotype to produce these much-needed insulin-producing cells.


Scientists Reprogram Cells to Fight Diabetes | IdeaFeed | Big Think


----------



## ScienceRocks

Brain's 'stroke shielding' cracked
By James Gallagher

BBC News - Brain's 'stroke shielding' cracked



> A part of the brain's ability to shield itself from the destructive damage caused by a stroke has been explained by researchers.
> 
> It has been known for more than 85 years that some brain cells could withstand being starved of oxygen.
> 
> Scientists, writing in the journal Nature Medicine, have shown how these cells switch into survival mode.
> 
> They hope to one-day find a drug which uses the same trick to protect the whole brain.
> 
> Treating a stroke is a race against time. Clots that block the blood supply prevent the flow of oxygen and sugar to brain cells, which then rapidly die.
> 
> But in 1926, it was noticed that some cells in the hippocampus, the part of the brain involved in memory, did not follow this rule.
> 
> "They're staying alive when the prediction would say that they should die," said Prof Alastair Buchan from Oxford University who has investigated how they survive.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Five Very Different and Major Psych Disorders Have Shared Genetics*


Five Very Different and Major Psych Disorders Have Shared Genetics : Health & Medicine : Science World Report



> Five very different psych disorders may have something in common--genetics. Researchers have found that autism, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder and schizophrenia all share common genetic underpinnings.
> 
> The findings, published online in the journal The Lancet, conducted a genome-wide analysis of 33,332 cases and 27,888 controls. They found that, in particular, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in two genes involved in calcium-channel activity appeared to play a role in all five disorders. SNPs are DNA sequence variations that occur when a single nucleotide--A, T, C or G--in the genome differs between paired chromosomes.
> 
> In all, researchers found that SNPs in four regions were associated with all five disorders: two on chromosome 10, one on chromosome 3 and another on chromosome 12. The two on chromosome 10 included the L-type voltage-gated calcium-channel subunit CACNB2 and the one on chromosome 12 included another calcium-channel subunit called CACNA1C, which has been previously linked to bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and major depressive disorder.
> 
> So what does this mean exactly? It shows that a genetic variant plays a role in several diseases. In addition, it shows that calcium signaling, a key regulator of the growth and development of neurons, can influence many traits. The findings also imply that genetics can contribute to the prediction and prevents of psychiatric diseases.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Breakthrough hailed in US as Atlanta scientists cure HIV baby *







> US team gave child stronger, faster dose of antiretroviral drugs straight after birth
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Breakthrough hailed in US as Atlanta scientists cure HIV baby
> 
> Scientists appeared a step closer to conquering the Aids virus after US doctors confirmed they had cured an infant born with HIV through a course of antiretroviral drugs, the first time this has ever been recorded.
> 
> 
> Doctors in Atlanta said a two-and-a-half-year-old child from Mississippi was born HIV positive and received a three-drug infusion within 30 hours of its birth, a stronger and far swifter dose than normally administered.
> 
> Last night scientists confirmed that the child, whose identity has not been disclosed, has since been off medication for HIV for over a year, is believed no longer to be infectious.


Breakthrough hailed in US as Atlanta scientists cure HIV baby - Science - News - The Independent


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Human Ear Created With 3D Printer*





> Researchers have constructed a living human ear that looks and feels just like the real thing, and they made it with the help of a 3D printer. The new ear improves upon prosthetic ears made by current methods which are not only unlifelike, but often uncomfortable to wear and even painful. Better yet, at most the ear takes only a week to make.
> 
> The ear wasn&#8217;t 3D printed with &#8220;living ink&#8221; &#8211; researchers still have a way to go before tissue even as simple as an ear can be fabricated de novo. For their ear, the researchers and clinicians at Cornell used a 3D printer to make a precise ear mold. Serving as medical models, the ears of two twin sisters were laser scanned and photographed with a high-definition camera to create a digitized 3D image &#8211; a process which took just 30 seconds. The image was then used to fabricate a mold with a Stratasys FDM 2000 3D printer. They then injected a gel containing collagen derived from animals into the ear mold and followed that by injecting 250 million cartilage cells. The collagen, a structural protein found normally in cells, acted as a scaffold on which the cartilage cells grew. In just fifteen minutes the ear was ready. They removed it, shaped it further with trimming, then placed it in a cell culture medium for three to five days before implanting it.


Human Ear Created With 3D Printer | Singularity Hub


----------



## ScienceRocks

Darpa looks to use small ships as drone bases 
BBC News - Darpa looks to use small ships as drone bases


> The US military is planning to use fleets of small ships as platforms for unmanned aircraft to land and take off.
> 
> The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) said it needed to increase its airborne "surveillance and reconnaissance".
> 
> Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), known as drones, are commonly launched on land - but deploying them at sea is harder because they need to refuel.
> 
> They currently require large aircraft carriers with long runways.
> 
> The new project has been dubbed Tern (Tactically Exploited Reconnaissance Node) after a sea-bird known for its endurance.
> 
> Darpa programme manager Daniel Patt, said: "Enabling small ships to launch and retrieve long-endurance UAVs on demand would greatly expand our situational awareness and our ability to quickly and flexibly engage in hotspots over land or water."


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Seven Genetic Risk Factors Associated with Age-related Macular Degeneration* 





> Seven new regions of the human genome are now associated with an increased risk of age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness among older adults.
> 
> According to recent reports from Case Western University School of Medicine, a study is working to help identify the causes and concerns associated with these risks.
> 
> The AMD Gene Consortium, a network of international investigators representing 18 research groups, has also confirmed the existence of 12 other regions -called loci-that had been identified in previous studies. The reported findings can be found in the journal Nature Genetics.


Seven Genetic Risk Factors Associated with Age-related Macular Degeneration : Health & Medicine : Science World Report


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Cancer vaccines self-sabotage, channel immune attack to injection site*

04/03/2013 21:02:00



Health News - Cancer vaccines self-sabotage, channel immune attack to injection site
UT MD Anderson scientists find common vaccine ingredient diverts T cells from tumors



> Willem Overwijk, Ph.D.
> 
> Cancer vaccines that attempt to stimulate an immune system assault fail because the killer T cells aimed at tumors instead find the vaccination site a more inviting target, scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center report in Nature Medicine.
> 
> A common substance used in many cancer vaccines to boost immune attack betrays the cause by facilitating a buildup of T cells at the vaccination site, which then summon more T cells to help with the perceived threat.
> 
> "Vaccines stimulate production of T cells primed to attack the target cancer, and there are many T cells in the bloodstream after vaccination. We found that only a few get to the tumor while many more are stuck at or double back to the vaccination site," said senior author Willem Overwijk, Ph.D., in MD Anderson's Department of Melanoma Medical Oncology.
> 
> The result: largely unscathed tumors while an overstimulated immune response can cause lesions at the injection site. The team found that a major culprit in this failure is incomplete Freund's adjuvant (IFA), a mineral oil-based adjuvant included in many vaccines to stoke the immune response.
> 
> "IFA sticks around the vaccination site for up to three months, along with the antigen designed to trigger immunity against the tumor," Overwijk said. "T cells keep attacking and secreting chemokines to call for reinforcements. But it's an unkillable target; T cells can't kill mineral oil."
> 
> Eventually, the T cells die. "The vaccination site increasingly resembles a viral infection, with lots of damaged tissue and antigens," Overwijk said.
> 
> Switch from IFA to saline adjuvant reverses effect
> 
> "Switching to a saline-based adjuvant in a melanoma vaccine reversed the T cell effect in mice," Overwijk said, "Major accumulations of T cells gathered in tumors, shrinking them, with minimal T cell activity at the vaccination site."
> 
> Peptide antigens are available for almost all types of cancer, Overwijk said. A saline adjuvant could change the poor performance of cancer vaccines. A clinical trial of the concept is expected to open later this year at the University of Virginia and MD Anderson.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Nanopillar insect wings shred bacteria on contact
Nanopillar insect wings shred bacteria on contact | DVICE
Evan Ackerman



> The word "antibacterial" generally refers to some sort of chemical substance that kills bacteria. Like antibacterial soap. Cicadas, which don't always have access to antibacterial soap (the insect market is woefully under served by household cleaning products), have evolved a way to kill bacteria that's built right into the structure of their wings.
> 
> Under an electron microscope, cicada wings are covered with forests of tiny nanopillars, smaller than bacteria. These are pillars, not spikes, with blunt tops as opposed pointy ones. When a bacterium comes in contact with the wing surface, it sticks to these nanopillars, which hold it up in some places but not in others. The bacterial membrane then sags into the spaces between the pillars, and if it sags enough, it'll rupture, killing the bacterium.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists Cure Diabetes With Gene Therapy In Dogs &#8211; Will It Work On Humans?*

Scientists Cure Diabetes With Gene Therapy In Dogs ? Will It Work On Humans? | Singularity Hub

[Source: Wikimedia Commons]


> Scientists have now cured diabetes &#8211; at least in a group of dogs &#8211; and they used a gene therapy to do it. Amazingly, only a single therapy session was needed to return the dogs&#8217; blood sugar levels to normal. It wasn&#8217;t the first time the researchers used the therapy to cure diabetes &#8211; they&#8217;d done the same previously in a group of mice. But the fact that the treatment worked in the larger canine is a promising sign that it might also one day work in those even much larger animals: humans.
> 
> The therapy used in the study actually included two different genes: one for glucokinase, an enzyme that acts as a &#8220;glucose sensor&#8221; in the muscle, and another for insulin, the hormone that causes sugar in the blood to be absorbed into cells to be used for energy. The genes worked in concert to detect high blood sugar levels and then produce insulin to promote the uptake of blood glucose into cells.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Training Immune Cells To Combat Disease*



> Some biologists would like to train patients&#8217; own immune systems to treat diseases such as cancer and autoimmune disorders. They envision programming immune cells to destroy tumor cells or to stop immune system attacks on healthy tissue. Now a team of German researchers reports a method that traps immune cells in microscopic water droplets and exposes the cells to chemical signals that could teach them the difference between friend and foe (J. Am. Chem. Soc., DOI: 10.1021/ja311588c).
> 
> In our immune systems, T cells play many key roles in preventing disease. They attack invaders such as viruses, help hold the immune system&#8217;s memory of past infections, and even prevent other immune cells from attacking the body&#8217;s own tissue. Joachim P. Spatz and Ilia Platzman, researchers atMax Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, in Stuttgart, Germany, study how T cells mature and get trained in a particular task. Many types of T cells interact with antigen-presenting cells, which gather up and display fragments of proteins from viruses, bacteria, and other invaders. Through these cellular interactions, the T cells learn how to identify threats and help the immune system eliminate them.
> 
> Immunologists believe it will be possible to treat diseases by mimicking this process outside the body. For example, a doctor could isolate a cancer patient&#8217;s own T cells, expose the cells to antigens specific to the cancer, and then transplant the cells back to direct the immune system to attack the tumor.
> 
> Previously developed techniques have exposed T cells to flat, relatively rigid surfaces patterned with antigens. But some researchers think a more optimal approach would involve exposing the T cells to an environment that mimics the three-dimensional curvature and squishiness of real cells.
> 
> The Max Planck Institute group thought they could create such an environment by enclosing T cells within droplets of water in oil. The inner surface of these droplets contains surfactant molecules that produce a fluid and mechanically soft surface, like that of a cell membrane. The team also developed a way to anchor biomolecules to the surfactants, to mimic the surfaces of antigen-presenting cells.
> 
> The researchers make the droplets by mixing two streams of liquid in a microfluidic system: an oil solution of the surfactants and a water-based mixture of T cells and culture medium. When the two streams meet, droplets form, with the T-cell mixture trapped inside bubbles of surfactant. The researchers attach gold nanoparticles decorated with antigens to the water-facing end of the surfactants. These particles act like the surfaces of antigen-presenting cells. The droplets can be as small as 10 µm wide, and can hold up to six cells each.
> 
> In a proof of concept experiment, the scientists coated the gold particles with protein fragments known to interact with T cells. When they looked at the droplets under a microscope, they saw that the T cells adhered to the droplets&#8217; inner surfaces. In droplets made with undecorated gold nanoparticles, the cells floated around randomly within the bubbles.
> 
> The cells can survive inside the droplets for five days, after which time Platzman believes they run out of food, since the volume of the droplets is extremely small&#8212;just a few picoliters. The researchers next plan to use these droplets to expose T cells to disease-related antigens.
> 
> David A. Weitz, an applied physicist at Harvard University, thinks the method&#8217;s ability to control both the T cell&#8217;s spatial and chemical environment will help biologists better understand the cells&#8217; training process. &#8220;It&#8217;s a very clever combination of biological and nonbiological systems,&#8221; he adds.


Training Immune Cells To Combat Disease | Chemical & Engineering News


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Stomach cancer 'spotted by breath test'*
BBC News - Stomach cancer 'spotted by breath test'



> A quick and simple breath test can diagnose stomach cancer, study findings reveal.
> 
> Scientists from Israel and China found the test was 90% accurate at detecting and distinguishing cancers from other stomach complaints in 130 patients.
> 
> The British Journal of Cancer says the test could revolutionise and speed up the way this cancer is diagnosed.
> 
> About 7,000 UK people develop stomach cancer each year and most have an advanced stage of the disease.
> 
> Two-fifths of patients survive for at least a year, but only a fifth are still alive after five years, despite treatment.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Flip of a Single Molecular Switch Makes an Old Mouse Brain Young*

Flip of a single molecular switch makes an old mouse brain young



> Mar. 6, 2013 &#8212; The flip of a single molecular switch helps create the mature neuronal connections that allow the brain to bridge the gap between adolescent impressionability and adult stability. Now Yale School of Medicine researchers have reversed the process, recreating a youthful brain that facilitated both learning and healing in the adult mouse.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists Enhance Intelligence of Mice with Human Brain Cells*

http://io9.com/5988969/scientists-e...e-intelligence-of-mice-with-human-brain-cells


> By grafting human glial cells into the brains of mice, neuroscientists were able to "sharply enhance" their cognitive capacities. These improvements included augmentations to memory, learning, and adaptive conditioning. It's a breakthrough that could yield important insights into the treatment of human brain disorders.
> 
> To conduct the experiment, the scientists created human chimeric mice &#8212; mice that were endowed with human glial cells.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Genomic screening for improved public health*



> Within the next 10 years, routine preventive healthcare for adults may include genetic testing alongside the now familiar tests for cholesterol levels, mammography and colonoscopy.
> 
> As genomic testing prepares to enter the realm of general medical care, an interdisciplinary team of researchers is suggesting in the latest issue of Genetics in Medicine that now is the time to explore genetic testing to identify people at high risk for carefully selected, preventable disease.
> 
> The technology is available, and the price is coming down so rapidly that it will soon be possible and practical to offer a carefully selected panel of genetic tests, able to avert disastrous health consequences in people at high risk for serious life-threatening diseases. That's according to James Evans, Ph.D, Bryson Distinguished Professor of Genetics & Medicine, at the University of North Carolina &#8211; Chapel Hill and Editor-in-Chief of Genetics in Medicine. The commentary authors, experts in both genetics and public health, believe it is time to start looking at genetic testing through the lens of disease prevention. There are enough genetic conditions that are both preventable and strongly predispose people to specific cancers or to a catastrophic vascular event that it is sensible to try to identify those people early, so they can seek preventive care, the researchers argue.
> 
> "Added together, the number of people walking around, who unknown to them, have mutations that greatly predispose them to serious but eminently preventable disease, comes out to roughly 1 percent of the population," says Evans.
> 
> For example, about 1 in 400 people in the United States carry an inherited genetic predisposition to develop colon cancer at an early age. Currently, people carrying this genetic risk would be unaware of it, unless enough close family members develop colon cancer prompting their doctor to suggest genetic testing, or it is identified by analysis of their own or a family member's tumour. If, instead, at-risk people could be identified before cancer has occurred, a program of early, regular colonoscopy screening would help prevent the disease in the first place, the researchers argue.



Genomic screening for improved public health


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Researchers grow teeth from gum cells *


BBC News - Researchers grow teeth from gum cells
9 March 2013 




> Dentists may one day be able to replace missing teeth with ones newly grown from gum cells, say UK researchers.
> 
> The team from King's College London took cells from adult human gum tissue and combined them with another type of cell from mice to grow a tooth.
> 
> They say using a readily available source of cells pushes the technology a step nearer to being available to patients.
> 
> But it is still likely to be many years before dentists can use the method.
> 
> Other work has focused on using embryonic stem cells to create "bioteeth".
> 
> It proved it could be done but is expensive and impractical for use in the clinic, the researchers said.
> 
> In the latest study they took human epithelial cells from the gums of human patients, grew more of them in the lab and mixed them with mesenchyme cells from mice.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Nanoparticles loaded with bee venom kill HIV*
 March 8, 2013 3:22 pm | by Julia Evangelou Strait, WUSTL | News | 


> According to findings by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, nanoparticles carrying a toxin found in bee venom can destroy human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) while leaving surrounding cells unharmed. The finding is an important step toward developing a vaginal gel that may prevent the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.



Nanoparticles loaded with bee venom kill HIV


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New drug being developed ... 'could help humans live until they are 150'*
New drug being developed using compound found in red wine 'could help humans live until they are 150' | Mail Online ^ | 6:40 EST, 10 March 2013 | Lucy Crossley 





> The new drugs are synthetic versions of resveratrol which is found in red wine and is believed to have an anti-ageing effect as it boosts activity of a protein called SIRT1.
> 
> Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline has been testing the medications on patients suffering with medical conditions including cancer, diabetes and heart disease.
> 
> The work proves that a single anti-ageing enzyme in the body can be targeted, with the potential to prevent age-related diseases and extend lifespans.
> 
> 
> The most common naturally-occurring activator is resveratrol, which is found in small quantities in red wine, but synthetic activators with much stronger activity are already being developed.
> 
> Despite this, there have already been promising results in some trials with implications for cancer, cardiovascular disease and cardiac failure, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, fatty liver disease, cataracts, osteoporosis, muscle wasting, sleep disorders and inflammatory diseases such as psoriasis, arthritis and colitis.
> 
> 
> Professor Sinclair said: 'In the history of pharmaceuticals, there has never been a drug that tweaks an enzyme to make it run faster.'
> 
> 
> Four thousand synthetic activators, which are 100 times as potent as a single glass of red wine, have been developed - with the best three being used in human trials.
> 
> 
> While any drug would be strictly prescribed for certain conditions, Professor Sinclair suggests that one day, they could be taken orally as a preventative.
> 
> They could therefore be used in the same way as statin drugs are commonly prescribed to prevent, instead of simply treating, cardiovascular disease.
> 
> In animal models, overweight mice given synthetic resveratrol were able to run twice as far as slim mice and they lived 15 per cent longer.
> 
> 'Some of us could live to 150, but we won't get there without more research.'


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Researchers find conclusive proof that resveratrol delays aging*



> Researchers have found what they say is conclusive evidence that the red wine compound resveratrol directly activates a protein that improves health and longevity in animal models. What's more, the researchers have uncovered the molecular mechanism for this interaction, and show that a class of more potent drugs currently in clinical trials act in a similar fashion. Pharmaceutical compounds similar to resveratrol may potentially treat and prevent diseases related to aging in people, the authors contend.


Researchers find conclusive proof that resveratrol delays aging


----------



## ScienceRocks

*More HIV 'cured': first a baby, now 14 adults *
21:00 14 March 2013 by Andy Coghlan 



> Two weeks after the revelation that a baby has been "cured" of HIV, reports suggest that a similar treatment can cure some adults too. Early treatment seems crucial, but does not guarantee success.
> 
> Asier Sáez-Cirión of the Pasteur Institute's unit for regulation of retroviral infections in Paris analysed 70 people with HIV who had been treated with antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) between 35 days and 10 weeks after infection  much sooner than people are normally treated.
> 
> All of the participants' drug regimes had been interrupted for one reason or another. For example, some people had made a personal choice to stop taking the drugs, others had been part of a trial of different drug protocols.



More HIV 'cured': first a baby, now 14 adults - health - 14 March 2013 - New Scientist


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Researchers discover gene that causes obesity in mice*



> Researchers have discovered that deleting a specific gene in mice prevents them from becoming obese, even on a high fat diet, a finding they believe may be replicated in humans.
> 
> 
> "When fed a diet that induces obesity, these mice don't get fat," said Professor James McManaman, Ph.D., lead author of the two-year study and vice-chairman of research for Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. "It may be possible to duplicate this in humans, using existing technology that targets this specific gene."
> 
> The research team created a strain of mice without the Plin2 gene which produces a protein that regulates fat storage and metabolism. They immediately found that the mice were resistant to obesity. Usually, mice fed a high fat diet will eat voraciously, yet these showed an unusual restraint. Not only did they eat less, they were more active.
> 
> Their fat cells were also 20 percent smaller than typical mice and did not show the kind of inflammation usually associated with obesity, the study said. Obesity-associated fatty liver disease, common in obese humans and rodents, was absent in the mice without the Plin2 gene.



Researchers discover gene that causes obesity in mice


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Green tea, coffee may reduce stroke risk by 20 percent*



Green tea, coffee may reduce stroke risk by 20 percent - CBS News





> Coffee or green tea drinker? Don't put that cup down: Those beverages may lower your stroke risk if they're a regular part of your daily diet.
> 
> Researchers discovered that people who drank at least one cup of coffee a day lowered their stroke risk by about 20 percent compared to those who drank it rarely.
> 
> Compared to those who rarely drank either beverage, those who drank at least one cup of coffee or two cups of green tea a day had a 32 percent lower chance of having an intracerebral hemorrhage, a type of stroke that occurs when a blood vessel bursts and bleeds inside the brain. Intracerebral hemorrhages account for 13 percent of strokes.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*China Is Engineering Genius Babies*

 By Aleks Eror
China Is Engineering Genius Babies | VICE United States


> It&#8217;s not exactly news that China is setting itself up as a new global superpower, is it? While Western civilization chokes on its own gluttony like a latter-day Marlon Brando, China continues to buy up American debt and lock away the world&#8217;s natural resources. But now, not content to simply laugh and make jerk-off signs as they pass us on the geopolitical highway, they&#8217;ve also developed a state-endorsed genetic-engineering project.
> 
> At BGI Shenzhen, scientists have collected DNA samples from 2,000 of the world&#8217;s smartest people and are sequencing their entire genomes in an attempt to identify the alleles which determine human intelligence. Apparently they&#8217;re not far from finding them, and when they do, embryo screening will allow parents to pick their brightest zygote and potentially bump up every generation's intelligence by five to 15 IQ points. Within a couple of generations, competing with the Chinese on an intellectual level will be like challenging Lena Dunham to a getting-naked-on-TV contest.
> 
> Geoffrey Miller, an evolutionary psychologist and lecturer at NYU, is one of the 2,000 braniacs who contributed their DNA. I spoke to him about what this creepy-ass program might mean for the future of Chinese kids.




China is right...As we fuck blacks(-15 iq points) and mexicans(-5 points less iq). They use techonology of gene splicing to advance their people.

We're so fucking screwed.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Even Mummies Had Heart Disease, Study Finds*

Even Mummies Had Heart Disease, Study Finds - ABC News



> The mummy Hatiay is scanned in Cairo, Egypt, where it was found to have evidence of extensive vascular disease by CT scanning. (Dr. Michael Miyamoto/AP Photo)
> 
> 
> 
> March 11, 2013
> 
> 
> 
> Long thought to be a modern disease related to contemporary lifestyles, atherosclerosis was common among ancient people as well, a new study found.
> 
> Whole body CT scans of 137 mummies from four different ancient populations revealed heart and vascular calcifications consistent with atherosclerosis, reported Dr. Randall Thompson of St. Luke's Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City, Mo., and colleagues.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Lazarus Project Recreates Extinct Australian Frog*

Lazarus Project Recreates Extinct Australian Frog




> The Lazarus Project team says they have been able to recover cell nuclei of the extinct gastric-brooding frog, Rheobatrachus silus,
> from tissues collected in the 1970s and kept for 40 years in a conventional deep freezer.
> 
> The genome of
> Rheobatrachus silus, extinct since 1983, has been revived and reactivated by a team of scientists using
> somatic cell nuclear transfer
> to implant a "dead" cell nucleus into a fresh egg from another frog species.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Device keeps liver "alive" outside body in medical first*

Device keeps liver alive outside body in medical first | Reuters
By Kate Kelland, Health and Science Correspondent

LONDON | Fri Mar 15, 2013 1:29pm EDT



> (Reuters) - A donated human liver has been kept alive, warm and functioning outside a human being on a newly-developed machine and then successfully transplanted into patients in a medical world first.
> 
> A British team of doctors, engineers and surgeons announcing the achievement on Friday said it could be common practice in hospitals across the developed world within a few years, up to doubling the number of livers available for transplant.
> 
> So far the procedure has been performed on two patients on Britain's liver transplant waiting list and both are making excellent recoveries, the medical team told a news conference.
> 
> "It was astounding to see an initially cold, grey liver flushing with color once hooked up to our machine and performing as it would within the body," said Constantin Coussios, a professor of biomedical engineering at Oxford University and one of the machine's co-inventors.
> 
> "What was even more amazing was to see the same liver transplanted into a patient who is now walking around."
> 
> Currently livers destined for transplant are kept "on ice" in a process which cools them to slow down their metabolism and does not keep them functioning as they would inside a body.
> 
> This system has worked for several decades, but can also often lead to livers becoming damaged and rendered unfit for use in patients who need them.
> 
> Surgeons say keeping livers "on ice" beyond 14 hours starts becoming risky, although they can last up to 20 hours.
> 
> Hepatitis infection, alcohol abuse and drug-induced cholestasis - a blockage in the flow of bile from the liver - can all cause liver failure. Some patients with liver cancer can also benefit from a transplant.
> 
> Around 13,000 liver transplants are carried out each year in Europe and the United States, but there is a combined waiting list of around 30,000 patients who need a new liver.
> 
> Experts say up to a quarter of these patients die while they are waiting. At the same time, more than 2,000 livers are discarded every year because they are either damaged by oxygen deprivation or do not survive the cold preservation process.
> 
> The new technology, developed by Coussios together with Peter Friend, director of the Oxford Transplant Centre, preserves the liver at body temperature and "perfuses" it - supplying it with oxygenated red blood cells to keep it alive.
> 
> "This device is the very first completely automated liver perfusion device of its kind," Coussios said. "These first clinical cases confirm that we can support human livers outside the body, keep them alive and functioning on our machine and then, hours later, successfully transplant them into a patient."
> 
> "I FEEL SO ALIVE"


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Whole brain cellular-level activity mapping in a second*

18 Mar 2013 | 3:53 PM | Posted by erika pastrana | Category: Microscopy & Imaging, Model Organisms, Neuroscience 




> It is now possible to map the activity of nearly all the neurons in a vertebrate brain at cellular resolution. What does this mean for neuroscience research and projects like the Brain Activity Map proposal?
> 
> In an Article that just went live in Nature Methods, Misha Ahrens and Philipp Keller from HHMIs Janelia Farm Research Campus used high-speed light sheet microscopy to image the activity of 80% of the neurons in the brain of a fish larva at speeds of a whole brain every 1.3 seconds. This representsto our knowledgethe first technology that achieves whole brain imaging of a vertebrate brain at cellular resolution with speeds that approximate neural activity patterns and behavior.


Whole brain cellular-level activity mapping in a second : Methagora


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Biotech&#8217;s therapy to regenerate tissue, organs for chronic kidney disease, bladder cancer faces financial test*

March 19, 2013 9:36 am by Stephanie Baum | 0 Comments 




> A biologics startup developing a way to help patients with bladder cancer by using their own cells to regenerate tissue and to reconstruct a urinary tract has expanded a Phase 1 trial to five sites and has performed the procedure on its seventh patient. But despite getting a $15 million private placement last fall, Tengion is facing an uncertain future if it cannot secure more investment before May.


Biotech?s therapy to regenerate tissue, organs for chronic kidney disease, bladder cancer faces financial test | MedCity News


----------



## ScienceRocks

'Under the skin' blood-testing device developed



> Scientists say they have developed a tiny blood-testing device that sits under the skin and gives instant results via a mobile phone.
> 
> The Swiss team say the wireless prototype - half an inch (14mm) long - can simultaneously check for up to five different substances in the blood.
> 
> The readings are then beamed to the doctor, using Bluetooth technology.
> 
> The device's developers hope it will be available to patients within four years.
> 
> It is designed to be inserted, using a needle, into the interstitial tissue just beneath the skin of the abdomen, legs or arms. And it could remain there for months before needing to be replaced or removed.



BBC News - 'Under the skin' blood-testing device developed


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Engineered immune cells battle acute leukaemia*

20 March 2013


> Blood cells from a patient suffering from chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, seen in a scanning-electron micrograph.
> 
> http://www.nature.com/news/engineered-immune-cells-battle-acute-leukaemia-1.12643
> 
> Genetically engineered immune cells can drive an aggressive type of leukaemia into retreat, a small clinical trial suggests.
> 
> The results of the trial &#8212; done in five patients with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia &#8212; are published in Science Translational Medicine1 and represent the latest success for a 'fringe' therapy in which a type of immune cell called T cells are extracted from a patient, genetically modified, and then reinfused back. In this case, the T cells were engineered to express a receptor for a protein on other immune cells, known as B cells, found in both healthy and cancerous tissue.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists unravel genetic code of esophageal cancer*


Scientists unravel genetic code of esophageal cancer | The Raw Story
By Agence France-Presse
Sunday, March 24, 2013 14:52 EDT





> Scientists said Sunday they had found mutations in 26 genes that may cause oesophageal cancer, a breakthrough they hope will lead to new drugs for the deadly and increasingly frequent disease.
> 
> A team of experts in the United States unravelled the genetic code of tumour cells from 149 patients, which they compared to healthy cells to identify a mutation signature for oesophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC).
> 
> This type of cancer of the oesophagus or gullet, the muscular tube that moves food from the mouth to the stomach, has a five-year survival rate of only about 15-20 percent.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*College student develops gel that instantly stops bleeding*
Megan Wollerton
Tuesday, March 26, 2013 - 2:03pm 
.


> He explains his invention to the New York Post: "There's really no way to quickly stop bleeding except to hold lots of gauze on a wound. I thought if you could pour this gel into a wound, it would solidify and stop the bleeding."
> 
> Landolina started a company called Suneris Inc. in order to sell his product and the United States military is already one of several potential customers, according to Humans Invent.
> 
> Veti-Gel gets tested on a fresh pork loin in the YouTube video below. Warning: If blood makes you queasy, go ahead and skip this demonstration.




College student develops gel that instantly stops bleeding | DVICE


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Study reveals the genetic variations that raise the risk of breast, prostate or ovarian cancer*



> Over 80 regions of the genome that can increase an individual's risk of breast, prostate and ovarian cancers have been found in the largest ever study of its kind.
> 
> The research, led by scientists at the University of Cambridge and The Institute of Cancer Research, London, funded by Cancer Research UK and the Wellcome Trust, could lead to new treatments, targeted screening and a greater understanding of how these diseases develop.
> 
> The scientists were looking for genetic variations &#8211; called single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) &#8211; linked to an increased risk of developing cancer.
> 
> By studying the DNA make-up of over 100,000 people with cancer and 100,000 people from the general population, they found alterations that were more common in people with prostate, breast or ovarian cancers.
> 
> Each alteration raises the risk of cancer by a small amount, but the one per cent of people who have lots of these alterations could see their risk of developing prostate cancer increase to nearly 50 per cent and breast cancer to around 30 per cent.
> 
> Study author Professor Doug Easton, a Cancer Research UK scientist at the University of Cambridge, said: "We're on the verge of being able to use our knowledge of these genetic variations to develop tests that could complement breast cancer screening and take us a step closer to having an effective prostate cancer screening programme.
> 
> "By looking for people who carry most of these variations we will be able to identify those who are at the greatest risk of getting these cancers and then targeting screening tests to these individuals."
> 
> Many of the SNPs found in the studies were near to areas of the genome that control how certain genes behave. Alterations to these control areas can lead to the 'brakes' that stop cells growing out of control being lifted; help cancers spread throughout the body; or help cells grow rapidly out of control. Understanding how these genes are involved in cancer could provide new understanding of how cancers develop and how to treat them.


Study reveals the genetic variations that raise the risk of breast, prostate or ovarian cancer


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Major weight loss tied to microbes*

Study suggests possible alternative to gastric bypass surgery

Major weight loss tied to microbes | Harvard Gazette
Scientists at Harvard may have new hope for people struggling with obesity.


> A study conducted in collaboration with researchers at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital hints at a future where doctors could deliver the weight-loss benefits of gastric bypass surgery without the surgery. In a study described in a March 27 paper in Science Translational Medicine, researchers found that the surgery caused drastic changes to microbes in the guts of mice. When those microbes were transferred into the guts of sterile mice, the result was rapid weight loss.
> 
> &#8220;Simply by colonizing mice with the altered microbial community, the mice were able to maintain a lower body fat, and lose weight &#8212; about 20 percent as much as they would if they underwent surgery,&#8221; said Peter Turnbaugh, a Bauer Fellow at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences&#8217; Center for Systems Biology, and one of two senior authors of the paper.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Walking Can Lower Risk of Heart-Related Conditions as Much as Running*
Walking can lower risk of heart-related conditions as much as running



> Apr. 4, 2013 &#8212; Walking briskly can lower your risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes as much as running can, according to surprising findings reported in the American Heart Association journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Building Better Blood Vessels Could Advance Tissue Engineering*
Building better blood vessels could advance tissue engineering



> Apr. 4, 2013 &#8212; One of the major obstacles to growing new organs -- replacement hearts, lungs and kidneys -- is the difficulty researchers face in building blood vessels that keep the tissues alive, but new findings from the University of Michigan could help overcome this roadblock.
> 
> "It's not just enough to make a piece of tissue that functions like your desired target," said Andrew Putnam, U-M associate professor of biomedical engineering. "If you don't nourish it with blood by vascularizing it, it's only going to be as big as the head of a pen.
> 
> "But we need a heart that's this big," he added, holding up his fist.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Adult Stem Cells Isolated from Human Intestinal Tissue*
Adult stem cells isolated from human intestinal tissue



> Apr. 4, 2013 &#8212; For the first time, researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have isolated adult stem cells from human intestinal tissue.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*'Aggressive' prostate cancer gene find*
By Michelle Roberts
BBC News - 'Aggressive' prostate cancer gene find

Health editor, BBC News online


> DNA Genetics appear to dictate how the cancer behaves
> 
> Men with prostate cancer and an inherited gene mutation have the worst form of the disease, research reveals.
> 
> The BRCA2 gene is linked to hereditary breast cancer, as well as prostate and ovarian cancer.
> 
> Now scientists say that as well as being more likely to get prostate cancer, men with BRCA2 are also more likely to develop aggressive tumours and have the poorest survival rates.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Study Finds New Way to Clear Cholesterol from Blood
Study Finds New Way to Clear Cholesterol from Blood | Medicine | Sci-News.com



> Scientists led by Prof David Ginsburg of the University of Michigan&#8217;s Howard Hughes Medical Institute inhibited the action of a gene responsible for transporting a protein that interferes with the ability of the liver to remove cholesterol from the blood in mice. Trapping the destructive protein where it couldn&#8217;t harm receptors responsible for removing cholesterol preserved the liver cells&#8217; capacity to clear plasma cholesterol from the blood, but did not appear to otherwise affect the health of the mice.
> 
> In the research, scientists found that mice with an inactive SEC24A gene could develop normally. However, their plasma cholesterol levels were reduced by 45 percent because vesicles from liver cells were not able to recruit and transport a critical regulator of blood cholesterol levels called proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9).


----------



## ScienceRocks

Genetically engineered T-cell therapy has startling effectiveness against leukemia
Genetically engineered T-cell therapy has startling effectiveness against leukemia



> Genetically engineered T-cell therapy is showing startling effectiveness against leukemia, judging from both scientific and parental accounts: Of the first seven children, five had a complete response - no evidence of cancer - although one of them later relapsed. One child did not respond, and one child's outcome has not been made public by parents or doctors.
> 
> This is a follow up of prior Nextbigfuture coverage
> 
> The therapy involves transferring genes into T cells - the soldiers of the immune system - to make them recognize and attack B cells, the blood component that turns malignant in certain leukemias and lymphomas. There is also evidence that some of the designer T cells develop immune "memory," so they could reactivate and strike if cancer returns.
> 
> Today, with potent chemotherapies and radiation, about 80 percent of the 3,000 children diagnosed annually in the United States are cured. But the treatments are harsh, and when they fail, the options are increasingly grim.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Physicists, biologists unite to expose how cancer spreads*
Princeton University - Physicists, biologists unite to expose how cancer spreads


Posted April 26, 2013; 01:00 p.m.

by Catherine Zandonella, Office of the Dean for Research





> Cancer cells that can break out of a tumor and invade other organs are more aggressive and nimble than nonmalignant cells, according to a new multi-institutional nationwide study. These cells exert greater force on their environment and can more easily maneuver small spaces.
> 
> The researchers report in the journal Scientific Reports that a systematic comparison of metastatic breast-cancer cells to healthy breast cells revealed dramatic differences between the two cell lines in their mechanics, migration, oxygen response, protein production and ability to stick to surfaces. The researchers discovered new insights into how cells make the transition from nonmalignant to metastatic, a process that is not well understood.
> 
> The resulting catalogue of differences could someday help researchers detect cancerous cells earlier and someday prevent or treat metastatic cancer, which is responsible for 90 percent of all cancer deaths, according to the study. It was conducted by a network of 12 federally funded Physical Sciences-Oncology Centers (PS-OC) sponsored by the National Cancer Institute. PS-OC is a collaboration of researchers in the physical and biological sciences seeking a better understanding of the physical and chemical forces that shape the emergence and behavior of cancer.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists develop first vaccine to help control autism symptoms *
April 24, 2013


> in Autism spectrum disorders A first-ever vaccine created by University of Guelph researchers for gut bacteria common in autistic children may also help control some autism symptoms. The groundbreaking study by Brittany Pequegnat and Guelph chemistry professor Mario Monteiro appears this month in the journal Vaccine.



 Read more at: Scientists develop first vaccine to help control autism symptoms


----------



## ScienceRocks

Groundbreaking Surgery for Girl Born Without Windpipe

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/30/s...rn-without-windpipe.html?pagewanted=all&_r=3&



> Hannah Warren with her parents, Darryl and Young-Mi Warren, a few days before the operation at Children&#8217;s Hospital of Illinois.
> 
> By HENRY FOUNTAIN
> 
> Published: April 30, 2013
> 
> PEORIA, Ill. &#8212; Using plastic fibers and human cells, doctors have built and implanted a windpipe in a 2 ½-year-old girl &#8212; the youngest person ever to receive a bioengineered organ.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Hypothalamus: Brain Region May Hold Key to Aging*
Hypothalamus: Brain region may hold key to aging

May 1, 2013 &#8212; 





> While the search continues for the Fountain of Youth, researchers may have found the body's "fountain of aging": the brain region known as the hypothalamus. For the first time, scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University report that the hypothalamus of mice controls aging throughout the body. Their discovery of a specific age-related signaling pathway opens up new strategies for combating diseases of old age and extending lifespan.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Agenus trial of brain cancer vaccine shows better survival rate *

from a recent brain cancer vaccine trial is "good news for us, and good news for patients."

 Don SeiffertAssociate Editor MHT- Boston Business JournalEmail 


> Agenus Inc. (Nasdaq: AGEN) on Wednesday reported results from a mid-stage trial of a potential brain cancer vaccine showing big increases in both progression-free and overall survival.



Agenus trial of brain cancer vaccine shows better survival rate - Boston Business Journal


----------



## ScienceRocks

Skin Cells Used To Create Personalized Bone Substitutes



> A team of scientists from the New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) Research Institute announced Monday the generation of patient-specific bone substitutes from skin cells capable of repairing large bone defects.



Skin Cells Used To Create Personalized Bone Substitutes : Health & Medicine : Nature World News


----------



## ScienceRocks

Antibiotics could cure 40% of chronic back pain patients



> Scientists hail medical breakthrough by which half a million UK sufferers could avoid major surgery and take antibiotics instead
> 
> Up to 40% of patients with chronic back pain could be cured with a course of antibiotics rather than surgery, in a medical breakthrough that one spinal surgeon says is worthy of a Nobel prize.
> 
> Surgeons in the UK and elsewhere are reviewing how they treat patients with chronic back pain after scientists discovered that many of the worst cases were due to bacterial infections.
> 
> The shock finding means that scores of patients with unrelenting lower back pain will no longer face major operations but can instead be cured with courses of antibiotics costing around £114.



Antibiotics could cure 40% of chronic back pain patients | Society | guardian.co.uk


----------



## ScienceRocks

Boosting Single Gene Found to Increase Maximum Lifespan 28%

4 hours ago by Lyle J. Dennis, M.D. 0 
 .


> Scientists at UCLA have discovered that increased expression of a single gene increases the lifespan of fruitflies by more than 25%.
> 
> The gene is called Parkin, and when defective is implicated in the development of Parkinson&#8217;s disease.
> 
> The gene normally functions to recycle cell proteins and defective mitochondria.  It acts to tag defective structures so they are degraded an recycled.  It tags them by adding a ubuquitin to the protein&#8217;s surface.
> 
> It seems clear that at least in part, aging is due both to accumulation of damaged and misfolded proteins in the cell, and increasing numbers of defective and leaky mitochondria, the latter of which release reactive oxygen species which then lead to further damage.


Boosting Single Gene Found to Increase Maximum Lifespan 28%


----------



## ScienceRocks

*
Scientists Invent Oxygen Particle That If Injected, Allows You To Live Without Breathing*
by GuestAcct
 August 23, 2012 

Scientists Invent Oxygen Particle That If Injected, Allows You To Live Without Breathing | TechWench.com



> A team of scientists at the Boston Childrens Hospital have invented what is being considered one the greatest medical breakthroughs in recent years. They have designed a microparticle that can be injected into a persons bloodstream that can quickly oxygenate their blood. This will even work if the ability to breathe has been restricted, or even cut off entirely.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Gray hair and vitiligo reversed at the root 

May 3, 2013 in


> Medical research Hair dye manufacturers are on notice: The cure for gray hair is coming. That's right, the need to cover up one of the classic signs of aging with chemical pigments will be a thing of the past thanks to a team of European researchers. In a new research report published online in The FASEB Journal people who are going gray develop massive oxidative stress via accumulation of hydrogen peroxide in the hair follicle, which causes our hair to bleach itself from the inside out, and most importantly, the report shows that this massive accumulation of hydrogen peroxide can be remedied with a proprietary treatment developed by the researchers described as a topical, UVB-activated compound called PC-KUS (a modified pseudocatalase). What's more, the study also shows that the same treatment works for the skin condition, vitiligo.



 Read more at: Gray hair and vitiligo reversed at the root


----------



## ScienceRocks

*World&#8217;s only bionic eyes keep getting better*






> The world&#8217;s only bionic eyes -- implants that can bring sight to the blind -- keep getting better.
> 
> Created by Second Sight Medical Products and recently approved by the FDA, the Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System uses an implanted camera and computer to convert the world at large into electronic signals, enabling the brain to see.
> 
> It&#8217;s the first implanted device that can provide sight to people 25 and older who have lost their vision from degenerative eye diseases like macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa




Read more: World?s only bionic eyes keep getting better | Fox News


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Making old hearts younger*

Researchers at Harvard Stem Cell Institute find protein that reverses some effects of aging in mice
Making old hearts younger | Harvard Gazette



> Two Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) researchers &#8212; a stem cell biologist and a practicing cardiologist at Brigham and Women&#8217;s Hospital &#8212; have identified a protein in the blood of mice and humans that may prove to be the first effective treatment for the form of age-related heart failure that affects millions of Americans.
> 
> When the protein, called GDF-11, was injected into old mice, which develop thickened heart walls in a manner similar to aging humans, the hearts were reduced in size and thickness, resembling the healthy hearts of younger mice.
> 
> Even more important than the implications for the treatment of diastolic heart failure, the finding by Richard T. Lee, a Harvard Medical School professor at the hospital, and Amy Wagers, a professor in Harvard&#8217;s Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, ultimately may rewrite our understanding of aging.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*China reports three new bird flu deaths, toll hits 35*China reports three new bird flu deaths, toll hits 35 | Reuters
BEIJING | Mon May 13, 2013 9:53am EDT 



> (Reuters) - Three more people have died in China from the new strain of H7N9 bird flu virus, raising the death toll to 35 while the total number of infections rose to 130, state media said on Monday.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Breakthrough in the Understanding of How Pancreatic Cancer Cells Ingest Nutrients Points to New Drug Target*
Breakthrough in the understanding of how pancreatic cancer cells ingest nutrients points to new drug target



> May 13, 2013 &#8212; In a landmark cancer study published online in Nature, researchers at NYU School of Medicine have unraveled a longstanding mystery about how pancreatic tumor cells feed themselves, opening up new therapeutic possibilities for a notoriously lethal disease with few treatment options. Pancreatic cancer kills nearly 38,000 Americans annually, making it a leading cause of cancer death. The life expectancy for most people diagnosed with it is less than a year


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Marijuana Decreases Insulin Resistance, Improves Blood Sugar Control *


Marijuana Decreases Insulin Resistance, Improves Blood Sugar Control


> Researchers have found that marijuana users have lower fasting insulin levels compared to non-users, as well as healthier waist sizes and BMI scores.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Robotic &#8216;iLimbs&#8217; donated to flesh-eating bacteria victim*



> The robotic &#8216;iLimbs&#8221; can cost up to $120,000 each.
> 
> Touch Bionics has donated a pair of robotic &#8220;iLimbs&#8221; to flesh-eating bacteria victim Aimee Copeland, reports CBS News.
> 
> A spokesperson for the company said Copeland has agreed to compensate them by acting as an ambassador for their products.
> 
> Without Touch Bionics&#8217; generosity, Copeland might have had trouble affording the ultra iLimb revolution technology, as the bionic hands can cost up to $120,000 each.




Read more: Robotic ?iLimbs? donated to flesh-eating bacteria victim | Science Recorder


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Researchers report first success in cloning human stem cells*



> Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University and Oregon National Primate Researcher Center report the first success in cloning human stem cells. It is thought that stem cell therapies could someday replace cells damaged through injury or illnesses. Drs. Shoukhrat Mitalipov, a senior scientist at ONPRC, and Paula Amato, along with their colleagues in OHSU&#8217;s Division [...]




Read more: Researchers report first success in cloning human stem cells | Science Recorder


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New treatments for hepatitis C*
CROI 2013: complications of HIV dise... [Top Antivir Med. 2013 Apr-May] - PubMed - NCBI




> Several emerging treatments for this debilitating illness could dramatically improve cure rates, while greatly decreasing the side effects and period of time needed to recover.
> 
> It is estimated that between 130200 million people  or nearly 3% of the world's population  are living with chronic hepatitis C. The disease was first postulated in the 1970s and proven in 1989. The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is spread primarily by blood-to-blood contact from intravenous drug use, poorly sterilised medical equipment and transfusions. Affecting mainly the liver, it is often asymptomatic, but can lead to eventual scarring of the liver and ultimately to cirrhosis, liver failure, cancer and other life-threatening conditions.
> 
> No vaccine against hepatitis C is available. HCV induces chronic infection in 5080% of cases. Of these, around 75% will clear with medication. However, lengthy periods of treatment are often required  up to 48 weeks or more, depending on the genotype. Adverse side effects are common, with half of people getting flu-like symptoms and a third experiencing emotional problems. The economic costs are significant both to the individual and society. In the USA for example the average lifetime cost of the disease has been estimated at $33,407, with a liver transplant costing $200,000.
> 
> At the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI), held recently in Atlanta, a range of new studies on direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) was highlighted. They are summarised in the abstract of a paper which states:
> 
> 
> "In HCV monoinfected patients, several interferon alfa-sparing, all-oral regimens demonstrated cure rates of greater than 90% with 12 weeks of treatment, including for hard-to-treat patients."
> 
> Interferon is an immune-boosting drug used in current treatments  and is responsible for many of the side effects described earlier  so its replacement with new, direct-acting drugs like those mentioned here would be a major boost in terms of curing HCV.


----------



## ScienceRocks

New smart fabric mimics the way skin perspires


> UC Davis biomedical engineers turn to human skin for inspiration in creating a new moisture-wicking fabric



New smart fabric mimics the way skin perspires | Crave - CNET


----------



## ScienceRocks

Coffee may protect against rare liver disease, plus five other benefits



Coffee consumption may protect against a rare liver disease known as primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC).


> Here are five additional benefits of coffee:
> 
> 1. Coffee may help lower your risk of getting Type 2 diabetes. According to a 2012 study, a compound in coffee can block a substance in the body that may be linked to the development of diabetes.
> 
> 2. A cup of coffee plus exercise may protect you from skin cancer. A team of researchers at Rutgers University found that the combination of exercise and caffeine contributed to the destruction of precancerous cells that had been damaged by the sun.
> 
> 3. Coffee may reduce your risk of oral cancer. American Cancer Society researchers discovered that people who consumed more than four cups of coffee a day were about 50 percent less likely to die from oral cancer.
> 
> 4. Drinking coffee increases your fiber intake.
> 
> 5. Coffee may lower your risk of depression. Researchers reporting in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine discovered that women who drank four or more cups of coffee a day had a 20 percent lower risk of developing depression over the study period.


Read more: Coffee may protect against rare liver disease, plus five other benefits | Science Recorder


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists Able To Slow Aging In Mice By Modifying The Brain&#8217;s Hypothalamus*

Scientists Able To Slow Aging In Mice By Modifying The Brain?s Hypothalamus | Singularity Hub


> When we age, all parts of our body deteriorate over time. But while aging as a whole might be an accumulation of disparate processes, scientists have long wondered if it might be controlled by some central location in the body. Researchers have now uncovered an area in the brain about the size of an almond in humans that wields powerful control over the body&#8217;s aging process. By manipulating a single substance secreted by the hypothalamus they were able to extend the lives of mice. The work opens up the possibility that the hypothalamus may be an important target in treating age-related diseases such as heart disease and Alzheimer&#8217;s.
> 
> The hypothalamus controls a number of hormones that influence development, growth, metabolism and reproduction. Previous research has also shown that an unhealthy hypothalamus can lead to disorders associated with aging such as glucose intolerance and hypertension. Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University then asked if the hypothalamus might have some greater control over aging in general.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Slowing the aging process&#8212;only with antibiotics*



> Swiss scientists reveal the mechanism responsible for aging hidden deep within mitochondria&#8212;and dramatically slow it down in worms by administering antibiotics to the young.



 Read more at: Slowing the aging process?only with antibiotics


----------



## Trakar

Discoveries could change shape of battle against viruses
Health News - Discoveries could change shape of battle against viruses



> ...For a virus to infect a cell, the virus has to change from a spherical shape to an hourglass shape. The new drug developed by Schang and his team prevented viruses from changing their shapes and infecting cells.
> &#8220;The compounds or drugs we developed insert themselves inside a certain part of the virus and then the virus no longer has enough energy to change its shape and fuse to cells. When a virus fuses to a cell, this allows the virus to enter the cell and infect it,&#8221; explains Schang. &#8220;So our discovery prevents the virus from infecting new cells, although it does not stop the virus from killing already infected cells.&#8221;...


----------



## ScienceRocks

'Universal' flu vaccine effective in animals


Self-assembling nanoparticles could make updating seasonal vaccines easier.
Ed Yong

22 May 2013

'Universal' flu vaccine effective in animals : Nature News & Comment



> Under the microscope, they look like simple jacks, with eight spikes jutting out of a central ball. But these protein nanoparticles are science's latest weapon against influenza: a new breed of flu vaccine that provides better and broader protection than commercially available ones  at least in animal tests


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists discover molecular trigger for itch*
Scientists discover molecular trigger for itch : Nature News & Comment

Identification of distinct neural circuit distinguishes the sensation from pain.
Chris Palmer


> Once thought to be a low-level form of pain, itch is instead a distinct sensation with a dedicated neural circuit linking cells in the periphery of the body to the brain, a study in mice suggests.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Stroke patients see signs of recovery in stem-cell trial
By Pallab Ghosh



> Science correspondent, BBC News Foetal blood stem cells Trial patients will get progressively higher doses of stem cells
> Five seriously disabled stroke patients have shown small signs of recovery following the injection of stem cells into their brain.
> 
> Prof Keith Muir, of Glasgow University, who is treating them, says he is "surprised" by the mild to moderate improvements in the five patients.
> 
> He stresses it is too soon to tell whether the effect is due to the treatment they are receiving.


BBC News - Stroke patients see signs of recovery in stem-cell trial


----------



## ScienceRocks

Heart attack drug may reduce tissue damageHeart monitoring 100,000 people a year in the UK suffer a heart attack 
BBC News - Heart attack drug may reduce tissue damage


> A new drug that could help reduce damage to the body after a heart attack, stroke or major surgery has been developed by UK scientists.
> 
> Tests in mice suggest the compound protects the heart when blood flow is restored suddenly after a period when tissue has been starved of oxygen.
> 
> MitoSNO has yet to be tested on humans, but could lead to a whole new class of medicines.
> 
> The research is published in the journal Nature Medicine.


----------



## waltky

New vaccine for EV71 works...

*Hand, foot and mouth disease: First vaccine*
_28 May 2013 - The first vaccine which protects children against hand, foot and mouth disease has been reported by scientists in China._


> The infection causes a rash and painful blisters, but in some cases results in brain infections which can be fatal.  A trial involving 10,000 children, published in the Lancet, showed the vaccine was 90% effective against one virus which causes the disease.  It does not protect against other viruses that result in the disease.  Viruses can cause large outbreaks of hand, foot and mouth disease. In 2009, there was an outbreak in China involving 1.2 million people. Nearly 14,000 people had severe complications and 353 people died.
> 
> Groups of researchers in Jiangsu province and Beijing tested a vaccine made from a deactivated enterovirus 71 (EV71), which causes the disease.  Two jabs were given to children between six and 35 months old. They prevented 90% of cases of hand, foot and mouth disease caused by EV71.  "Infection with EV71 is of particular concern because it can cause severe disease and even death in children. The EV71 vaccine could help prevent hospital admissions and severe cases," the researchers said.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The infection causes a rash on the hands and feet as well as mouth ulcers
> 
> Hand, foot and mouth disease is caused by many other viruses, such as Coxsackievirus A16 and even other strains of EV71, so this vaccine could not eliminate the disease.  The researchers themselves warn that: "The EV71 vaccine might have little part in reducing the overall incidence of HFMD, even by universal mass immunisation of children."
> 
> Commenting on the research, Dr Nigel Crawford and Dr Steve Graham, both from the University of Melbourne, said the vaccine was tailored to the predominant strain in China.  "The major effect of this vaccine will be to reduce hospital admission, which is an important result of many vaccines.  "The next step is to assess the appropriateness of including an EV71 vaccine in China's national immunisation programme."
> 
> BBC News - Hand, foot and mouth disease: First vaccine


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Hybrid Carbon Nanotube Yarn Muscle*
Hybrid carbon nanotube yarn muscle



> May 29, 2013 &#8212; Professor Seon Jeong Kim of Hanyang University has created a high capacity yarn muscle that does not require electrolytes or special packaging. It will have a big impact in the motor, biological and robot industry.
> 
> 
> Kim's article, "Electrically, Chemically, and Photonically Powered Torsional and Tensile Actuation of Hybrid Carbon Nanotube Yarn Muscles," was published in the journal of Science. He is currently the director of the National Creative Research Initiative Center for Bio-Artificial Muscle at Hanyang University (HYU). In 2006, the research center was designated as the "Leader's Research Support Business" by the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*
Brown Fat Cell Discovery May Lead to Treatment of Obesity*


 May 9, 2013 by  Sci-News.com 


> A new study by scientists at Sahlgrenska Academy, Sweden, shows that humans have two different types of brown fat cells, not one as previously thought.
> 
> According to scientists, the body&#8217;s brown fat cells play a key role in the development of obesity and diabetes. Unlike white fat cells, which store the body&#8217;s surplus energy in the form of fat, brown fat cells have the unique property of being able to burn energy and turn it into heat.
> 
> The new research published in the journal Nature Medicine reveals that people have at least two different kinds of brown fat cells.


Brown Fat Cell Discovery May Lead to Treatment of Obesity | Medicine | Sci-News.com


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Argentina develops lung cancer vaccine*




> BUENOS AIRES, May 31 (Xinhua) -- Argentina announced Friday the successful development of a "therapeutic vaccine" for lung cancer patients, which is considered the "first innovative drug" to treat the disease.
> 
> It is a "new resource for a group of patients who did not have many alternatives," said Daniel Alonso, director of the Molecular Oncology Laboratory from the National University of Quilmes and researcher from the National Science and Technology Council ( Conicet), in a statement Friday.


Argentina develops lung cancer vaccine - Xinhua | English.news.cn

*New Weapon in Fight Against Cervical Cancer*



> May 30, 2013 &#8212; Scientists at the University of Leeds have found a way to target and destroy a key protein associated with the development of cervical and other cancers.
> 
> The E7 protein is produced early in the lifecycle of the human papillomavirus (HPV) and blocks the body's natural defences against the uncontrolled division of cells that can lead to cancer.


http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130530192431.htm


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Enhanced white blood cells heal mice with MS-like disease*


> June 1, 2013 in Neuroscience Genetically engineered immune cells seem to promote healing in mice infected with a neurological disease similar to multiple sclerosis (MS), cleaning up lesions and allowing the mice to regain use of their legs and tails.



 Read more at: Enhanced white blood cells heal mice with MS-like disease


----------



## ScienceRocks

*The Latest Artificial Heart: Part Cow, Part Machine*

A French company is preparing to test a complex artificial heart that combines biology with machinery. 
By Susan Young on May 30, 2013 




> A new kind of artificial heart that combines synthetic and biological materials as well as sensors and software to detect a patient&#8217;s level of exertion and adjust output accordingly is to be tested in patients at four cardiac surgery centers in Europe and the Middle East. If the &#8220;bioprosthetic&#8221; device, made by the Paris-based Carmat, proves to be safe and effective, it could be given to patients waiting for a heart transplant. Currently, only one fully artificial heart, made by Tucson, Arizona-based SynCardia, has U.S., Canadian, and European regulatory approval for use in patients.
> 
> Attempts to completely replace the human heart with a prosthetic device started decades ago (see &#8220;CPR for the Artificial Heart&#8221. It is hugely challenging to create a device that can withstand the harsh conditions of the body&#8217;s circulatory system and reliably pump 35 million times per year, as the heart does. Other complications, such as stroke caused by blood clots in artificial heart implants, have also caused setbacks. For these reasons, fully artificial hearts typically serve as a temporary measure, or as a &#8220;bridge to transplant,&#8221; although the FDA has recently granted a humanitarian use exemption for one of SynCardia&#8217;s artificial hearts for patients not currently eligible for a donor heart.


Read more: New Artificial Heart to Be Tested | MIT Technology Review 
From MIT Technology Review 
Follow us: @techreview on Twitter | technologyreview on Facebook


----------



## ScienceRocks

Researchers are one step closer to artificial livers 


> June 2, 2013 by Anne Trafton in Medical research Prometheus, the mythological figure who stole fire from the gods, was punished for this theft by being bound to a rock. Each day, an eagle swept down and fed on his liver, which then grew back to be eaten again the next day.
> 
> Modern scientists know there is a grain of truth to the tale, says MIT engineer Sangeeta Bhatia: The liver can indeed regenerate itself if part of it is removed. However, researchers trying to exploit that ability in hopes of producing artificial liver tissue for transplantation have repeatedly been stymied: Mature liver cells, known as hepatocytes, quickly lose their normal function when removed from the body.
> 
> "It's a paradox because we know liver cells are capable of growing, but somehow we can't get them to grow" outside the body, says Bhatia, the John and Dorothy Wilson Professor of Health Sciences and Technology and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT, a senior associate member of the Broad Institute and a member of MIT's Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research and Institute for Medical Engineering and Science.



 Read more at: Researchers are one step closer to artificial livers


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New cancer drug shows promise for treating advanced melanoma *


> June 2, 2013 in Cancer Researchers from UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center report that a new drug in preliminary tests has shown promising results with very manageable side effects for treating patients with melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer.
> 
> The results were presented at the 2013 meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology today in Chicago by Dr. Antoni Ribas, professor of medicine in the UCLA division of hematology-oncology, who led the research. Following Ribas' presentation, the study was published online ahead of press in the New England Journal of Medicine.


 Read more at: New cancer drug shows promise for treating advanced melanoma


----------



## ScienceRocks

New method of mass-producing high-quality DNA molecules

Published: Sunday, June 2, 2013 - 14:02  in Biology & Nature 


> A new method of manufacturing short, single-stranded DNA molecules can solve many of the problems associated with current production methods. The new method, which is described in the scientific periodical Nature Methods, can be of value to both DNA nanotechnology and the development of drugs consisting of DNA fragments. The novel technique for manufacturing short, single-stranded DNA molecules -- or oligonucleotides -- has been developed by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and Harvard University. Such DNA fragments constitute a basic tool for researchers and play a key part in many fields of science. Many of the recent advances in genetic and molecular biological research and development, such as the ability to quickly scan an organism's genome, would not have been possible without oligonucleotides.




New method of mass-producing high-quality DNA molecules | e! Science News


----------



## ScienceRocks

*ASCO: Sorafenib Halts Resistant Thyroid Cancer*

By Crystal Phend, Senior Staff Writer, MedPage Today
Published: June 02, 2013
ASCO: Sorafenib Halts Resistant Thyroid Cancer

Action Points

This study was published as an abstract and presented at a conference. These data and conclusions should be considered to be preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.
The kinase inhibitor sorafenib keeps metastatic differentiated thyroid cancer from progressing after it stops responding to standard radioiodine.
Note that no new drugs have been approved for this form of thyroid cancer in 40 years.


> CHICAGO -- The kinase inhibitor sorafenib keeps metastatic differentiated thyroid cancer from progressing after it stops responding to standard radioiodine, the DECISION trial showed.
> 
> Progression-free survival (PFS) came in nearly double with sorafenib (Nexavar), at a median of 10.8 months versus 5.8 with placebo (P<0.0001), Marcia Brose, MD, PhD, of the Abramson Cancer Center in Philadelphia, and colleagues found.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Peering into a cell in real time


> A dream of scientists has been to visualise details of structures within our cells in real time, a breakthrough that would greatly aid in the study of their function. However, even the best of current microscopes can take minutes to recreate images of the internal machinery of cells at a usable resolution.
> 
> Thanks to a technical tour de force, involving new algorithms, Yale University researchers can now generate accurate images of sub-cellular structures in milliseconds, rather than minutes. This could be of great help in the study of cancer and other diseases. Below is an image of microtubules, which act as cellular scaffolding, captured in just 33 milliseconds using video-rate nanoscopy.
> 
> &#8220;We can now see research come to life and tackle complex questions or conditions which require hundreds of images, something we have not been able to do before,&#8221; said Joerg Bewersdorf, assistant professor of cell biology and biomedical engineering and senior author of the research, published in the journal



Peering into a cell in real time


----------



## ScienceRocks

Scientists Discover How HIV Kills Immune Cells; Findings Have Implications for HIV Treatment 



> Untreated HIV infection destroys a person's immune system by killing infection-fighting cells, but precisely when and how HIV wreaks this destruction has been a mystery until now. New research by scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, reveals how HIV triggers a signal telling an infected immune cell to die. This finding has implications for preserving the immune systems of HIV-infected individuals.
> 
> HIV replicates inside infection-fighting human immune cells called CD4+ T cells through complex processes that include inserting its genes into cellular DNA. The scientists discovered that during this integration step, a cellular enzyme called DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK) becomes activated. DNA-PK normally coordinates the repair of simultaneous breaks in both strands of molecules that comprise DNA. As HIV integrates its genes into cellular DNA, single-stranded breaks occur where viral and cellular DNA meet. Nevertheless, the scientists discovered, the DNA breaks during HIV integration surprisingly activate DNA-PK, which then performs an unusually destructive role: eliciting a signal that causes the CD4+ T cell to die. The cells that succumb to this death signal are the very ones mobilized to fight the infection.



Scientists discover how HIV kills immune cells; Findings have implications for HIV treatment


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Man with kidney disease first in U.S. to get bioengineered vein*

In a first-of-its kind procedure, surgeons implant the blood vessel into the arm of a 62-year-old Virginia man with renal failure.


> For the first time in the U.S., surgeons have successfully transplanted a bioengineered blood vessel into the arm of a patient -- a possible stepping stone toward more complex human-engineered organs such as livers or eyes, and potentially a more immediate boon for kidney dialysis patients and perhaps even people with heart disease.
> 
> The surgery represents a major milestone for tissue engineering: The bioengineered blood vessel can be stored relatively easily and donated universally (unlike veins harvested from a patient's own body and therefore specific to that body). Also, it's human-cell-based, with no biological properties that can cause organ rejection.



Man with kidney disease first in U.S. to get bioengineered vein | Cutting Edge - CNET News


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Blood sample The test analyses foteal DNA in a mother's blood Continue reading the main story *
BBC News - Early Down's test 'more sensitive'



> A more accurate test for Down's syndrome which can also be given earlier in pregnancy than current checks has been developed, say experts.
> 
> A study of 1,000 pregnancies found the test of foetal DNA in maternal blood can show a baby is "almost certainly" affected or unaffected by Down's.
> 
> The King's College London team behind it said it could help women decide if they needed further, invasive tests.
> 
> The Down's Syndrome Association said the new test was not "imminent".
> 
> Around 750 babies are born with Down's syndrome each year in the UK.
> 
> The condition is caused by the presence of an extra copy of chromosome 21, which occurs by chance


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists develop first lung cancer &#8216;vaccine&#8217;*

By Jude Webber in Buenos Aires



> Argentine and Cuban scientists have developed the world&#8217;s first lung cancer &#8220;vaccine&#8221;, that clinical trials have shown prolonged the life of three times more patients in the late stages of the disease than traditional chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments.
> 
> The drug, Racotumomab, is not a vaccine in the ordinary sense. It neither prevents, nor cures, what is one of the most aggressive and hard-to-heal cancers, and one which is usually detected only when it is already very advanced.
> 
> Clinical trials on some 1,700 patients have shown that 24 per cent of late-stage lung cancer sufferers lived for two years with Racotumomab, whereas the figure was only 8 per cent on chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Phase III trials are continuing in seven countries.
> 
> Whereas those traditional treatments kill cancer cells but attack all cells, Racotumomab is one of a new breed of drugs designed to spark the body&#8217;s immune system into destroying the cancer by &#8220;unmasking&#8221; it and allowing the body to kill it, said Mr Alonso.


Scientists develop first lung cancer ?vaccine? - FT.com


----------



## ScienceRocks

*UConn Doctor&#8217;s Vaccine Technology Shows Promise in Brain Cancer Treatment*
June 7, 2013
By: Lisa Catanese


> The scientific work of a University of Connecticut Health Center doctor has led to the creation of a vaccine that has shown promising results in fighting a deadly form of brain cancer.
> 
> A preliminary analysis of a multi-center, single-arm, phase 2 clinical trial of the vaccine plus chemoradiation in patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) showed a 146 percent increase in progression-free survival and a 60 percent increase in overall survival compared to those who receive chemoradiation alone.


UConn Doctor?s Vaccine Technology Shows Promise in Brain Cancer Treatment | UConn Today


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Major breakthrough in multiple sclerosis treatment*



> A phase 1 clinical trial for the first treatment to "reset" the immune system of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients has shown that the therapy is safe. It dramatically reduced patients' immune systems' reactivity to myelin by 50 to 75 percent, according to new research.
> 
> In MS, the immune system attacks and destroys myelin, the insulating layer that forms around nerves in the spinal cord, brain and optic nerve. When the insulation is destroyed, electrical signals can&#8217;t be effectively conducted, resulting in symptoms that range from mild limb numbness to paralysis or blindness.
> 
> &#8220;The therapy stops autoimmune responses that are already activated and prevents activation of new autoimmune cells,&#8221; said Stephen Miller, Professor of Microbiology-Immunology at Northwestern University. &#8220;Our approach leaves the function of the normal immune system intact. That&#8217;s the holy grail.&#8221;
> 
> Miller is co-author of a paper on the study, published this week in Science Translational Medicine. The study is a collaboration between Northwestern&#8217;s Feinberg School, University Hospital Zurich in Switzerland and University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf in Germany


Antigen-Specific Tolerance by Autologous Myelin Peptide?Coupled Cells: A Phase 1 Trial in Multiple Sclerosis


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Arc protein 'could be key to memory loss', says study*
Artwork of a person's head showing the left hemisphere of the brain inside and the hippocampus in yellow The hippocampus part of the brain plays an important role in long-term memory and spatial memory 



> Scientists have discovered more about the role of an important brain protein which is instrumental in translating learning into long-term memories.
> 
> Writing in Nature Neuroscience, they said further research into the Arc protein's role could help in finding new ways to fight neurological diseases.
> 
> The same protein may also be a factor in autism, the study said.
> 
> Recent research found Arc lacking in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.



http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-22811691


----------



## ScienceRocks

*MRI detects early damage to chemotherapy child heartsGirl examining her teddy *BBC News - MRI detects early damage to chemotherapy child hearts



> Detecting early damage to a child's heart following chemotherapy is possible using MRI scans, says a study from Canada.
> 
> Even when children's heart function appeared to be normal, a new MRI method of mapping the heart was able to identify damage, University of Alberta researchers said.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Chemists developing breathalyzer to detect and monitor diabetes

Diabetics can have a "fruity" odor to their breath that indicates high glucose levels, and chemists at the University of Pittsburgh say this biomarker alone can diagnose the disease.

Elizabeth Armstrong Moore 

Chemists developing breathalyzer to detect and monitor diabetes | Cutting Edge - CNET News

Nowadays breathalyzers are being used to detect far more than just how much alcohol one has imbibed. Researchers in Sweden are working on one that can spot marijuana and cocaine. Scientists in Germany are exploring one that can sniff out heart failure. And researchers in the U.S. are hard at work on one that can detect diseases such as diabetes.

And now, a group of chemists at the University of Pittsburgh is unveiling new sensor technology that could lead to a breathalyzer for not just the detection of diabetes, but the ongoing monitoring of it as well.


----------



## TW

The rep is for multiple postings.


----------



## TW

I haven't gone back through all of the pages, but one recent item in science news causes me great concern, and that is the potential connection between herbicides, like "Round-up", and neurological diseases like Parkinson's. That product is ubiquitous and I'm sure the run off makes it more-so, in terms of infiltrating drinking water sources. Why do people get crazy about dandelions anyway?


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Breakthrough allows fast, reliable pathogen identification*

1 hour ago 


> Life-threatening bacterial infections cause tens of thousands of deaths every year in North America. Increasingly, many infections are resistant to first-line antibiotics. Unfortunately, current methods of culturing bacteria in the lab can take days to report the specific source of the infection, and even longer to pinpoint the right antibiotic that will clear the infection. There remains an urgent, unmet need for technologies that can allow bacterial infections to be rapidly and specifically diagnosed.
> 
> Researchers from the University of Toronto have created an electronic chip with record-breaking speed that can analyze samples for panels of infectious bacteria. The new technology can report the identity of the pathogen in a matter of minutes, and looks for many different bacteria and drug resistance markers in parallel, allowing rapid and specific identification of infectious agents. The advance was reported this month in the journal Nature Communications.


 Read more at: Breakthrough allows fast, reliable pathogen identification


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Tenofovir Reduces HIV Infections in Injection Drug Users*

Troy Brown
Jun 12, 2013
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/805739



> Preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) with tenofovir disoproxil fumarate nearly halved (48.9%) HIV infection rates in injection drug users, according to a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial of 2413 participants in Thailand.
> 
> Kachit Choopanya, MD, from the Bangkok Tenofovir Study Group in Thailand, and colleagues report their findings in an article published online June 13 in the Lancet.
> 
> Of the 2.5 million people worldwide who contracted HIV in 2011, 1 in 10 cases was likely caused by injecting drug use. Some countries in eastern Europe and central Asia report that more than 80% of all HIV infections are caused by drug use, the authors note.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Lifespan-extending drug given late in life reverses age-related heart disease in mice*

June 12, 2013
.
Lifespan-extending drug given late in life reverses age-related heart disease in mice | KurzweilAI


> Elderly mice suffering from age-related heart disease saw a significant improvement in cardiac function after being treated with the FDA-approved drug rapamycin for just three months.
> 
> The research, led by a team of scientists at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, shows how rapamycin impacts mammalian tissues, providing functional insights and possible benefits for a drug that has been shown to extend the lifespan of mice as much as 14 percent.
> 
> There are implications for human health in the research appearing in Aging Cell. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S., claiming nearly 600,000 lives per year.



Well, if it helps in rats. Who knows?


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Easy, effective therapy to restore sight: Engineered virus will improve gene therapy for blinding eye diseases*
Easy, effective therapy to restore sight: Engineered virus will improve gene therapy for blinding eye diseases



> Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have developed an easier and more effective method for inserting genes into eye cells that could greatly expand gene therapy to help restore sight to patients with blinding diseases ranging from inherited defects like retinitis pigmentosa to degenerative illnesses of old age, such as macular degeneration.
> 
> Unlike current treatments, the new procedure &#8211; which takes a little as 15-minutes &#8211; is surgically non-invasive, and it delivers normal genes to difficult-to-reach cells throughout the entire retina.



Gene therapy is likely one of the top 3 greatest medical advances. Will have to wait for another 20-30 years to fully realize this.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New quantum dot technique combines best of optical and electron microscopy*



> It's not reruns of "The Jetsons", but researchers working at the National Institute of Standards and Technology have developed a new microscopy technique that uses a process similar to how an old tube television produces a picture&#8212;cathodoluminescence&#8212;to image nanoscale features. Combining the best features of optical and scanning electron microscopy, the fast, versatile, and high-resolution technique allows scientists to view surface and subsurface features potentially as small as 10 nanometers in size.


 Read more at: New quantum dot technique combines best of optical and electron microscopy


----------



## ScienceRocks

*TEDGlobal: Future vaccines could be delivered via patch*
By Jane Wakefield

Technology reporter, TEDGlobal, Edinburgh
BBC News - TEDGlobal: Future vaccines could be delivered via patch


> A skin patch that can deliver vaccines cheaply and effectively has been shown off at the TEDGlobal conference in Edinburgh.
> 
> Using a patch rather than a needle could transform disease prevention around the world, said its inventor.
> 
> Prof Mark Kendall said the new method offered hope of usable vaccines for diseases such as malaria.
> 
> Other medical experts welcomed the news, but warned it might be unsuitable for some patients.
> 
> Old technology
> 
> It was fitting that Prof Kendall delivered his talk in Edinburgh where, 160 years previously, Alexander Wood had lodged the first patent for the needle and syringe.
> 
> "The patent looked almost identical to the needles we use today. This is a 160-year-old technology," he said.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Artificial Spleen Offers Hope for Faster Sepsis Diagnosis and Treatment*

Researchers are designing a &#8220;dialysis-like&#8221; machine that could identify and remove pathogens responsible for an often lethal blood infection. 
By Mike Orcutt on June 13, 2013 


> Blood cleanser: This device uses microfluidics and nanotechnology to remove pathogens from blood before returning it to the body.
> 
> Taking advantage of recent advances in nanotechnology and microfluidics, researchers have made significant progress toward a device that could be used to rapidly remove pathogens from the blood of patients with sepsis, a potentially life-threatening condition that occurs when an infection is distributed throughout the body via the bloodstream.
> 
> Engineers at Harvard University&#8217;s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, where the technology is under development, are also hoping the device will be able to identify the specific microörganism causing the problem, which could help physicians determine the most effective antibiotic treatment more quickly than they can with conventional diagnostic tests.



Spleen-on-a-Chip | MIT Technology Review


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Osteoporosis drug stops growth of breast cancer cells, even in resistant tumors*

Osteoporosis drug stops growth of breast cancer cells, even in resistant tumors



> A drug approved in Europe to treat osteoporosis has now been shown to stop the growth of breast cancer cells, even in cancers that have become resistant to current targeted therapies, according to a Duke Cancer Institute study.
> 
> The findings, presented June 15, 2013, at the annual Endocrine Society meeting in San Francisco, indicate that the drug bazedoxifene packs a powerful one-two punch that not only prevents estrogen from fueling breast cancer cell growth, but also flags the estrogen receptor for destruction.
> 
> "We found bazedoxifene binds to the estrogen receptor and interferes with its activity, but the surprising thing we then found was that it also degrades the receptor; it gets rid of it," said senior author Donald McDonnell, PhD, chair of Duke's Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology.



Cure for breast cancer?


----------



## PaulS1950

I wonder if it also degrades the body's natural estrogen receptors........


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Memory-boosting chemical identified in mice*
Pharmacological brake-release of mRNA translation enhances cognitive memory | eLife


> A small, drug-like molecule injected into mice has been found to significantly boost their memory.
> 
> The same biochemical pathway the molecule acts on might one day be targeted in humans to improve their memory, according to Peter Walter, professor of biochemistry and biophysics at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).
> 
> In one test, normal mice were able to relocate a submerged platform about three times faster after receiving injections of the potent chemical than mice who received sham injections. The mice that received the chemical also better remembered cues associated with unpleasant stimuli &#8211; the sort of fear conditioning that could help a mouse avoid being preyed upon.
> 
> Notably, the findings suggest that, despite what would seem to be the importance of having the best biochemical mechanisms to maximise the power of memory, evolution does not seem to have provided them.
> 
> &#8220;It appears that the process of evolution has not optimised memory consolidation; otherwise I don&#8217;t think we could have improved upon it the way we did in our study with normal, healthy mice,&#8221; Walter said.
> 
> The memory-boosting chemical was singled out from 100,000 chemicals screened at the Small Molecule Discovery Center at UCSF for their potential to perturb a protective biochemical pathway within cells, that is activated when cells are unable to keep up with the need to fold proteins into their working forms.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New drug reverses loss of brain connections in Alzheimer's disease*


> The first experimental drug to boost brain synapses lost in Alzheimer's disease has been developed by researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute. The drug, called NitroMemantine, combines two FDA-approved medicines to stop the destructive cascade of changes in the brain that destroys the connections between neurons, leading to memory loss and cognitive decline.
> 
> The decade-long study, led by Stuart A. Lipton, M.D., Ph.D., professor and director of the Del E. Webb Center for Neuroscience, Aging, and Stem Cell Research, who is also a practicing clinical neurologist, shows that NitroMemantine can restore synapses, representing the connections between nerve cells (neurons) that have been lost during the progression of Alzheimer's in the brain. The research findings are described in a paper published June 17 by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS).
> 
> The focus on a downstream target to treat Alzheimer's, rather than on amyloid beta plaques and neurofibrillary tangles&#8212;approaches which have shown little success&#8212;"is very exciting because everyone is now looking for an earlier treatment of the disease," Lipton said. "These findings actually mean that you might be able to intercede not only early but also a bit later." And that means that an Alzheimer's patient may be able to have synaptic connections restored even with plaques and tangles already in his or her brain.


New drug reverses loss of brain connections in Alzheimer's disease


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Anti-Aging Drug Breakthrough *

Anti-aging drug breakthrough


> Drugs that combat aging may be available within five years, following landmark work led by an Australian researcher.
> 
> The work, published in the March 8 issue of Science, finally proves that a single anti-aging enzyme in the body can be targeted, with the potential to prevent age-related diseases and extend lifespans.
> 
> The paper shows all of the 117 drugs tested work on the single enzyme through a common mechanism. This means that a whole new class of anti-aging drugs is now viable, which could ultimately prevent cancer, Alzheimer's disease and type 2 diabetes.
> 
> While any drug would be strictly prescribed for certain conditions, Professor Sinclair suggests that one day, they could be taken orally as a preventative. This would be in much the same way as statin drugs are commonly prescribed to prevent, instead of simply treating, cardiovascular disease.
> 
> "Now we are looking at whether there are benefits for those who are already healthy. Things there are also looking promising," says Professor Sinclair, who also heads the Lowy Cancer Research Centre's Laboratory for aging Research at UNSW.
> 
> "We're finding that aging isn't the irreversible affliction that we thought it was," he says. "Some of us could live to 150, but we won't get there without more research."


----------



## ScienceRocks

*HPV vaccine reduces cancer virus in girls by 56%*


Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY 7:42 p.m. EDT June 19, 2013


> The CDC reports a striking decline in the prevalance of HPV infection since vaccination began in 2006.
> 
> A vaccine against the human papillomavirus has decreased the incidence of the cancer-causing virus among teenage girls by 56%, despite being available since only 2006, a study released Wednesday finds



HPV vaccine reduces cancer virus in girls by 56%


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Silver Boosts Antibiotic Success*



> Adding silver to antibiotics makes them *10 to 1,000 times more effective *at fighting infections, research suggests.
> 
> This could mean that medicines could become far, far more effective in a very short amount of time.




BBC News - Silver 'boost to antibiotic success'

Another huge advancement of understanding!


----------



## ScienceRocks

Human Organs could be grown in animals within a year.

Human organs 'could be grown in animals within a year' - Telegraph


----------



## ScienceRocks

*BigBrain: An ultra-high resolution 3-D roadmap of the human brain*
BigBrain: An ultra-high resolution 3-D roadmap of the human brain



> International neuroscientists have produced a fully 3D map of a human brain &#8211; scanning and digitising thousands of ultrathin slices to determine its structure at extremely high resolution.
> 
> The map is being made freely available to researchers worldwide. It has a spatial resolution of just 20 micrometres (µm), far exceeding the typical 1 mm (1000 µm) from MRI studies. For comparison, a red blood cell is 8 µm wide.
> 
> In recent years, major efforts have been getting underway to probe and map the brain, in the hope of conquering physical and mental illnesses, while better understanding the nature of consciousness. In January, the European Commission awarded &#8364;1 billion (US$1.3 bn) to the Human Brain Project, intended to create the world's largest experimental facility for brain mapping. In February, Barack Obama announced the Brain Activity Map Project &#8211; a decade-long effort to map the activity of every neuron in the human brain. In March, the Human Connectome Project released a major dataset, revealing the complexities of the brain's structure and giving a clearer picture of its role in neural disorders. Yet another major initiative is the Blue Brain Project, founded in Switzerland in 2005, which aims to create a synthetic brain by reverse-engineering the mammalian brain down to the molecular level.


----------



## itfitzme

> Two researchers at the University of Rochester have discovered the chemical that makes naked mole rats cancer-proof.



Love 'em and lick 'em






Chemical that makes naked mole rats cancer-proof discovered

Naked Mole Rats Have Cancer-Proof 'Goo' - ABC News

naked mole cancer - Google Search


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Stroke drug can 'boost quality of life'*
By Caroline Parkinson

Health editor, BBC News website

Image of a brain affected by a stroke A stroke can cause permanent loss of function 



> Patients given a clot-busting drug within six hours of a stroke are more likely to have a good quality of life 18 months afterwards, an international study suggests.
> 
> However, the review of more than 3,000 patients found the drug - alteplase - offered no improvement in survival rates.
> 
> The drug is increasingly being used in specialist stroke units in the UK.
> 
> The Stroke Association said the Lancet Neurology research was "encouraging".
> 
> Quality of life
> 
> The treatment is given to patients who have had an ischaemic stroke, when the brain's blood supply is interrupted by a clot.



BBC News - Stroke drug can 'boost quality of life'


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Medtronic takes 'first step' toward U.S. sale of artificial pancreas*

By Julie Steenhuysen

CHICAGO | Sat Jun 22, 2013 11:06am EDT 


> (Reuters) - Type 1 diabetics, who run the risk of dangerously low blood sugar, may be a step closer to getting help from a crude artificial pancreas device that can read blood sugar levels and automatically turn off the flow of insulin after a clinical trial showed the device is safe.
> 
> The long-awaited results of the clinical trial may pave the way for U.S. approval of the device, made by Medtronic, which already sells insulin pumps with an automatic shutoff feature in 50 countries outside the United States. The feature is meant to guard against delivering insulin to diabetics their blood sugar is already too low.


Medtronic takes 'first step' toward U.S. sale of artificial pancreas | Reuters


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New palm-sized microarray technique grows 1,200 individual cultures of microbes*

10 minutes ago 



> A new palm-sized microarray that holds 1,200 individual cultures of fungi or bacteria could enable faster, more efficient drug discovery, according to a study published in mBio, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology.



 Read more at: New palm-sized microarray technique grows 1,200 individual cultures of microbes


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Nerve cells 're-grown' in rats after spinal injury*
By Helen Briggs

BBC News 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-23051516


> US scientists say they have made progress in repairing spinal cord injuries in paralysed rats.
> 
> Rats regained some bladder control after surgery to transplant nerve cells into the spinal cord, combined with injections of a cocktail of chemicals. The study, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, could raise hopes for one day treating paralysed patients.
> 
> But UK experts say it will take several years of research before human clinical trials can be considered.
> 
> Scientists have tried for decades to use transplants of nerve cells to restore function in paralysed animals by bridging the gap in the broken spinal cord.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*EU heart deaths 'halved since 1980s*



> Death rates from coronary heart disease have more than halved in almost all EU countries since the early 1980s, according to research.
> 
> Most countries have seen steady reductions in deaths in both men and women of all ages, despite rises in obesity and diabetes, a UK study shows.
> 
> However, experts have warned against complacency, saying wide disparities remain across Europe.
> 
> Coronary heart disease is the UK's single biggest killer.
> 
> About one in five men and one in eight women die from the disease.



BBC News - EU heart deaths 'halved since 1980s'


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Researchers strike gold with nanotech vaccine*

5 hours ago 



> Scientists in the US have developed a novel vaccination method that uses tiny gold particles to mimic a virus and carry specific proteins to the body's specialist immune cells.
> 
> The technique differs from the traditional approach of using dead or inactive viruses as a vaccine and was demonstrated in the lab using a specific protein that sits on the surface of the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
> 
> The results have been published today, 26 June, in IOP Publishing's journal Nanotechnology by a team of researchers from Vanderbilt University.




 Read more at: Researchers strike gold with nanotech vaccine


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Dietary Fructose Causes Liver Damage, Primate Study Finds*

 Jun 24, 2013 by  Sci-News.com 



> A new study reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has revealed that dietary fructose (fruit sugar) rapidly causes liver damage in an animal model.
> 
> &#8220;Is a calorie a calorie? Are they all created equal? Based on this study, we would say not,&#8221; said lead author Dr Kylie Kavanagh from Wake Forest School of Medicine.
> 
> Dr Kavanagh with colleagues found that over the 6-week study period liver damage more than doubled in the animals fed a high-fructose diet as compared to those in the control group.



Dietary Fructose Causes Liver Damage, Primate Study Finds | Medicine | Sci-News.com


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Promising Alzheimer's 'drug' halts memory loss*




> A new class of experimental drug-like small molecules is showing great promise in targeting a brain enzyme to prevent early memory loss in Alzheimer's disease, according to Northwestern Medicine research.



Promising Alzheimer's 'drug' halts memory loss


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Type 1 diabetes vaccine hailed as 'significant step'*



> It may be possible to reverse type 1 diabetes by training a patient's own immune system to stop attacking their body, an early trial suggests.
> 
> Their immune system destroys the cells that make insulin, the hormone needed to control blood sugar levels.
> 
> A study in 80 patients, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, showed a vaccine could retrain their immune system.
> 
> Experts described the results as a "significant step".
> 
> Normally a vaccine teaches the immune system to attack bacteria or viruses that cause disease, such as the polio virus.



BBC News - Type 1 diabetes vaccine hailed as 'significant step'


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Device aims to eliminate multiple breast-cancer surgeries*
Device aims to eliminate multiple breast-cancer surgeries | Cutting Edge - CNET News


> A prototype device created by John Hopkins University grad students can enable a pathologist to inspect excised breast tissue mid-surgery to determine whether a cancerous tumor has been fully removed.
> 
> The prototype's ability to dramatically reduce the time to inspect breast tissue -- down to as quickly as 20 minutes -- could ultimately decrease, if not flat out eliminate, the need for a second operation on the same tumor, John Hopkins announced this week


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Mouse cloned from drop of blood*
By Helen Briggs
BBC News - Mouse cloned from drop of blood

Scientists in Japan have cloned a mouse from a single drop of blood.


> Circulating blood cells collected from the tail of a donor mouse were used to produce the clone, a team at the Riken BioResource Center reports in the journal Biology of Reproduction.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Skin Cancer Vaccine Closer To Reality*

Updated June 29, 2013 7:41 AM | Filed under: Health



> (UNDATED) - Doctors tell you to use sunscreen every day to avoid skin cancer, but there could be a new weapon against the most dangerous form of the disease.
> 
> A vaccine for melanoma passed its initial human trial without causing any adverse side effects, according to a study published online this week in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
> 
> Researchers at Duke University and Merck Laboratories are injecting dendritic cells into patients, the cells that are part of our immune system that normally protects us from disease. "You take a protein from the melanoma that was always there but the immune system couldn't see, and you enhance the ability of the immune system to see it," said Dr. Ruemu Birhiray, an oncologist at St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis.



Skin Cancer Vaccine Closer To Reality - WBIW.com / Local


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Is That Bacteria Dead Yet? Nano and Laser Technology Packed Into Small Device Tests Antibiotic Treatment in Minutes*
Is that bacteria dead yet? Nano and laser technology packed into small device tests antibiotic treatment in minutes



> June 30, 2013 &#8212; Researchers at EPFL have built a matchbox-sized device that can test for the presence of bacteria in a couple of minutes, instead of up to several weeks. A nano-lever vibrates in the presence of bacterial activity, while a laser reads the vibration and translates it into an electrical signal that can be easily read -- the absence of a signal signifies the absence of bacteria. Thanks to this method, it is quick and easy to determine if a bacteria has been effectively treated by an antibiotic, a crucial medical tool especially for resistant strains. Easily used in clinics, it could also prove useful for testing chemotherapy treatment.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Bristol-Myers, Pfizer Says Eliquis Late-Stage Trial Meets Main Goal *

Bristol-Myers, Pfizer Says Eliquis Late-Stage Trial Meets Main Goal



> Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMY: Quote) and Pfizer Inc. (PFE: Quote) Sunday said its anti-clotting drug Eliquis proved to be as effective as standard therapy and caused significantly less bleeding complications in in treating patients with acute venous thromboembolism.
> 
> Eliquis met the main endpoint of the trial by demonstrating that it is not inferior to the current standard of care, ainitial parenteral enoxaparin treatment overlapped with warfarin therapy, in the reduction of recurrence of acute venous thromboembolism, or VTE, and related deaths.
> 
> Eliquis also met the primary safety endpoint of superiority for major bleeding, with a 69 percent relative risk reduction compared to current standard of care.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Telescopic contact lens with switchable magnification to help AMD patients*



> Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness among older adults in the western world. Unfortunately, conventional optical aids provide little help for a retina which has lost the acuity of its central area. Now a team of multinational researchers led by University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Professor Joseph Ford has created a telescopic contact lens that can switch between normal and magnified vision to offer AMD patients a relatively unobtrusive way to enhance their vision.



Telescopic contact lens with switchable magnification to help AMD patients


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Drug Appears To Work For Weight-Loss In U-M Study *
CBS News ^  | July 1, 2013 | NA 
Drug Appears To Work For Weight-Loss In U-M Study « CBS Detroit



> ANN ARBOR (WWJ) - Could a drug used to treat canker sores be a miracle weight-loss solution? Researchers at University of Michigan are working to find out.
> 
> Back in February, U-M researchers discovered that mice given the prescription drug, Amlexanox, lost weight without diet or exercise.
> 
> Now, Dr. Elif Oral, an associate professor of internal medicine at U-M&#8217;s Metabolism, Endocrinology & Diabetes (MEND) division, is beginning the first human study to determine whether the drug will have the same effect in people.
> 
> &#8220;The weight loss together in improved glucose metabolism makes this even more interesting, you know, and more exciting,&#8221; Oral told WWJ Health Reporter Sean Lee. &#8220;We&#8217;re going to start out by targeting the diabetic population because that&#8217;s the population that needs more immediate help.&#8221;
> 
> The study is small, enrolling just 10 obese people with Type 2 diabetes. If that goes well, the next study will enroll more people.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*World's first approved bionic eye to launch in U.S.*



> The Argus II, which treats patients with the rare genetic condition known as retinitis pigmentosa, was approved by the FDA in February after more than 20 years in the making.
> 
> After more than 20 years in the making and FDA approval in February, the Argus II bionic eye is finally here. Well, almost. Developer Second Sight says it has selected clinical centers in 12 U.S. markets where it will begin rolling out the groundbreaking technology later this year.



World's first approved bionic eye to launch in U.S. | Cutting Edge - CNET News


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Tiny tweezers allow precision control of enzymes*

3 minutes ago by Richard Harth 


> Tweezers are a handy instrument when it comes to removing a splinter or plucking an eyebrow. In new research, Hao Yan and his colleagues at Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute describe a pair of tweezers shrunk down to an astonishingly tiny scale. When the jaws of these tools are in the open position, the distance between the two arms is about 16 nanometers&#8212;over 30,000 times smaller than a single grain of sand.
> 
> The group demonstrated that the nanotweezers, fabricated by means of the base-pairing properties of DNA, could be used to keep biological molecules spatially separated or to bring them together as chemical reactants, depending on the open or closed state of the tweezers.



 Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-07-tiny-tweezers-precision-enzymes.html#jCp


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Japanese researchers grow working liver from stem cells *

Adario Strange

Wednesday, July 3, 2013 - 2:16pm
Japanese researchers grow working liver from stem cells | DVICE



> The promise of curing any number of human ailments through the use of stem cells has been slow going, but a new breakthrough offers hope that the age of organ donation may soon come to an end. Japanese scientists at Yokohama City University have announced that for the first time stem cells have been used to create a working human liver.
> 
> Published in this week's Nature journal, the researchers wrote, "To our knowledge, this is the first report demonstrating the generation of a functional human organ from pluripotent stem cells." Grown gradually over the course of two months, iPS cells (induced pluripotent stem cells) treated to function as liver cells organized into an early stage version of a liver. According to the scientists, once transplanted into test mice, the liver cells grew into what appeared to be the early stages of an adult human liver.




http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2013/jul/03/human-liver-stem-cell-treatment

*Scientists Grow A Simple, Human Liver In A Petri Dish*



> Japanese scientists have cracked open a freaky new chapter in the sci-fi-meets-stem-cells era. A group in Yokohama reported it has grown a primitive liver in a petri dish using a person's skin cells.
> 
> Still, this rudimentary liver is the first complex, functioning organ to be grown in the lab from human, skin-derived stem cells. When the scientists transplanted the organ into a mouse, it worked a lot like a regular human liver.
> 
> "It's a huge step forward," George Daley, from the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, tells NPR's Rob Stein.



http://kacu.org/post/scientists-grow-simple-human-liver-petri-dish


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Technological breakthrough paves the way for better drugs*



> Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have developed the first method for directly measuring the extent to which drugs reach their targets in the cell. The method, which is described in the scientific journal Science, could make a significant contribution to the development of new, improved drug substances.
> 
> Most drugs operate by binding to one or more proteins and affecting their function, which creates two common bottlenecks in the development of drugs; identifying the right target proteins and designing drug molecules able to efficiently seek out and bind to them. No method has been available for directly measuring the efficiency of the drug molecules to locate and bind to its target protein. Now researchers from Karolinska Institutet have developed a new tool called CETSA (Cellular Thermal Shift Assay), which utilise the concept that target proteins usually get stabilised when drug molecules bind.



Technological breakthrough paves the way for better drugs


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Pitt's Cancer Institute joins consortium to develop cancer vaccine*

Pitt's Cancer Institute joins consortium to develop cancer vaccine - Pittsburgh Business Times


> The University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute is joining a consortium of organizations in Europe to develop a completely novel approach to fighting cancer.
> 
> The Glioma Actively Personalized Vaccine Consortium, which is supported by a grant from the European Union, is the first initiative aimed at clinically developing biomarker-guided actively personalized vaccines, or APVACs, to treat cancer patients.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New drug treatment for form of lethal cancer is approved*
New drug treatment for form of lethal cancer is approved
by Barbara Williams 


> A new drug has been approved to battle mantle cell lymphoma, an aggressive cancer often fatal because of its resistance to treatment, after a study led by a Hackensack University Medical Center physician showed it can stop the progression of the disease in about a quarter of the patients.
> 
> Revlimid, a drug taken orally, was granted approval by the Food and Drug Administration last month after a study led by Dr. Andre Goy involving 134 patients showed 26 percent of patients responded to the medication. Nine patients showed a complete remission by the end of the clinical trial, according to the FDA.
> 
> Before the study, all of the patients had been treated with chemotherapy and their disease had either never regressed or had returned, Goy said.
> 
> "Patients were heavily pretreated and were a poor risk," Goy said. "That's why this is so important. Many of these patients had few other options."


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Synthetic Biologists have for the first time synthesized eColi ribosomes *
Synthetic Biologists have for the first time synthesized eColi ribosomes



> Synthetic biology researchers at Northwestern University, working with partners at Harvard Medical School, have for the first time synthesized ribosomes -- cell structures responsible for generating all proteins and enzymes in our bodies -- from scratch in a test tube.
> 
> Others have previously tried to synthesize ribosomes from their constituent parts, but the efforts have yielded poorly functional ribosomes under conditions that do not replicate the environment of a living cell. In addition, attempts to combine ribosome synthesis and assembly in a single process have failed for decades.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Injectable oxygen means you don't have to breathe*

Travis Andrews
Injectable oxygen means you don't have to breathe | DVICE

Sunday, July 7, 2013 - 4:45pm

.





> Breathing oxygen-enriched liquid is an old idea, but it's god a few flaws. One of those flaws being the removal of carbon dioxide from the bloodstream. A simpler problem is how to breathe it without gagging. Wouldn&#8217;t it be far easier if you just didn&#8217;t need to breathe at all?
> 
> Researchers at Boston Children&#8217;s Hospital thought so, so they created microparticles that can be injected into your bloodsteam and oxygenate it. Even if you can&#8217;t/aren&#8217;t breathing. And it can keep people alive for 15 to 30 minutes. Think about that. At worst, it&#8217;s 2/3 and episode of Seinfeld. At best, you could start a second.
> 
> The particles are pockets of oxygen in a layer of lipids, specifically fats. This is then suspended in liquid, which can be injected into the blood steam. The oxygen then &#8220;squeeze through capillaries,&#8221; according to Dr. John Kheir of Boston Children&#8217;s Hospital.
> 
> The implications of this are enormous. It could mean doctors have another 15 to 30 minutes to work on patients who have lost the ability to breathe, an amount of time that could potentially save lives.
> 
> The real question, though, is does this mean we can now breathe underwater?


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Microparticles create localized control of stem cell differentiation*

4 hours ago 




> Before scientists and engineers can realize the dream of using stem cells to create replacements for worn out organs and battle damaged body parts, they'll have to develop ways to grow complex three-dimensional structures in large volumes and at costs that won't bankrupt health care systems.
> 
> Researchers are now reporting advances in these areas by using gelatin-based microparticles to deliver growth factors to specific areas of embryoid bodies, aggregates of differentiating stem cells. The localized delivery technique provides spatial control of cell differentiation within the cultures, potentially enabling the creation of complex three-dimensional tissues. The local control also dramatically reduces the amount of growth factor required, an important cost consideration for manufacturing stem cells for therapeutic applications.



 Read more at: Microparticles create localized control of stem cell differentiation


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Breakthrough could lead to 'artificial skin' that senses touch, humidity and temperature*

6 hours ago by Kevin Hattori 



> Using tiny gold particles and a kind of resin, a team of scientists at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology has discovered how to make a new kind of flexible sensor that one day could be integrated into electronic skin, or e-skin. If scientists learn how to attach e-skin to prosthetic limbs, people with amputations might once again be able to feel changes in their environments. The findings appear in the June issue of ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.




 Read more at: Breakthrough could lead to 'artificial skin' that senses touch, humidity and temperature


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Rate of ageing may be determined in womb and linked to birth weight: Study*
Jul 9, 2013, 12.35PM IST TNN[ Kounteya Sinha ]

Rate of ageing may be determined in womb and linked to birth weight: Study - TOI Mobile | The Times of India Mobile Site


> MUMBAI: Scientists have found that key metabolites in blood - chemical 'fingerprints' left behind as a result of early molecular changes before birth or in infancy - could provide clues to a person's long-term overall health and rate of ageing in later life.
> 
> Published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, the international study of twins led by King's College London highlights how a technique called metabolomic profiling has revealed a collection of 22 metabolites linked to ageing. One of these, linked to ageing traits such as lung function and bone mineral density, is also strongly associated with birth weight - a well-known developmental determinant of healthy ageing.
> 
> This finding suggests that levels of this novel metabolite, which may be determined in the womb and affected by nutrition during development, could reflect accelerated ageing in later adult life. Scientists say the findings show it is possible that these markers of ageing can be identified with simple blood tests in the future, which may provide further clues to the ageing process and could pave the way for development of therapies to treat age-related conditions.
> 
> Professor Tim Spector, Head of the Department of Twin Research at King's College London, said: 'Scientists have known for a long time that a person's weight at the time of birth is an important determinant of health in middle and old age, and that people with low birth weight are more susceptible to age related diseases. So far the molecular mechanisms that link low birth weight to health or disease in old age had remained elusive, but this discovery has revealed one of the molecular pathways involved.'


----------



## itfitzme

Matthew said:


> *Breakthrough could lead to 'artificial skin' that senses touch, humidity and temperature*
> 
> 6 hours ago by Kevin Hattori
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Using tiny gold particles and a kind of resin, a team of scientists at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology has discovered how to make a new kind of flexible sensor that one day could be integrated into electronic skin, or e-skin. If scientists learn how to attach e-skin to prosthetic limbs, people with amputations might once again be able to feel changes in their environments. The findings appear in the June issue of ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Read more at: Breakthrough could lead to 'artificial skin' that senses touch, humidity and temperature
Click to expand...


Like Data, in the Star Trek movie. I'm tellin' ya, if we could just live so long to see this stuff come to market.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New wonder drug matches and kills all kinds of cancer &#8212; human testing starts 2014*
By MICHAEL BLAUSTEIN
Last Updated: 2:03 PM, July 11, 2013
Posted:  12:55 PM, July 11, 2013
New wonder drug matches and kills all kinds of cancer ? human testing starts 2014 - NYPOST.com



> Stanford researchers are on track to begin human trials of a potentially potent new weapon against cancer, and would-be participants are flooding in following the Post&#8217;s initial report on the discovery.
> 
> The progress comes just two months after the groundbreaking study by Dr Irv Weissman, who developed an antibody that breaks down a cancer's defense mechanisms in the body.
> 
> A protein called CD47 tells the body not to "eat" the cancer, but the antibody developed by Dr Weissman blocks CD47 and frees up immune cells called macrophages &#8212; which can then engulf the deadly cells.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Gene therapy trial 'cures children'*

11 July 2013 

BBC News - Gene therapy trial 'cures children'


> A disease which robs children of the ability to walk and talk has been cured by pioneering gene therapy to correct errors in their DNA, say doctors.
> 
> The study, in the journal Science, showed the three patients were now going to school.
> 
> A second study published at the same time has shown a similar therapy reversing a severe genetic disease affecting the immune system.
> 
> Gene therapy researchers said it was a "really exciting" development.
> 
> Both diseases are caused by errors in the patient's genetic code - the manual for building and running their bodies.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Lab-on-a-chip technology gets a flexible upgrade*



> Microfluidic devices move liquids through tiny, hair-sized pathways carved into glass slides and have distinct advantages over traditional laboratories when it comes to medical diagnostics. At these reduced scales, fluid transport is enhanced by factors such as diffusion and high surface-to-volume ratios, making testing procedures much faster. By constructing parallel arrays of microfluidic pathways, researchers are working to produce 'lab-on-a-chip' technologies that allow multiple biological tests to be performed using just a drop of blood or urine. In a development that promises to make lab-on-a-chip devices more portable and economic to construct, Yo Tanaka from the RIKEN Quantitative Biology Center and colleagues have now produced a new type of microfluidic control valve that takes up significantly less space on a microchip than existing approaches.


 Read more at: Lab-on-a-chip technology gets a flexible upgrade


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Odoreader detects bladder cancer in urine*



> A new, non-invasive type of test could spell the beginning of a new age in bladder cancer diagnosis. Researchers at the University of Liverpool and University of the West of England in Bristol have created a device that can analyze the odors in urine to catch early signs of this type of cancer. The researchers claim the device has generated an accuracy rate of 100 percent in tests with 98 urine samples.
> 
> The device, called the Odoreader, features a sensor system that responds to chemicals in gas emitted from urine. The system comprises a standard gas chromatography oven fitted with a commercially available capillary column, a staple component of this technique. The column is interfaced to a heated metal oxide sensor (a mix of tin and zinc oxide) that is used as the detector.




http://www.gizmag.com/odoreader-bladder-cancer-diagnosis/28224/


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Responsive brain stimulation could improve life for Parkinson's sufferers*



> (Medical Xpress)&#8212;Researchers in Oxford have demonstrated a significant improvement in the treatment of advanced Parkinson's disease with deep brain stimulation.
> 
> Deep brain stimulation involves permanently inserting electrodes into the brain to deliver electrical impulses that cancel out the brain signals causing symptoms of Parkinson's.
> 
> The new 'adaptive' system, successfully trialled by a Oxford University team based at the John Radcliffe Hospital, only delivers electrical stimulation when it detects the brainwaves responsible for causing the symptoms.



Responsive brain stimulation could improve life for Parkinson's sufferers


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Fat-boosting gene mystery 'solved'*

By James Gallagher




> Man eyeing up a doughnut Why some people find fatty foods irresistible could be hidden in their genes.
> 
> The mystery of a genetic flaw which greatly increases the risk of obesity in one in six people has been solved by an international group of scientists.
> 
> A version of an obesity gene, called FTO, had been linked to a bigger belly, but the reason why was uncertain.
> 
> A study, published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation, showed it made fatty foods more tempting and altered levels of the hunger hormone, ghrelin.
> 
> Obesity experts said drugs targeting ghrelin might reduce weight gain.
> 
> There is a strong family link with obesity, and a person's genetic code is thought to play a major role in the risk of them becoming overweight.
> 
> People have two copies of the FTO gene - one from each parent - and each copy comes in a high and a low-risk form. Those with two-high risk copies of the FTO gene are thought to be 70% more likely to become obese than those with low-risk genes.



BBC News - Fat-boosting gene mystery 'solved'


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Steering stem cells with magnets: Proof of concept for clinical applications*



> Magnets could be a tool for directing stem cells' healing powers to treat conditions such as heart disease or vascular disease.
> 
> By feeding stem cells tiny particles made of iron oxide, scientists at Emory and Georgia Tech can use magnets to attract the cells to a particular location in the body after intravenous injection.
> 
> The results are published online in the journal Small and will appear in an upcoming issue.



 Read more at: Steering stem cells with magnets: Proof of concept for clinical applications


----------



## ScienceRocks

*FDA Approves Brainwave Device For Diagnosing ADHD *



> The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a brainwave-measuring device to help diagnose kids with ADHD, a first for the disorder.
> 
> The device detects two different types of brainwaves, theta and beta, and how frequently they occur. Kids with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder have more theta than beta brainwaves, compared to kids without ADHD.
> 
> The FDA approved the device, called the Neuropsychiatric Electroencephalogram-Based Assessment Aid or NEBA, for use with a full medical exam. In a statement, the director of the agency's Office of Device Evaluation, Christy Foreman, emphasized that the device has to work with other clinical measures.
> 
> To get their FDA approval, NEBA's creators performed a study with 275 kids with attention problems. The study, which the FDA didn't make public, found that adding a 20-minute NEBA test to standard diagnostic procedures helped doctors diagnose ADHD more accurately.


FDA Approves Brainwave Device For Diagnosing ADHD | Popular Science


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Down's syndrome cells 'fixed' in first step towards chromosome therapy*



> Scientists have corrected the genetic fault that causes Down's syndrome &#8211; albeit in isolated cells &#8211; raising the prospect of a radical therapy for the disorder.
> 
> In an elegant series of experiments, US researchers took cells from people with DS and silenced the extra chromosome that causes the condition. A treatment based on the work remains a distant hope, but scientists in the field said the feat was the first major step towards a "chromosome therapy" for Down's syndrome.
> 
> "This is a real technical breakthrough. It opens up whole new avenues of research," said Elizabeth Fisher, professor of neurogenetics at UCL, who was not involved in the study. "This is really the first sniff we've had of anything to do with gene therapy for Down's syndrome."
> 
> Around 750 babies are born with DS in Britain each year while globally between one in a 1000 and one in 1100 births are DS babies. Most experience learning difficulties.



Down's syndrome cells 'fixed' in first step towards chromosome therapy | Science | The Guardian


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Artificial Organelles Transform Free Radicals into Water and Oxygen*
University of Basel



> Researchers at the University of Basel have successfully developed artificial organelles that are able to support the reduction of toxic oxygen compounds. This opens up new ways in the development of novel drugs that can influence pathological states directly inside the cell. The results have been published in the Journal
> Free oxygen radicals are produced either as metabolic byproduct, or through environmental influences such as UV-rays and smog. Is the concentration of free radicals inside the organism elevated to the point where the antioxidant defense mechanism is overwhelmed, the result can be oxidative stress, which is associated with numerous diseases such as cancer of arthritis.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*'Intelligent' surgical knife can sniff out cancer tissue*
'Intelligent' surgical knife can sniff out cancer tissue | Reuters


> Reuters) - Scientists have created an "intelligent" surgical knife that can detect in seconds whether tissue being cut is cancerous, promising more effective and accurate surgery in future.
> 
> The device, built by researchers at London's Imperial College, could allow doctors to cut back on additional operations to remove further pieces of cancerous tumors.
> 
> The technology, effectively merging an electrosurgical knife that cuts through tissue using heat with a mass spectrometer for chemical analysis, has also been shown to be able to distinguish beef from horsemeat.
> 
> Surgeons often find it impossible to tell by sight where tumors end and healthy tissue begins, so some cancer cells are often left behind. A fifth of breast cancer patients who have lumpectomy surgery need a second operation.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Salk scientists discover more versatile approach to creating stem cells*



> Stem cells are key to the promise of regenerative medicine: the repair or replacement of injured tissues with custom grown substitutes. Essential to this process are induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), which can be created from a patient's own tissues, thus eliminating the risk of immune rejection. However, Shinya Yamanaka's formula for iPSCs, for which he was awarded last year's Nobel Prize, uses a strict recipe that allows for limited variations in human cells, restricting their full potential for clinical application.
> 
> Now, in this week's issue of Cell Stem Cell, the Salk Institute's Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte and his colleagues show that the recipe for iPSCs is far more versatile than originally thought. For the first time, they have replaced a gene once thought impossible to substitute, creating the potential for more flexible recipes that should speed the adoption of stem cells therapies.



 Read more at: Salk scientists discover more versatile approach to creating stem cells


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Advanced prostate cancer patients may live longer with new drug*



> Men with advanced prostate cancer may live longer after receiving a new type of targeted radiation treatment, a new study suggests.
> 
> In the study, men given the treatment -- a radioactive drug that specifically targets tumors in bone -- lived 14.9 months on average after their diagnosis, while those who received the placebo lived 11.3 months, meaning the drug extended life by about 3.5 months.



Read more: Advanced prostate cancer patients may live longer with new drug | Fox News


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Injectable smart sponges could deliver medications only where needed*
By Ryan Whitwam on July 18, 2013 at 3:49 pm
0 Comments

Injectable smart sponges could deliver medications only where needed | ExtremeTech


> Medical science is always hard at work developing the next miraculous medication, but some of them will be of limited use without an equally miraculous delivery system. Advanced materials science may hold the key to delivering drugs with high precision when an injection simply won&#8217;t do. Biomedical scientists and engineers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have joined forces looking for a breakthrough. What they&#8217;ve come up with is a so-called &#8220;smart sponge&#8221; that can be loaded up with medication, then release it only when and where it&#8217;s


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Overweight? Maybe You Really Can Blame Your Genes*

By GINA KOLATA

Published: July 18, 2013 152 Comments
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/19/h...lame-your-metabolism.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0



> The mice were eating their usual chow and exercising normally, but they were getting fat anyway. The reason: researchers had deleted a gene that acts in the brain and controls how quickly calories are burned. Even though they were consuming exactly the same number of calories as lean mice, they were gaining weight.
> 
> So far, only one person &#8212; a severely obese child &#8212; has been found to have a disabling mutation in the same gene. But the discovery of the same effect in mice and in the child &#8212; a finding published Wednesday in the journal Science &#8212; may help explain why some people put on weight easily while others eat all they want and seem never to gain an ounce. It may also offer clues to a puzzle in the field of obesity: Why do studies find that people gain different amounts of weight while overeating by the same


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Artificial Organelles Transform Free Radicals Into Water and Oxygen*

Artificial organelles transform free radicals into water and oxygen


> July 16, 2013 &#8212; Researchers at the University of Basel have successfully developed artificial organelles that are able to support the reduction of toxic oxygen compounds. This opens up new ways in the development of novel drugs that can influence pathological states directly inside the cell.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*World&#8217;s first human stem cell clinical trial approved by Japanese government*
World?s first human stem cell clinical trial approved by Japanese government - The Japan Daily Press


> The Japanese government finally gave its approval for the world&#8217;s first clinical trials using stem cells that will be harvested from the patient&#8217;s body. Health Minister Norihisa Tamura gave permission for two research institutes to start their tests to treat age-related macular degeneration (AMD) by using &#8220;induced Pluripotent Stem (iPS) cells&#8221;.


----------



## Capstone

In case it hasn't already been mentioned, clickety-click.

From the second link:



> "What we've shown is that CD47 isn't just important on leukemias and lymphomas," says Weissman. "It's on every single human primary tumor that we tested." Moreover, Weissman's lab found that cancer cells always had higher levels of CD47 than did healthy cells. How much CD47 a tumor made could predict the survival odds of a patient.



This research has implications that go well beyond the cure for cancer, since other medical disorders also show strong associations to certain protein markers (for instance HLAB27 and autoimmunity/rheumatoid arthritis). If CD47 can be isolated and inhibited, why can't all nefarious antigens?


----------



## ScienceRocks

*HPV virus 'linked to third of throat cancer cases'*

The HPV virus There are more than 100 types of HPV 



> One third of people diagnosed with throat cancer are infected with a form of the HPV virus, a study suggests.
> 
> HPV (human papillomavirus) is the major cause of cervical cancer, and the virus is known to spread through genital or oral contact.
> 
> Actor Michael Douglas is reported to have spoken about the link after his own diagnosis with throat cancer.



BBC News - HPV virus 'linked to third of throat cancer cases'


----------



## ScienceRocks

*'Big leap' towards curing blindness in stem cell study*



> The prospect of reversing blindness has made a significant leap, according to scientists in the UK.
> 
> An animal study in the journal Nature Biotechnology showed the part of the eye which actually detects light can be repaired using stem cells.
> 
> The team at Moorfields Eye Hospital and University College London say human trials are now, for the first time, a realistic prospect.
> 
> Experts described it as a "significant breakthrough" and "huge leap" forward.
> 
> Photoreceptors are the cells in the retina which react to light and convert it into an electrical signal which can be sent to the brain.
> 
> However, these cells can die off in some causes of blindness such as Stargardt's disease and age-related macular degeneration.
> 
> There are already trials in people to use stem cells to replace the "support" cells in the eye which keep the photoreceptors alive.



BBC News - 'Big leap' towards curing blindness in stem cell study


----------



## ScienceRocks

Skipping breakfast raises heart attack risk by 27%: Study - The Times of India

27% increase in heart attack risk if you miss breakfast


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Super-organs: building body parts better than nature *

Sign in to read: Super-organs: building body parts better than nature - 24 July 2013 - New Scientist


> FANCY a liver that works a little harder? Synthetic DNA circuits inserted into human stem cells could soon allow us to build new organs with unprecedented precision and speed. The circuits can be designed on a computer and assembled from ready-made parts ordered online. The technique could prove an efficient way of making organs for transplant without the worry of rejection, and raises the tantalising possibility that it might one day be possible to upgrade the organs we were born with. Human cells have already been used to create a tiny liver and a set of neurons.
> 
> "At the moment, the aim is to normalise cells, but in future, enhancement has to be on the menu," says Chris Mason, a professor of regenerative medicine at University College London, who wasn't involved in the work.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Laser-controlled molecular switch turns blood clotting on, off on command*



> Researchers have designed tiny, light-controlled gold particles that can release DNA controls to switch blood clotting off and on. The results are reported July 24 in the open access journal PLoS ONE by Kimberly Hamad-Schifferli and colleagues from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
> 
> The two-way switch for blood clotting relies on the ability of two gold nanoparticles to selectively release different DNA molecules from their surface under different wavelengths of laser excitation. When stimulated by one wavelength, one nanorod releases a piece of DNA that binds the blood protein thrombin and blocks clot formation. When the complementary DNA piece is released from the other nanorod, it acts as an antidote and releases thrombin, restoring clotting activity.



Laser-controlled molecular switch turns blood clotting on, off on command


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Japan team develops micro-thin electric circuit*



> A flexible electrical circuit one-fifth the thickness of food wrap and weighing less than a feather could give doctors the chance to implant sensors inside the body, its Japanese developers say.
> 
> The team at the University of Tokyo said the device on an ultra-thin film is unique since it works even after it has been crumpled into a ball or stretched.
> 
> Researchers unveiling the circuit said it could be used to monitor all sorts of physical data, such as body temperature and blood pressure as well as electronic pulses from muscles or the heart.
> 
> For people who can only move their tongue, the sheet might be placed on the roof of the mouth and serve as a touch pad to operate a communications device, team members said.



 Read more at: Japan team develops micro-thin electric circuit


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Large study reveals increased cancer risks associated with family history of the disease*



> A family history of cancer increases the risk of other members of the family developing not only the same cancer (known as a concordant cancer) but also a different (discordant) cancer, according to a large study of 23,000 people in Italy and Switzerland.



http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-07-large-reveals-cancer-family-history.html


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Potential cause of Parkinson's disease points to new therapeutic strategy*Potential cause of Parkinson's disease points to new therapeutic strategy



> Biologists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have made a significant discovery that could lead to a new therapeutic strategy for Parkinson's disease.
> The findings, recently published online ahead of print in the journal Molecular and Cell Biology, focus on an enzyme known as parkin, whose absence causes an early-onset form of Parkinson's disease. Precisely how the loss of this enzyme leads to the deaths of neurons has been unclear. But the TSRI researchers showed that parkin's loss sharply reduces the level of another protein that normally helps protect neurons from stress.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Portable fat breathalyzer indicates if youre burning fat*

Portable fat breathalyzer indicates if you?re burning fat



> While there's no shortage of breathalyzers capable of detecting if youve had one too many drinks, a prototype device developed by researchers at NTT DOCOMO Research Laboratories analyzes your breath to detect if your body is burning fat. Besides letting users know if that exercise regime is actually shedding some pounds, its creators say the portable sensor could be helpful for diabetics and those trying to lose weight manage their daily diet.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Broad-scale genome tinkering with help of an RNA guide*

7 hours ago 



> Duke researchers have devised a way to quickly and easily target and tinker with any gene in the human genome. The new tool, which builds on an RNA-guided enzyme they borrowed from bacteria, is being made freely available to researchers who may now apply it to the next round of genome discovery
> 
> The new method also has obvious utility for gene therapy and for efforts to reprogram stem or adult cells into other cell types &#8211; for example, to make new neurons from skin cells.
> 
> "We have the genome sequence and we know what all the parts are, but we are still in need of methods to manipulate it easily and precisely," says assistant professor Charles Gersbach, of Duke's Pratt School of Engineering and the Duke Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy. "That's where this engineering tool comes in."


. 


 Read more at: Broad-scale genome tinkering with help of an RNA guide


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists can implant false memories into mice*


BBC News - Scientists can implant false memories into mice


> False memories have been implanted into mice, scientists say.
> 
> A team was able to make the mice wrongly associate a benign environment with a previous unpleasant experience from different surroundings.
> 
> The researchers conditioned a network of neurons to respond to light, making the mice recall the unpleasant environment.
> 
> Reporting in Science, they say it could one day shed light into how false memories occur in humans.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Cure for cat allergies 'will be available within 5 years' after scientists work out what triggers a reaction*



> If you find yourself sniffing, sneezing and rubbing itchy red eyes whenever there&#8217;s a cat roaming nearby, here&#8217;s news that might make you purr.





> Scientists claim they may finally have come up with a cure for the UK&#8217;s  most common pet allergy, thanks to a breakthrough discovery.
> 
> Researchers have worked out how felines can trigger allergic reactions in one in ten of us, ranging from irritating rashes to dangerous asthma attacks.
> 
> Author Dr Clare Bryant, from Cambridge University's department of veterinary medicine, says: 'This is the first time we have discovered the process that leads to the allergic reaction. It opens up a whole new type of drug to treat it'



Until now, the only way to treat the problem has been to take anti-histamines to calm symptoms or get a round of injections to build up a level of tolerance to the allergen. 


Read more: Cat allergies cure 'will be available within 5 years' after scientists work out what triggers a reaction | Mail Online 
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Cancer risk increases with height*

Cancer risk increases with height - The Times of India


> A woman's cancer risk appears to increase with her height, a new study shows.
> 
> An analysis of 20,928 postmenopausal women showed that the taller a woman is, the greater her risk for a number of cancers, including breast, colon and skin cancer, among others. Scientists say the association between height and cancer may help guide researchers to study hormones and growth factors that influence height and may also play a role in cancer.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Here's a robot that can draw your blood*


> The list of things I dont want robots to be in charge of is pretty simple. It begins with them controlling the world and using humans as batteries while we live in some augmented reality fishbowl that might have a name like, I dont know, The Matrix. It ends with them drawing my freaking blood.
> 
> Reasonable fears, right?
> 
> Well, Veebot, a California start-up, is combining robotics with image-analysis software to find a good, ripe vein in your arm and plunge on in.
> 
> Remember those blood pressure machines at local drug stores? As a kid, I used to love sticking my arm in and feeling the cuff inflate and tighten against my skin. Well, this machine does just that, but its only the first step, not the purpose. After it restricts your blood flow, an infrared light shines on your skin and a camera searches for a vein. Then it checks out said vein via ultrasound to make sure its the real deal.
> 
> Next, out pops the needle and in your arm it goes.
> 
> This whole process takes about a minute.
> 
> At the moment, it gets the right vein right about 83 percent of the time, the same as humans. Veebot wants this number at 90 before moving to clinical trials, though.
> 
> At least robots havent taken over the world yet. Right?



Here's a robot that can draw your blood | DVICE


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Alzheimer's blood test edges closer*
BBC News - Alzheimer's blood test edges closer



> Researchers believe they are closer to developing a blood test that could diagnose Alzheimer's.
> 
> There is no definitive test for the brain-wasting disease. Doctors rely on cognition tests and brain scans.
> 
> A technique published in the journal Genome Biology showed differences in the tiny fragments of genetic material floating in the blood could be used to identify patients.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Testicular cancer survival rates 'soaring' in UK*

BBC News - Testicular cancer survival rates 'soaring' in UK



> Testicular cancer in ultra sounds scan Growing awareness of the cancer is believed to be partly behind the rise
> 
> The overwhelming majority of men with testicular cancer are now surviving for at least 10 years, figures released by the charity Cancer Research UK show.
> 
> They show survival rates in the UK soared to 96% in 2009, much higher than in the early 70s when 68% survived.
> 
> The organisation said attention needed to be focused now on the remaining 4


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Breakthrough in detecting DNA mutations could help treat tuberculosis, cancer*
By Michelle Ma 
News and Information



> Posted under: Engineering, Health and Medicine, News Releases, Research
> 
> 
> The slightest variation in a sequence of DNA can have profound effects. Modern genomics has shown that just one mutation can be the difference between successfully treating a disease and having it spread rampantly throughout the body.
> 
> This conceptual image shows probe and target complexes at different stages of the reaction that checks for mutations. The red dots represent mutations in a target base pair, while the illuminated green light indicates that no mutation was found.
> 
> Now, researchers have developed a new method that can look at a specific segment of DNA and pinpoint a single mutation, which could help diagnose and treat diseases such as cancer and tuberculosis. These small changes can be the root of a disease or the reason some infectious diseases resist certain antibiotics. The findings were published online this week (July 28) in the journal Nature Chemistry.
> 
> 
> Now, researchers have the ability to check for that mutation preventatively.
> 
> Seelig, along with David Zhang of Rice University and Sherry Chen, a UW doctoral student in electrical engineering, designed probes that can pick out mutations in a single base pair in a target stretch of DNA. *The probes allow researchers to look in much more detail for variations in long sequences &#8211; up to 200 base pairs &#8211; while current methods can detect mutations in stretches of up to only 20.*


Breakthrough in detecting DNA mutations could help treat tuberculosis, cancer | UW Today


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Heartbeats now in 3D, no special glasses required*
Heartbeats now in 3D, no special glasses required | Cutting Edge - CNET News



> When surgeons thread a catheter through a vein to the heart -- a procedure called cardiac ablation -- they are relying on electrodes at the catheter's tip to listen to the heart's electrical activity and find the source of -- and hopefully fix -- any heartbeat irregularities.
> 
> Now, a new system called the Rhythmia Mapping System, recently bought by Boston Scientific, translates that activity into a 3D map of the heart as it pumps blood. The system received FDA 510(k) clearance in the U.S., only months after receiving the similar CE Mark of approval in Europe.
> 
> In clinical trials, Rhythmia cut the time it takes to map electrical activity in half, Boston Scientific's Peter Sommerness told Fast Company last fall. A 64-electrode catheter tracks the heart's shape and electrical signals as it beats, and then the system's software turns that data into a 3D map of the organ. The idea is to help surgeons and physicians spot abnormalities right down to the precise section of muscle where the electrical activity is disrupted.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New teeth grown from urine - study*

BBC News - New teeth grown from urine - study


> Scientists have grown rudimentary teeth out of the most unlikely of sources, human urine.
> 
> The results, published in Cell Regeneration Journal, showed that urine could be used as a source of stem cells that in turn could be grown into tiny tooth-like structures.
> 
> The team from China hopes the technique could be developed into a way of replacing lost teeth.
> 
> Other stem cell researchers caution that that goal faces many challenges.
> 
> Teams of researchers around the world are looking for ways of growing new teeth to replace those lost with age and poor dental hygiene.
> 
> Stem cells - the master cells which can grow into any type of tissue - are a popular area of research.
> 
> The group at the Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health used urine as the starting point.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Silk brain implants could stop epilepsy from progressing*


Silk brain implants could stop epilepsy from progressing



> The group of neurological disorders known as epilepsy not only cause disruptive, alarming seizures, but those seizures also tend to increase in frequency and severity over time. While the majority of patients can gain some control of their condition via medication or surgery, approximately 30 percent cannot. Now, however, help may be on the way ... in the form of tiny pieces of silk implanted in the brain.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Pill linked to long life in mice*
BBC News - Pill linked to long life in mice



> A diabetes pill has anti-ageing effects and extends the life of male mice, research suggests.
> 
> Scientists believe the drug, metformin, may mimic the effects of extreme calorie restriction.
> 
> This regime, which is based on eating a very low calorie diet, is thought to promote healthy ageing.
> 
> The human implications of the study are unclear, the researchers report in the journal, Nature Communications


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Artificial human ear grown in lab*



> US scientists say they have moved a step closer to being able to grow a complete human ear from a patient's cells.
> 
> In a new development in tissue engineering, they have grown a human-like ear from animal tissue. The ear has the flexibility of a real ear, say researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.



BBC News - Artificial human ear grown in lab


----------



## ScienceRocks

Harvard creates brain-to-brain interface, allows humans to control other animals with thoughts alone



> Researchers at Harvard University have created the first noninvasive brain-to-brain interface (BBI) between a human&#8230; and a rat. Simply by thinking the appropriate thought, the BBI allows the human to control the rat&#8217;s tail. This is one of the most important steps towards BBIs that allow for telepathic links between two or more humans &#8212; which is a good thing in the case of friends and family, but terrifying if you stop to think about the nefarious possibilities of a fascist dictatorship with mind control tech.



Harvard creates brain-to-brain interface, allows humans to control other animals with thoughts alone | ExtremeTech


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New Target in Heart Failure*

New Target in Heart Failure | HMS
Open-source collaboration connects biology of cancer cell growth with stress-induced heart enlargement



> Researchers from Harvard Medical School, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have made a fundamental discovery relevant to the understanding and treatment of heart failure, a leading cause of death worldwide. The team discovered a new molecular pathway responsible for causing heart failure and showed that a first-in-class prototype drug, JQ1, blocks this pathway to protect the heart from damage.
> 
> In contrast to standard therapies for heart failure, JQ1 works directly within the cell&#8217;s nucleus to prevent damaging stress responses. This research lays the foundation for a new way of treating a diseased heart. The study appears in the August 1 issue of Cell. &#8232;&#8232;


----------



## RoadVirus

Matthew said:


> *Artificial human ear grown in lab*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> US scientists say they have moved a step closer to being able to grow a complete human ear from a patient's cells.
> 
> In a new development in tissue engineering, they have grown a human-like ear from animal tissue. The ear has the flexibility of a real ear, say researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> BBC News - Artificial human ear grown in lab
Click to expand...


Does it have artificial earwax as well?


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Re-learning how to see: Researchers find a crucial on-off switch in visual development*

Re-learning how to see: Researchers find a crucial on-off switch in visual development


> A discovery by a University of Maryland-led research team offers hope for treating "lazy eye" and other serious visual problems that are usually permanent unless they are corrected in early childhood
> 
> Amblyopia afflicts about three percent of the population, and is a widespread cause of vision loss in children. It occurs when both eyes are structurally normal, but mismatched &#8211; either misaligned, or differently focused, or unequally receptive to visual stimuli because of an obstruction such as a cataract in one eye.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Advance in regenerative medicine could make reprogrammed cells safer while improving their function*

59 minutes ago 



> The enormous promise of regenerative medicine is matched by equally enormous challenges. But a new finding by a team of researchers led by Weill Cornell Medical College has the potential to improve both the safety and performance of reprogrammed cells.
> 
> The researchers' study, published in today's issue of the journal Nature, found that an enzyme, activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID), helps in the process that changes an adult human cell into an induced pluripotent stem cell (iPS cell). These iPS cells can then be developed into any kind of cell needed to therapeutically restore tissues and organs.
> 
> The finding settles an ongoing controversy regarding use of AID to reprogram cells, says the study's senior investigator, Dr. Todd Evans, vice chair for research and professor of cell and developmental biology in the Department of Surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College.



 Read more at: Advance in regenerative medicine could make reprogrammed cells safer while improving their function


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Ultrasound 'may stop kidney injury' from surgery*

BBC News - Ultrasound 'may stop kidney injury' from surgery



> Ultrasound treatments could be used to prevent a common kidney complication than can arise after major surgery, researchers suggest.
> 
> The work, published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, was carried out on mice.
> 
> But the researchers said there could be a "rapid translation" to human studies because the treatment for acute kidney injury (AKI) was simple and routine.
> 
> Experts said the study suggested potential for new therapies.
> 
> AKI is the sudden loss of kidney function, which can easily develop in any sick person through infection such as pneumonia, diarrhoea or a heart attack.
> 
> AKI can develop after major surgery, such as some kinds of heart surgery, because the kidneys can be deprived of normal blood flow during the procedure.
> 
> Once it has developed, there are few treatment options


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scripps Research Institute Scientists Find Long-Sought Method to Efficiently Make Complex Anticancer Compound*



> LA JOLLA, CA &#8211; August 1, 2013 &#8211; Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have achieved the first efficient chemical synthesis of ingenol, a highly complex, plant-derived compound that has long been of interest to drug developers for its anticancer potential. The achievement will enable scientists to synthesize a wide variety of ingenol derivatives and investigate their therapeutic properties. The achievement also sets the stage for the efficient commercial production of ingenol mebutate, a treatment for actinic keratosis (a common precursor to non-melanoma skin cancer), that at present must be extracted and refined inefficiently from plants.


Scripps Research Institute Scientists Find Long-Sought Method to Efficiently Make Complex Anticancer Compound


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Team discovers potential new way to treat anxiety*



> Chemically modified inhibitors of the COX-2 enzyme relieve anxiety behaviors in mice by activating natural "endocannabinoids" without gastrointestinal side effects, Vanderbilt University scientists will report next week.
> 
> Endocannabinoids are natural signaling molecules that activate cannabinoid receptors in the brain, the same receptors turned on by the active ingredient in marijuana.
> 
> These receptors are also found in the gastrointestinal system and elsewhere in the body, and there is evidence that they play a role in wide range of physiological and pathological processes, in addition to modulating stress and anxiety.



Team discovers potential new way to treat anxiety


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New hope for high blood pressure patients*



> A SIMPLE skin patch to treat high blood pressure could dramatically slash deaths from heart attacks and strokes.
> 
> The revolutionary device, which is changed every day, could improve control of the condition and save millions of lives.
> 
> In a world first, it gradually allows a drug to seep through the skin and into the bloodstream once patients stick it on to their arm, chest or back.
> 
> It provides a steady flow of bisoprolol, which is a type of beta-blocker &#8211; unlike pills which can cause blood pressure levels to peak and trough dangerously. Experts believe that having a constant and steady supply of the drug could reduce the incidence of heart attacks and strokes.
> 
> The breakthrough patch has been cleared for use in Japan and could be available in the UK within the next couple of years.


New hope for high blood pressure patients | Health | News | Daily Express


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Researchers restore immune function in spinal injured mice*


Researchers restore immune function in spinal injured mice


> In a new study, researchers at The Center for Brain and Spinal Cord Repair at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center show that is possible to restore immune function in spinal injured mice.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New high-tech laser method allows DNA to be inserted 'gently' into living cells*



> Phys.org) &#8212;The applications of gene therapy and genetic engineering are broad: everything from pet fish that glow red to increased crop yields worldwide to cures for many of the diseases that plague humankind. But realizing them always starts with solving the same basic scientific question&#8212;how to "transfect" a cell by inserting foreign DNA into it. Many methods already exist for doing this, but they tend to be clumsy and destructive, not allowing researchers to precisely control how and when they insert the DNA or requiring them to burn through large numbers of cells before they can get it into one.
> 
> A team of scientists in South Korea have now developed the most precise method ever used to insert DNA into cells. The method combines two high-tech laboratory techniques and allows the researchers to precisely poke holes on the surface of a single cell with a high-powered "femtosecond" laser and then gently tug a piece of DNA through it using "optical tweezers," which draw on the electromagnetic field of another laser. The team's approach, which is a breakthrough in precision and control at the single-cell level, was published today in the Optical Society's (OSA) open-access journal Biomedical Optics Express.



 Read more at: New high-tech laser method allows DNA to be inserted 'gently' into living cells


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Software upgrades to bionic eye enable color recognition, improve resolution, image focus, zooming*

August 7, 2013




> The first bionic eye to be approved for patients in the U.S. is getting software upgrades.
> 
> As KurzweilAI has reported, the FDA-approved Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System from Second Sight Medical Products transmits images from a small, eye-glass-mounted camera wirelessly to a microelectrode array implanted on a patient&#8217;s damaged retina.
> 
> The array sends electrical signals via the optic nerve, and the brain interprets a visual image.


Software upgrades to bionic eye enable color recognition, improve resolution, image focus, zooming | KurzweilAI


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Gold 'nanoprobes' hold the key to treating killer diseases*



> Researchers at the University of Southampton, in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Cambridge, have developed a technique to help treat fatal diseases more effectively. Dr Sumeet Mahajan and his group at the Institute for Life Sciences at Southampton are using gold nanoprobes to identify different types of cells, so that they can use the right ones in stem cell therapies.
> 
> Stem cell therapy is in its infancy, but has the potential to change the way we treat cancer and other life-threatening diseases, by replacing damaged or diseased cells with healthy ones. One of the key limitations of stem cell therapy is identifying the right cells to use for different therapies. This fundamental problem with the treatment is being tackled by this new research.



 Read more at: Gold 'nanoprobes' hold the key to treating killer diseases


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Biomeme Wants To Turn Your iOS Device Into A Disease-Detecting Mobile DNA Lab*
Biomeme Wants To Turn Your iOS Device Into A Disease-Detecting Mobile DNA Lab | TechCrunch



> There&#8217;s a vast, vast sea of the smartphone accessories out there that are designed to solve first-world problems (do we honestly need another bottle opening case?), but here&#8217;s one that aspires to change the rest of the world. The folks at Dreamit Ventures-backed Biomeme have developed a device that will turn your humble iPhone or iPod touch into a lean, mean, mobile DNA replicating machine that they hope will ultimately change how diseases are tracked and treated.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Faster brain scans offer new perspective on brain activity*

Faster brain scans offer new perspective on brain activity | Cutting Edge - CNET News



> Our brains are mysterious organs. And fast. Too fast, it turns out, to be fully observed using the current gold standard: functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
> 
> So researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the Institute of Technology and Advanced Biomedical Imaging at the University of Chieti in Italy are turning to faster technology called magnetoencephalography (MEG) to sample neural activity every 50 milliseconds.
> 
> In doing so, they've been afforded novel insights into the inner-workings of neural networks in resting and active brains. As the researchers report in the journal Neuron, these new insights could help us better understand how brain networks function and, in turn, better diagnose and treat brain injuries.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists identify key protein that modulates organismal aging*


> Scientists at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute have identified a key factor that regulates the autophagy process, a kind of cleansing mechanism for cells in which waste material and cellular debris is gobbled up to protect cells from damage, and in turn, modulates aging. The findings, published in Nature Communications today, could lead to the development of new therapies for age-related disorders that are characterized by a breakdown in this process.


Scientists identify key protein that modulates organismal aging


*Scientific breakthrough reveals how vitamin B12 is made*



> A scientific breakthrough by researchers at the University of Kent has revealed how vitamin B12/antipernicious anaemia factor is made &#8211; a challenge often referred to as &#8216;the Mount Everest of biosynthetic problems&#8217;.
> 
> Vitamin B12 is pieced together as an elaborate molecular jigsaw involving around 30 individual components. It is unique amongst the vitamins in that it is only made by certain bacteria. In the early 1990&#8217;s it was realised that there were two pathways to allow its construction &#8211; one that requires oxygen and one that occurs in the absence of oxygen. It is this so-called anaerobic pathway, which is the more common pathway, that proved so elusive as the components of the pathway are very unstable and rapidly degrade.



http://www.kent.ac.uk/research/stories/VitaminB12/2013


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Malaria vaccine shows early promise in clinical trials*
BBC News - Malaria vaccine shows early promise in clinical trials



> A malaria vaccine has shown promising results in early stage clinical trials, a study suggests.
> 
> Researchers found the vaccine, which is being developed in the US, protected 12 out of 15 patients from the disease, when given in high doses.
> 
> The method is unusual because it involves injecting live but weakened malaria-causing parasites directly into patients to trigger immunity.



This kills hundreds of thousands of blacks through Africa every year. White men just developed a vaccine so stop saying we never did nothing for you. Idiots.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists To Make Deadlier Versions Of H7N9 Bird Flu In Lab*



> A team of virus researchers is set to perform studies on H7N9 that may make the bird flu more resistant to drugs and more easily transmitted between humans. The scientists announced their plans today in two major science journals, Nature and Science.
> 
> H7N9 first arose in eastern China this spring. Since then, it has killed 43 people and sickened 90 more. The outbreak is now under control, but the research team says the virus could gain traction again this winter flu season, so they want to do so-called gain-of-function studies to learn more about the virus quickly.


Scientists To Make Deadlier Versions Of H7N9 Bird Flu In Lab | Popular Science


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists &#8216;grow&#8217; new cartilage with help of 3D printing technology*

Scientists ?grow? new cartilage with help of 3D printing technology - Latest News @ UOW



> A partnership between scientists at the University of Wollongong and St Vincent&#8217;s Hospital Melbourne has led to a breakthrough in tissue engineering, with researchers growing cartilage from stem cells to treat cancers, osteoarthritis and traumatic injury.
> 
> In work led by Associate Professor Damian Myers of St Vincent&#8217;s Hospital Melbourne &#8211; a node of the UOW-headquartered Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science (ACES) &#8211; scaffolds fabricated on 3D printing equipment were used to grow cartilage over a 28-day period from stem cells that were extracted from tissue under the knee cap.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Chemists design 'smart' nanoparticles to improve drug delivery, DNA self-assembly*



> A team of chemists in SU's College of Arts and Scientists has used a temperature-sensitive polymer to regulate DNA interactions in both a DNA-mediated assembly system and a DNA-encoded drug-delivery system.
> 
> Their findings, led by Associate Professor Mathew M. Maye and graduate students Kristen Hamner and Colleen Alexander, may improve how nanomaterials self-assemble into functional devices and how anticancer drugs, including doxorubicin, are delivered into the body. More information is available in a July 30 article in ACS Nano, published by the American Chemical Society.



Chemists design 'smart' nanoparticles to improve drug delivery, DNA self-assembly


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Blood clots could be sucked out of the brain by a robotic device*



> Intracerebral hemorrhaging is what occurs when a blood vessel in the brain bursts, and the blood which subsequently leaks out of that vessel forms a clot that places pressure on the surrounding brain tissue. It&#8217;s not that uncommon of an occurrence, it&#8217;s difficult to treat, and is fatal in about 40 percent of cases. Help may be on the way, however. A team from Nashville&#8217;s Vanderbilt University has created a robotic device that is designed to remove those clots, in a safe and minimally-invasive fashion.
> 
> As things currently stand, surgery is a risky approach to removing the clots. An access hole has to be drilled in the skull, and unless the clot is right on the outside of the brain, healthy brain tissue must be disturbed and damaged in order to reach it. The amount of damage caused by the surgery may even outweigh the benefits of removing the clot, which is why physicians often instead choose to administer anti-inflammatory drugs and hope for the best.


Blood clots could be sucked out of the brain by a robotic device


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Zapped malaria parasite raises vaccine hopes*
Zapped malaria parasite raises vaccine hopes : Nature News & Comment

Maverick malaria vaccine achieves 100% protection using parasites from irradiated mosquitoes.



> A malaria vaccine has become the first to provide 100% protection against the disease, confounding critics and far surpassing any other experimental malaria vaccine tested. It will now be tested further in clinical trials in Africa.
> 
> The results are important because they demonstrate for the first time the concept that a malaria vaccine can provide a high level of protection, says Anthony Fauci, director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in Bethesda, Maryland, adding that the findings are cause for "cautious optimism".
> 
> No effective malaria vaccine is available at present. The World Health Organization has set a target to develop a malaria vaccine with 80% efficacy by 2025, but until now, says Fauci, "we have not even gotten anywhere near that level of efficacy."


----------



## ScienceRocks

*High blood sugar levels linked to increased risk of dementia*



> Researchers reporting in the New England Journal of Medicine have discovered that high blood sugar levels are linked to an increased risk of dementia. According to the researchers, this holds true even among people who do not have diabetes.
> 
> The Alzheimer&#8217;s Association notes that dementia is a general term used to describe a decline in mental ability significant enough to impact daily life. Memory less is an excellent example. The most common type of dementia is Alzheimer&#8217;s. According to the association, Alzheimer&#8217;s disease accounts for up to 80 percent of dementia cases. Vascular dementia, which takes place following a stroke, is the second most common type of dementia.
> 
> The researchers found that in people with diabetes, whose blood sugar levels are predominantly higher, dementia risk was 40 percent higher for people with an average glucose level of 190 mg/dl compared to those with an average glucose level of 160 mg/dl. This report looked at more than 2,000 Group Health Patients age 65 and older in the Adult Changes in Thought study.


Read more: High blood sugar levels linked to increased risk of dementia | Science Recorder


----------



## ScienceRocks

*NIH scientists visualize how cancer chromosome abnormalities form in living cells*


August 8, 2013




> For the first time, scientists have directly observed events that lead to the formation of a chromosome abnormality that is often found in cancer cells. The abnormality, called a translocation, occurs when part of a chromosome breaks off and becomes attached to another chromosome.  The results of this study, conducted by scientists at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, appeared Aug. 9, 2013, in the journal Science.
> ...
> 
> &#8220;These observations have allowed us to formulate a time and space framework for elucidating the mechanisms involved in the formation of chromosome translocations,&#8221; said Vassilis Roukos, Ph.D., NCI, and lead scientist of the study.
> 
> &#8220;We can now finally begin to really probe how these fundamental features of cancer cells form,&#8221; Misteli added.



Visualizing how cancer chromosome abnormalities form in living cells - National Cancer Institute


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Deep brain stimulation device is the first to sense and record neural activity while delivering therapy*

A new automated medical system has initiated research that could one day radically improve how neurological and psychological diseases are treated.

Deep brain stimulation device can sense and record neural activity while delivering therapy


> Medtronic, Inc. has announced the first implant of a novel deep brain stimulation (DBS) system that &#8211; for the first time &#8211; enables the sensing and recording of select brain activity while simultaneously providing targeted DBS therapy. This will initiate research on how the brain responds to the therapy and could yield major insights that significantly change the way people with devastating neurological and psychological disorders are treated.
> 
> The Activa PC+S DBS system delivers proven Medtronic DBS therapy, while at the same time sensing and recording electrical activity in key areas of the brain, using sensing technology and an adjustable algorithm, which enable the system to gather brain signals at various moments as selected by a physician. Initially, this new technology will be made available to a select group of physicians worldwide for use in clinical studies. These physicians will use the system to map the brain&#8217;s responses to Medtronic DBS therapy and explore applications for the treatment across a range of neurological and psychological conditions.
> 
> The Activa PC+S system was implanted for the first time at Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich, Germany, in a person with Parkinson&#8217;s disease. This patient will be treated by a team that includes the neurologist Kai Bötzel and neurosurgeon Jan Mehrkens. Dr. Bötzel will be the first to use data gathered by the Activa PC+S system to gain unprecedented insight into how the brain responds.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Researchers mass produce reprogrammed T cells that target cancer cells*



> (Phys.org) &#8212;A team of researchers at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center has developed a method for mass producing T cells that have been reprogrammed using stem cell technology to target and destroy cancerous tumors. In their paper published in the journal Nature Biotechnology, the team describes how they collected isolated T cells, reprogrammed them into stem cells, added a gene marker, than reprogrammed them back into T cells that are able to target cells in cancerous tumors.


 Read more at: Researchers mass produce reprogrammed T cells that target cancer cells


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Rice writes rules for gene-therapy vectors*


Rice writes rules for gene-therapy vectors | e! Science News


> Rice University researchers are making strides toward a set of rules to custom-design Lego-like viral capsid proteins for gene therapy. A new paper by Rice scientists Junghae Suh and Jonathan Silberg and their students details their use of computational and bioengineering methods to combine pieces of very different adeno-associated viruses (AAVs) to create new, benign viruses that can deliver DNA payloads to specific cells.
> 
> The research appears this month in the American Chemical Society journal ACS Synthetic Biology.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Breast cancer drugs 'could treat lung cancer'*

BBC News - Breast cancer drugs 'could treat lung cancer'



> Experimental drugs already used to treat breast cancer may also fight lung cancer, research reveals.
> 
> Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the commonest type of lung cancer, is the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. Few drug treatments exist.
> 
> Scientists at the Institute of Cancer Research in London discovered breast cancer drugs called PARP inhibitors worked in up to half of NSCLC tumours.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New gene repair technique promises advances in regenerative medicine  *





> Using human pluripotent stem cells and DNA-cutting protein from meningitis bacteria, researchers from the Morgridge Institute for Research and Northwestern University have created an efficient way to target and repair defective genes.
> 
> Writing today (Monday, Aug. 12, 2013) in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the team reports that the novel technique is much simpler than previous methods and establishes the groundwork for major advances in regenerative medicine, drug screening and biomedical research.




New gene repair technique promises advances in regenerative medicine


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Researchers Use Non-Replicating Virus Particles to Kill Leukemia Cells*

Scientists at the University of Ottawa, Canada, have developed rhabdovirus-derived particles that can kill blood cancer (leukemia) cells and eradicate the disease in mice.


> &#8220;Our research indicated that a replicating virus might not be the safest or most effective approach for treating leukemia, so we decided to investigate whether we could make virus-derived particles that no longer replicate but still kill cancer,&#8221; said Dr David Conrad, who is a senior author of a study published in the Blood Cancer Journal.
> 
> &#8220;We were delighted to see that this novel therapy was very safe at high doses, and worked extremely well in our laboratory leukemia models. We hope to test this in patients in the near future.&#8221;


Researchers Use Non-Replicating Virus Particles to Kill Leukemia Cells | Medicine | Sci-News.com


----------



## ScienceRocks

> Stroke is the second leading cause of death and the third leading cause of disability worldwide. Approximately 16 million first-ever strokes occur each year, leading to nearly 6 million deaths. Nevertheless, currently, very few therapeutic options are available. Cell therapies have been applied successfully in different hematological diseases, and are currently being investigated for treating ischemic heart disease, with promising results. Recent preclinical studies have indicated that cell therapies may provide structural and functional benefits after stroke. However, the effects of these treatments are not yet fully understood and are the subject of continuing investigation. Meanwhile, different clinical trials for stroke, the majority of them small, nonrandomized, and uncontrolled, have been reported, and their results indicate that cell therapy seems safe and feasible in these conditions. In the last 2 years, the number of published and registered trials has dramatically increased. Here, we review the main findings available in the field, with emphasis on the clinical results. Moreover, we address some of the questions that have been raised to date, to improve future studies.



Rise of Cell Therapy Trials for Stroke: Review of Published and Registered Studies


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Japanese patients successfully received 3D printed bone transplants*


3ders.org - Japanese patients successfully received 3D printed bone transplants | 3D Printer News & 3D Printing News
Aug.13, 2013 


> Bones are rigid organs that serve various functions in the human body. Damaged bone can be replaced with bone from other parts of the body (autografts), from cadavers (allograft), or with various ceramics or metallic alloys. The use of autografts limits how much bone is available, while the other options can result in rejection by the human body.
> 
> According to Japanese media, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine announced that it can now create artificial bones using 3D printing technology and has transplanted the bones into four patients with cervical spine (cervical) disc herniation. After the transplants, their symptoms such as gait disturbance and hand numbness were improved.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Microelectronics: Automating cancer detection*



> Microelectronic engineers in Singapore have developed and tested sensor technology that can detect and measure a chemical signature of bladder cancer. The light-based sensor could eventually be used for the early diagnosis and subsequent tracking of the progression and treatment of many different tumors, according to Yong Shin at the A*STAR Institute of Microelectronics, who led the research. After further testing of the technology, Shin and co-workers are planning to develop a lab-on-a-chip device incorporating the sensor that can process fluid samples within about five minutes.



 Read more at: Microelectronics: Automating cancer detection


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists Just Grew Human Heart Tissue That Beats With Total Autonomy*




> Coming fresh on the heels of the news that scientists are successfully 3D printing live, working, mini human kidneys, a new report in Nature is giving another burst of hope to the future of organ transplants. For the very first time, a research team has been able to grow human heart tissue that beats totally autonomously in its petri dish home.



http://gizmodo.com/scientists-just-grew-human-heart-tissue-that-beats-with-1124490309


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Cancer's Origins Revealed: Genetic Imprints and Signatures Left by DNA-Damaging Processes That Lead to Cancer Identified*
Cancer's origins revealed: Genetic imprints and signatures left by DNA-damaging processes that lead to cancer identified



> Aug. 14, 2013 &#8212; Researchers have provided the first comprehensive compendium of mutational processes that drive tumour development. Together, these mutational processes explain most mutations found in 30 of the most common cancer types. This new understanding of cancer development could help to treat and prevent a wide-range of cancers.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*More drugs show promise in fighting hepatitis C*


> (HealthDay)&#8212;An experimental drug duo may cure some cases of the liver disease hepatitis C, without the severe side effects of standard therapy, a new clinical trial suggests.
> 
> The study, of 362 people with chronic hepatitis C, found that the new drugs&#8212;combined with one older drug&#8212;cleared the virus from up to 69 percent of patients. And that was without having to use interferon, a difficult-to-take injection drug that is part of the current therapy.
> 
> Experts said the findings, published in the Aug. 15 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, are another step forward in vastly improving hepatitis C treatment.


More drugs show promise in fighting hepatitis C


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Heart's own stem cells could help treat cardiac failure*


Heart's own stem cells could help treat cardiac failure - The Times of India


> WASHINGTON: Researchers have highlighted, for the first time, the natural regenerative capacity of a group of stem cells that reside in the heart.
> 
> According to the new study these cells are responsible for repairing and regenerating muscle tissue damaged by a heart attack that leads to heart failure.
> 
> The study shows that if the stem cells are eliminated, the heart is unable to repair after damage. If the cardiac stem cells are replaced the heart repairs itself, leading to complete cellular, anatomical and functional heart recovery, with the heart returning to normal and pumping at a regular rate.
> 
> Also, if the cardiac stem cells are removed and re-injected, they naturally 'home' to and repair the damaged heart, a discovery that could lead to less-invasive treatments and even early prevention of heart failure in the future.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*3-D Printed Ear Detects Frequencies One Million Times Higher than Human Ear*



3-D Printed Ear Detects Frequencies One Million Times Higher than Human Ear | IdeaFeed | Big Think



> Biologists at Princeton University have used 3-D printing technology to create a bionic ear capable of detecting frequencies one million times higher than the normal range of hearing. To build the bionic organ, the printer was guided by a computer model of an ear into which the biologists had added an internal antenna coil connected to an external electrode. The printer used three principle "inks" to construct the ear: "a mix of bovine cartilage-forming cells suspended in a thick goo of hydrogel; a suspension of silver nanoparticles to form the coil and external cochlea-shaped electrodes; and silicone to encase the electronics."


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Back pain: Experimental treatment uses stem cells to regenerate discs*


> LOS ANGELES (KABC) --  Chronic back pain affects nearly 1 in 3 in the U.S. Unfortunately, treatment options are limited and often surgery is done as a last resort. But an experimental new treatment doesn't involve going under the knife.
> 
> Bobby Sydnor and his band have something to sing about. Sydnor may have found the answer to his debilitating pain from a motorcycle accident 40 years ago that nearly crushed his spine, leaving him with three degenerative discs.
> 
> "It's just excruciating; it is. I remember sometimes crawling to the bathroom," said Sydnor.
> 
> But thanks to a cutting edge therapy, Sydnor is finally getting some relief without surgery.
> 
> "It really has the potential to change the disease state instead of just treating the symptoms," said Dr. Tory L. McJunkin, principal investigator at Arizona Pain Specialists.
> 
> Full human trial results will not be available until later this year, but in early data, 71 percent of patients who received a low dose of stem cells showed a significant reduction in low back pain and improvement in function, compared with 20 percent of patients in the control group.
> 
> Now, two years into the study, Sydnor says he's definitely feeling a difference and can't wait for what's next.




http://arizonapain.com/about/pain-doctors/dr-tory-mcjunkin/

WHITE MAN!

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/health&id=9163739


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Drug addicts revealed in 5 minutes in Abu Dhabi*



> Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi Police will use the latest innovations to examine drug addicts and identify them at borders and in public places. The police signed an agreement with an international company to supply the test kit which can give results in less than 5 minutes. The police, who announced the move yesterday, said it will be the first law enforcement institution to use this up-to-date testing facility in the Gulf and the Middle East.
> 
> &#8220;The new urine test kit, which can analyse and examine twelve types of drugs, can reveal if the person is a drug addict or not in three to five minutes and eliminate the spread of narcotics- related crimes,&#8221; said Brigadier General Dr Saif Bu Dhudaira Al Ameri, director general of security and ports affairs.



Drug addicts revealed in 5 minutes in Abu Dhabi | GulfNews.com


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Therapy to treat liver cancer successfully performed*

Therapy to treat liver cancer successfully performed - The Times of India


> COIMBATORE: A new therapy for inoperable liver cancers was today successfully performed on a 48-year- old male patient at the super-speciality Kovai Medical Centre and Hospital here.
> 
> Development of 'Rhenium 188 Lipiodol' therapy has been a big step forward in meeting the demands for making available at a low cost and effective radio-conjugate for therapy of inoperable liver cancers, KMCH Chairman Nalla G Palanisamy told reporters here.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Cuba tests dengue vaccine on animals*


> HAVANA: Cuba is testing a vaccine against dengue fever on animals. The test is considered one of the most advanced projects of its kind, a Cuban scientist said.
> 
> The vaccine is composed of a protein that works by inducing cells to generate neutralising antibodies, Alienys Izquierdo Oliva, a member of the National Dengue Vaccine Project, told Xinhua.
> 
> "If we have neutralising antibodies, then we will have protection," said Izquierdo.



Cuba tests dengue vaccine on animals - The Times of India


----------



## ScienceRocks

CNN Video - Breaking News Videos from CNN.com


----------



## ScienceRocks

*'Downloading' new skills into our brains like characters on The Matrix set to become a reality, say scientists*


> Learning a martial art, how to fly a plane or how to speak a new language without even being awake is set to become a reality, say researchers.
> 
> Scientists at Boston University and ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories in Kyoto, Japan, believe that in the future learning a new skill might involve nothing more than sitting in front of a computer screen and waiting for it to upload.
> 
> They have been studying how a functional magnetic resonance machine (FMRI) can induce knowledge in someone through their visual cortex by sending signals that change their brain activity pattern.



Learning skills like characters on The Matrix set to become a reality, say scientists | Mail Online


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Evolutionary Mechanisms of Host-Bacterial Symbiosis during Health and Disease *

Biology Division - Sarkis K. Mazmanian



> Immunologic imbalances underlie many human diseases. Protection from autoimmune disorders, resistance to infections and the control of cancers require the proper functioning of the immune system. Fortunately, our immune system is not alone in this struggle. The human body represents a scaffold upon which multitudes of commensal species build residence, creating a diverse ecosystem with members of five of the six kingdoms of life. Mechanisms which mediate the interdependent and complex interactions within this super-organism, as well as their influences on human health, are almost entirely unknown. Our laboratory focuses on examining the processes which govern the development of the mammalian immune system, with the goals of understanding how symbiotic bacteria actively contribute to the critical balance between health and disease.





*Biologists identify mechanism by which beneficial bacteria reside and thrive in gastrointestinal tract*

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-08-biologists-mechanism-beneficial-bacteria-reside.html


> (Medical Xpress)&#8212;The human body is full of tiny microorganisms&#8212;hundreds to thousands of species of bacteria collectively called the microbiome, which are believed to contribute to a healthy existence. The gastrointestinal (GI) tract&#8212;and the colon in particular&#8212;is home to the largest concentration and highest diversity of bacterial species. But how do these organisms persist and thrive in a system that is constantly in flux due to foods and fluids moving through it? A team led by California Institute of Technology (Caltech) biologist Sarkis Mazmanian believes it has found the answer, at least in one common group of bacteria: a set of genes that promotes stable microbial colonization of the gut.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Bacterial toxins cause deadly heart disease*
Bacterial toxins cause deadly heart disease



> University of Iowa researchers have discovered what causes the lethal effects of staphylococcal infective endocarditis - a serious bacterial infection of heart valves that kills approximately 20,000 Americans each year.
> 
> According to the UI study, the culprits are superantigens&#8212;toxins produced in large quantities by Staphylococcus aureus (staph) bacteria - which disrupt the immune system, turning it from friend to foe.


----------



## rdean

(gasp) SCIENCE!


----------



## ScienceRocks

Computer can read letters directly from the brain


computercanr.jpgEnlarge



> By analysing MRI images of the brain with an elegant mathematical model, it is possible to reconstruct thoughts more accurately than ever before. In this way, researchers from Radboud University Nijmegen have succeeded in determining which letter a test subject was looking at. The journal Neuroimage has accepted the article, which will be published soon.


Computer can read letters directly from the brain


----------



## ScienceRocks

*A molecular &#8216;switch&#8217; to reprogram control pathways in cells*


> "Molecular network diverter" can tweak the control systems that regulate the inner workings of cells, leading to future medical interventions to switch off diseased states or turn on healthy processes
> 
> August 20, 2013
> 
> A Stanford University bioengineer has helped develop a technology dubbed a &#8220;molecular network diverter&#8221; that can tweak the control systems that regulate the inner workings of cells, pointing the way toward future medical interventions that could switch off diseased states or turn on healthy processes.
> A molecular ?switch? to reprogram control pathways in cells | KurzweilAI
> This molecular diverter uses the concerted action of three biological sub-systems to redirect signaling pathways &#8212; complex networks of molecular interactions that orchestrate the cellular machinery.
> 
> Controlling signaling pathways that cancer, other diseases
> 
> The experiments described by Christina Smolke, PhD, associate professor of bioengineering, and associates were performed on yeast cells. But the principles and practices embodied in the molecular network diverter apply to signaling pathways that control the development, reproduction and death of all cells. When these signaling pathways go awry in humans, for instance, such malfunctions can cause many types of cancer as well as other diseases.
> 
> &#8220;We&#8217;re doing this in yeast, but there&#8217;s a lot of conservation, or similarity, of these pathways in higher organisms,&#8221; Smolke said. &#8220;The next step, now that we&#8217;ve shown this in simpler systems, is to take this technology into human cell cultures.&#8221;
> 
> The team&#8217;s initial goal was to control the mating behavior of yeast, an activity that, in nature, is influenced by the presence or absence of pheromones, which are naturally occurring odorless substances that can trigger responses from the opposite sex.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Australian woman is back from the dead, after 42 minutes*
Australian woman is back from the dead, after 42 minutes - The Times of India



> MELBOURNE: In a near-miraculous incident, doctors in Australia have saved the life of a 41-year-old woman who was clinically dead for 42 minutes after suffering a major heart attack. Vanessa Tanasio was rushed to hospital last week after the heart attack, but was declared clinically dead soon after arrival.
> 
> Doctors at Melbourne's Monash-Heart hospital managed to unblock vital arteries and return her heart to a normal rhythm, using a high-tech machine that kept blood flowing to Tanasio's brain, AAP news agency reported. Hospital authorities described her survival as "astonishing".


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New drug mimics the beneficial effects of exercise*



> A drug known as SR9009, which is currently under development at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), increases the level of metabolic activity in skeletal muscles of mice. Treated mice become lean, develop larger muscles and can run much longer distances simply by taking SR9009, which mimics the effects of aerobic exercise. If similar effects can be obtained in people, the reversal of obesity, metabolic syndrome, and perhaps Type-II diabetes might be the very welcome result.
> 
> The drug was developed by Professor Thomas Burris of TSRI, who found that it was able to reduce obesity in populations of mice. It binds to and activates a protein called Rev-ErbA&#945;, which influences fat and sugar burning in the liver, production of fat cells, and the body's inflammatory response.


New drug mimics the beneficial effects of exercise

http://www.scripps.edu/research/faculty/burris

Another advancement made by the dieing race!  I wouldn't be surprised if 55% of all science is done by that race...One of the greatest shames in the history of humanity will be when such is wiped out and replaced with the ones that can't feed themselves.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Anti-Aging with drugs hopes to achieve life extension to 120 years and beyond 


Anti-Aging with drugs hopes to achieve life extension to 120 years and beyond



> Fighting aging has excellent coverage of antiaging research. They have pointed out a few recent overviews of the state and prospects of life extension using metabolic modification using drugs. Fighting aging and Aubrey de Grey (SENS) doubt that metabolic modification will yield significant life extension results. However there could be some life extension and health improvements and others like David Sinclair are more optimistic.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Study ties higher blood sugar to increased risk of dementia *

Study ties higher blood sugar to increased risk of dementia - The Daily News Online: Lifestyles



> Higher blood-sugar levels, even those well short of diabetes, seem to raise the risk of developing dementia, a major new study finds. Researchers say it suggests a novel way to try to prevent Alzheimer's disease -- by keeping glucose at a healthy level.
> 
> Alzheimer's is by far the most common form of dementia and it's long been known that diabetes makes it more likely. The new study tracked blood sugar over time in all sorts of people -- with and without diabetes -- to see how it affects risk for the mind-robbing disease.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*China's 3D bio printer 'Re-human' to create scaffolds for cardiac repair*
Aug.20, 2013 


> Last week, researchers at Hangzhou University of Electronic Science and Technology in China unveiled their Regenovo 3D bio-printer. Unlike other 3D printers, which work with plastic or metal powder, Regenovo prints living tissue.
> 
> The Hangzhou team isn't the only company in China developing 3D bioprinter. Unique Technology in Qingdao, Shandong province recently unveiled their 3D bio printer "Re-human".


3ders.org - China's 3D bio printer 'Re-human' to create scaffolds for cardiac repair | 3D Printer News & 3D Printing News


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists find way to predict and control gene expression*



> (Medical Xpress)&#8212;EPFL scientists have developed a "guide" that can be used to precisely predict the number of proteins a given gene will produce under varying conditions. This work will help biologists to engineer cells.
> 
> Genes are segments of DNA within our cells that oversee how our bodies take shape. They receive orders to produce specific proteins; these proteins become the building blocks of everything in our body, from organs to the hemoglobin in our red blood cells. Our genes are thus at the very center of who we are.


Scientists find way to predict and control gene expression


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Drug used for blood cancers may stop spread of breast cancer cells*
Drug used for blood cancers may stop spread of breast cancer cells




> A drug used to treat blood cancers may also stop the spread of invasive breast cancer, researchers at Mayo Clinic in Florida have discovered. Their study, published online in Breast Cancer Research, found that in the lab and in animals, the drug decitabine turns on a gene coding for protein kinase D1 (PRKD1) that halts the ability of cancer cells to separate from a tumor and spread to distant organs.
> 
> "Treatment with low doses of decitabine in an animal model of breast cancer restored PRKD1 expression, reduced tumor size, and blocked metastasis to the lung," says the study's senior investigator, Peter Storz, Ph.D., a biochemist and molecular biologist at Mayo Clinic in Florida.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*'Spider style' blood vessel building*
By James Gallagher

Health and science reporter, BBC News

BBC News - 'Spider style' blood vessel building


> A way of building body parts similar to the way a spider spins its web has been demonstrated by researchers in the UK.
> 
> The team at University College London used a constant stream of cells mixed with a polymer to weave the new tissues.
> 
> They think the technique could produce better results than other ways of building body parts for transplant.
> 
> THe team of researchers tested the technique by constructing blood vessels in mice.
> 
> There are many methods being used to grow organs in the laboratory.
> 
> Some start with a synthetic scaffold which is then seeded with a patient's own cells and implanted. There are some patients who have had new bladders built in this way.
> 
> Living scaffold A "living scaffold" made by electrospinning
> Another technique has been to take a body part from a dead body, just like an organ transplant, and use a detergent to strip out the native cells leaving a protein scaffold behind. This is then seeded with the target patient's cells. New windpipes have been made through this process.
> 
> Spinning
> 
> The team at the University College London are using "electrospinning" technology to produce organs. They think it will overcome some of the challenges of seeding a scaffold by building the cells into the transplant in the first place.
> 
> It starts with a broth of cells and polymer. A 10,000 volt electric needle is then used to draw out a fibre.
> 
> Dr Suwan Jayasinghe told the BBC: "Like a spider weaves its web we are able to draw out this continuous fibre of polymer and cells and weave a web.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Biphasic electrical stimulation: A strategy may bring hope to spinal cord injury patients*





> Researchers at the Beihang University School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, led by Dr. Yubo Fan, have discovered that Biphasic Electrical stimulation (BES), a non-chemical procedure, may be used as a strategy for preventing cell apoptosis in stem cell-based transplantation therapy. The article describing their studies will be published in the August 2013 issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine. The scientists believe that their technique will be used for spinal cord injury patients in the future.


Biphasic electrical stimulation: A strategy may bring hope to spinal cord injury patients


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Ovarian cancer screening 'has potential*

'By James Gallagher



> Health and science reporter, BBC News
> A new way of screening for ovarian cancer is showing "potential", according to researchers in the US.
> 
> Tumours in the ovaries are hard to detect in the earliest stages meaning it can be too late to treat them effectively by the time they are found.
> 
> A trial of 4,051 women, reported in the journal Cancer, showed the method could identify those needing treatment.
> 
> But a huge study taking place in the UK will give a final verdict on the test when it is completed in 2015.
> 
> There is a survival rate of up to 90% when ovarian cancer is caught early, compared with less than 30% if it is discovered in the later stages.
> 
> Unlike other cancers, the symptoms, such as pelvic and abdominal pain or persistent bloating, are often put down to other common ailments and the tumour can be missed.



BBC News - Ovarian cancer screening 'has potential'


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists report breakthrough in DNA editing technology*

3 hours ago 



> Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have found a way to apply a powerful new DNA-editing technology more broadly than ever before.
> 
> "This is one of the hottest tools in biology, and we've now found a way to target it to any DNA sequence," said Carlos F. Barbas III, the Janet and Keith Kellogg II Chair in Molecular Biology and Professor in the Department of Chemistry at TSRI.
> 
> The breakthrough concerns a set of designer DNA-binding proteins called TALEs, which biologists increasingly use to turn on, turn off, delete, insert or even rewrite specific genes within cells&#8212;for scientific experiments and also for potential biotech and medical applications, including treatments for genetic diseases.


 Read more at: Scientists report breakthrough in DNA editing technology

Another white man!!! http://www.scripps.edu/research/chem/faculty.html?name=barbas I'd be really surprised if its a black man. 

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-08/sri-sri082613.php

I watch this stuff every day and I talk with facts.


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## ScienceRocks

*Microneedle patch could replace standard tuberculosis skin test*

Microneedle patch could replace standard tuberculosis skin test



> Each year, millions of people in the United States get a tuberculosis skin test to see if they have the infection that still affects one third of the world's population. But the standard diagnostic test is difficult to give, because a hypodermic needle must be inserted at a precise angle and depth in the arm to successfully check for tuberculosis
> 
> Now, a team led by University of Washington engineers has created a patch with tiny, biodegradable needles that can penetrate the skin and precisely deliver a tuberculosis test. The researchers published their results online Aug. 26 in the journal Advanced Healthcare Materials.
> 
> "With a microneedle test there's little room for user error, because the depth of delivery is determined by the microneedle length rather than the needle-insertion angle," said senior author Marco Rolandi, a UW assistant professor of materials science and engineering. "This test is painless and easier to administer than the traditional skin test with a hypodermic needle."


.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Digital autopsy: Replacing scalpels with scanners*
Digital autopsy: Replacing scalpels with scanners




> By using raw data from Multi Slice Computerized Tomography (MSCT) and processing it through sophisticated software on high performance computer systems, Malaysian entrepreneur Mathavan (Matt) Chandran hopes to largely negate the need to slice open bodies at autopsy. His digital autopsy software exploits the power of existing 2D and 3D imaging and visualization equipment to observe and investigate the human body using high definition imagery.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Researcher Controls Colleague's Motions in First Human Brain-To-Brain Interface*

Researcher controls colleague's motions in first human brain-to-brain interface



> Aug. 27, 2013 &#8212; University of Washington researchers have performed what they believe is the first noninvasive human-to-human brain interface, with one researcher able to send a brain signal via the Internet to control the hand motions of a fellow researcher.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Miniature 'human brain' grown in lab*


> Miniature "human brains" have been grown in a lab in a feat scientists hope will transform the understanding of neurological disorders.
> 
> The pea-sized structures reached the same level of development as in a nine-week-old foetus, but are incapable of thought.
> 
> The study, published in the journal Nature, has already been used to gain insight into rare diseases.


BBC News - Miniature 'human brain' grown in lab


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists find clue to reasons for age-related memory loss*




> Scientists have found a compelling clue to what causes age-related memory problems, and to a way of one day differentiating whether those misplaced car keys are just a senior moment or an early warning of something worse.
> 
> Wednesday's report offers evidence that age-related memory loss really is a distinct condition from pre-Alzheimer's -- and offers a hint that what we now consider the normal forgetfulness of old age might eventually be treatable.
> 
> "You know not every band that comes from Liverpool becomes The Beatles," Dr. Scott Small, a professor of neurology at Columbia University Medical Center and a senior author of the study, told CBS News. "And most of our studies fail. So this is the one that worked."
> 
> Small and other researchers at Columbia University Medical Center examined brains, young and old ones, donated from people who died without signs of neurologic disease. They discovered that a certain gene in a specific part of the hippocampus, the brain's memory center, quits working properly in older people. It produces less of a key protein called RbAp48



Scientists find clue to reasons for age-related memory loss - CBS News


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Researchers aim to use light -- not electric jolts -- to restore healthy heartbeats*


Researchers aim to use light -- not electric jolts -- to restore healthy heartbeats | e! Science News


> When a beating heart slips into an irregular, life-threatening rhythm, the treatment is well known: deliver a burst of electric current from a pacemaker or defibrillator. But because the electricity itself can cause pain, tissue damage and other serious side-effects, a Johns Hopkins-led research team wants to replace these jolts with a kinder, gentler remedy: light. In a paper published Aug. 28 in the online journal Nature Communications, five biomedical engineers from Johns Hopkins and Stony Brook universities described their plan to use biological lab data and an intricate computer model to devise a better way to heal ailing hearts. Other scientists are already using light-sensitive cells to control certain activities in the brain. The Johns Hopkins-Stony Brook researchers say they plan to give this technique a cardiac twist so that doctors in the near future will be able to use low-energy light to solve serious heart problems such as arrhythmia.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New sensor for SERS Raman spectroscopy almost as sensitive as a dog's nose*



> Using carbon nanotubes, a research team led by Professor Hyung Gyu Park in collaboration with Dr. Tiziana Bond has developed a sensor that greatly amplifies the sensitivity of commonly used but typically weak vibrational spectroscopic methods, such as Raman spectroscopy. This type of sensor makes it possible to detect molecules present in the tiniest of concentrations.
> 
> Scientists at ETH Zurich and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in California have developed an innovative sensor for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). Thanks to its unique surface properties at nanoscale, the method can be used to perform analyses that are more reliable, sensitive and cost-effective. In experiments with the new sensor, the researchers were able to detect a certain organic species (1,2bis(4-pyridyl)ethylene, or BPE) in a concentration of a few hundred femtomoles per litre. A 100 femtomolar solution contains around 60 million molecules per liter.


 Read more at: New sensor for SERS Raman spectroscopy almost as sensitive as a dog's nose


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Blueberries, not fruit juice, cut type-2 diabetes risk*


BBC News - Blueberries, not fruit juice, cut type-2 diabetes risk


> Eating more fruit, particularly blueberries, apples and grapes, is linked to a reduced risk of developing type-2 diabetes, suggests a study in the British Medical Journal.
> 
> Blueberries cut the risk by 26% compared with 2% for three servings of any whole fruit - but fruit juice did not appear to have the same effect.
> 
> The research looked at the diets of more than 187,000 people in the US.
> 
> But Diabetes UK said the results of the study should be treated with caution.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Single gene tweak increases mouse lifespan 20 percent*



> Although recent studies have shown that most Americans aren't entirely fond of the idea of immortality, it's probably a good bet that they still wouldn't mind extending their lifespans by 10-15 years. If researchers at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) have their way, that wish could become a reality. These scientists have successfully extended the lives of mice by changing a single gene.
> 
> In the study, scientists used gene expression, which is taking information from a gene to synthesize a gene product, typically a protein. The mice involved in the study were engineered to produce only 25% of the normal amount of the protein from the mTOR gene, which scientists believe controls metabolism and energy levels. The engineered mice grew up smaller than their peers, but their lifespans increased by nearly 20 percent, the longest lifespan increase ever seen in mice. In humans, an increased lifespan of 20% would raise the average lifespan by about 15-16 years.



Single gene tweak increases mouse lifespan 20 percent | DVICE


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Old cancer drug may help transplant patients*



> LONDON: Scientists have discovered that an old cancer drug can be used to prevent rejection of transplanted tissue.
> 
> Researchers at Lund University believe their discovery could lead to new treatments for both transplant patients and those with autoimmune diseases.
> 
> "Our group was studying the effects of the old tumour drug Zebularine, developed in the US in the 1960s, and by chance we discovered that it had completely unexpected effects on the immune system," said Leif Salford, senior professor of neurosurgery at the Rausing Laboratory, Lund University.



Old cancer drug may help transplant patients - The Times of India


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Caffeine May Contribute to Healthy Liver, Researchers Suggest*


 Aug 21, 2013 by  Sci-News.com 

Caffeine May Contribute to Healthy Liver, Researchers Suggest | Medicine | Sci-News.com


> Increased caffeine intake may reduce fatty liver in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, according to a group of researchers led by Dr Paul Yen from the Duke University Medical Center.
> 
> Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is the major cause of fatty liver not due to excessive alcohol consumption. Currently there are no effective treatments for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease except diet and exercise.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists develop two-drug combo pill to treat HIV*


> WASHINGTON: Scientists have developed a new delivery system for a combination of two HIV drugs that may serve as an effective treatment for the deadly virus. The discovery, which allows for a combination of decitabine and gemcitabine to be delivered in pill form, marks a major step forward in patient feasibility for the drugs, which previously had been available solely via injection or intravenous therapy (IV), researchers said.


Scientists develop two-drug combo pill to treat HIV - The Times of India


----------



## ScienceRocks

*High dose statins may prevent dementia*



> LONDON: High doses of statins may prevent dementia in older age, a new research has claimed.
> 
> The study of nearly 58,000 patients found that high potency statins had the strongest protective effects against dementia.
> 
> Researchers examined whether statin use was associated with new diagnoses of dementia. They used a random sample of one million patients covered by Taiwan's National Health Insurance.
> 
> They identified 57,669 patients aged more than 65 years who had no history of dementia in 1997 and 1998. The analysis included pre-senile and senile dementia but excluded vascular dementia.


High dose statins may prevent dementia - The Times of India


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Water found to be an ideal lubricant for nanomachines*



> Researchers from the University of Amsterdam have discovered that machines just one molecule in size move far quicker if you add a 'lubricant' to their surroundings. To their surprise, water proved to be the best lubricant by far. The research will be published on 1 September 2013 in Nature Chemistry.


 Read more at: Water found to be an ideal lubricant for nanomachines


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Microencapsulation produces uniform drug release vehicle*

52 minutes ago 


> Consistently uniform, easily manufactured microcapsules containing a brain cancer drug may simplify treatment and provide more tightly controlled therapy, according to Penn State researchers.
> 
> "Brain tumors are one of the world's deadliest diseases," said Mohammad Reza Abidian, assistant professor of bioengineering, chemical engineering and materials science and engineering. "Typically doctors resect the tumors, do radiation therapy and then chemotherapy."



Microencapsulation produces uniform drug release vehicle


----------



## ScienceRocks

*'Brain window' implant devised*

BBC News - 'Brain window' implant devised



> A "window to the brain" implant which would allow doctors to see through the skull and possibly treat patients has been devised by US researchers.
> 
> It uses a see-through version of the same material used for hip implants.
> 
> The team at University of California, Riverside, say it could allow lasers to be fired into the brain to treat neurological disorders.
> 
> The implant was reported in the journal Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology and Medicine.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Mayo Clinic restores disrupted heartbeat with regenerative intervention*

Published: Tuesday, September 3, 2013 - 15:23  in Health & Medicine 



> Mayo Clinic researchers have found a way to resynchronize cardiac motion following a heart attack using stem cells. Scientists implanted engineered stem cells, also known as induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, into damaged regions of mouse hearts following a heart attack. This regenerative approach successfully targeted the origin of abnormal cardiac motion, preventing heart failure. The findings appear in the September issue of the Journal of Physiology.
> 
> "The discovery introduces -- for the first time -- stem cell-based 'biological resynchronization' as a novel means to treat cardiac dyssynchrony," says Andre Terzic, M.D., Ph.D., senior author of the study. Dr. Terzic is the Michael S. and Mary Sue Shannon Family Director, Center for Regenerative Medicine, and the Marriott Family Professor of Cardiovascular Diseases Research.


Mayo Clinic restores disrupted heartbeat with regenerative intervention | e! Science News


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Sleep 'boosts brain cell numbers'*


BBC News - Sleep 'boosts brain cell numbers'


> Scientists believe they have discovered a new reason why we need to sleep - it replenishes a type of brain cell.
> 
> Sleep ramps up the production of cells that go on to make an insulating material known as myelin which protects our brain's circuitry.
> 
> The findings, so far in mice, could lead to insights about sleep's role in brain repair and growth as well as the disease MS, says the Wisconsin team.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Experimental compound reverses Down syndrome-like learning deficits in mice*



> Researchers at Johns Hopkins and the National Institutes of Health have identified a compound that dramatically bolsters learning and memory when given to mice with a Down syndrome-like condition on the day of birth. As they report in the Sept. 4 issue of Science Translational Medicine, the single-dose treatment appears to enable the cerebellum of the rodents' brains to grow to a normal size.


Experimental compound reverses Down syndrome-like learning deficits in mice


----------



## ScienceRocks

*regenerative-medicine-could-reach*


> Sometime in the next few decades, humans may be able to regrow a finger here, a toe there &#8211; and maybe even fresh patches of beating heart tissue.
> 
> Human hearts are among the most promising targets: "Fifteen years ago we would have said 50 years, but it could be as soon as 10 years from now," Ken Poss, a cell biologist at Duke University, told NBC News.
> 
> Just this month, researchers from the Gladstone Institutes showed that they could turn human scar tissue into electrically conductive tissue in a lab dish by fiddling with just a few key genes.



Regenerative medicine could reach a technological takeoff point with genetic understanding of regeneration in 2-3 years and possible human treatments in 10-20 years


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Laser-guided surgery finds brain cancer's boundary*



> Laser-guided surgery could improve the odds of removing all of a brain tumour by clearly highlighting its edges, US researchers say.
> 
> Surgeons are cautious with brain tumours as removing the surrounding tissue could lead to disability.
> 
> A technique, reported in Science Translational Medicine, used a laser to analyse the chemistry of the tissue and show the tumour in a different colour.
> 
> Brain tumour researchers said it could be an "exciting development".
> 
> Removing a brain tumour is a balancing act - take too little and the cancer could return, take too much and it seriously affects a patient's quality of life.



BBC News - Laser-guided surgery finds brain cancer's boundary


----------



## ScienceRocks

*One pill for all heart problems*


> CHANDIGARH: How often do you forget to pop that pill to control your shooting blood pressure? Or skip the aspirin tablet that could have prevented a stroke at night? Not anymore.
> 
> For the first time, doctors and researchers have come up with a single pill for all cardiovascular diseases (CVD), including high blood pressure and vulnerability to stroke, doing away with the pain of popping multiple pills to keep your heart healthy. Trials for this new pill - called the polypill - across Europe and India have proved successful, according to a study published on Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association.


One pill for all heart problems - The Times of India


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Lung diseases cause one in 10 deaths across Europe*



> Lung conditions are the cause of one in 10 of all deaths in Europe and smoking is a major factor, says a report from European Respiratory Society.
> 
> It says deaths from lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) will rise over the next 20 years because of past smoking rates.
> 
> But a British lung charity says lung disease kills one in four in the UK.


BBC News - Lung diseases cause one in 10 deaths across Europe


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Pioneering heart attack stem cell trial treats 1st patient*

100 patients in Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal to be selected for study on cardiac tissue repair 


> The first patient has been treated in a groundbreaking medical trial in Ottawa that could lead to a new way to repair damaged tissues following a heart attack.
> 
> Researchers announced Thursday that Harriet Garrow of Cornwall, Ont., who suffered a severe heart attack in July, was their first test subject. Her heart had stopped beating before she was resuscitated, causing major damage to her cardiac muscle.
> 
> The hope is that a new form of combined gene and stem cell therapy will be able to better repair her heart and those of potentially millions of other heart attack patients.
> 
> The therapy involves injecting a patient's own stem cells into their heart to help fix areas that become damaged in a heart attack. Stem cells are a fertile regenerative tissue that can replicate into millions of new, healthy cells.


Pioneering heart attack stem cell trial treats 1st patient - Technology & Science - CBC News


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Novel therapeutic cancer vaccine reaches human clinical trials*



> A cross-disciplinary team of scientists, engineers, and clinicians announced today that they have begun a Phase I clinical trial of an implantable vaccine to treat melanoma, the most lethal form of skin cancer.


Novel therapeutic cancer vaccine reaches human clinical trials


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Now, 3D printer to create organs at the touch of a button*



> LONDON: Scientists have created a 3D printing device that could soon be used to make tailor-made transplant organs at the click of a button.
> 
> The breakthrough by British experts involves a special print head nozzle that can dispense a wide range of different materials highly accurately.
> 
> The nozzle, called the Vista 3D, can print large particles and fluids through improvements in droplet ejection, opening up the possibility of printing products as diverse as toys, medical devices, aircraft parts and even organs.


Now, 3D printer to create organs at the touch of a button - The Times of India


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Synthetic mRNA can induce self-repair, regeneration of the infarcted heart*



> A team of scientists at Karolinska Institutet and Harvard University has taken a major step towards treatment for heart attack, by instructing the injured heart in mice to heal by expressing a factor that triggers cardiovascular regeneration driven by native heart stem cells. The study, published in Nature Biotechnology, also shows that there was an effect on driving the formation of a small number of new cardiac muscle cells.
> 
> "This is the beginning of using the heart as a factory to produce growth factors for specific families of cardiovascular stem cells, and suggests that it may be possible to generate new heart parts without delivering any new cells to the heart itself ", says Kenneth Chien, a Professor at the medical university Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and Harvard University, US, who led the research team behind the new findings.


 Read more at: Synthetic mRNA can induce self-repair, regeneration of the infarcted heart


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Programmable glue made of DNA directs tiny gel bricks to self-assemble*

Published: Monday, September 9, 2013 - 12:37  in Biology & Nature 



> A team of researchers at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University has found a way to self-assemble complex structures out of bricks smaller than a grain of salt. The self-assembly method could help solve one of the major challenges in tissue engineering: regrowing human tissue by injecting tiny components into the body that then self-assemble into larger, intricately structured, biocompatible scaffolds at an injury site. The key to self-assembly was developing the world's first programmable glue. The glue is made of DNA, and it directs specific bricks of a water-filled gel to stick only to each other, the scientists report in the September 9th online issue of Nature Communications.
> 
> "By using DNA glue to guide gel bricks to self-assemble, we're creating sophisticated programmable architecture," says Peng Yin, Ph.D., a Core Faculty member at the Wyss Institute and senior coauthor of the study, who is also an Assistant Professor of Systems Biology at Harvard Medical School. This novel self-assembly method worked for gel bricks from as small as a speck of silt (30 microns diameter) to as large as a grain of sand (1 millimeter diameter), underscoring the method's versatility.



http://esciencenews.com/articles/20...ade.dna.directs.tiny.gel.bricks.self.assemble


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Tiny kidneys are world's first 3D printed organs living*


> Two years ago, Anthony Atala took to the stage at TED and showed the world that human organs could be 3D printed. Now, a team from eastern China has successfully printed a series of living kidneys. This is a huge step forward in the quest for 3D printed replacement organs.
> 
> While Atala's original 3D printed kidneys were made with a bio-ink that perfectly replicated kidney tissue. The problem was that these tissues were not vital (living). Without the ability to create living organs, 3D printed transplants would remain impossible. That's why this new breakthrough is so important.




Tiny kidneys are world's first 3D printed organs living | DVICE


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Brain circuitry loss may be a very early sign of cognitive decline in healthy elderly people*


> The degeneration of a small, wishbone-shaped structure deep inside the brain may provide the earliest clues to future cognitive decline, long before healthy older people exhibit clinical symptoms of memory loss or dementia, a study by researchers with the UC Davis Alzheimer's Disease Center has found.



Brain circuitry loss may be a very early sign of cognitive decline in healthy elderly people


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Intestinal tube prototype aims to become a permanent answer to obesity*


> MetaboShield, is an innovative intestinal sleeve that can be lodged permanently in the small intestine via the throat in an anesthesia-free procedure. Though it is still a prototype, when developed the sleeve could help people shed unwanted pounds and potentially help reverse type 2 diabetes.


Intestinal tube prototype aims to become a permanent answer to obesity


----------



## ScienceRocks

*UCI-led study creates new memories by directly changing the brain*

Published: Tuesday, September 10, 2013 - 14:03  in Psychology & Sociology 



> By studying how memories are made, UC Irvine neurobiologists created new, specific memories by direct manipulation of the brain, which could prove key to understanding and potentially resolving learning and memory disorders. Research led by senior author Norman M. Weinberger, a research professor of neurobiology & behavior at UC Irvine, and colleagues has shown that specific memories can be made by directly altering brain cells in the cerebral cortex, which produces the predicted specific memory. The researchers say this is the first evidence that memories can be created by direct cortical manipulation.
> 
> Study results appeared in the August 29 issue of Neuroscience.
> 
> During the research, Weinberger and colleagues played a specific tone to test rodents then stimulated the nucleus basalis deep within their brains, releasing acetylcholine (ACh), a chemical involved in memory formation. This procedure increased the number of brain cells responding to the specific tone. The following day, the scientists played many sounds to the animals and found that their respiration spiked when they recognized the particular tone, showing that specific memory content was created by brain changes directly induced during the experiment. Created memories have the same features as natural memories including long-term retention.


UCI-led study creates new memories by directly changing the brain | e! Science News


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Australian scientists develop smallest handheld microscope*



> MELBOURNE: Australian scientists have developed the smallest handheld microscope that fits inside a needle and can even pinpoint those cancer cells that are often missed during operations while removing breast cancer tumours.
> 
> University of Western Australia researchers were using what is said to be the world's smallest handheld microscope to capture 3D images using a tiny lens, less than a third of a millimetre wide, which fits inside a needle, according to a report in ABC News.




Australian scientists develop smallest handheld microscope - The Times of India


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Researchers start Phase I clinical trial of implantable vaccine for treatment of melanoma*



> Designed to target skin cancer, the implantable vaccine opens a door to treating many cancers and inflammatory diseases
> 
> A cross-disciplinary team of scientists, engineers, and clinicians announced today that they have begun a Phase I clinical trial of an implantable vaccine to treat melanoma, the most lethal form of skin cancer.
> 
> The effort is the fruit of a new model of translational research being pursued at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University that integrates the latest cancer research with bioinspired technology development. It was led by Wyss Core Faculty member David J. Mooney, Ph.D., who is also the Robert P. Pinkas Family Professor of Bioengineering at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), and Wyss Institute Associate Faculty member Glenn Dranoff, M.D., who is co-leader of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute's Cancer Vaccine Center.


Researchers start Phase I clinical trial of implantable vaccine for treatment of melanoma


----------



## ScienceRocks

*AIDS vaccine candidate appears to completely clear virus from the body*




> An HIV/AIDS vaccine candidate developed by researchers at Oregon Health & Science University appears to have the ability to completely clear an AIDS-causing virus from the body. The promising vaccine candidate is being developed at OHSU's Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute. It is being tested through the use of a non-human primate form of HIV, called simian immunodeficiency virus, or SIV, which causes AIDS in monkeys. Following further development, it is hoped an HIV-form of the vaccine candidate can soon be tested in humans. These research results were published online today by the journal Nature. The results will also appear in a future print version of the publication.


AIDS vaccine candidate appears to completely clear virus from the body


----------



## ScienceRocks

*
Breakthrough with stem cells could 'end need for transplants' *

Living mice able to  produce the cells capable of helping to repair a damaged heart



> Scientists have created stem cells within the body of laboratory mice for the first time in a landmark study showing that it may be possible one day to repair damaged human organs in situ without the need for transplant operations.
> 
> 
> Until now stem cells created by a new genetic engineering technique have only been created in vitro in the laboratory, but the researchers were able to perform gene therapy on living mice to generate the stem cells in vivo.
> 
> If the work can be transferred safely to humans it raises the possibility of generating stem cells at the site of a diseased organ, such as heart or pancreas, so that a person&#8217;s own stem cells could be generated to repair any damaged tissue.



Breakthrough with stem cells could 'end need for transplants' - Science - News - The Independent


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists transplant photoreceptors from retina grown &#8216;in a dish&#8217;*


21 July 2013

Robin Ali (square)


> UCL scientists have carried out the first successful transplant of light-sensitive photoreceptor cells extracted from a synthetic retina, grown &#8216;in a dish&#8217; from embryonic stem cells.
> 
> When transplanted into night-blind mice these cells appeared to develop normally, integrating into the existing retina and forming the nerve connections needed to transmit visual information to the brain.
> 
> The study, funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC) and published today in Nature Biotechnology, suggests that embryonic stem cells could in future provide a potentially unlimited supply of healthy photoreceptors for retinal cell transplantations to treat blindness in humans.
> 
> The loss of photoreceptors &#8211; light sensitive nerve cells that line the back of the eye &#8211; is a leading cause of sight loss in degenerative eye diseases such as age-related macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa and diabetes-related blindness.


Scientists transplant photoreceptors from retina grown ?in a dish?


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Stem cells: Living adult tissue transformed back into embryo state*


> The living tissue inside an animal has been regressed back into an embryonic state for the first time, Spanish researchers say.
> 
> They believe it could lead to new ways of repairing the body, for example after a heart attack.
> 
> However, the study published in the journal Nature, showed the technique led to tumours forming in mice.
> 
> Stem cell experts said it was a "cool" study, but would need to be much more controlled before leading to therapies.
> 
> When an egg is first fertilised, it has the potential to develop into every tissue in the human body, from brain cells to skin.
> 
> That flexibility is lost as an embryo develops. However, transforming adult tissues back into an embryonic-like state may lead to treatments that can regenerate a weakened heart, or the light-sensing cells in the eye or even the brain after a stroke


BBC News - Stem cells: Living adult tissue transformed back into embryo state


----------



## ScienceRocks

*F.D.A. Panel Backs Pre-Surgery Drug for Breast Cancer*


> A federal advisory committee cleared the way on Thursday for the first approval of a cancer drug that would be used to treat patients before surgery to remove their tumors.
> 
> The advisory committee to the Food and Drug Administration voted 13 to 0, with one abstention, that Perjeta, a Genentech drug approved last year for late-stage breast cancer, could also be used at the disease&#8217;s earliest stage.


http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/13/business/panel-backs-drug-for-early-stage-breast-cancer.html?_r=0


----------



## ScienceRocks

*'Body on a chip' uses 3D printed organs to test vaccines*


> Miniature human organs developed with a modified 3D printer are being used to test new vaccines in a lab in the US.
> 
> The "body on a chip" project replicates human cells to print structures which mimic the functions of the heart, liver, lung and blood vessels.
> 
> The organs are then placed on a microchip and connected with a blood substitute, allowing scientists to closely monitor specific treatments.
> 
> The US Department of Defense has backed the new technology with $24m (£15m).
> 
> Bioprinting, a form of 3D printing which, in effect, creates human tissue, is not new. Nor is the idea of culturing 3D human tissue on a microchip.


BBC News - 'Body on a chip' uses 3D printed organs to test vaccines


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Alzheimer's brain scan detects tau protein*


> Pioneering brain imaging that can detect the build-up of destructive proteins linked to Alzheimer's has been developed by Japanese scientists.
> 
> It could lead to new ways of diagnosing the condition and of testing the effectiveness of new drugs.
> 
> The technology, reported in the journal Neuron, can identify inside a living brain clumps of a protein called tau that is closely linked to the disease.
> 
> Alzheimer's Research UK said it was promising work.
> 
> Alzheimer's disease is a problem for researchers trying to come up with a cure. The brain starts to die years before any symptoms are detected, which means drugs are probably given too late.
> 
> A diagnosis of Alzheimer's cannot be made with absolute certainty until a patient has died and their brain is examined. It is also not 100% clear what is the cause of the dementia and what are just symptoms.


BBC News - Alzheimer's brain scan detects tau protein


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Stem cells made with near-perfect efficiency*


Elimination of single protein boosts reprogramming yield and consistency.



> Researchers have for the first time converted cultured skin cells into stem cells with near-perfect efficiency.
> 
> By removing a single protein, called Mbd3, a team at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, was able to increase the conversion rate to almost 100% &#8212; ten times that normally achieved. The discovery could clear the way for scientists to produce large volumes of stem cells on demand, hastening the development of new treatments


Stem cells made with near-perfect efficiency : Nature News & Comment


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Skin drug shows 'promising' results on type 1 diabetes*
BBC News - Skin drug shows 'promising' results on type 1 diabetes



> A drug that was used to treat a skin disorder has shown signs of being able to treat aspects of type 1 diabetes.
> 
> A small trial on US patients suggests that alefacept helps the body produce its own insulin, which is key for people with type 1 diabetes.
> 
> Type 1 diabetes affects around 400,000 people in the UK.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Yale breakthrough bolsters fight against Alzheimer's*

Yale breakthrough bolsters fight against Alzheimer's



> A team of researchers at Yale University has completed a molecular model for Alzheimer's disease by identifying a protein that plays a key role in its onset. Promisingly, the study showed that when the activity of this protein is blocked by an existing drug, mice engineered as models for human AD recover their memories.
> 
> Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a scourge of modern life, subjecting patients, families, and society to costs whose magnitude and nature are arguably unlike those of any other common disease. Often described as the progressive loss of self, more than 10 percent of those over 80 years in age are affected, a number projected to grow to about 100 million worldwide by 2050.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists take big step towards universal flu vaccine*
BBC News - Scientists take big step towards universal flu vaccine



> Scientists say they have made a significant leap towards creating a vaccine that would protect against every form of flu.
> 
> The influenza virus is a constantly shifting target so seasonal flu vaccines rapidly become useless and new ones are needed each year.
> 
> A team at Imperial College London say they have made a "blueprint" for a universal flu vaccine.
> 
> Their discovery is published in the journal Nature Medicine.
> 
> Influenza is able to change the proteins that protrude from the surface of the virus as readily as people change outfits.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Brain circuitry that triggers overeating identified*



> Sixty years ago scientists could electrically stimulate a region of a mouse's brain causing the mouse to eat, whether hungry or not. Now researchers from UNC School of Medicine have pinpointed the precise cellular connections responsible for triggering that behavior. The finding, published September 27 in the journal Science, lends insight into a cause for obesity and could lead to treatments for anorexia, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder&#8212;the most prevalent eating disorder in the United States.




Brain circuitry that triggers overeating identified


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Hip replacement death rates show 'dramatic fall'*



> Death rates following hip replacement surgery fell by half in England and Wales between 2003 and 2011, a study in The Lancet has found.
> 
> Although death within 90 days of surgery is rare, mortality decreased from 0.56% to 0.29% in an analysis of more than 400,000 patients.
> 
> The researchers said that fitter patients and better physiotherapy could be behind the decrease.
> 
> They added that simple treatment options would reduce the risk further.


BBC News - Hip replacement death rates show 'dramatic fall'


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Researchers develop new type of fluorescent camera for blood diagnostics, brain mapping*



> Phys.org) &#8212;Fluorescence imaging is the most widely used method for analyzing the molecular composition of biological specimens. Target molecules, when they are present, can be "tagged" with a fluorescent label and made visible.


 Read more at: Researchers develop new type of fluorescent camera for blood diagnostics, brain mapping


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Cell powerhouses shape risk of heart disease*



> (Phys.org) &#8212;Genes in mitochondria, the "powerhouses" that turn sugar into energy in human cells, shape each person's risk for heart disease and diabetes, according to a study published recently by researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in the Biochemical Journal. The findings may further explain why some people get sick and others do not despite their having the same traditional risk factors like aging, obesity and smoking.



 Read more at: Cell powerhouses shape risk of heart disease


----------



## ScienceRocks

*
The FDA Has Approved The First Artificial Pancreas*

An easier way for diabetics to control their insulin intake



> The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved its first "artificial pancreas" to automatically control the insulin levels of diabetics. (You know, before the shutdown furloughed almost half of its staff.)
> 
> The hormone insulin controls blood sugar levels and is normally produced in the body by the pancreas. But in Type 1 diabetics (and sometimes Type 2), the pancreas just doesn't make insulin, meaning diabetics' bodies can't regulate blood sugar levels. This system, designed by Minneapolis-based medical tech company Medtronic, is a wearable little gadget that stops insulin delivery automatically when glucose levels get too low, hopefully keeping the wearer from going into a diabetic coma.
> 
> With a traditional pump, the device can keep delivering insulin even when the your blood sugar is too low, lowering levels even further and sometimes causing loss of consciousness. This is especially dangerous during sleep, when you can't exactly gauge your own blood sugar. Medtronic's MiniMed 530G system can detect up to 93 percent of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) episodes, and will sound an alarm to wake you up if your blood sugar gets too low. If you don't respond, the system will shut off insulin delivery for two hours, hopefully staving off dangerously low blood sugar levels.




The FDA Has Approved The First Artificial Pancreas | Popular Science


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Hope of malaria vaccine by 2015 after successful trials*

Monday, October 7, 2013 - 18:30  in Health & Medicine 



> Vaccine that nearly halved cases among children aged between five and seven months could save millions in worst-hit countriesA vaccine against malaria could be introduced in the world's worst-hit countries in 2015, after the latest trial of a treatment produced by Britain's biggest drug company reduced the number of cases of the disease experienced by babies.The results of trials published on Tuesday in Durban, South Africa, showed that the RTS,S vaccine developed by GlaxoSmithKline nearly halved the cases of malaria experienced by children aged between five and seven months and cut the number of cases in babies aged 6 to 12 weeks by a quarter.The treatment's protection lasted for 18 months, although it waned slightly over time, and while that is not the sort of efficacy that parents in Europe or the US are used to getting in the vaccines given to their children, the malaria vaccine would make a...


Hope of malaria vaccine by 2015 after successful trials - The Guardian - Science | e! Science News


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Blind man sees with help from tooth-implanted lens*



> (Medical Xpress)&#8212;In 1998, Ian Tibbets lost vision in his right eye, some time after he severely injured the cornea with a piece of scrap metal. Later on he also lost vision in his left eye. Tibbets was eventually referred to Christopher Liu, a surgeon at the Sussex Eye Hospital, and was qualified for a radical procedure known as osteo-odonto-keratoprothsesis (OOKP). The procedure sounds a little strange, and it is, but for Tibbets and the five other patients who have undergone the procedure, it worked.


Blind man sees with help from tooth-implanted lens


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Google reportedly investing hundreds of millions into its new life extension company, Calico*



> In September of this year, Google announced its newest project, Calico, which promised to take on the illness known as aging which effects us as human beings.
> 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> It was one of the company's classic moonshots, but unlike driverless cars or wearable computers, it wasn't going to be incubated out of the company's special projects lab, Google X. In fact, it was unclear exactly how Calico would be funded and to what degree it would be attached to Google's main business.


Google reportedly investing hundreds of millions into its new life extension company, Calico | The Verge


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Alzheimer's breakthrough hailed as 'turning point'*


BBC News - Alzheimer's breakthrough hailed as 'turning point'



> The discovery of the first chemical to prevent the death of brain tissue in a neurodegenerative disease has been hailed as the "turning point" in the fight against Alzheimer's disease.
> 
> More work is needed to develop a drug that could be taken by patients.
> 
> But scientists say a resulting medicine could treat Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's and other diseases.



This alone is enough reason to keep the funding of science coming in!


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Researchers identify key proteins that help establish cell function*

7 hours ago 



> Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have developed a new way to parse and understand how special proteins called "master regulators" read the genome, and consequently turn genes on and off.
> 
> Writing in the October 13, 2013 Advance Online Publication of Nature, the scientists say their approach could make it quicker and easier to identify specific gene mutations associated with increased disease risk &#8211; an essential step toward developing future targeted treatments, preventions and cures for conditions ranging from diabetes to neurodegenerative disease.




 Read more at: Researchers identify key proteins that help establish cell function


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Single gene may predict mental decline after heart surgery*

Single gene may predict mental decline after heart surgery


> (HealthDay)&#8212;A certain gene appears to increase risk for mental decline after heart surgery, a new study suggests.
> Between 30 percent and 50 percent of heart surgery patients have a decrease in mental function after heart surgery, but it hasn't been known if this is a side effect of the surgery and anesthesia, or a progression of existing neurologic disease, the researchers said.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Device speeds concentration step in food-pathogen detection*

14 minutes ago by Emil Venere 


> (Phys.org) &#8212;Researchers have developed a system that concentrates foodborne salmonella and other pathogens faster than conventional methods by using hollow thread-like fibers that filter out the cells, representing a potential new tool for speedier detection.



 Read more at: Device speeds concentration step in food-pathogen detection


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Method of recording brain activity could lead to mind-reading devices*




> A brain region activated when people are asked to perform mathematical calculations in an experimental setting is similarly activated when they use numbers&#8212;or even imprecise quantitative terms, such as "more than"&#8212; in everyday conversation, according to a study by Stanford University School of Medicine scientists.
> Using a novel method, the researchers collected the first solid evidence that the pattern of brain activity seen in someone performing a mathematical exercise under experimentally controlled conditions is very similar to that observed when the person engages in quantitative thought in the course of daily life.




Method of recording brain activity could lead to mind-reading devices


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Tiny, wireless pacemaker due to be launched in Europe*



> A miniaturised, wireless pacemaker that can be inserted into the body without invasive surgery has been given approval for use in the European Union.
> 
> Developed by US start-up Nanostim, the device is designed to be implanted intravenously directly in the heart.
> 
> It is less than 10% of the size of a conventional pacemaker and uses a built-in battery.
> 
> Experts said it was an "exciting development" but at a very early stage.
> 
> The pacemaker has yet to receive full US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval.
> 
> Conventional pacemakers require a patient to be cut open and a pocket created in the body to house the pacemaker and associated wires.
> 
> Such wires are regarded as the component of pacemakers most likely to fail. The pocket created for the pacemaker is also liable to infection.
> 
> By contrast the Nanostim pacemaker is delivered via a catheter inserted through the femoral vein near the groin.
> 
> It has a built-in battery, smaller than an AAA battery, that lasts between nine and 13 years. Eliminating the need for wires lowers the risk of infection or malfunction and means that patients are not restricted in the amount of activity they do, the firm behind the device claims.
> 
> The procedure to fit the pacemaker typically lasts around half an hour. The device is designed to be easily retrievable so that the battery can be replaced.
> 
> Because the device is delivered intravenously, it also means patients will have no scarring.


BBC News - Tiny, wireless pacemaker due to be launched in Europe


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Computer-controlled artificial leg offers a more natural gait*


> Although computer-controlled artificial legs have been around for a few years now, they generally still feature an ankle joint that only allows the foot to tilt along a toe-up/toe-down axis. That's fine for walking in a straight line, but what happens when users want to turn a corner, or walk over uneven terrain? Well, in some cases, they end up falling down. That's why researchers at Michigan Technological University are now developing a microprocessor-controlled leg with an ankle that also lets the foot roll from side to side.
> 
> Created by mechanical engineer Prof. Mo Rastgaar and PhD student Evandro Ficanha, the current version of the prosthesis incorporates pressure sensors on its bottom surface. These detect the manner in which the user is walking, and relay that information to a microprocessor. It responds instantaneously by adjusting the angle of the foot via the ankle joint, to facilitate a more stable, natural gait.


Computer-controlled artificial leg offers a more natural gait


----------



## ScienceRocks

*DNA analysis uncovers genetic errors behind 12 major cancers*



> Scientists at Washington University in St. Louis say it may someday be possible to perform a single test to screen for a wide range of cancer types.
> Thanks to recent advances in genome sequencing that allow scientists to analyze DNA faster and more affordably than ever before, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis say they have found that many types of cancer are driven by the same genetic mutations.
> 
> The scientists have been able to analyze 3,281 tumors to find 127 genes that repeatedly mutate in such a way as to drive the development of tumors in the body.
> 
> Previous genome studies have tended to home in on specific tumor types, but the work out of St. Louis, which appears this week in the journal Nature, is among the first to look at a wide range of what are sometimes seemingly unrelated tumor types. In fact, the thousands of tumors they analyzed included 12 major cancers: of the breast, uterus, bladder, kidney, ovary, lung, brain, blood, head and neck, and colon and rectum.


DNA analysis uncovers genetic errors behind 12 major cancers | Cutting Edge - CNET News


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Blood test 'detects sepsis in hours'*



> A rapid blood test to diagnose blood poisoning, or sepsis, at the hospital bedside could potentially save thousands of lives, say researchers.
> 
> Early studies at King's College London suggest the condition can be diagnosed in two hours using a simple blood test.
> 
> Current diagnostic methods take up to two days, which may delay treatment with life-saving antibiotics.
> 
> The condition - caused when the body's immune system overreacts to infection - causes 37,000 UK deaths each year.
> 
> 
> In the study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, researchers identified a biomarker for diagnosing sepsis rapidly in blood samples.
> 
> It is based on detecting nucleotides specific to sepsis to rule out similar conditions that can mimic its symptoms.
> 
> A small study at a London hospital and a larger study in Sweden demonstrated that sepsis could be diagnosed within two hours, with an accuracy of 86%.



BBC News - Blood test 'detects sepsis in hours'


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New blood test to detect gastrointestinal disorders*



> LOS ANGELES: Scientists have for the first time developed a blood test to determine if a person is suffering from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), or another serious condition such as Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).
> 
> Researchers have conclusively identified a test for antibodies that form against a particular protein, vinculin, found in the guts of patients, many of whom suffered acute gastroenteritis at some point.
> 
> "This is a major breakthrough. It is the first test with a high specificity for IBS, likely based on a pathological mechanism of the disease," said Cedars-Sinai physician researcher Mark Pimentel, co-author of the study.



New blood test to detect gastrointestinal disorders - The Times of India


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Steve Wynn: University on path to blindness cure*

by Ryan J. Foley 


> Las Vegas casino tycoon Steve Wynn said Friday that he gave $25 million to support blindness research at the University of Iowa after becoming convinced that its scientists were leading the way in the search for a cure.
> 
> Wynn, 71, said that university researchers were "knocking on the door" of a discovery that was unthinkable when he was diagnosed with a rare eye defect when he was in his 20s. He said there was no hope then for individuals inflicted with diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa, which has slowly compromised Wynn's vision and causes nighttime blindness and a lack of peripheral vision.


Steve Wynn: University on path to blindness cure


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Biological clock able to measure age of most human tissues*



> Everyone grows older, but scientists don't really understand why. Now a UCLA study has uncovered a biological clock embedded in our genomes that may shed light on why our bodies age and how we can slow the process. Published in the Oct. 21 edition of Genome Biology, the findings could offer valuable insights into cancer and stem cell research.
> 
> While earlier clocks have been linked to saliva, hormones and telomeres, the new research is the first to identify an internal timepiece able to accurately gauge the age of diverse human organs, tissues and cell types. Unexpectedly, the clock also found that some parts of the anatomy, like a woman's breast tissue, age faster than the rest of the body.



Biological clock able to measure age of most human tissues


----------



## ScienceRocks

*MD Anderson Cancer Center taps IBM Watson to power its mission to eradicate cancer*




> The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and IBM have announced that MD Anderson is using the IBM Watson cognitive computing system for its mission to eradicate cancer.
> 
> 
> Following a year-long collaboration, IBM and MD Anderson showcased a prototype of MD Anderson&#8217;s Oncology Expert Advisor powered by IBM Watson at a news conference on October 18.
> 
> 
> The organizations discussed their shared vision to leverage Watson&#8217;s cognitive computing power to help patients by enabling clinicians to uncover valuable insights from the cancer center&#8217;s rich patient and research databases.
> 
> 
> Oncology Expert Advisor is designed to integrate the knowledge of MD Anderson&#8217;s clinicians and researchers, starting with the leukemia, and help MD Anderson clinicians develop, observe and fine-tune treatment plans for patients, while helping them recognize adverse events that may occur throughout the care continuum.
> 
> 
> The cognitive-powered technology is also expected to help researchers advance novel discoveries.
> 
> 
> IBM says a &#8220;new era of computing&#8221; has emerged, in which cognitive systems &#8220;understand&#8221; the context within users&#8217; questions, uncover answers from Big Data, and improve in performance by continuously learning from experiences.
> 
> 
> ibm_watson_leukemia.jpg
> 
> 
> At the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Assistant Professor of Leukemia Dr. Courtney DiNardo uses IBM&#8217;s Watson cognitive system while consulting with patient Rich Ware, on October 18, 2013 (credit: Thomas Shea/IBM)




*Preparing Watson for Moon Shots*




> IBM&#8217;s Watson technology is expected to play a key role within APOLLO, a technology driven &#8220;adaptive learning environment&#8221; that MD Anderson is developing as part of its Moon Shots program. APOLLO enables iterative and continued learning between clinical care and research by creating an environment that streamlines and standardizes the longitudinal collection, ingestion and integration of patient&#8217;s medical and clinical history, laboratory data as well as research data into MD Anderson&#8217;s centralized patient data warehouse.
> 
> 
> Once aggregated, this complex data is linked and made available for deep analyses by advanced analytics to extract novel insights that can lead to improved effectiveness of care and better patient outcomes.
> 
> 
> One of the richest sources of valuable clinical insight trapped within this patient data is the unstructured medical and research notes, and test results, for each cancer patient Watson&#8217;s cognitive capability has been shown to be powerful tool to extract valuable insight from such complex data and Oncology Expert Advisor capability can generate a more comprehensive profile of each cancer patient.
> 
> 
> By identifying and weighing data-driven connections between the attributes in a patient&#8217;s profile and the knowledge corpus of published medical literature, guidelines in Watson, Oncology Expert Advisor can provide evidence-based treatment and management options that are personalized to that patient, to aid the physician&#8217;s treatment and care decisions. These options can include not only standard approved therapies, but also appropriate investigational protocols.
> 
> 
> &#8220;The system was built with the understanding that what we know today will not be enough for many patients. Therefore, our cancer patients will be automatically matched to appropriate clinical trials by the Oncology Expert Advisor. Based on evidence as well as experiences, our physicians can offer our patients a better chance to battle their cancers by participating in clinical trials on novel therapies.&#8221;
> 
> 
> Oncology Expert Advisor is expected to help physicians improve the future care of cancer patients by enabling comparison of patients based on a new range of data-driven attributes, previously unavailable for analysis. For example, MD Anderson&#8217;s clinical care and research teams can compare groups of patients to identify those patients who responded differently to therapies and discover attributes that may account for their differences. This analysis will then inform the generation of testable hypotheses to help researchers and clinicians to advance cancer care continually.
> 
> 
> Two years after IBM Watson&#8217;s triumph on the television quiz show Jeopardy!, Watson has evolved from a first-of-a-kind status, to a commercial cognitive computing system. Watson has gained a 240 percent improvement in system performance, and a reduction of 75 percent in the physical requirements needed to run the system which can now operate from a single Power 750 server with Linux and from a cloud computing environment, according to IBM.



MD Anderson Cancer Center taps IBM Watson to power its mission to eradicate cancer | KurzweilAI


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Baldness treatment a 'step closer'*



> Scientists say they have moved a step closer to banishing bald spots and reversing receding hairlines after human hair was grown in the laboratory.
> 
> A joint UK and US team was able to create new hairs from tissue samples.
> 
> Far more research is needed, but the group said its technique had the "potential to transform" the treatment of hair loss.
> 
> The study results were published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.


BBC News - Baldness treatment a 'step closer'


----------



## ScienceRocks

*First UK trial of heart failure operation*



> A pioneering operation to improve the function of failing hearts while they are still beating has taken place in the UK for the first time.
> 
> Patients with heart failure struggle to pump blood around the body and mild exercise can leave them breathless.
> 
> Surgeons used a form of "cardiac sewing" to remove scar tissue and reduce the size of the heart so it pumps more efficiently.



BBC News - First UK trial of heart failure operation


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Hair regeneration method is first to induce new human hair growth*



> Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) have devised a hair restoration method that can generate new human hair growth, rather than simply redistribute hair from one part of the scalp to another. The approach could significantly expand the use of hair transplantation to women with hair loss, who tend to have insufficient donor hair, as well as to men in early stages of baldness. The study was published today in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
> 
> "About 90 percent of women with hair loss are not strong candidates for hair transplantation surgery because of insufficient donor hair," said co-study leader Angela M. Christiano, PhD, the Richard and Mildred Rhodebeck Professor of Dermatology and professor of genetics & development. "This method offers the possibility of inducing large numbers of hair follicles or rejuvenating existing hair follicles, starting with cells grown from just a few hundred donor hairs. It could make hair transplantation available to individuals with a limited number of follicles, including those with female-pattern hair loss, scarring alopecia, and hair loss due to burns."
> 
> According to Dr. Christiano, such patients gain little benefit from existing hair-loss medications, which tend to slow the rate of hair loss but usually do not stimulate robust new hair growth.



Hair regeneration method is first to induce new human hair growth


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Team demonstrates efficient method for converting fat cells to liver cells*



> In a feat of modern-day alchemy with huge potential for regenerative medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine scientists have developed a fast, efficient way to turn cells extracted from routine liposuction into liver cells.
> 
> The advance is described in a study to be published Oct. 21 in Cell Transplantation.
> 
> The scientists performed their experiments in mice, but the adipose stem cells they used came from human liposuction aspirates and became human, liver-like cells that flourished inside the mice's bodies. This method is distinct from those producing liver cells from embryonic stem cells or induced pluripotent stem cells. Although iPS and embryonic stem cells are pluripotent&#8212;they can, in principle, differentiate into every cell type&#8212;they carry a palpable risk of forming tumors. However, the cells produced using this new technique, which involves no intermediate pluripotent phase, show no signs of being tumorogenic.


Team demonstrates efficient method for converting fat cells to liver cells


----------



## ScienceRocks

*First human trial of new bone-marrow transplant method*


BBC News - First human trial of new bone-marrow transplant method


> Doctors at London's Great Ormond Street Hospital have carried out a pioneering bone-marrow transplant technique.
> 
> They say the method should help with donor shortages since it does not require a perfect cell match.
> 
> Mohammed Ahmed, who is nearly five years old, was among the first three children in the world to try out the new treatment.
> He has severe combined immunodeficiency syndrome and had been waiting for a suitable donor for years.
> 
> Mohammed, who lives in Milton Keynes, was referred to Great Ormond Street Hospital when he was a year old.
> 
> His condition - a weak immune system - makes him more susceptible to infections than most, and a bone marrow transplant is the only known treatment.
> 
> While Mohammed was on the transplant waiting list, he became extremely sick with swine flu.
> 
> At that time, his doctors decided Mohammed's only real hope was to have a mismatched bone-marrow transplant, with his father acting as the donor.
> 
> Mohammed's dad, Jamil, agreed to give the experimental therapy a go.
> 
> Before giving his donation, Jamil was first vaccinated against swine flu so that his own bone-marrow cells would know how to fight the infection.
> 
> Mohammed's doctors then modified these donated immune cells, called "T-cells", in the lab to engineer a safety switch - a self-destruct message that could be activated if Mohammed's body should start to reject them once transplanted.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Ditto data system bridges glucose monitors, smartphones*



> Biomedtrics' ditto Glucose Data System transmits blood glucose data from several glucometers to Android mobile devices.
> 
> Let's face it: traditional glucose monitors require their share of work. Even diabetics who are diligent about monitoring their glucose levels have to then go to the trouble of either plugging the meters into a computer to upload the readings or tracking them manually.
> 
> So Pleasanton, Calif.-based Biomedtrics has come up with what it calls the ditto Glucose Data System to bridge the gap between glucose monitors and smartphones and thus make glucose tracking a little easier. The system comprises a Bluetooth device, an electronic logbook app, and a secure Web site -- called mydittolife -- on which to store and track data. Users can also share the information with their physician, family, caregivers, etc.
> 
> The device is available on Amazon for $129, while the logbook app is available at the Google Play store for free. Compatible FDA-approved glucose monitors include Bayer CONTOUR, FreeStyle, GLUCOCARD, and OneTouch Profile. (The full list is here.)


Ditto data system bridges glucose monitors, smartphones | Cutting Edge - CNET News


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Light as medicine? Researchers reveal how specific wavelengths of light can heal*



> Multiple sclerosis (MS) causes progressive paralysis by destroying nerve cells and the spinal cord. It interrupts vision, balance and even thinking.
> On a suggestion from a colleague, Jeri-Anne Lyons decided to test how the disease responded to a radical therapy &#8211; exposure to a certain wavelength of light called near-infrared (NIR).
> 
> "Never in a million years did I think it would help," says Lyons, an associate professor of biomedical sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM), who studies the role of the immune response in MS.
> 
> But it did. In rodent models, early MS-like symptoms were treated with exposure to NIR light for a week, alternating with a week of no light. The clinical condition of the mice improved.
> 
> Professor Janis Eells, who shared the idea with Lyons, had the same initial reaction after she used NIR therapy on rats to treat blindness caused by poisoning, a condition thought to be permanent. Repeating experiments again and again, she found that certain doses of NIR light allowed lab animals to regain their sight.
> 
> Scientists have known for years that certain wavelengths of light in certain doses can heal, but they are only now uncovering exactly how it works, thanks in large part to three UWM faculty researchers, including Chukuka S. Enwemeka, dean of UWM's College of Health Sciences who is internationally known for his work in phototherapy.


Light as medicine? Researchers reveal how specific wavelengths of light can heal


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Bacteria-sniffing wand could help prevent foodborne illnesses*

Researchers hope their real-time detection system that uses a magnetoelastic sensor can speed up testing at food processing plants.



> I've only suffered through a bad bout of food poisoning once, and, without going into details, I spent one evening of my life knowing I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemies. Apparently I'm lucky, since one in six Americans (or 48 million people) get foodborne illnesses every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And of the 128,000 who end up hospitalized, 3,000 die.
> While 3,000 is a tiny fraction of the 48 million who get sick, better sensors and sensing systems could reduce that number even further. So doctoral student Yating Chai of Auburn University has been working with a team of engineers on a new approach to detecting pathogenic bacteria -- including salmonella and listeria -- in real time.
> 
> Unlike traditional methods, which require 48 to 72 hours and involve taking a sample of food, getting the sample to grow, and testing the growth, the Auburn system employs something called a magnetoelastic biosensor. The sensor, which has been studied for several years now, is based on a wireless acoustic wave sensor platform, which is a fancy way of saying that it vibrates at a very specific resonance. When a bacterium attaches itself to the sensor, the change in mass causes the sensor's resonant frequency to change accordingly.





> "Now you can put the sensor on the surface of, say, a watermelon," Chin explains. "[In the past], to measure it you'd have to put the whole watermelon inside the coil. Now...you can have this detector waved over the watermelon."
> 
> The researchers have filed a patent for their biosensing system. While it's too early to say what it would cost or when it will be market-ready, Chin calls the real-time detector a "major advancement."



Bacteria-sniffing wand could help prevent foodborne illnesses | Cutting Edge - CNET News

This is a big deal


----------



## ScienceRocks

*IBM microfluidics tech designed to improve cancer diagnosis*



> A technique to pump tiny amounts of marker fluids onto a test sample could enable many more tests during a biopsy and therefore a better understanding of a person's cancer.
> 
> ZURICH -- Researchers accustomed to designing tiny features on microprocessors have taken up a new tiny-technology challenge: improving the diagnostic tests used to spot cancer.
> 
> Using a procedure called a biopsy, pathologists today closely examine cells to try to determine if a person has cancer and if so, details about what type. Such tests use chemical markers that can spotlight a variety of problems, including different types of cancer, but the tiny slice that constitutes a biopsy sample isn't big enough for a multitude of tests.
> 
> IBM's approach, which University Hospital Zurich plans to test in the coming months, uses a chip technology called microfluidics to shrink the area required for such tests to a square patch just 100 micrometers wide -- about the same as a human hair. It pumps the marker chemical down one tiny channel into the biopsy sample, then slurps it back up with a second channel to keep the marker from spreading beyond the confines of its designated patch, and a pathologist watches on a microscope to see the response.


IBM microfluidics tech designed to improve cancer diagnosis | Cutting Edge - CNET News


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Child born with HIV still in remission after 18 months off treatment, experts report*



> A 3-year-old Mississippi child born with HIV and treated with a combination of antiviral drugs unusually early continues to do well and remains free of active infection 18 months after all treatment ceased, according to an updated case report published Oct. 23 in the New England Journal of Medicine. Early findings of the case were presented in March 2013 during a scientific meeting in Atlanta, but the newly published report adds detail and confirms what researchers say is the first documented case of HIV remission in a child.



Child born with HIV still in remission after 18 months off treatment, experts report | e! Science News


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Bioinformatics breakthrough: High quality transcriptome from as few as fifty cells*


> (Phys.org) &#8212;Bioengineers from the University of California, San Diego have created a new method for analyzing RNA transcripts from samples of 50 to 100 cells. The approach could be used to develop inexpensive and rapid methods for diagnosing cancers at early stages, as well as better tools for forensics, drug discovery and developmental biology.
> The protocols, which were published in April 2013 in the journal Nature Scientific Reports, are now being applied to a wide range of biological and medical research questions from brain cancer, to liver function and stem cell biology.
> 
> The approach from the UC San Diego bioengineers is called Designed Primer-based RNA sequencing or "DP-seq." It's a new tool for generating comprehensive snapshots of RNA&#8212;the "transcriptome"&#8212;collected from as little as 50 picograms of RNA. Analysis of the transcriptome provides insights into what biological processes are occurring at a specific moment in time. RNA transcripts serve as a proxy for which genes are being expressed and at what levels.



 Read more at: Bioinformatics breakthrough: High quality transcriptome from as few as fifty cells


----------



## Sarah G

Matthew said:


> *Child born with HIV still in remission after 18 months off treatment, experts report*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> A 3-year-old Mississippi child born with HIV and treated with a combination of antiviral drugs unusually early continues to do well and remains free of active infection 18 months after all treatment ceased, according to an updated case report published Oct. 23 in the New England Journal of Medicine. Early findings of the case were presented in March 2013 during a scientific meeting in Atlanta, but the newly published report adds detail and confirms what researchers say is the first documented case of HIV remission in a child.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Child born with HIV still in remission after 18 months off treatment, experts report | e! Science News
Click to expand...


Amazing.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Slow metabolism 'obesity excuse' true*


> The mocked "obesity excuse" of being born with a slow metabolism is actually true for some people, say researchers.
> 
> A team at the University of Cambridge has found the first proof that mutated DNA does indeed slow metabolism.
> 
> The researchers say fewer than one in 100 people are affected and are often severely obese by early childhood.
> 
> The findings, published in the journal Cell, may lead to new obesity treatments even for people without the mutation.
> 
> Scientists at the Institute of Metabolic Science, in Cambridge, knew that mice born without a section of DNA, a gene called KSR2, gained weight more easily.


BBC News - Slow metabolism 'obesity excuse' true


----------



## ScienceRocks

*A cure for skin cancer: Doctors announce historic breakthrough as 'spectacular' drugs bring hope to thousands*



> Scientists have developed breakthrough drugs that cure skin cancer.
> 
> The treatment is already having &#8216;spectacular&#8217; effects in seriously ill melanoma patients &#8211; and could soon be used to defeat other types of cancer.
> 
> One scientist said it was &#8216;amazing&#8217; that researchers could talk  of &#8216;using the C-word &#8211; cure&#8217; for the first time, while another said trials among kidney and lung cancer patients are &#8216;very exciting&#8217;.
> 
> The first is ipilimumab &#8211; or &#8216;ipi&#8217;. According to research presented to the European congress in Amsterdam yesterday, 17 per cent of patients are cured by this drug alone.
> 
> But many more &#8211; perhaps more than half &#8211; could be &#8216;clinically cured&#8217; by combining them with even newer drugs called anti-PD1s which break down cancer cells&#8217; defences.
> 
> 
> Professor Alexander Eggermont of the Institut Gustave Roussy in France said: &#8216;[Advanced] melanoma could become a curable disease for perhaps more than 50 per cent of patients within five to 10 years.&#8217;
> 
> He told The Mail on Sunday: &#8216;If I&#8217;d made this bizarre prediction five years ago, people would have said I was mad. But it now looks like we are going to have control of advanced melanoma for years, in a substantial proportion of patients.&#8217;
> 
> Each year almost 13,000 people in Britain are diagnosed with melanoma, including two people aged 15 to 34 every day. It kills 2,200 a year, accounting for four in five skin cancer deaths. The number of cases has quadrupled in 30 years, due in part to our fondness for foreign holidays to sunny destinations.
> 
> If caught early enough, malignant moles can be cut out before the cancer spreads, but if it is missed and the cancer turns &#8216;metastatic&#8217; &#8211; spreading to other organs &#8211; chances of long term survival plummet.
> 
> At that stage patients are usually told they have just months to live. Currently, less than a quarter survive a year or more.


Read more: A cure for skin cancer: Doctors announce historic breakthrough as 'spectacular' drugs bring hope to thousands | Mail Online 
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook


*Scientists hail &#8216;amazing&#8217; cure for skin cancer* 


> A CURE for skin cancer has been *developed in a historic breakthrough that will save thousands of lives.
> 
> A drug has had &#8220;spectacular&#8221; effects on seriously ill melanoma patients with one in six already being cured, a European health conference was told.
> 
> If the success rate continues, more than half of advanced skin cancer sufferers &#8211; who usually die within months of being diagnosed &#8211; will be saved.
> 
> Now doctors hope to use the drug on other types of cancer. Scientists said it was &#8220;amazing&#8221; to talk of a cure for the first time, as researchers described &#8220;very exciting&#8221; results of trials among kidney and lung cancer patients.


http://www.express.co.uk/news/health/433201/Scientists-hail-amazing-cure-for-skin-cancer


*New drugs 'can cure skin cancer', scientists claim*



> Skin cancer sufferers could be cured of the disease with new breakthrough drugs, experts claimed, as they hailed the "beginning of a new era".


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/h...gs-can-cure-skin-cancer-scientists-claim.html


----------



## ScienceRocks

*'Gut sleeve' might one day help sidestep weight-loss surgeries*



> A study on rats finds that a removable silicone intestinal barrier tube works similarly to far more invasive bariatric surgeries. But will it work in humans?
> Bariatric surgery is primarily performed on people who are at least 100 pounds above their ideal weight and haven't been able to lose weight via diet, exercise, or medication. The aim is to restrict the amount of food people can digest by disrupting their digestive process. It's both invasive and irreversible -- essentially a last-ditch effort.
> 
> So a new study on rats out of the University of Cincinnati is worth a look considering the upside if it works on people as well as it did on the trial rats. (At this point, that's still a big if, though co-lead author Kirk Habegger said he expects these results to carry over to humans.)



'Gut sleeve' might one day help sidestep weight-loss surgeries | Cutting Edge - CNET News


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Alzheimer's insight from DNA study*
BBC News - Alzheimer's insight from DNA study



> A clearer picture of what causes Alzheimer's disease is emerging after the largest ever analysis of patients' DNA.
> 
> A massive international collaboration has now doubled the number of genes linked to the dementia to 21.
> 
> The findings, published in the journal Nature Genetics, indicate a strong role for the immune system.
> 
> 
> Alzheimer's Research UK said the findings could "significantly enhance" understanding of the disease.
> 
> The number of people developing Alzheimer's is growing around the world as people live longer.
> 
> 
> However, major questions around what causes the dementia, how brain cells die, how to treat it or even diagnose it remain unanswered.
> 
> "It is really difficult to treat a disease when you do not understand what causes it," one of the lead researchers, Prof Julie Williams from Cardiff University, said.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Neuroscientists discover new 'mini-neural computer' in the brain*



> Dendrites, the branch-like projections of neurons, were once thought to be passive wiring in the brain. But now researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have shown that these dendrites do more than relay information from one neuron to the next. They actively process information, multiplying the brain's computing power.
> 
> "Suddenly, it's as if the processing power of the brain is much greater than we had originally thought," said Spencer Smith, PhD, an assistant professor in the UNC School of Medicine.
> 
> His team's findings, published October 27 in the journal Nature, could change the way scientists think about long-standing scientific models of how neural circuitry functions in the brain, while also helping researchers better understand neurological disorders.
> 
> "Imagine you're reverse engineering a piece of alien technology, and what you thought was simple wiring turns out to be transistors that compute information," Smith said. "That's what this finding is like. The implications are exciting to think about."



Neuroscientists discover new 'mini-neural computer' in the brain


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Unique nano carrier targets drug delivery to cancer cells*



> A unique nanostructure developed by a team of international researchers, including those at the University of Cincinnati, promises improved all-in-one detection, diagnoses and drug-delivery treatment of cancer cells.
> 
> The first-of-its-kind nanostructure is unusual because it can carry a variety of cancer-fighting materials on its double-sided (Janus) surface and within its porous interior. Because of its unique structure, the nano carrier can do all of the following:
> &#8226;Transport cancer-specific detection nanoparticles and biomarkers to a site within the body, e.g., the breast or the prostate. This promises earlier diagnosis than is possible with today's tools.
> 
> 
> &#8226;Attach fluorescent marker materials to illuminate specific cancer cells, so that they are easier to locate and find for treatment, whether drug delivery or surgery.
> &#8226;Deliver anti-cancer drugs for pinpoint targeted treatment of cancer cells, which should result in few drug side effects. Currently, a cancer treatment like chemotherapy affects not only cancer cells but healthy cells as well, leading to serious and often debilitating side effects.


 Read more at: Unique nano carrier targets drug delivery to cancer cells


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists report transplant advance for type 1 diabetes*




> (HealthDay)&#8212;Using a specially designed chamber, an international research team has transplanted islet cells into a patient with type 1 diabetes.
> 
> The new technique avoided having to use immune-suppressing medications, while still allowing the islet cells to function and make insulin. In theory, the chamber "hid" the transplanted islet cells from the patient's immune system, the researchers explained.
> 
> Islet cells are normally found in the human pancreas. One critical function of these cells is producing insulin&#8212;a hormone crucial for metabolizing the carbohydrates in food. In people with type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disease, the islet cells have been destroyed by the body's own immune system.
> 
> "In order to transplant replacement cells, heretofore, the immune response to the foreign cells has had to be controlled with immunosuppression," explained study co-author Dr. Norman Block.
> 
> Now, he said, senior study author Dr. Stefan Bornstein "has found a way to implant foreign cells and protect them without using immunosuppression"&#8212;drugs to dampen the immune system.
> 
> Medications used to suppress the immune system can come with significant risks and side effects.
> 
> The study was released online Oct. 28 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
> 
> Because their bodies lack working islet cells, people with type 1 diabetes no longer produce enough insulin to survive. They must take daily insulin injections or receive their insulin through a small catheter underneath the skin that's attached to an insulin pump.



Scientists report transplant advance for type 1 diabetes

*New technology shows promise in taking the guesswork out of vaccine development*



> Scientists from the Center for Innovations in Medicine in the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University have developed a comprehensive, microchip-based technology, called immunosignature diagnosis, which can rapidly and comprehensively measure an individual's vaccine response, promising to take much of the initial guesswork out of predicting effective vaccines.
> 
> Professor Stephen Albert Johnston and Joseph Barten Legutki, used a mouse model of influenza infection to determine how the immunosignature of a natural infection can be used to discriminate between a protective and non-protective vaccine. The study appears in the October 28 early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
> 
> Johnston is driven by the quest to develop disruptive technology that could make health care more effective and affordable. Despite 17 percent of the U.S. GDP tied to health care costs and growing, the U.S. does not get as much value per dollar as other countries (spending the most per capita yet ranking last in efficiency). He believes innovative diagnostic technologies that could determine whether or not an individual would get sick before symptoms appear, as well as the early identification of microbial culprits of infections has high potential for transforming medicine.



http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-10-technology-guesswork-vaccine.html


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Super-thin membranes clear the way for chip-sized pumps*



> The ability to shrink laboratory-scale processes to automated chip-sized systems would revolutionize biotechnology and medicine. For example, inexpensive and highly portable devices that process blood samples to detect biological agents such as anthrax are needed by the U.S. military and for homeland security efforts. One of the challenges of "lab-on-a-chip" technology is the need for miniaturized pumps to move solutions through micro-channels. Electroosmotic pumps (EOPs), devices in which fluids appear to magically move through porous media in the presence of an electric field, are ideal because they can be readily miniaturized. EOPs however, require bulky, external power sources, which defeats the concept of portability. But a super-thin silicon membrane developed at the University of Rochester could now make it possible to drastically shrink the power source, paving the way for diagnostic devices the size of a credit card.



 Read more at: Super-thin membranes clear the way for chip-sized pumps


----------



## ScienceRocks

*OHSU prostate drug trial so successful, it's stopped early*



> A prostate cancer drug trial led by Oregon Health & Science University shows unequivocally significant improvement in survival.
> 
> The results were so positive that the trial has been halted early and participants on a placebo will switch to the actual drug. The FDA still needs to approve the use of Enzalutamide in men who have not undergone chemotherapy for the disease.
> 
> &#8220;This is what you hope for, to have a result like this,&#8221; said Dr. Tomasz Beer, professor of medicine and deputy director of OHSU&#8217;s Knight Cancer Institute and co-principal investigator of the study. &#8220;To take a drug from where it doesn&#8217;t exist to a study proving it can extend life. Professionally, this is the best day of my life.&#8221;
> 
> The Enzalutamide trial encompassed 1,700 men with metastatic prostate cancer. Beer said the treatment isn&#8217;t curative, but it does cause a reduction or shrinking of the cancer &#8212; a 30 percent reduction in the risk of death and 81 percent reduction in the risk of radiographic progression or death.
> 
> In contrast to chemotheraphy, which is administered through an IV and has unpleasant side effects, Enzalutamide comes in a pill and carries few side effects. It would also preclude or delay the need for chemotherapy.
> 
> &#8220;It&#8217;s a very well tolerated drug, easy to take and allows people to get treatment at home,&#8221; Beer said.



OHSU prostate drug trial so successful, it's stopped early - Portland Business Journal


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Seven classes of breast cancer test 'offers new hope'*



> A test that identifies seven classes of breast cancer could be available within two years, say UK scientists.
> 
> Writing in the British Journal of Cancer, the Nottingham researchers say it could help doctors tailor treatment better and boost survival rates.
> 
> Currently, two biomarkers are routinely screened for in breast tumours.
> 
> Last year researchers revealed that breast cancer can be divided into 10 different forms of the disease based on a patient's genetic make-up


. 
BBC News - Seven classes of breast cancer test 'offers new hope'


----------



## ScienceRocks

*iHealth Lab unleashes glucose monitor that syncs with mobile devices*



> The portable Bluetooth-enabled blood glucose monitor, coming out Wednesday, syncs readings automatically to a designated iOS or Android device for future tracking and sharing.
> Blood glucose monitors are growing up, and it's about time. With some 26 million diabetics in the U.S. alone, (that's almost 1 in 10 Americans), and hundreds of millions globally, according to the American Diabetes Association, glucose monitoring has become one of the largest patient-generated data sets in the world -- and yet much of that data is being uploaded manually onto desktops or written by hand into little log books.
> 
> In 2013, that just isn't good enough. So iHealth Lab out of Mountain View, Calif., is announcing Wednesday the release of its FDA-approved Wireless Smart Gluco-Monitoring System -- a portable Bluetooth-enabled blood glucose monitor that allows people to take a reading and have the results sync automatically to their iOS or  Android device and stored in the cloud. From there they can track their measurements and share the results with their health care providers. (The device was unveiled at CES in January but recently received approval from the FDA.)



iHealth Lab unleashes glucose monitor that syncs with mobile devices | Cutting Edge - CNET News


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Doctors grow disfigured teenage girl a new face on her BREAST *
   30 Oct 2013 12:09       

17-year-old Xu Jianmei smiles for the first time in 12 years following operation




> Warning: Some may find the pictures distressing
> 
> A teenage girl who was left horrifically disfigured in a fire has had a new face grown on her BREAST by doctors.
> 
> The move follows a similar operation in which another group of Chinese doctors managed to give a car accident victim a new nose by growing it first on his forehead.
> 
> In the latest operation 17-year-old Xu Jianmei woke up after the operation this week to find that she once again had a chin, eyelids and an ear.
> 
> But she said best of all she could smile properly for the first time in 12 years since the fire that left her horrifically disfigured when she was just five.
> 
> The parents had been able to afford plastic surgery to improve her life in any way but that changed when doctors working on the pioneering new technology offered her the chance to have surgery for free.




Check out all the latest News, Sport & Celeb gossip at Mirror.co.uk Doctors grow disfigured teenage girl a new face on her BREAST - Mirror Online 
Follow us: @DailyMirror on Twitter | DailyMirror on Facebook


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Artificial blood made in Romania. First tests encouraging, researchers say *



> A team of researchers of the Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, a city in NW Romania, has created a recipe for artificial blood whose preliminary tests have proven encouraging. The team led by professor Radu Silaghi-Dumitrescu, who is only 39 years old, has been doing research to create the artificial blood for six years and their discovery could prove crucial given the lack of blood doctors need in cases of severe accidents and major surgeries. The blood is made of water, salt, albumin and a protein &#8211; hemerythrin -extracted from marine worms which makes the artificial blood stress resistant.



 - See more at: Artificial blood made in Romania. First tests encouraging, researchers say | Independent Balkan News Agency

*Through a nanopore, ionically: Graphene quantum transistor for next-generation DNA sensing*



> (Phys.org) &#8212;In the ongoing quest to devise faster, lower-cost methods for sequencing the human genome, scientists at University of Illinois at Urbana&#8211;Champaign have developed a novel approach: DNA molecules are sensed by passing them through a layer of constricted graphene embedded in a solid-state membrane containing a nanopore (a small hole with a roughly 1 nm internal diameter), located in a graphene nanoribbon (GNR). A critical feature of the new paradigm is that graphene's electrical properties allow the layer to be tuned in several distinct ways &#8211; namely, altering the shape of its edge, carrier concentration and nanopore location &#8211; thereby modulating both electrical conductance and external charge sensitivity. The researchers found that their novel technique can detect the DNA strand's rotational and positional conformation, and demonstrated that a graphene membrane with quantum point contact geometry exhibits greater electrical sensitivity than on with so-called uniform armchair geometry. The team has proposed a graphene-based field-effect transistor-like device for DNA sensing.



 Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-10-nanopore-ionically-graphene-quantum-transistor.html#jCp


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Candidate vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus developed*



> An experimental vaccine to protect against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a leading cause of illness and hospitalization among very young children, elicited high levels of RSV-specific antibodies when tested in animals, according to a report in the journal Science.
> 
> Early-stage human clinical trials of the candidate vaccine are planned. Scientists from the Vaccine Research Center (VRC), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, built on their previous findings about the structure of a critical viral protein to design the vaccine. The team was led by Peter D. Kwong, Ph.D., and Barney S. Graham, M.D., Ph.D.
> 
> In the United States, RSV infection is the most common cause of bronchiolitis (inflammation of small airways in the lungs) and pneumonia in children less than one year old and the most common cause for hospitalization in children under five. Worldwide, it is estimated that RSV is responsible for nearly 7 percent of deaths in babies aged 1 month to 1 year; only malaria kills more children in this age group. Others at risk for severe disease following RSV infection include adults over age 65 and those with compromised immune systems.



Candidate vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus developed


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Hydrogel improves delivery of anti-cancer drug*



> The Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) and IBM Research (IBM) have developed a new non-toxic hydrogel that is capable of shrinking breast cancer tumors more rapidly than existing therapies. As described in their publication in Advanced Functional Materials, the Vitamin E-incorporated hydrogel can be easily injected under the skin without causing any inflammatory response, and releases anti-cancer drugs in a sustained manner over several weeks. This reduces the need for frequent drug administration, paving the way for the tumors to be eradicated in fewer treatments.



 Read more at: Hydrogel improves delivery of anti-cancer drug


----------



## ScienceRocks

*A new model for organ repair: Kidney repair may not require stem cells*
A new model for organ repair: Kidney repair may not require stem cells




> Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) researchers have a new model for how the kidney repairs itself, a model that adds to a growing body of evidence that mature cells are far more plastic than had previously been imagined.
> After injury, mature kidney cells dedifferentiate into more primordial versions of themselves, and then differentiate into the cell types needing replacement in the damaged tissue. This finding conflicts with a previously held theory that the kidney has scattered stem cell populations that respond to injury. The research appears online in PNAS Early Edition.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Researchers developing gelatin bio-ink to 3D print human tissues and organs*


Nov.1, 2013 



> Although there have been advances in medical technology and donation, the demand for organ, eye and tissue donation still vastly exceeds the number of donors. What sounds like a dream of the future has already been the subject of research for a few years: simply printing out tissue and organs. Now German researchers have developed a new gelatin bio-ink that can be used by 3D printing technology to produce artificial tissues.



3ders.org - Researchers developing gelatin bio-ink to 3D print human tissues and organs | 3D Printer News & 3D Printing News


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Epigenetics may be useful target to stop the growth, spread and relapse of cancer*


> A review article by researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) suggests that epigenetics may be a useful target to stop the growth, spread and relapse of cancer. The findings are published online in Volume 14 of the International Journal of Molecular Science.
> 
> The term epigenetics refers to the external modifications to DNA that turn genes "on" or "off." These modifications do not change the DNA sequence, but instead, they affect how cells read genes.
> 
> The researchers propose that epigenetic and other changes mediate the development of cancer progenitor cells. These cells represent the early stage of cancer cell development and can grow rapidly to become full-fledged cancer. According to the researchers, progression of different cancer stages and development of metastatic potential requires differentiation of these cancer progenitor cells.
> 
> "These findings are not only important in understanding how cancer progresses, but also help in understanding how cancer progenitor cells grow and differentiate via epigenetic regulators," said Sibaji Sarkar, PhD, instructor of medicine at BUSM.



Epigenetics may be useful target to stop the growth, spread and relapse of cancer


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Lasers might be the cure for brain diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's*



> Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, together with researchers at the Polish Wroclaw University of Technology, have made a discovery that may lead to the curing of diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (the so called mad cow disease) through photo therapy.
> 
> The researchers discovered, as they show in the journal Nature Photonics, that it is possible to distinguish aggregations of the proteins, believed to cause the diseases, from the the well-functioning proteins in the body by using multi-photon laser technique.
> 
> "Nobody has talked about using only light to treat these diseases until now. This is a totally new approach and we believe that this might become a breakthrough in the research of diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. We have found a totally new way of discovering these structures using just laser light", says Piotr Hanczyc at Chalmers University of Technology.
> 
> If the protein aggregates are removed, the disease is in principle cured. The problem until now has been to detect and remove the aggregates.



Lasers might be the cure for brain diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Nanotube-based sensors can be implanted under the skin for a year*

33 minutes ago by Anne Trafton 

Nanotube-based sensors can be implanted under the skin for a year


> Nitric oxide (NO) is one of the most important signaling molecules in living cells, carrying messages within the brain and coordinating immune system functions. In many cancerous cells, levels are perturbed, but very little is known about how NO behaves in both healthy and cancerous cells.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Blood test could detect serious skin cancer spread*



> A simple blood test could be used to identify patients whose skin cancer has spread, according to a presentation at the National Cancer Research Institute conference.
> 
> Melanoma is particularly difficult to detect and treat once it spreads.
> 
> Dundee University researchers say that measuring levels of a gene called TFP12 in DNA in the blood could be key.
> 
> Cancer Research UK said the findings could lead to faster diagnoses and new treatments.
> 
> Dr Tim Crook, study author and consultant medical oncologist at the University of Dundee, said detecting if melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer, had started to spread was challenging


BBC News - Blood test could detect serious skin cancer spread


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Down's pregnancy blood test on trial*



> A simple blood test during pregnancy which can detect Down's syndrome in the developing foetus is to be trialled by the NHS.
> 
> It could significantly reduce the number of women needing invasive testing, which can cause miscarriage.
> 
> The study at Great Ormond Street Hospital will assess how and when the blood test could be introduced across the NHS.
> 
> In the UK, 750 babies are born with Down's syndrome each year.
> 
> All pregnant women in the UK are offered screening for Down's syndrome.


BBC News - Down's pregnancy blood test on trial


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Breakthrough could lead to new treatment for heart attack*

Breakthrough could lead to new treatment for heart attack



> The stop and start of blood flow to the heart during and after a heart attack causes severe damage to heart cells, reducing their capacity to function and potentially causing their death. But a recent study led by researchers at Temple University School of Medicine suggests that it is possible to limit the extent of that damage using a drug. In experiments in mice that recapitulated a human clinical scenario, they discovered that inhibition of a heart protein called TNNI3K reduced damage from heart attack and protected the heart from further injury.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*An artificial blood substitute from Transylvania*


An artificial blood substitute from Transylvania



> (Medical Xpress)&#8212;Researchers in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, have recently made some significant advances in developing artificial blood substitutes. Their formulation is based not on synthetic hemoglobins, but rather on hemerythrin protein extracted from marine worms. Led by Professor Radu Silanghi-Dumitrescu, from Babes-Bolyai University, the team has been testing their blood substitute in both mice and in cultured cells. Their initial results suggest that many of the adverse effects normally associated with either perfluorocarbon (PFC) or hemoglobin-based oxygen carrier (HBOC) substitutes can be eliminated, or at least minimized by using hemerythrin.





*Smart foam takes aim at concussions by measuring helmet impact*


> Concussions in college and professional football are under the microscope more than ever these days, but they don't seem to be slowing down in frequency.
> Nearly every game produces an incident where a player suffers "concussion-like symptoms." According to the CDC, more than 1.6 million sports-related concussions happen annually, with football being the sport with the highest concussion risk.
> 
> While the NFL and NCAA are trying to address the mounting concerns, BYU student Jake Merrell is developing technology that may change the concussion game.



 Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-11-smart-foam-aim-concussions-helmet.html#jCp


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Breakthrough in retinal implants expected to restore sight to the blind*

Breakthrough in retinal implants expected to restore sight to the blind


> Researchers at the University of Arizona and University of Tübingen have made a breakthrough in retinal implant technology that could help people who have lost their sight see more than just light and vague shapes.
> Wolfgang Fink, an associate professor in the UA departments of electrical and computer engineering and biomedical engineering, is researching new implant design and methods of electrical stimulation of the retina that will enable retinal implants to produce much clearer images.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*3-D printed liver slices are able to function normally for 40 days*



> 3D printing has the ability to create almost anything, from customized figurines to bionic ears and even other 3D printers. Recently, one San Diego-based startup discovered it can even generate a slice of a functioning, long-lasting liver by printing layers of living cells.
> 
> By harnessing the liver's natural ability to regenerate itself, researchers at Organovo were able to create a piece of liver that was able to operate like a regular healthy liver, filtering out toxins and drugs and keeping in nutrients &#8212; for up to 40 days. That extended record beat the company's previous results in April, when the liver slice was able to keep functioning for just over five days. That's a 700 percent increase!
> 
> The 3D-printed liver slices showed a normal reaction to acetaminophen (you know, Tylenol) and other drugs, suggesting that it functions on par with a normal human liver. However, the success of the printed liver slices are not yet an indication for full 3D organ transplant operations. A full-grown liver contains tiny networks of blood vessels to stay healthy, which poses a challenge to replicate in 3D printing.


3-D printed liver slices are able to function normally for 40 days | DVICE


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Autism signs 'present in first months' of life''*



BBC News - Autism signs 'present in first months' of life



> Autism can be identified in babies as young as two months, early research suggests.
> 
> US researchers analysed how infants looked at faces from birth to the age of three.
> 
> They found children later diagnosed with autism had shown diminished eye contact - a hallmark of autism - in the first few months of life.
> 
> The findings, reported in Nature, raised hope for early interventions to tackle autism, said a UK expert.
> 
> In the study, researchers led by Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta used eye-tracking technology to measure the way babies looked at and responded to social clues.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Spinal cord injury: Prosthetic bladder 'controls urine'*



> A device that could one day restore bladder function to patients with a severed spinal cord has been devised by UK researchers and tested in animals.
> 
> Nerve damage can leave no sense of when the bladder is full or control over when the contents are released.
> 
> A study, published in Science Translational Medicine, showed a device to read the remaining nerves' signals could be used to control the organ.


BBC News - Spinal cord injury: Prosthetic bladder 'controls urine'


----------



## itfitzme

*"Researchers Regrow Hair, Cartilage, Bone, Soft Tissues: Enhancing Cell Metabolism Was an Unexpected Key to Tissue Repair"*
or  
_Mice get the best healthcare!!_​


> Young animals are known to repair their tissues effortlessly, but can this capacity be recaptured in adults? A new study from researchers at the Stem Cell Program at Boston Children's Hospital suggests that it can. By reactivating a dormant gene called Lin28a, which is active in embryonic stem cells, researchers were able to regrow hair and repair cartilage, bone, skin and other soft tissues in a mouse model.
> 
> Further experiments showed that bypassing Lin28a and directly activating mitochondrial metabolism with a small-molecule compound also had the effect of enhancing wound healing. This suggests the possibility of inducing regeneration and promoting tissue repair with drugs.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> "This image shows tissue regrowth in adult mice (reactivated Lin28a gene). (Credit: Cell, Shyh-Chang et al.)"​


www.sciencedaily.com: Researchers regrow hair, cartilage, bone, soft tissues: Enhancing cell metabolism was an unexpected key to tissue repair

_Ng Shyh-Chang, Hao Zhu, T. Yvanka de Soysa, Gen Shinoda, Marc T. Seligson, Kaloyan M. Tsanov, Liem Nguyen, John M. Asara, Lewis C. Cantley, George Q. Daley. Lin28 Enhances Tissue Repair by Reprogramming Cellular Metabolism. Cell, 2013; 155 (4): 778 DOI_


----------



## ScienceRocks

*A bio patch that can regrow bone* 


> Researchers at the University of Iowa have created a bio patch to regenerate missing or damaged bone by putting DNA into a nano-sized particle that delivers bone-producing instructions directly into cells.
> 
> The bone-regeneration kit relies on a collagen platform seeded with particles containing the genes needed for producing bone. In experiments, the gene-encoding bio patch successfully regrew bone fully enough to cover skull wounds in test animals. It also stimulated new growth in human bone marrow stromal cells in lab experiments.



A bio patch that can regrow bone


*&#8216;Tumor-on-a-chip&#8217; technology offers new direction *


Thu, 11/07/2013 - 10:59am 

http://www.rdmag.com/news/2013/11/‘tumor-chip’-technology-offers-new-direction



> A two-year collaboration between the Chan and the Rocheleau labs at the Institute of Biomaterials & Biomedical Engineering (IBBME) has led to the development of a new microfluidics screening platform that can accurately predict the way nanoparticles will behave in a living body.
> 
> Nanoparticles are being eyed by scientists as a potentially powerful tool for personalized cancer treatments. The tiny particles, ranging in size from 10 to 100 nanometres (somewhere in size between a large protein to a small virus), can be deployed to outline tumors or to deliver chemotherapy drugs directly to cancer cells with more potency and less side effects than regular delivery methods.
> 
> But Associate Professor Jonathan Rocheleau, core faculty at the Institute of Biomaterials & Biomedical Engineering (IBBME), cross-appointed to the Departments of Physiology and Medicine, Division of Endocrinology & Metabolism and a corresponding author of the study released in Nature Communications last week, explained that the new platform fills some of the glaring holes in current nanotechnology research.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Robot Detects Breast Cancer With Space-Grade Tech*


> The same technology designed for huge robotic arms that help astronauts in space is being brought back to Earth to do some heavy lifting in cancer treatment &#8212; in the form of a surgical robot. Its inventors say the robot could take breast biopsies with remarkable precision and consistency.
> 
> The new machine is called IGAR, which is short for Image-Guided Autonomous Robot. NASA officials say it descends from a long line of robotic arms built for the Canadian Space Agency, such as Canadarm, which helped build the space station, service satellites and sometimes gave astronauts a lift during spacewalks, and Dextre, a maintenance robot on the space station. (This specific tech was developed by the British Columbia-based aerospace and communications firm MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd.)




Robot Detects Breast Cancer With Space-Grade Tech | Space.com


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## ScienceRocks

*Heart attack risk identified by new scan*



> A new way of scanning the heart can identify those who may be at high risk of a heart attack, early tests suggest.
> 
> It can identify dangerous plaques in the arteries which nourish the heart. If a fatty plaque ruptures, it can lead to a clot, blocking the flow of blood.
> 
> Scientists at the University of Edinburgh said an effective tool for predicting a heart attack would make a "massive difference" to patients.
> 
> Experts said it was an exciting start.
> 
> More than 100,000 people have a heart attack in the UK each year and disease of the arteries around the heart is the leading cause of death in the world.
> 
> Light up
> 
> The researchers used a radioactive tracer which can seek out active and dangerous plaques. This was combined with high resolution images of the heart and blood vessels
> The overall effect is a detailed picture of the heart with the danger zones clearly highlighted. The technology is already used to detect tumours in cancer patients.
> 
> The first tests of the technique for danger spots in the heart were on 40 patients who had recently had a heart attack.




BBC News - Heart attack risk identified by new scan


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Symptoms of Parkinson's disease linked to fungus*




> (Medical Xpress)&#8212;Scientists at Rutgers and Emory universities have discovered that a compound often emitted by mold may be linked to symptoms of Parkinson's disease.
> 
> Arati Inamdar and Joan Bennett, researchers in the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences at Rutgers, used fruit flies to establish the connection between the compound &#8211; popularly known as mushroom alcohol &#8211; and the malfunction of two genes involved in the packaging and transport of dopamine, the chemical released by nerve cells to send messages to other nerve cells in the brain.
> 
> The findings were published online today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
> 
> "Parkinson's has been linked to exposure to environmental toxins, but the toxins were man-made chemicals," Inamdar said. "In this paper, we show that biologic compounds have the potential to damage dopamine and cause Parkinson's symptoms."


Symptoms of Parkinson's disease linked to fungus


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## ScienceRocks

*Biosensor could help detect brain injuries during heart surgery*



> Johns Hopkins engineers and cardiology experts have teamed up to develop a fingernail-sized biosensor that could alert doctors when serious brain injury occurs during heart surgery. By doing so, the device could help doctors devise new ways to minimize brain damage or begin treatment more quickly.



 Read more at: Biosensor could help detect brain injuries during heart surgery

http://www.visimobile.com/overview/



> Sotera Wireless introduces the ViSi Mobile System, a platform for comprehensive vital signs monitoring that is designed to keep clinicians connected to their patients, whether in or out of bed, or while in transport &#8211; &#8220;monitoring in motion.&#8221; Featuring comfortable body-worn sensors that allow for freedom of movement, the system enables highly accurate, continuous monitoring of all vital signs.
> 
> The ViSi Mobile System is able to continuously measure and display all vital signs (ECG, Heart/Pulse Rate, SpO2, Blood Pressure (cuff-based and now also cuffless on a beat-to-beat basis), Respiration Rate, Skin Temperature) with monitoring accuracy and resolution typically found in ICUs. In addition to the color touchscreen display on the patient-worn device, platforms such as desktop or tablet PCs can be utilized as remote viewing and notification devices. ViSi Mobile is able to wirelessly transmit data, leveraging existing hospital WiFi infrastructure, and is designed to provide information output in electronic form (i.e. EMR connectivity) as well as print-outs. In the future, the ViSi Mobile System will also include Sotera&#8217;s patient Posture / Motion as a &#8220;new vital sign.&#8221;


----------



## ScienceRocks

*DNA-Powered Nanotrain Builds Its Own Tracks*



> At the University of Oxford a research team has created molecule-sized shuttles that build their own micro-tracks and then use those pathways to deliver compounds from one location to another.
> 
> Such networks could work to carry medicine to precise locations of disease. Or they could be used to transport molecular materials to places in the body where new structures need to be built.
> 
> Top 10 Uses For The World&#8217;s Strongest Material
> 
> The Oxford team, led by physics graduate student Adam Wollman, used kinesins, which are &#8220;motor&#8221; proteins that can carry other molecules and assemble them, like a train car carrying a crane and supply of rails to build tracks. Wollman&#8217;s team put two kinesins together, called assemblers. The proteins built &#8220;tracks&#8221; out of artificial, nonliving DNA. The tracks were arranged in a pattern like a wagon wheel with spokes.
> 
> The scientists then used kinesin molecules as &#8220;shuttles,&#8221; which worked like boxcars to deliver a fluorescent green dye. Adding adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which cells use to transport energy, made the kinesins carrying the dye spread out along the hub and spokes.



DNA-Powered Nanotrain Builds Its Own Tracks : Discovery News


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## ScienceRocks

*Mobile Med-Tech Revolution Hits Hospitals*


> The benefits of mobile technology in a healthcare setting have not, it&#8217;s safe to say, gone unnoticed. A throng of companies is trying to turn the smartphone into an assortment of medical devices, from blood pressure cuffs to otoscopes. Such devices offer patients a chance to keep up with chronic conditions and send data to their doctors on occasion.
> 
> But go to a hospital intensive care unit and what you&#8217;ll see are bulky machines not very different from what you saw on ER in the 1990s. The reasons are institutional: hospitals buy in bulk, and they can only buy devices that are precise and proven.
> 
> But mobile vital sign monitors are at last making inroads inside the hospital walls. Sotera Wireless&#8217;s ViSi mobile monitor, recently adopted by a San Diego hospital and a few other sites, takes the functions of those enormous beeping bedside machines and puts them in a smartphone-sized oval the patient wears on his or her wrist.



Mobile Med-Tech Revolution Hits Hospitals | Singularity Hub


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Researchers manipulate virus to create possible new cancer treatment *


> Purdue Univ. researchers have successfully eliminated the native infection preferences of a Sindbis virus engineered to target and kill cancer cells, a milestone in the manipulation of this promising viral vector.
> 
> "This virus had been known to be a good vector for delivering therapeutic cargo, however it naturally infected all kinds of cells, and these diversions would compete with what we were instructing it to target," said Richard Kuhn, the Gerald and Edna Mann Director of Purdue's Bindley Biosciences Center. "We have now overcome a major challenge by not only inserting a targeting molecule of our choice, but also successfully stripping the virus of its native entry preferences. This was a big step in unlocking the potential of developing this virus into a platform for both targeted drug delivery, where it would sneak drugs inside cancer cells, and oncolytic virotherapy, where the virus itself destroys cancer cells."
> 
> The achievement also demonstrates the ability to use methods of manipulation previously only applied to proteins. The team combined the methods of rational design, in which certain portions of the virus were strategically altered based on known information about their structure and function, and directed evolution, in which random mutations were introduced to millions of copies of the virus and the results are then screened for the desired traits, he said.




Researchers manipulate virus to create possible new cancer treatment


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## ScienceRocks

*Can Genomics Blow Up the Clinical Trial?*

Genomic technology could accelerate patient trials of new cancer drugs that are targeted to a tumor&#8217;s individual molecular profile. 
By Susan Young on November 12, 2013 


Why It Matters



> Clinical trials are slow and inefficient and represent the largest expense in developing a new drug.
> 
> A novel kind of clinical trial is set to test several new lung cancer drugs based on the molecular profiles of each participating patient&#8217;s tumor.
> 
> If successful, the trial could help bring cancer-genome-targeted medicines to patients more quickly than has been possible to date. Trials often only test one new drug at a time, and in cases when researchers do use genomic profiling to match a patient to a new treatment, they may struggle to find suitable candidates.


Foundation Medicine Joins Coalition Aiming to Shake Up Cancer Drug Trials | MIT Technology Review


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## ScienceRocks

*Gene therapy treatment could lower blood sugar while repairing damage caused by diabetes*


> UNMC research on diabetes complications finds new fix for organ failures
> 
> OMAHA, Neb. &#8212; A pantheon of chronic system failures await nearly everyone with diabetes. Kidney dialysis, cataracts, high blood pressure, heart failure and lower limb amputation are just a few.
> 
> Any combination of diabetic complication is a virtual certainty.
> 
> Far less certain, however, is how so many different systems could be affected by diabetes, which partly explains why most modern treatments only help manage the disease.




Health News - Gene therapy treatment could lower blood sugar while repairing damage caused by diabetes


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Non-Toxic Therapy For Lupus Successfully Tested On Patients*




> Rebekah Eliason for redOrbit.com &#8211; Your Universe Online
> 
> Scientists from Northwestern Medicine have brought new hope to patients with lupus. A new nontoxic therapy that suppresses lupus in blood samples was designed and successfully tested on patients with the autoimmune disease.
> 
> There is hope this treatment will replace the use of toxic drugs that carry nasty side effects with a vaccine like therapy. This new treatment could keep lupus in remission in the body.
> 
> Lupus is a debilitating autoimmune disease where the body creates auto-antibodies that attack its own healthy tissue. This causes severe pain, inflammation and destruction to many vital organs in the body. The Lupus Foundation of America has estimated that some form of the disease affects 5 million people throughout the world.
> 
> Previous studies at Northwestern have showed that a nontoxic therapy using small pieces of proteins known as peptides can block lupus in mice prone to contracting the disease. The peptides produce special regulatory T cells that are vital to suppressing the disease.
> 
> This new study was comprised of 30 lupus patients, ten of whom were active and twenty who were in remission, along with fifteen healthy patients. Each person had a blood sample cultured with low doses of the peptide.
> 
> Senior study author Syamal Datta, professor of medicine-rheumatology and microbiology-immunology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, said, &#8220;We found that the peptides could not only generate regulatory T cells, but also that they block and reduce autoantibody production to almost baseline levels in the blood cultures from people with active Lupus.&#8221;



Lupus May Soon Be Cured By Vaccine-Like Therapy - Health News - redOrbit


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Ultrasound pulses could replace daily injections for diabetics*



> There could be hope for diabetics who are tired of giving themselves insulin injections on a daily basis. Researchers at North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are developing a system in which a single injection of nanoparticles could deliver insulin internally for days at a time &#8211; with a little help from pulses of ultrasound.
> 
> The biocompatible and biodegradable nanoparticles are made of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid), and contain a payload of insulin. Each particle has either a positively-charged chitosan coating, or a negatively-charged alginate coating. When the two types of particles are mixed together, these oppositely-charged coatings cause them to be drawn to each other by electrostatic force.




Ultrasound pulses could replace daily injections for diabetics


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## ScienceRocks

*Update: 50 Percent of Patients in New Brain Cancer Study Alive After Five Years*

Update: 50 percent of patients in new brain cancer study alive after five years



> Nov. 24, 2013 &#8212; Eight of 16 patients participating in a study of an experimental immune system therapy directed against the most aggressive malignant brain tumors -- glioblastoma multiforme -- survived longer than five years after diagnosis, according to Cedars-Sinai researchers, who presented findings Nov. 23 at the Fourth Quadrennial Meeting of the World Federation of Neuro-Oncology.


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## ScienceRocks

*Undruggable Mutation Meets Its Match *


Six-Year Effort Yields First Drug to Target Important Cancer Gene



> For more than 30 years, researchers have tried to develop a drug to inhibit K-Ras, the most commonly mutated oncogene in human cancers.
> HHMI researchers have now identified a &#8220;pocket,&#8221; or binding site, and designed a chemical compound that fits inside this pocket and inhibits the normal activity of mutant K-Ras.
> The research may lead to new drug designs that inhibit this common cancer mutation.


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## ScienceRocks

*TVAX Biomedical is developing a paradigm-shifting cancer treatment that offers the promise of improved clinical outcomes and low toxicity and the potential for fundamentally changing the way cancer is treated.*



> TVAX Immunotherapy is a unique personalized combination of cancer cell vaccination and &#8220;killer&#8221; T cell treatment &#8211; two separate approaches that have each demonstrated limited therapeutic potential, though neither has the efficacy to be a viable standalone treatment. This treatment has demonstrated the potential to effectively treat numerous cancers without many of the undesirable side effects associated with radiation and chemotherapy.  The key distinction between TVAX and other cancer immunotherapy companies is that TVAX uses both cancer vaccination and activated "killer" T cell treatment in one treatment platform



TVAX Biomedical, Inc.


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## ScienceRocks

*Vaccine implants could replace booster shots*



> No one likes to get vaccines, much less the kind that require repeated shots. Children (and pets) often suffer from needing a long series of booster shots at a very early age. What if we could take pain out of the equation? What if we could take the entire series of injections away and replace it with one procedure? That&#8217;s exactly what scientists at the University of Minnesota are working on: a vaccine implant that will deliver all vaccines on a time-released basis, no shots required.



Vaccine implants could replace booster shots | DVICE


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## ScienceRocks

*Tailored 3D printed skin will fit right in with your own flesh*



> The ability to create a 3D printed organ and transplant it into a patient who needs it is something straight out of sci-fi. Someday, patients will be able to lie down on a massive 3D printer and have their new organs and tissues printed right into them. In order to complete a 3D printed surgery, however, each wound will have to be sealed with a new layer of 3D printed skin. Right now, that would mean a generic hue of flesh that doesn't really blend with anyone's natural skin.



Tailored 3D printed skin will fit right in with your own flesh | DVICE


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## ScienceRocks

*If diabetes causes Alzheimer's, we can beat it*



> Evidence is growing that Alzheimer's could actually be a late stage of type 2 diabetes &#8211; if it is, we all have another big reason to live healthier lives
> 
> JUST over 100 years ago, German pathologist Alois Alzheimer dissected the brain of a 57-year-old woman who had died, demented, in a hospital in Kassel. He found tangles of strange fibrous deposits that seemed to have destroyed her brain from within.
> 
> Today, the disease that bears his name is a bogeyman stalking our ageing societies. About 35 million people have Alzheimer's; most of them require expensive, exhausting care. By 2050 that number is expected to triple. We still don't really know what causes the disease or how it destroys the brain. There is no way to prevent it and no cure. Dealing with the epidemic will cost trillions.



If diabetes causes Alzheimer's, we can beat it - health - 28 November 2013 - New Scientist


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## ScienceRocks

*New nanoparticle opens doorway to oral treatment of chronic diseases*

New nanoparticle opens doorway to oral treatment of chronic diseases



> Most of us would swallow a pill before being poked by a needle, yet sufferers of chronic illnesses such as diabetes and cancer are regularly required to administer their medicine intravenously. A team of researchers from MIT and Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) has developed a new type of nanoparticle that could afford patients the choice &#8211; potentially making uncomfortable injections a thing of the past in the treatment of a range of chronic diseases.
> 
> Nanoparticles carrying drugs or short interfering RNA have shown great potential for the treatment of a variety of diseases, including cancer. If taken orally, however, they need to cross the intestinal lining into the bloodstream. This lining consists of a layer of epithelial cells that come together to form a barrier that is impenetrable to the nanoparticles, thereby necessitating the use of injections to be an effective form of treatment.


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## ScienceRocks

*Alzheimer's and Type 2 diabetes may be same disease: study*

Alzheimer's and Type 2 diabetes may be same disease: study | Business Standard



> Scientists have found that Alzheimer's - a neurodegenerative disorder - may actually be a late stage of Type 2 diabetes.
> 
> The findings also suggest that losing weight and exercising may ward off Alzheimer's, at least in the very early stages, researchers said.
> 
> The extra insulin produced by those with Type 2 diabetes also gets into the brain, disrupting its chemistry, which can lead to the formation of toxic clumps of amyloid proteins that poison brain cells, researchers said.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New Computer-Designed 'Drug' Prevents AIDS From Replicating*


> European researchers have used a computer to design small synthetic molecules capable of attacking the deadly AIDS virus where it hurts the most: its ability to produce the genetic material required for replication. It's the first time in history this has ever been done.
> 
> To date, HIV/AIDS has killed more than 28 million people worldwide. While a new HIV vaccine shows promise, this is of little consolation to the 34 million people currently living with the virus. In an effort to treat ongoing infections, pharmaceutical companies typically focus on medicines that act on target proteins, but the HIV protein has long been considered one of the most difficult targets in all of structural biology, mostly on account of the wildly complex way its receptors are made from RNA.


New Computer-Designed 'Drug' Prevents AIDS From Replicating


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Human stem cells converted to functional lung cells*

7 hours ago 



> For the first time, scientists have succeeded in transforming human stem cells into functional lung and airway cells. The advance, reported by Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers, has significant potential for modeling lung disease, screening drugs, studying human lung development, and, ultimately, generating lung tissue for transplantation. The study was published today in the journal Nature Biotechnology.



 Read more at: Human stem cells converted to functional lung cells


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## ScienceRocks

*First use of retrograde gene therapy on a human heart*

Procedure delivers stem cells to the heart to repair damaged muscle and arteries 




> A new procedure designed to deliver stem cells to the heart to repair damaged muscle and arteries in the most minimally invasive way possible has been performed for the first time by Amit Patel, M.D., director of Clinical Regenerative Medicine and Tissue Engineering and an associate professor in the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of Utah School of Medicine.
> 
> Patel started investigating cell and gene-based therapies for the treatment of heart disease 12 years ago, but only recently received FDA approval to try the therapy on Lively, who was the first of several patients anxious to receive the treatment.
> 
> More than 6 million people are currently living with heart failure. As the condition progresses, patients&#8217; options are usually limited to a heart transplant or assist devices, such as an artificial heart. Patel wanted to find a way to intervene in the progression of heart failure before a patient advanced to the point of needing a heart transplant or device


First use of retrograde gene therapy on a human heart | KurzweilAI


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## ScienceRocks

*Brain Connectivity Study Reveals Striking Differences Between Men and Women *

Penn Medicine Brain Imaging Study Helps Explain Different Cognitive Strengths in Men and Women
Brain Connectivity Study Reveals Striking Differences Between Men and Women



> PHILADELPHIA &#8212; A new brain connectivity study from Penn Medicine published today in the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences found striking differences in the neural wiring of men and women that&#8217;s lending credence to some commonly-held beliefs about their behavior.
> 
> In one of the largest studies looking at the &#8220;connectomes&#8221; of the sexes, Ragini Verma, PhD, an associate professor in the department of Radiology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and colleagues found greater neural connectivity from front to back and within one hemisphere in males, suggesting their brains are structured to facilitate connectivity between perception and coordinated action. In contrast, in females, the wiring goes between the left and right hemispheres, suggesting that they facilitate communication between the analytical and intuition.
> 
> &#8220;These maps show us a stark difference--and complementarity--in the architecture of the human brain that helps provide a potential neural basis as to why men excel at certain tasks, and women at others,&#8221; said Verma.


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## ScienceRocks

*Possible new childbirth aid designed by car mechanic*

2 December 2013 Last updated at 16:48 GMT 



> A "potentially revolutionary development" to help women during childbirth has come from an unlikely source - a car mechanic from Argentina, who based the idea on a party trick.
> 
> The Odon device - named after its inventor Jorge Odon - is a low-cost, simple piece of equipment that the World Health Organization (WHO) believes can help mothers during prolonged labour, especially in countries without the facilities or staff to perform a Caesarean section.
> 
> If approved, it will be the first new tool for assisted delivery since forceps and vacuum extractors were introduced centuries ago.
> 
> Mr Odon's inspiration came in 2005 after his garage employees showed him how to extract a cork from inside an empty bottle without breaking it.



BBC News - Possible new childbirth aid designed by car mechanic


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## ScienceRocks

*Geraldine Hamilton: Body parts on a chip*

Geraldine Hamilton: Body parts on a chip | Video on TED.com


> It's relatively easy to imagine a new medicine, a better cure for some disease. The hard part, though, is testing it, and that can delay promising new cures for years. In this well-explained talk, Geraldine Hamilton shows how her lab creates organs and body parts on a chip, simple structures with all the pieces essential to testing new medications -- even custom cures for one specific person. (Filmed at TEDxBoston)


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## ScienceRocks

*Researchers may have discovered a plan to disable Meniere's disease*




> Researchers at University of Colorado School of Medicine may have figured out what causes Meniere's disease and how to attack it. According to Carol Foster, MD, from the department of otolaryngology and Robert Breeze, MD, a neurosurgeon, there is a strong association between Meniere's disease and conditions involving temporary low blood flow in the brain such as migraine headaches.



Researchers may have discovered a plan to disable Meniere's disease


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## ScienceRocks

*FDA approves faster, easier treatment for hepatitis C*

Kim Painter, Special for USA TODAY 6:30 p.m. EST December 6, 2013



> New drug is part of a revolution in treatment for a virus widespread among Baby Boomers, experts say.
> 
> A new medication for chronic hepatitis C that can be paired with other drugs to make treatment of the liver-damaging disease faster, easier and more effective got approval from the Food and Drug Administration Friday.
> 
> The new medication, called sofosbuvir and made by Gilead Sciences Inc., is part of a "revolution in treatment," says Douglas Dieterich, a specialist in liver disease at Mt. Sinai Hospital, New York. Dieterich is a consultant to Gilead and other drug companies.


FDA approves faster, easier treatment for hepatitis C


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## ScienceRocks

*New artificial, bionic hands start to get real feelings*

New artificial, bionic hands start to get real feelings | ExtremeTech



> Simple tasks, like plucking the stem off a cherry, are still monumental challenges for artificial hands. With a bill of materials perhaps a few hundred components long, it is not surprising that their functionality is low compared with one assembled from trillions of components. A new prosthetic bionic hand, designed and built by researchers at Case Western University is now capable of using measurements from 20 sensor points to control the grip force of its digits. Incredibly, the sensor data is linked directly to the sensory nerves in the patient&#8217;s forearm. The control for the grip closure is then extracted myoelectrically from the normal biological return loop to the muscles in the forearm.


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## ScienceRocks

*Killing cancer like the common cold*

Killing cancer like the common cold - CNN.com



> (CNN) -- Nick Wilkins was diagnosed with leukemia when he was 4 years old, and when the cancer kept bouncing back, impervious to all the different treatments the doctors tried, his father sat him down for a talk.
> 
> John Wilkins explained to Nick, who was by then 14, that doctors had tried chemotherapy, radiation, even a bone marrow transplant from his sister.
> 
> "I explained to him that we're running out of options," Wilkins remembers telling his son.
> 
> There was one possible treatment they could try: an experimental therapy at the University of Pennsylvania.
> 
> He asked his son if he understood what it would mean if this treatment didn't work.


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## ScienceRocks

*Gene therapy scores big wins against blood cancers*

by Marilynn Marchione 



> In one of the biggest advances against leukemia and other blood cancers in many years, doctors are reporting unprecedented success by using gene therapy to transform patients' blood cells into soldiers that seek and destroy cancer.
> 
> A few patients with one type of leukemia were given this one-time, experimental therapy several years ago and some remain cancer-free today. Now, at least six research groups have treated more than 120 patients with many types of blood and bone marrow cancers, with stunning results.


Gene therapy scores big wins against blood cancers


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## ScienceRocks

*New sensor tracks zinc in cells, could be exploited for early diagnosis of prostate cancer*



> Zinc, an essential nutrient, is found in every tissue in the body. The vast majority of the metal ion is tightly bound to proteins, helping them to perform biological reactions. Tiny amounts of zinc, however, are only loosely bound, or "mobile," and thought to be critical for proper function in organs such as the brain, pancreas, and prostate gland. Yet the exact roles the ion plays in biological systems are unknown.



 Read more at: New sensor tracks zinc in cells, could be exploited for early diagnosis of prostate cancer


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## ScienceRocks

*Singapore scientists engineer human stem cells and move closer to mastering regenerative medicine*



> (Nanowerk News) In an important scientific breakthrough in regenerative medicine, researchers at A*STAR&#8217;s Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) have successfully converted human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) cultured in the laboratory to a state that is closer to the cells found in the human blastocyst[1]. This means that scientists are one step closer to cultivating stem cells for research and potential therapeutic purposes, as well as understanding the processes of early human development. These findings are published in the current issue of the prestigious science journal Cell Stem Cell




Read more: Singapore scientists engineer human stem cells and move closer to mastering regenerative medicine


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## ScienceRocks

*Gene Therapy Works in SCID With No Risk of Leukemia*

Gene Therapy Works in SCID With No Risk of Leukemia



> NEW ORLEANS -- A next generation genetic therapy appeared to restore the immune system of patients with "bubble boy disease," but without leading to leukemia as a side effect, researchers reported here.
> 
> Among nine children, ages 3.9 to 10.5 months, diagnosed with X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) who received a self-inactivating (SIN) gammaretroviral vector, seven were "alive and well" at 3 years' post-treatment, reported Sun-Yun Pai, MD, of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Boston's Children's Hospital, and colleagues.



Gene Therapy Works in SCID With No Risk of Leukemia


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## ScienceRocks

*New X-ray tech provides clear view of soft tissues*



> X-ray machines are all large devices that can only image hard structures such as bone, unless a contrast-enhancing solution such as barium is present in the patient ... right? Well, no, not all of them. A new system developed by researchers at MIT and Massachusetts General Hospital is small enough to be considered portable, doesn't expose patients to as much radiation, and can image soft tissues in minute detail.
> 
> Ordinarily, X-ray machines emit beams of electromagnetic radiation from a single source. The experimental new machine, however, utilizes "a nanostructured surface with an array of tiny tips," each one of those micron-sized tips emitting its own beam of electrons. Those beams pass through a microstructured plate, and are converted into X-rays.
> 
> The resulting wider, more even spread of beams is what makes it possible for the machine to image soft tissues, without the need for contrast agents &#8211; such solutions take time to inject or administer orally, and some of them can be potentially harmful to the patient.




New X-ray tech provides clear view of soft tissues


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## ScienceRocks

*Team develops temperature-sensitive gelling scaffolds to regenerate craniofacial bone*



> Rice University bioengineers have developed a hydrogel scaffold for craniofacial bone tissue regeneration that starts as a liquid, solidifies into a gel in the body and liquefies again for removal.
> 
> The material developed in the Rice lab of bioengineer Antonios Mikos is a soluble liquid at room temperature that can be injected to the point of need. At body temperature, the material turns instantly into a gel to help direct the formation of new bone to replace that damaged by injury or disease.
> 
> The gel conforms to irregular three-dimensional spaces and provides a platform for functional and aesthetic tissue regeneration. It is intended as an alternative to prefabricated implantable scaffolds.



 Read more at: Team develops temperature-sensitive gelling scaffolds to regenerate craniofacial bone


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## ScienceRocks

*Study identifies new way to predict prognosis for heart failure patients*


> Johns Hopkins researchers have identified a new way to predict which heart failure patients are likely to see their condition get worse and which ones have a better prognosis. Their study is one of the first to show that energy metabolism within the heart, measured using a noninvasive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test, is a significant predictor of clinical outcomes, independent of a patient's symptoms or the strength of the heart's ability to pump blood, known as the ejection fraction.



Study identifies new way to predict prognosis for heart failure patients


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## ScienceRocks

*Rare gene variants double risk for Alzheimer's disease*



> A team led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has identified variations in a gene that doubles a person's risk of developing Alzheimer's disease later in life.
> 
> The research is published online Dec. 11 in the journal Nature.
> 
> Over the past two decades, scientists have discovered a number of common genetic variants linked to early-onset (which strikes before age 65) and the more common late-onset forms of Alzheimer's disease. But those variants account for only a fraction of Alzheimer's cases.




Rare gene variants double risk for Alzheimer's disease


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## ScienceRocks

*
Breast cancer drug 'halves likelihood of high-risk women developing disease'*




> A drug not yet available on the NHS has been found to be better at preventing breast cancer than those approved for use, leading to urgent calls for the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to make it accessible immediately.
> 
> The drug anastrozole has been found to halve the likelihood of high-risk women developing the disease and to have fewer side-effects, according to a study published on Thursday in the Lancet medical journal. The Ibis-II study, funded by Cancer Research UK and led by Queen Mary University of London, tracked almost 4,000 postmenopausal women at high risk of breast cancer and found that those who took anastrozole for five years were 53% less likely to develop the disease than women who took a placebo.
> 
> Nice took the historic step this year of giving all women over 30 in England and Wales judged to be at moderate or high risk of breast cancer access to one of two drugs: tamoxifen or raloxifene. But the study suggests that neither is as effective as anastrozole and both had more side-effects.




Breast cancer drug 'halves likelihood of high-risk women developing disease' | Society | theguardian.com


----------



## ScienceRocks

> New research in simple animals suggests that combining mutants can lead to radical lifespan extension. Scientists at the Buck Institute combined mutations in two pathways well-known for lifespan extension and report a synergistic five-fold extension of longevity in the nematode C. elegans. The research, done at the Buck Institute and published online in Cell Reports on December 12, 2013, introduces the possibility of combination therapy for aging and the maladies associated with it.
> 
> 100% plus 30% equals 500% life extension because of synergies
> 
> The mutations inhibited key molecules involved in insulin signaling (IIS) and the nutrient signaling pathway Target of Rapamycin (TOR). Lead scientist and Buck faculty Pankaj Kapahi, PhD, said single mutations in TOR (in this case RSKS-1) usually result in a 30 percent lifespan extension, while mutations in IIS (Daf-2) often result in a doubling of lifespan in the worms &#8211; added together they would be expected to extend longevity by 130 percent. &#8220;Instead, what we have here is a synergistic five-fold increase in lifespan,&#8221; Kapahi said. &#8220;The two mutations set off a positive feedback loop in specific tissues that amplified lifespan. Basically these worms lived to the human equivalent of 400 to 500 years.&#8221;



Five-Fold Lifespan Extension in C. Elegans by Combining Syngistic Gene Mutations for the human equivalent of 500 years


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Liquid to gel to bone Rice U. develops temperature-sensitive gelling scaffolds to regenerate craniofacial bone *



> &#8211; (Dec. 11, 2013) &#8211; Rice University bioengineers have developed a hydrogel scaffold for craniofacial bone tissue regeneration that starts as a liquid, solidifies into a gel in the body and liquefies again for removal. The material developed in the Rice lab of bioengineer Antonios Mikos is a soluble liquid at room temperature that can be injected to the point of need. At body temperature, the material turns instantly into a gel to help direct the formation of new bone to replace that damaged by injury or disease. The gel conforms to irregular three-dimensional spaces and provides a platform for functional and aesthetic tissue regeneration. It is intended as an alternative to prefabricated implantable scaffolds. The invention is the subject of a new paper that appeared online this week in the American Chemical Society journal Biomacromolecules. Lead author Tiffany Vo, a fourth-year doctoral graduate student in the Mikos lab, earned a Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research for her work on the project. -


See more at: Liquid to gel to bone


----------



## ScienceRocks

*
A molecular toolkit for gene silencing*



> (Nanowerk News) The team of Johannes Zuber at the IMP in Vienna, Austria, managed to overcome remaining key limitations of RNA interference (RNAi) - a unique method to specifically shut off genes. By using an optimized design, the scientists were able to inhibit genes with greatly enhanced efficiency and accuracy. The new method facilitates the search for drug targets and improves the interpretation of experimental results. The IMP will make this &#8222;RNAi toolkit&#8220; available to researchers. Results of the study are published in the current issue of Cell Reports




Read more: A molecular toolkit for gene silencing


----------



## ScienceRocks

*World&#8217;s Smallest Pacemaker Can Be Implanted without Surgery*

New cardiac devices are small enough to be delivered through blood vessels into the heart. 
&#8226; By Susan Young on December 13, 2013 




> Tiny ticker: A new pacemaker is small enough to fit inside the heart and can be implanted through a patient&#8217;s veins.
> 
> Pacemaker surgery typically requires a doctor to make an incision above a patient&#8217;s heart, dig a cavity into which they can implant the heartbeat-regulating device, and then connect the pulse generator to wires delivered through a vein near the collarbone. Such surgery could soon be completely unnecessary. Instead, doctors could employ miniaturized wireless pacemakers that can be delivered into the heart through a major vein in the thigh.
> 
> On Monday, doctors in Austria implanted one such device into a patient&#8212;the first participant in a human trial of what device-manufacturer Medtronic says is the smallest pacemaker in the world. The device is 24 millimeters long and 0.75 cubic centimeters in volume&#8212;a tenth the size of a conventional pacemaker. Earlier this year, another device manufacturer, St. Jude Medical, bought a startup called Nanostim that makes another tiny pacemaker, and St. Jude is offering it to patients in Europe. This device is 41 millimeters long and one cubic centimeter in volume.
> 
> Doctors can implant such pacemakers into the heart through blood vessels, via an incision in the thigh. They use steerable, flexible tubes called catheters to push the pacemakers through a large vein.



Miniaturized Pacemakers Help Doctors Treat Heart Patients without Surgery | MIT Technology Review


----------



## ScienceRocks

*You Won't Believe How Accurate GE's New CT Scanner Is*



> Even after 40 years of service, X-ray computed tomography (better known as CT scans) can be a challenge to capture. If the patient moves even a nudge, the image will come out blurry. But with GE's new Revolution CT, doctors will be able to image the entirety of your innards in the span of a single heartbeat. Literally.
> 
> The Revolution leverages a high resolution camera paired with a motion correcting system&#8212;the medical equivalent of your camera's image stabilizer&#8212;to quickly and easily capture previously-uncooperative organs like a beating human heart.
> 
> "Revolution CT is able to scan even the most challenging patients, day in and day out, with remarkably clear images," Steve Gray, leader of Molecular Imaging & Computed Tomography at GE Healthcare said in a press statement. "This will be the first CT scanner that's right for everybody in every clinical specialty."



You Won't Believe How Accurate GE's New CT Scanner Is


----------



## itfitzme

> Researchers in Australia have successfully grown a human kidney from stem cells
> 
> During self-organization, different types of cells arrange themselves with respect to each other to create the complex structures that exist within an organ, in this case, the kidney, Professor Melissa Little of University of Queenslands Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB), who led the study, said in a statement. The fact that such stem cell populations can undergo self-organization in the laboratory bodes well for the future of tissue bioengineering to replace damaged and diseased organs and tissues.



Kidney Grown From Stem Cells For The First Time, Australian Scientists Call Breakthrough ?An Amazing Process?


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New Delivery Vehicle Developed for Gene Therapy*

GEN | News Highlights:New Delivery Vehicle Developed for Gene Therapy



> Scientists at the Polytechnic Institute of New York University (NYU-Poly) and the NYU College of Dentistry (NYUCD) report the development of a carrier that is five times more efficient in delivering DNA into cells than today's commercial reagent vector delivery methods. The new system is a peptide-polymer hybrid, assembled from two separate, less effective vectors that are used to carry DNA into cells.
> 
> Results of their study, &#8220;Long Term Efficient Gene Delivery Using Polyethylenimine with Modified Tat Peptide,&#8221; were published in Biomaterials. The findings were the result of a collaborative research project conducted by Seiichi Yamano, Ph.D., at NYUCD and Jin Montclare, Ph.D., at NYU-Poly. The outcome of the study could help researchers better understand gene function and ultimately improve gene therapy, according to Drs. Yamano and Montclare.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Study confirms a gene linked to Asperger Syndrome and empathy*

by Alexandra Buxton 



> (Medical Xpress)&#8212;Scientists have confirmed that variations in a particular gene play a key role in the autism spectrum condition known as Asperger Syndrome. They have also found that variations in the same gene are also linked to differences in empathy levels in the general population.



Study confirms a gene linked to Asperger Syndrome and empathy


----------



## william the wie

Just lurking for alerts.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists 'print' new eye cells*



> Scientists say they have been able to successfully print new eye cells that could be used to treat sight loss.
> 
> The proof-of-principle work in the journal Biofabrication was carried out using animal cells.
> 
> The Cambridge University team says it paves the way for grow-your-own therapies for people with damage to the light-sensitive layer of tissue at back of the eye - the retina.
> 
> More tests are needed before human trials can begin.
> &#8220;
> 
> This is a step in the right direction as the retina is often affected in many of the common eye conditions, causing loss of central vision which stops people watching TV and seeing the faces of loved ones&#8221;
> 
> At the moment the results are preliminary and show that an inkjet printer can be used to print two types of cells from the retina of adult rats&#8213;ganglion cells and glial cells.



BBC News - Scientists 'print' new eye cells


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Stress gene linked to heart attacks*



> A stress gene has been linked to having a higher risk of dying from a heart attack or heart disease.
> 
> Heart patients with the genetic change had a 38% increased risk of heart attack or death, say US researchers.
> 
> Personalised medicine may lead to better targeting of psychological or drug treatment to those most at risk, they report in PLOS ONE.
> 
> The study adds to evidence stress may directly increase heart disease risk, says the British Heart Foundation.
> 
> A team at Duke University School of Medicine studied a single DNA letter change in the human genome, which has been linked to being more vulnerable to the effects of stress.



BBC News - Stress gene linked to heart attacks


----------



## ScienceRocks

*UCLA researcher highlights advances in nanotechnology's fight against cancer*

4 hours ago by Brianna Deane 



> (Phys.org) &#8212;As cancer maintains its standing as the second leading cause of death in the U.S., researchers have continued their quest for safer and more effective treatments. Among the most promising advances has been the rise of nanomedicine, the application of tiny materials and devices whose sizes are measured in the billionths of a meter to detect, diagnose and treat disease.




 Read more at: UCLA researcher highlights advances in nanotechnology's fight against cancer


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Researchers have discovered a cause of aging in mammals that may be reversible.*

Researchers find a cause of aging that can be reversed


> The essence of this finding is a series of molecular events that enable communication inside cells between the nucleus and mitochondria. As communication breaks down, aging accelerates. By administering a molecule naturally produced by the human body, scientists restored the communication network in older mice. Subsequent tissue samples showed key biological hallmarks that were comparable to those of much younger animals.
> 
> "The aging process we discovered is like a married couple&#8212;when they are young, they communicate well, but over time, living in close quarters for many years, communication breaks down," said Harvard Medical School Professor of Genetics David Sinclair, senior author on the study. "And just like with a couple, restoring communication solved the problem."
> 
> This study was a joint project between Harvard Medical School, the National Institute on Aging, and the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, where Sinclair also holds a position.
> 
> The findings are published Dec. 19 in Cell.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists successfully synthesize red blood cells*
Scientists successfully synthesize red blood cells | DVICE



> For over 10 years, biological chemist Samuel Danishefsky has researched the possibility of synthesizing erythropoietin (EPO), the protein hormone necessary for producing red blood cells. This hormone is key in creating red blood cells from scratch. Now, Danishefsky and his team at Sloane Kettering Institute for Cancer Research have done just that: they created a version of EPO in their lab from scratch.
> 
> EPO, a protein that comes with an attached sugar, is naturally produced in the body by the kidneys. It is an essential component for the body to produce red blood cells, stimulating the process in the bone marrow. Red blood cells are key in how much oxygen the blood can carry. EPO also helps the body create hemoglobin, which carries this oxygen through the blood. It is often used to treat conditions like anemia. Unfortunately, it is also often used as a performance enhancing drug.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Turning back time: ageing reversed in mice*

17:52 19 December 2013 by Laasya Samhita
For similar stories, visit the Cancer Topic Guide



> Imagine if we could turn back time. A team that has identified a new way in which cells age has also reversed the process in old mice whose bodies appear younger in several ways. The discovery has implications for understanding age-related diseases including cancers, neurodegenerative disorders and diabetes.
> 
> One way all mammalian cells produce energy is via aerobic respiration, in which large molecules are broken down into smaller ones, releasing energy in the process. This mainly occurs in the mitochondria &#8211; the "powerhouses" of cells. Mitochondria carry their own genomes, but some of the cellular components needed for respiration are produced partly by the nucleus, so the two must coordinate their activities.
> 
> As we age, mitochondrial function declines, which can lead to conditions such as Alzheimer's disease and diabetes. To investigate why this decline occurs, Ana Gomes at Harvard Medical School and her colleagues compared the levels of messenger RNA (mRNA) &#8211; molecules that convey genetic information around a cell &#8211; for the cellular components needed for respiration in the skeletal muscle of 6 and 22-month-old mice.



Turning back time: ageing reversed in mice - health - 19 December 2013 - New Scientist

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-25445748


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Indian scientists invent insulin pills for diabetics*

Kounteya Sinha,TNN | Dec 19, 2013, 11.43 AM IST



> LONDON: In a big breakthrough, Indian scientists have done what medical science has been trying to achieve since 1930 - an insulin pill for diabetics.
> 
> Since insulin's crucial discovery nearly a century ago, countless diabetes patients have had to inject themselves with the life-saving medicine.
> 
> Now Indian scientists have reported a new development toward a long-sought insulin pill that could save millions the pain of daily shots.
> 
> Published in the American Chemical Society journal, the advance could someday not only eliminate the "ouch" factor but also get needle-wary &#8212; and weary &#8212; patients to take their medicine when they should.
> 
> For years, researchers have sought a way to transform delivery of this therapy from a shot to a pill, but it has been a challenge.
> 
> The body's digestive enzymes that are so good at breaking down food also break down insulin before it can get to work.



Indian scientists invent insulin pills for diabetics - The Times of India


----------



## ScienceRocks

*
Patient 'progressing' after first artificial heart implant in France*



> By Laurence Benhamou (AFP) &#8211; 4 hours ago
> 
> Paris &#8212; A 75-year-old man who this week became the first person to receive an artificial heart developed by French biomedical firm Carmat was progressing well, doctors said Saturday.
> 
> The patient was "progressing and recuperating", said surgeon Christian Latremouille, who was among the 16-strong team of doctors who performed the operation at the Georges Pompidou Hospital in Paris on Wednesday.
> 
> Artificial hearts have already been in use for many years as a temporary fix for patients with chronic heart problems.
> 
> The Carmat product aims at providing a longer-term solution to bridge the wait for a donor heart and enable hospitalised patients to return home and maybe even resume work.
> 
> "He was nearing the end of his life," Latremouille told a press conference, adding that the surgery had gone according to plan. "The intervention took place in good conditions... There were no complications linked to the innovative nature of the implant operation," he said.
> 
> "He is not walking yet, but we will try to get him sitting and then standing soon enough. The objective is for him to have a normal life."
> 
> The artificial heart, a self-contained unit implanted in the patient's chest, uses soft "biomaterials" and an array of sensors to mimic the contractions of the heart.
> 
> The goal is to lessen the risk of blood clots and rejection by the immune system.
> 
> The patient will have to wear a belt of lithium batteries to power the heart.
> 
> Cardiac surgeon Alain Carpentier, who led the operation and who has spent 25 years working on the development of the artificial heart, said he was grateful to the patient for taking part in the trial. "He has a lot of humour. He's a very good patient," he told reporters.
> 
> More volunteers could soon benefit from the 900-gramme (31-ounce) device, according to Philippe Pouletty, who co-founded Carmat with Carpentier.



AFP: Patient 'progressing' after first artificial heart implant in France


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Portable scanner designed to make eye exams quicker and easier*




> If you're like a lot of people, you don't make an annual trip to the ophthalmologist to get your eyes checked ... and you really ought to, in order to catch any problems before it's too late. If it were possible to get them checked at a regular doctor's office or clinic, though, perhaps you might do so more often. That's one of the reasons that a team at MIT have designed a new hand-held retinal scanner, that can quickly and easily be used anywhere.
> 
> Ordinarily, eye exams are carried out using relatively large instruments that are permanently located in an optometrist or ophthalmologist's office. The portable prototype MIT device, by contrast, is about the size of a consumer camcorder. It can "read" a patient's eye in seconds, using a single measurement to look for conditions such as diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma and macular degeneration.



http://www.gizmag.com/mit-portable-retinal-oct-scanner/30225/


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Gene therapy for human skin disease produces long-term benefits*



> Stem cell-based gene therapy holds promise for the treatment of devastating genetic skin diseases, but the long-term clinical outcomes of this approach have been unclear. In a study online December 26th in the ISSCR's journal Stem Cell Reports, published by Cell Press, researchers evaluated a patient with a genetic skin disorder known as epidermolysis bullosa (EB) nearly seven years after he had undergone a gene therapy procedure as part of a clinical trial. The study revealed that a small number of skin stem cells transplanted into the patient's legs were sufficient to restore normal skin function, without causing any adverse side effects.



Gene therapy for human skin disease produces long-term benefits


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Study identifies potential therapeutic target for incurable, rare type of soft-tissue cancer*



> A deadly, rare type of soft-tissue cancer may be completely eradicated simply by inhibiting a key protein involved in its growth, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers report.
> 
> 
> In the study, published online today in Cell Reports, scientists found that inhibiting the action of a protein called BRD4 caused cancer cells to die in a mouse model of malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNSTs).
> 
> "This study identifies a potential new therapeutic target to combat MPNST, an incurable type of cancer that is typically fatal," said Dr. Lu Le, Assistant Professor of Dermatology at UT Southwestern and senior author of the study. "The findings also provide important insight into what causes these tumors to develop."



Study identifies potential therapeutic target for incurable, rare type of soft-tissue cancer


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New genetic clues for rheumatoid arthritis 'cure'*



> An international team of researchers has found more than 40 new areas in DNA that increase the risk of rheumatoid arthritis.
> 
> The work is the largest genetic study ever carried out, involving nearly 30,000 patients.
> 
> The investigators believe new drugs could be developed to target these areas that could one day provide a cure for the disease.
> 
> The findings are published in the Journal Nature


BBC News - New genetic clues for rheumatoid arthritis 'cure'


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Vitamin E may slow functional decline in Alzheimer&#8217;s patients, study finds*



> The caregiver time was lowered by approximately two hours per day in the vitamin E group.
> According to a new release from the JAMA Network Journals, vitamin E may help Alzheimer&#8217;s patients. Researchers discovered that a daily dosage of 2,000 IUs of vitamin E for patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer&#8217;s disease slowed functional decline and lowered caregiver time in helping patients.
> 
> Alpha tocopherol, a fat-soluble vitamin and antioxidant, has not been examined in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer&#8217;s disease . In patients with moderately severe Alzheimer&#8217;s disease, vitamin E was revealed to be effective in abating clinical progression. In addition, the drug memantine has been revealed to be effective in patients with Alzheimer&#8217;s disease and moderately severe dementia.




Vitamin E may slow functional decline in Alzheimer?s patients, study finds | Science Recorder


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Novel noninvasive therapy prevents breast cancer formation in mice*



> A novel breast-cancer therapy that partially reverses the cancerous state in cultured breast tumor cells and prevents cancer development in mice, could one day provide a new way to treat early stages of the disease without resorting to surgery, chemotherapy or radiation, a multi-institutional team led by researchers from the Wyss Institute of Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University reported January 1 in Science Translational Medicine.
> 
> The therapy emerged from a sophisticated effort to reverse-engineer gene networks to identify genes that drive cancer. The same strategy could lead to many new therapies that disable cancer-causing genes no current drugs can stop, and it also can be used to find therapies for other diseases.




Novel noninvasive therapy prevents breast cancer formation in mice


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Shingles rash linked to higher risk of stroke*


> Shingles, the nerve rash in adulthood caused by reactivation of the chickenpox virus, is an independent risk factor for stroke and other blood clot events, the largest study to confirm the association has found.
> Publishing their findings in Neurology, the journal of the American Academy of Neurology, the researchers found that shingles was a risk factor for stroke and transient ischemic attack (TIA, a mini-stroke).
> 
> The increased risk was independent of other factors known to raise the chances of vascular events, including obesity, smoking and high cholesterol.
> 
> The size of the increase in risk was by three-quarters for some, the researchers say.
> 
> People under 40 years of age who had had shingles were 74% more likely to have a stroke than those who had not suffered the rash.



Shingles rash linked to higher risk of stroke - Medical News Today


----------



## JimBowie1958

Matthew said:


> *Indian scientists invent insulin pills for diabetics*
> 
> Kounteya Sinha,TNN | Dec 19, 2013, 11.43 AM IST
> 
> 
> 
> 
> LONDON: In a big breakthrough, Indian scientists have done what medical science has been trying to achieve since 1930 - an insulin pill for diabetics.
> 
> Since insulin's crucial discovery nearly a century ago, countless diabetes patients have had to inject themselves with the life-saving medicine.
> 
> Now Indian scientists have reported a new development toward a long-sought insulin pill that could save millions the pain of daily shots.
> 
> Published in the American Chemical Society journal, the advance could someday not only eliminate the "ouch" factor but also get needle-wary  and weary  patients to take their medicine when they should.
> 
> For years, researchers have sought a way to transform delivery of this therapy from a shot to a pill, but it has been a challenge.
> 
> The body's digestive enzymes that are so good at breaking down food also break down insulin before it can get to work.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Indian scientists invent insulin pills for diabetics - The Times of India
Click to expand...


Hopefully this would also remove or less the need to refrigerate the insulin. During a disaster that takes out the electrical system, diabetics are in a situation where their insulin supplies are at risk due to lack of refrigeration.


----------



## JimBowie1958

Matthew said:


> *Study confirms a gene linked to Asperger Syndrome and empathy*
> 
> by Alexandra Buxton
> 
> 
> 
> 
> (Medical Xpress)Scientists have confirmed that variations in a particular gene play a key role in the autism spectrum condition known as Asperger Syndrome. They have also found that variations in the same gene are also linked to differences in empathy levels in the general population.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Study confirms a gene linked to Asperger Syndrome and empathy
Click to expand...


Is having blonde hair a 'condition'?

Asperger's Syndrome is not a condition, it is simply a different way of thinking. Some of our most brilliant people have been Aspies, in all likelihood. If someone could have removed Tesla's Asperger's syndrome, would ha have remained as brilliant as he was?

Retrospective diagnoses of autism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Turning off the &#8216;aging genes&#8217;*

Computer algorithm developed by TAU researchers identifies genes that could be transformed to stop the aging process 

January 3, 2014


> Tel Aviv University researchers have developed a computer algorithm that predicts which genes can be &#8220;turned off&#8221; to create the same anti-aging effect as calorie restriction*. The findings, reported in Nature Communications, could lead to the development of new drugs to treat aging.
> 
> &#8220;Most algorithms try to find drug targets that kill cells to treat cancer or bacterial infections,&#8221; says Keren Yizhak, a doctoral student in Prof. Eytan Ruppin&#8217;s laboratory. &#8220;Our algorithm is the first in our field to look for drug targets not to kill cells, but to transform them from a diseased state into a healthy one.&#8221;



Turning off the ?aging genes? | KurzweilAI


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Lung Cancer Rates in US Declining, CDC Finds*



> The percentage of Americans developing lung cancer every year is dropping, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
> 
> On average, 78 of every 100,000 men in the U.S. developed lung cancer in 2009, down from 87 per 100,000 in 2005, according to the report. That's a decline of 2.6 percent in men's rate of lung cancer.
> 
> Similarly for women, lung cancer rates decreased 1.1 percent, dropping to 54 cases in every 100,000 women in 2009, from 57 in 2005.




Lung Cancer Rates in US Declining, CDC Finds | LiveScience


----------



## ScienceRocks

*
New device can reduce sleep apnea episodes by 70 percent, study finds*

The new device has also been found to significantly reduce daytime sleepiness.



> Typical treatment for sleep apnea is a mask that sufferers wear while sleeping that is large and uncomfortable. As a result, one study found that between 46 and 83 percent of patients do not wear it consistently, The New York Times reports. A new, less uncomfortable treatment, called  Inspire® Upper Airway Stimulation (UAS) therapy, could soon replace the masks. The method is currently being tested and has been found to reduce sleep apnea episodes by 70 percent. It has also been found to significantly reduce daytime sleepiness, a press release obtained by EurekAlert explains. The Stimulation Therapy for Apnea Reduction (STAR) trial was conducted at 22 centers in the US and Europe.
> 
> Sleep apnea is much more than something that just impacts a person&#8217;s sleep; it can be a very serious condition. It affects more than 8 million men and 4 million women in the U.S. Over half of those with sleep apnea are overweight, a significant statistic as the population of the U.S. gets heavier. Sleep apnea occurs when there are repeated collapses of the upper airways during sleep. When this occurs, patients stop breathing, often for a minute or longer. The condition can lead to increased risk for stroke, heart attack, high blood pressure and death.



New device can reduce sleep apnea episodes by 70 percent, study finds | Science Recorder


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Two-in-one nanoparticles exploit tumor cells to precisely deliver multiple drugs*


> A common strategy for treating tumors is combining two or more drugs, which has the effect of decreasing toxicity and increasing the synergistic effects between the drugs. However, the efficacy of this kind of cocktail treatment suffers when the drugs require access to different parts of the cell, a bit like fighting a battle by depositing all your archers on the same spot as your infantrymen. By making use of nanoparticle-based carriers, researchers at North Carolina State University are able to transport multiple drugs into cancerous cells optimally and precisely, in maneuvers that any field commander would be proud of.
> 
> Their research has focused on multiple scenarios of drugs, including those targeted for gene therapy or chemotherapy, but all rely on the same nanoscale drug delivery mechanism or &#8220;nanodepot." In it, an outer gel shell surrounds a liposomal core, each layer bearing a different drug. The shell and core are collectively known as &#8220;Gelipo."



Two-in-one nanoparticles exploit tumor cells to precisely deliver multiple drugs


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists heal broken heart with new medical superglue*


> The human heart is a delicate organ and can be damaged easily. When that happens, doctors have to repair it quickly. Traditionally, if the heart needs repairing, doctors use invasive stitches and staples, although new advances in genetic engineering may help. However, a team of research scientists at Harvard have created a medical superglue that is strong enough to hold heart tissue together.
> 
> The use of stitches and staples to repair heart damage comes with major problems. Not only is it difficult to create a watertight seal with both, but they also can damage delicate heart tissue. They don&#8217;t work well in wet environments and are often affected by the pressure of the heart as it beats (it might be delicate, but it&#8217;s also powerful). Sometimes, depending on the material used, the stitches and staples don&#8217;t react well when exposed to blood, which is obviously a huge problem. That said, this new medical superglue solves these issues: after being exposed to UV light, it creates a watertight seal in seconds and can withstand the environment in and around the heart.



Scientists heal broken heart with new medical superglue | DVICE


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Cancer Cure Found For Metastasizing Cells? TRAIL Treatment 100 Percent Effective In Mice *



> A cancer cure may have been found metastasizing cells, with researchers at Cornell University in New York claiming their cancer treatment was 100 percent effective in mice.
> 
> As previously reported by The Inquisitr, the cancer research establishment was criticized by James Watson, discoverer of the DNA structure, and he believes taking antioxidants can actually increase the risk of cancer, not reduce it as popularly believed.
> 
> While surgery and chemotherapy are effective at treating solid tumor lumps, around 90 percent of those who die during cancer treatment do so because of metastasizing cells, which means tiny pieces of the cancer have broken off and spread to other portions of the body through the blood circulation system, creating even more tumors. So the trick to any cancer cure would be figuring out a way to prevent the spread of cancerous cells.
> 
> Normally, when cells develop defects they will often trigger apoptosis, or programmed cell death. Apoptosis can be described as the &#8220;orchestrated collapse of a cell characterized by membrane blebbing, cell shrinkage, condensation of chromatin, and fragmentation of DNA followed by rapid engulfment of the corpse by neighboring cells.&#8221; In general, cancerous cells are normal body cells that have had portions of their tiny machinery break down and they&#8217;re now experiencing out of control replication and growth.



Cancer Cure Found For Metastasizing Cells? TRAIL Treatment 100 Percent Effective In Mice

Fuck all you people that want to defund cures for curing this nasty disease from hell.


----------



## Kosh

Matthew said:


> *Cancer Cure Found For Metastasizing Cells? TRAIL Treatment 100 Percent Effective In Mice *
> 
> 
> 
> 
> A cancer cure may have been found metastasizing cells, with researchers at Cornell University in New York claiming their cancer treatment was 100 percent effective in mice.
> 
> As previously reported by The Inquisitr, the cancer research establishment was criticized by James Watson, discoverer of the DNA structure, and he believes taking antioxidants can actually increase the risk of cancer, not reduce it as popularly believed.
> 
> While surgery and chemotherapy are effective at treating solid tumor lumps, around 90 percent of those who die during cancer treatment do so because of metastasizing cells, which means tiny pieces of the cancer have broken off and spread to other portions of the body through the blood circulation system, creating even more tumors. So the trick to any cancer cure would be figuring out a way to prevent the spread of cancerous cells.
> 
> Normally, when cells develop defects they will often trigger apoptosis, or programmed cell death. Apoptosis can be described as the orchestrated collapse of a cell characterized by membrane blebbing, cell shrinkage, condensation of chromatin, and fragmentation of DNA followed by rapid engulfment of the corpse by neighboring cells. In general, cancerous cells are normal body cells that have had portions of their tiny machinery break down and theyre now experiencing out of control replication and growth.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Cancer Cure Found For Metastasizing Cells? TRAIL Treatment 100 Percent Effective In Mice
> 
> Fuck all you people that want to defund cures for curing this nasty disease from hell.
Click to expand...


So why did you vote for Obama twice then?


----------



## JimBowie1958

Matthew said:


> *Cancer Cure Found For Metastasizing Cells? TRAIL Treatment 100 Percent Effective In Mice *
> 
> 
> 
> 
> A cancer cure may have been found metastasizing cells, with researchers at Cornell University in New York claiming their cancer treatment was 100 percent effective in mice.
> 
> As previously reported by The Inquisitr, the cancer research establishment was criticized by James Watson, discoverer of the DNA structure, and he believes taking antioxidants can actually increase the risk of cancer, not reduce it as popularly believed.
> 
> While surgery and chemotherapy are effective at treating solid tumor lumps, around 90 percent of those who die during cancer treatment do so because of metastasizing cells, which means tiny pieces of the cancer have broken off and spread to other portions of the body through the blood circulation system, creating even more tumors. So the trick to any cancer cure would be figuring out a way to prevent the spread of cancerous cells.
> 
> Normally, when cells develop defects they will often trigger apoptosis, or programmed cell death. Apoptosis can be described as the orchestrated collapse of a cell characterized by membrane blebbing, cell shrinkage, condensation of chromatin, and fragmentation of DNA followed by rapid engulfment of the corpse by neighboring cells. In general, cancerous cells are normal body cells that have had portions of their tiny machinery break down and theyre now experiencing out of control replication and growth.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Cancer Cure Found For Metastasizing Cells? TRAIL Treatment 100 Percent Effective In Mice
> 
> Fuck all you people that want to defund cures for curing this nasty disease from hell.
Click to expand...


Hasn't Watson gotten a bit senile?


----------



## jon_berzerk

some scientists are saying 

that when we got rid of the micro worms found in pork 

it  led to the rather recent outbreak of allergies


----------



## ScienceRocks

*
Pancreatic cancer cells killed in just six days by new drug, British scientists claim*

Pancreatic cancer cells killed in just six days, UK scientists claim | Metro News



> A treatment for one of the deadliest cancers has been uncovered by British researchers, who say it could wipe out the disease in less than a week.
> 
> The new drug, which targets pancreatic cancer but could be just as effective at treating other kinds of tumours, is to be tested on humans by the Cambridge university team later this year.
> 
> If the trials are successful, the therapy, which destroys a protective coating around the diseased cells, could be available to patients within a decade.
> 
> Research leader Dr Douglas Fearon said: &#8216;By enabling the body to use its own defences to attack cancer, this approach has the potential to greatly improve treatment of solid tumours.
> 
> &#8216;That is not just restricted to pancreatic cancer but would be effective in many forms, including ovarian and lung cancer, because they react similarly.&#8217;
> 
> Pancreatic cancer, which killed Apple founder Steve Jobs and actor Patrick Swayze, is the fifth most lethal cancer in Britain, killing 7,900 people a year.
> 
> Only four per cent of sufferers survive beyond five years after diagnosis.
> 
> It is rarely detected early and is often too advanced to be treated, but the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute researchers believe their new drug, known as AMD3100 or Plerixafor, could work even with late diagnoses.
> 
> It breaks down a thick wall of chemokine protein which forms a protective barrier around pancreatic cancer cells and prevents the body&#8217;s T cells from breaking through to attack the tumour.
> 
> Plerixafor is used with other drugs which boost the helpful T cells&#8217; activity.
> 
> In tests on mice, virtually all tumours were wiped out within six days &#8211; the first time this has been achieved in pancreatic cancer research.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Lukemia treatment given shot in the arm by artificial bone marrow development*



> European researchers have announced a breakthrough in the development of artificial bone marrow which expands the ability of scientists to reproduce stem cells in the lab and could lead to increased availability of treatment for leukemia sufferers.
> 
> One of the main treatments for the blood cancer is the injection of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). These HSCs can either be harvested from a compatible donor or cultivated from the patient&#8217;s own bone marrow in the lab.
> 
> The greatest challenges in producing HSCs in the lab has been their limited longevity outside of the bone marrow environment. This problem may soon be circumvented with the creation of an artificial bone marrow by the Young Investigators Group for Stem Cell&#8211; Material Interactions.
> 
> Headed by Dr. Cornelia Lee-Thedieck the group consists of scientists from the KIT Institute of Functional Interfaces (IFG), the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Stuttgart, and Tübingen University.


Lukemia treatment given shot in the arm by artificial bone marrow development


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Patients with rare sight disorder get vision partly restored via gene therapy*



> Oxford trial that improved vision in choroideremia raises hopes gene therapy may be applied to common causes of blindness
> 
> Two men with progressive blindness have regained some of their vision after taking part in the first clinical trial of a gene therapy for the condition.
> 
> The men were among six patients to have experimental treatment for a rare, inherited, disorder called choroideremia, which steadily destroys eyesight and leaves people blind in middle age.



Patients with rare sight disorder get vision partly restored via gene therapy | Science | The Guardian


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Illumina breaks genome cost barrier*

Illumina breaks genome cost barrier | UTSanDiego.com



> SAN FRANCISCO &#8212; The cost of sequencing a human genome has been brought below $1,000, San Diego DNA sequencing giant Illumina said Tuesday, opening the door to bringing the full benefit of 21st-century genomic medicine to the public.
> 
> The lower cost is made possible by the new HiSeq X Ten Sequencing System, announced by Illumina chief executive Jay Flatley at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco.
> 
> Bringing the price below $1,000 is like &#8220;breaking the sound barrier,&#8221; Flatley said. That cost level long has been considered the price below which mass adoption of genome sequencing becomes feasible.
> 
> &#8220;There was a collective gasp that went across the room,&#8221; said Joe Panetta, chief executive of Biocom, the San Diego-based life science trade group.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Google contact lens could be option for diabetics*

17 minutes ago by Martha Mendoza 



> Brian Otis gingerly holds what looks like a typical contact lens on his index finger. Look closer. Sandwiched in this lens are two twinkling glitter-specks loaded with tens of thousands of miniaturized transistors. It's ringed with a hair-thin antenna. Together these remarkable miniature electronics can monitor glucose levels in tears of diabetics and then wirelessly transmit them to a handheld device.
> 
> "It doesn't look like much, but it was a crazy amount of work to get everything so very small," he said before the project was unveiled Thursday.
> 
> During years of soldering hair-thin wires to miniaturize electronics, Otis burned his fingertips so often that he can no longer feel the tiny chips he made from scratch in Google's Silicon Valley headquarters, a small price to pay for what he says is the smallest wireless glucose sensor ever made.



Google contact lens could be option for diabetics


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Prostate cancer vaccines receive a boost in funding*
Published on January 16, 2014 at 11:44 AM · No Comments  


By Sally Robertson B.Sc.



> The development of two new vaccines that are hoped to offer an alternative to castration therapy for men with recurring prostate cancer, is due for an $8 million boost in funding.
> 
> The pharmaceutical company Madison Vaccines Incorporated (MVI) recently announced the success of a finance round led by Venture Investors, LLC, that has secured the funds to expand a Phase II trial of the MVI-816 vaccine that was otherwise in danger of being &#8220;too small to be convincing," explains MVI&#8217;s scientific co-founder, Douglas McNeel.
> 
> In addition, the funding will enable safety studies of another of the company&#8217;s DNA vaccines (MVI-118) to go ahead.


Prostate cancer vaccines receive a boost in funding


----------



## william the wie

Matthew said:


> *Prostate cancer vaccines receive a boost in funding*
> Published on January 16, 2014 at 11:44 AM · No Comments
> 
> 
> By Sally Robertson B.Sc.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The development of two new vaccines that are hoped to offer an alternative to castration therapy for men with recurring prostate cancer, is due for an $8 million boost in funding.
> 
> The pharmaceutical company Madison Vaccines Incorporated (MVI) recently announced the success of a finance round led by Venture Investors, LLC, that has secured the funds to expand a Phase II trial of the MVI-816 vaccine that was otherwise in danger of being too small to be convincing," explains MVIs scientific co-founder, Douglas McNeel.
> 
> In addition, the funding will enable safety studies of another of the companys DNA vaccines (MVI-118) to go ahead.
> 
> 
> 
> Prostate cancer vaccines receive a boost in funding
Click to expand...

What level of savings are we looking at in terms of 
lives

recovery time

quality of life

costs

and how soon is earliest availability?


----------



## ScienceRocks

Call them up and find out...

*
Injected microparticles shown to greatly reduce heart attack damage*



> After a heart attack has occurred, inflammatory cells known as monocytes rush to the damaged tissue. This causes the heart to swell, reducing its ability to pump blood, and further damaging the tissue &#8211; a potentially lethal situation. Now, however, scientists have discovered that injectable microparticles can help stop that from happening.
> 
> Developed in a collaboration between Illinois' Northwestern University and the University of Sydney in Australia, the 500-nanometer-wide particles are made from a biocompatible, biodegradable polymer called poly (lactic-co-glycolic) acid. The substance is already approved by the FDA, for use in absorbable sutures. It's also being looked at for use in the treatment of diabetes and breast cancer.
> 
> When injected into the bloodstream within 24 hours of a heart attack, the negatively-charged microparticles attract the positively-charged monocytes, as they're on their way to the heart. When one of the monocytes bonds to a particle, a signal within the cell is triggered, telling it that it's dying. This causes it to change course and head for the spleen, the organ that disposes of dead cells.
> 
> As a result, inflammation of the heart is minimized. In animal models, this caused a 50 percent reduction in the size of heart lesions.
> 
> Lab tests have indicated that the microparticles could be also used to treat a number of other inflammatory diseases, such as West Nile virus, colitis, inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, and peritonitis.




Injected microparticles shown to greatly reduce heart attack damage

*DNA clamps could stop cancer in its tracks*




> Scientists have developed a special DNA clamp to act as a diagnostic nano machine. It's capable of detecting genetic mutations responsible for causing cancers, hemophilia, sickle cell anemia and other diseases, more efficiently than existing techniques. Not only can the clamp be used to develop more advanced screening tests, but it could also help create more efficient DNA-based nano machines for targeted drug delivery.
> 
> To catch diseases at their earliest stages, researchers have begun looking into creating quick screening tests for specific genetic mutations that pose the greatest risk of developing into life-threatening illnesses. When the nucleotide sequence that makes up a DNA strand is altered, it is understood to be a mutation; specific types of cancers are understood to be caused by certain mutations. Even if one single nucelotide base has been inserted, deleted or changed, it can change the entire DNA sequence &#8211; scientists call this a single point mutation.
> 
> To detect this type of mutation and others, researchers typically use molecular beacons or probes, which are DNA sequences that become fluorescent on detecting mutations in DNA strands. The team of international researchers that developed the DNA clamp state that their diagnostic nano machine allows them to more accurately differentiate between mutant and non-mutant DNA.




http://www.gizmag.com/dna-clamps-stop-cancer/30504/


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New Blood Test Could Diagnose Celiac Disease in 24 Hours*




> Written by Nina Lincoff | Published on January 17, 2014
> A new test for Celiac disease doesn't require a month or more of eating gluten or painful intestinal biopsies.
> 
> Whole blood tests are often used to diagnose infectious diseases, but up until now, they haven&#8217;t been used to identify autoimmune disorders like Celiac disease (CD).
> 
> Currently, the &#8220;gold-standard&#8221; for diagnosing gluten allergies is finding characteristic damage to the small intestine, says Jason Tye-Din, M.D., head of Celiac Research at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute at the University of Melbourne in Australia.
> 
> Unfortunately, that process can be very invasive and require weeks of consuming gluten, which is after all the root of the problem. Also, it's an option only after intestinal damage occurs.




New Blood Test Could Diagnose Celiac Disease in 24 Hours


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Clever chemistry improves a new class of antibiotics*


> As concerns about bacterial resistance to antibiotics grow, researchers are racing to find new kinds of drugs to replace ones that are no longer effective. One promising new class of molecules called acyldepsipeptides -- ADEPs -- kills bacteria in a way that no marketed antibacterial drug does -- by altering the pathway through which cells rid themselves of harmful proteins. Now, researchers from Brown University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have shown that giving the ADEPs more backbone can dramatically increase their biological potency. By modifying the structure of the ADEPs in ways that make them more rigid, the team prepared new ADEP analogs that are up to 1,200 times more potent than the naturally occurring molecule.
> 
> A paper describing the research was released on-line by the Journal of the American Chemical Society.




http://esciencenews.com/articles/2014/01/17/clever.chemistry.improves.a.new.class.antibiotics


----------



## itfitzme

> Smokers who kick the habit may reduce their risk of developing the blurred vision problem known as cataracts, new research shows.
> 
> This common medical condition -- in which the lens of the eye becomes progressively cloudy -- is a leading cause of impaired vision. But researchers in Sweden found that middle-aged men who smoked at least 15 cigarettes per day could lower their risk for cataracts over the course of two decades if they quit smoking.



consumer.healthday.com


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Nanoribbons let beating hearts power their own pacemakers*



> Researchers show that materials called piezoelectrics, packaged onto flexible strips attached to animal hearts, can supply power for medical devices where batteries pose problems.
> 
> Pacemakers supply electrical pulses so hearts can keep a steady beat -- and maybe now it's time for hearts to return the favor.
> 
> As electronics spread to smaller and smaller devices, a new technology called energy harvesting can in some cases solve the problem of supplying electrical power. Researchers at the University of Illinois-Champaign have shown they can harvest energy from the movement of internal organs to power pacemakers and other medical devices that today depend on hard-to-change batteries.
> 
> The researchers attached small flexible strips they call piezoelectric nanoribbons to organs like the hearts of cows, sheep, and pigs.
> 
> The research offers a new option for power pacemakers -- surgically embedded devices that issue electric pulses to keep hearts ticking rhythmically -- as well as heart rate monitors and other medical devices embedded in the human bodies.


Nanoribbons let beating hearts power their own pacemakers | Cutting Edge - CNET News


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Implant measures medication levels in bloodstream, in real time*


> Figuring out how much medication a patient should be taking can be a tricky business. Although things like age and weight are used as guidelines, factors such as the individual person's metabolism can have a marked effect on how effective the drugs are. With that in mind, scientists at the University of California, Santa Barbara have developed an implantable device that provides continuous real-time readings on how much medication is currently in a person's bloodstream.
> 
> Developed by researchers Tom Soh, Kevin Plaxco and Scott Ferguson, the microfluidic instrument is known as MEDIC (Microfluidic Electrochemical Detector for In vivo Concentrations).
> 
> It incorporates a central canal-like chamber, that's lined with gold electrodes. Extending out from those electrodes are DNA strands called aptamers. These can be tuned to recognize specific drug molecules.
> 
> When whole blood flows through the chamber, the aptamers detect the presence of the relatively small drug molecules amongst the larger and more numerous blood cells, and respond by wrapping around them. Upon doing so, each strand delivers electrons down into its electrode. This produces a small electrical current, which can be picked up and read by a computer.




Implant measures medication levels in bloodstream, in real time


----------



## JimBowie1958

Matthew said:


> *Implant measures medication levels in bloodstream, in real time*
> 
> 
> 
> Figuring out how much medication a patient should be taking can be a tricky business. Although things like age and weight are used as guidelines, factors such as the individual person's metabolism can have a marked effect on how effective the drugs are. With that in mind, scientists at the University of California, Santa Barbara have developed an implantable device that provides continuous real-time readings on how much medication is currently in a person's bloodstream.
> 
> Developed by researchers Tom Soh, Kevin Plaxco and Scott Ferguson, the microfluidic instrument is known as MEDIC (Microfluidic Electrochemical Detector for In vivo Concentrations).
> 
> It incorporates a central canal-like chamber, that's lined with gold electrodes. Extending out from those electrodes are DNA strands called aptamers. These can be tuned to recognize specific drug molecules.
> 
> When whole blood flows through the chamber, the aptamers detect the presence of the relatively small drug molecules amongst the larger and more numerous blood cells, and respond by wrapping around them. Upon doing so, each strand delivers electrons down into its electrode. This produces a small electrical current, which can be picked up and read by a computer.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Implant measures medication levels in bloodstream, in real time
Click to expand...


The new DUI test?


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Stem cells for human use can now be manufactured in Ireland*

Yahoo News UK & Ireland - Latest World News & UK News Headlines


> The first facility on the island of Ireland for the manufacture of stem cells is to open this morning at NUI Galway.
> 
> The Centre for Cell Manufacturing Ireland (CCMI) has received a license to operate from the Irish Medicines Board, and will now aid stem cell research at the university.
> 
> Research into new treatments for diseases using stem cells has been carried out at the Regenerative Medicine Institute (REMEDI) since 2004. The new facility allows human clinical trials to be carried out.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists Identify Neanderthal Genes in Modern Human DNA*



> In two new studies, genetic researchers have shown that about 20 percent of the Neanderthal genome survives in modern humans of non-African ancestry and identified exactly which areas of the human genome retain segments of Neanderthal DNA.
> 
> About 30,000 years ago, Homo sapiens migrating out of Africa began encountering Neanderthals, a lineage that had diverged from modern humans hundreds of thousands of years before. Despite their differences, Homo sapiens and Neanderthals mingled, and over time, produced children with genes from both lineages.
> 
> Today, the biological remnants of that collision between two distinct populations remain alive in the genomes of Europeans and East Asians.
> 
> The first study, reported in the journal Nature, examines how Neanderthals influence the genetic composition of modern humans.
> 
> Study&#8217;s senior author Dr David Reich of Harvard Medical School said: &#8220;the goal was to understand the biological impact of the gene flow between Neanderthals and modern humans.&#8221;




Scientists Identify Neanderthal Genes in Modern Human DNA | Anthropology | Sci-News.com


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Breakthrough Technology Enables Gene Silencing to Heal Wounds* 

Breakthrough Technology Enables Gene Silencing to Heal Wounds



> Newswise &#8212; A team of researchers led by an NIBIB grantee at Vanderbilt University has created a biodegradable scaffold that enables sustained, local delivery of gene-silencing factors called siRNA to promote tissue regeneration. The team recently used the scaffold to successfully deliver siRNA to mice in order to locally silence a gene normally responsible for inhibiting blood vessel formation.
> 
> The technology could provide a new approach for the treatment of chronic wounds, which afflict over six million patients in the U.S. and cost an estimated $25 billion dollars per year to treat.[1] Because diabetic patients are at increased risk for developing chronic wounds, these numbers are expected to rise as diabetes rates climb.
> 
> Using gene silencing to heal wounds
> 
> Blood vessels deliver important factors to wounds, such as oxygen, micronutrients, and growth factors. Studies suggest that increasing angiogenesis &#8211;the formation of new blood vessels&#8212; may help to heal wounds.


----------



## JimBowie1958

Matthew said:


> *Scientists Identify Neanderthal Genes in Modern Human DNA*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> In two new studies, genetic researchers have shown that about 20 percent of the Neanderthal genome survives in modern humans of non-African ancestry and identified exactly which areas of the human genome retain segments of Neanderthal DNA.
> 
> About 30,000 years ago, Homo sapiens migrating out of Africa began encountering Neanderthals, a lineage that had diverged from modern humans hundreds of thousands of years before. Despite their differences, Homo sapiens and Neanderthals mingled, and over time, produced children with genes from both lineages.
> 
> Today, the biological remnants of that collision between two distinct populations remain alive in the genomes of Europeans and East Asians.
> 
> The first study, reported in the journal Nature, examines how Neanderthals influence the genetic composition of modern humans.
> 
> Studys senior author Dr David Reich of Harvard Medical School said: the goal was to understand the biological impact of the gene flow between Neanderthals and modern humans.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Scientists Identify Neanderthal Genes in Modern Human DNA | Anthropology | Sci-News.com
Click to expand...


I am proud to be 3.7% Neanderthal.

Seriously.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*FDA approves PillCam video camera that you swallow*


> Colonoscopies can be an uncomfortable procedure for patients who may already be worried about what results will be found. When the results are inconclusive, a patient's options can be limited, causing further distress. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has now approved a device for use after an incomplete procedure that is minimally invasive and can achieve similar imaging results to a colonoscopy. PillCam Colon is a pill-sized camera that is swallowed and passes through a patient's gastrointestinal tract.



FDA approves PillCam video camera that you swallow

This is great news


----------



## JimBowie1958

Yahoo!

Bionic hand allows amputee to feel again

LONDON (Reuters) - Dennis Aabo Sorensen lost his left hand when a firework rocket he was holding exploded during New Year's Eve celebrations 10 years ago, and he never expected to feel anything with the stump again.

But for a while last year he regained his sense of touch after being attached to a "feeling" bionic hand that allowed him to grasp and identify objects even when blindfolded.

The prototype device, which was wired to nerves in the 36-year-old Dane's left arm, blurs the boundary between body and machine and scientists hope it could one day revolutionize the lives of many amputees.

There is still work to be done in miniaturizing components and tidying away trailing cables that mean the robotic hand has so far only been used in the lab, but Sorensen said the European research team behind the project had got the basics right.

"It was a great experience. It's amazing to feel something you haven't been able to feel for so many years," he told Reuters in a telephone interview. "It was pretty close to having the same feeling as in my normal hand."


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Credit card-sized device could analyze biopsy, help diagnose pancreatic cancer in minutes*



> (Phys.org) &#8212;Pancreatic cancer is a particularly devastating disease. At least 94 percent of patients will die within five years, and in 2013 it was ranked as one of the top 10 deadliest cancers.
> 
> Routine screenings for breast, colon and lung cancers have improved treatment and outcomes for patients with these diseases, largely because the cancer can be detected early. But because little is known about how pancreatic cancer behaves, patients often receive a diagnosis when it's already too late.
> 
> University of Washington scientists and engineers are developing a low-cost device that could help pathologists diagnose pancreatic cancer earlier and faster. The prototype can perform the basic steps for processing a biopsy, relying on fluid transport instead of human hands to process the tissue. The team presented its initial results this month (February 2014) at the SPIE Photonics West conference and recently filed a patent for this first-generation device and future technology advancements.



Credit card-sized device could analyze biopsy, help diagnose pancreatic cancer in minutes


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New bone-like material is lighter than water but as strong as steel*



> Materials shape human progress &#8211; think stone age or bronze age. The 21st century has been referred to as the molecular age, a time when scientists are beginning to manipulate materials at the atomic level to create new substances with astounding properties.
> 
> Taking a step in that direction, Jens Bauer at the Karlsruher Institute of Technology (KIT) and his colleagues have developed a bone-like material that is less dense than water, but as strong as some forms of steel. "This is the first experimental proof that such materials can exist," Bauer said.



New bone-like material is lighter than water but as strong as steel


----------



## Mr. H.

Science marches on.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Nanoparticles treat muscular dystrophy in mice*
Nanoparticles treat muscular dystrophy in mice -- ScienceDaily

Washington University in St. Louis


Summary:




> Researchers have demonstrated a new approach to treating muscular dystrophy. Mice with a form of this muscle-weakening disease showed improved strength and heart function when treated with nanoparticles loaded with rapamycin, an immunosuppressive drug recently found to improve recycling of cellular waste.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Science inches closer to real BioShock-style plasmids*



> In 1953, molecular biologists James Watson and Francis Crick released what would be one of the most groundbreaking scientific discoveries of the modern age. The publication of their research paper Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid in the scientific journal Nature marked the end of a heated race to find the molecular structure of DNA, marking the dawn of molecular genetics. But neither man (nor their then-uncredited co-discoverers Rosalind Franklin and Raymond Gosling) could have envisioned how their work would permeate into every facet of modern society, including pop culture.



Science inches closer to real BioShock-style plasmids | Ars Technica


----------



## ScienceRocks

*A Little Acid Turns Mouse Blood Into Brain, Heart And Stem Cells*



> Back in 1958, a young biologist at Cornell University made a stunning discovery.
> 
> He took a single cell from a carrot and then mixed it with some coconut milk. Days went by and the cell started dividing. Little roots formed. Stems started growing. Eventually, a whole new carrot plant rose up from the single cell.
> 
> Imagine if you could perform a similar feat with animal cells, even human cells.



A Little Acid Turns Mouse Blood Into Brain, Heart And Stem Cells : Shots - Health News : NPR


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Excess weight linked to brain changes that may relate to memory, emotions, and appetite*

Summary:


> Being overweight appears related to reduced levels of a molecule that reflects brain cell health in the hippocampus, a part of the brain involved in memory, learning, and emotions, and likely also involved in appetite control, according to a new study.



Excess weight linked to brain changes that may relate to memory, emotions, and appetite -- ScienceDaily


----------



## ScienceRocks

*NASA is working on Star Trek healing devices&#8212;'it's not sci-fi anymore'*



> NASA and Houston-based company GRoK Technologies will work on the development of new "breakthrough products," noninvasive medical technologies designed to "regenerate bone and muscle tissues." It really sounds like something out of Star Trek, but "it's not just sci-fi anymore."



NASA is working on Star Trek healing devices?'it's not sci-fi anymore'


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists identify gene linking brain structure to intelligence*

Posted on 11/02/2014 
King's College London - Scientists identify gene linking brain structure to intelligence



> For the first time, scientists at King&#8217;s College London have identified a gene linking the thickness of the grey matter in the brain to intelligence. The study is published today in Molecular Psychiatry and may help scientists understand biological mechanisms behind some forms of intellectual impairment.
> 
> The researchers looked at the cerebral cortex, the outermost layer of the human brain. It is known as &#8216;grey matter&#8217; and plays a key role in memory, attention, perceptual awareness, thought, language and consciousness. Previous studies have shown that the thickness of the cerebral cortex, or &#8216;cortical thickness&#8217;, closely correlates with intellectual ability, however no genes had yet been identified.
> 
> An international team of scientists, led by King&#8217;s, analysed DNA samples and MRI scans from 1,583 healthy 14 year old teenagers, part of the IMAGEN cohort. The teenagers also underwent a series of tests to determine their verbal and non-verbal intelligence.




King's College London - Scientists identify gene linking brain structure to intelligence


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists identify the switch that says it's time to sleep*


Posted By News On February 19, 2014 - 5:30pm


> The switch in the brain that sends us off to sleep has been identified by researchers at Oxford University's Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour in a study in fruit flies.
> 
> The switch works by regulating the activity of a handful of sleep-promoting nerve cells, or neurons, in the brain. The neurons fire when we're tired and need sleep, and dampen down when we're fully rested.
> 
> 'When you're tired, these neurons in the brain shout loud and they send you to sleep,' says Professor Gero Miesenböck of Oxford University, in whose laboratory the new research was performed.
> 
> Although the research was carried out in fruit flies, or Drosophila, the scientists say the sleep mechanism is likely to be relevant to humans.
> 
> Dr Jeffrey Donlea, one of the lead authors of the study, explains: 'There is a similar group of neurons in a region of the human brain. These neurons are also electrically active during sleep and, like the flies' cells, are the targets of general anaesthetics that put us to sleep. It's therefore likely that a molecular mechanism similar to the one we have discovered in flies also operates in humans.'
> 
> The researchers say that pinpointing the sleep switch might help us identify new targets for novel drugs &#8211; potentially to improve treatments for sleep disorders.
> 
> But there is much still to find out, and further research could give insight into the big unanswered question of why we need to sleep at all, they say.
> 
> 'The big question now is to figure out what internal signal the sleep switch responds to,' says Dr Diogo Pimentel of Oxford University, the other lead author of the study. 'What do these sleep-promoting cells monitor while we are awake?



Scientists identify the switch that says it's time to sleep | Science Codex


----------



## ScienceRocks

*DNA prostate test 'will predict deadliest cancer risk'*



> DNA testing can predict which men face the highest risk of deadly prostate cancer, scientists say.
> 
> The team at the Institute of Cancer Research, in London, say men could soon be offered genetic screening in a similar way to breast cancer in women.



BBC News - DNA prostate test 'will predict deadliest cancer risk'


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Can stem cells heal broken hearts?*



> The biggest ever stem cell trial involving heart attack patients has got under way in London. The study, which will involve 3,000 patients in 11 European countries, should show whether the treatment can cut death rates and repair damaged tissue after a heart attack.
> 
> All the patients will have standard treatment to widen their narrowed arteries, which involves inserting a small tube called a stent. In addition, half the patients will have stem cells taken from their bone marrow and injected into their heart




BBC News - Can stem cells heal broken hearts?


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Rutgers Scientists Identify Structure of Virus that Could Lead to Hepatitis C Vaccine *

Rutgers Scientists Identify Structure of Virus that Could Lead to Hepatitis C Vaccine | Media Relations



> Rutgers University scientists have determined the structure of a hepatitis C surface protein, a finding that could assist in the development of a vaccine to halt the spread of the the deadly disease that has infected 3.2 million Americans


----------



## ScienceRocks

*An Essential Step toward Printing Living Tissues *



> A new bioprinting method developed at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University and the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) creates intricately patterned 3D tissue constructs with multiple types of cells and tiny blood vessels.
> 
> The work represents a major step toward a longstanding goal of tissue engineers: creating human tissue constructs realistic enough to test drug safety and effectiveness.
> 
> The method also represents an early but important step toward building fully functional replacements for injured or diseased tissue that can be designed from CAT scan data using computer-aided design (CAD), printed in 3D at the push of a button, and used by surgeons to repair or replace damaged tissue.


Nanotechnology World: An Essential Step toward Printing Living Tissues


----------



## JimBowie1958

Matthew said:


> *An Essential Step toward Printing Living Tissues *
> 
> 
> 
> 
> A new bioprinting method developed at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University and the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) creates intricately patterned 3D tissue constructs with multiple types of cells and tiny blood vessels.
> 
> The work represents a major step toward a longstanding goal of tissue engineers: creating human tissue constructs realistic enough to test drug safety and effectiveness.
> 
> The method also represents an early but important step toward building fully functional replacements for injured or diseased tissue that can be designed from CAT scan data using computer-aided design (CAD), printed in 3D at the push of a button, and used by surgeons to repair or replace damaged tissue.
> 
> 
> 
> Nanotechnology World: An Essential Step toward Printing Living Tissues
Click to expand...


yeah, cause all we need now is designer flu out there.


----------



## ScienceRocks

JimBowie1958 said:


> Matthew said:
> 
> 
> 
> *An Essential Step toward Printing Living Tissues *
> 
> 
> 
> 
> A new bioprinting method developed at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University and the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) creates intricately patterned 3D tissue constructs with multiple types of cells and tiny blood vessels.
> 
> The work represents a major step toward a longstanding goal of tissue engineers: creating human tissue constructs realistic enough to test drug safety and effectiveness.
> 
> The method also represents an early but important step toward building fully functional replacements for injured or diseased tissue that can be designed from CAT scan data using computer-aided design (CAD), printed in 3D at the push of a button, and used by surgeons to repair or replace damaged tissue.
> 
> 
> 
> Nanotechnology World: An Essential Step toward Printing Living Tissues
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> yeah, cause all we need now is designer flu out there.
Click to expand...


I hope not  On the other hand we will be able to do many things that improves life.


*Disease-causing bacteria in dental plaque preserved for 1,000 years looks familiar*


Dental calculus has a thousand times more DNA than bone. 
Disease-causing bacteria in dental plaque preserved for 1,000 years looks familiar | Science Recorder



> Today, an international team of researchers reported the discovery of a 1,000 year-old disease-causing bacteria in the dental calculus of teeth collected from a German Medieval population that exhibits similarities to inflammatory disease-causing bacteria in humans today.  The scientific results seem unlikely in light of modern hygiene and dental health practices.
> 
> Among the international team of scientists was Christina Warinner, a research associate in the Molecular Anthropologies Laboratories, Oklahoma University College of Arts and Sciences.  Warinner assembled the international team of experts using the most advanced technology available to build a detailed picture of people from the Medieval period by extracting DNA from samples of the dental calculus.  Although the samples were small, dental calculus has a thousand times more DNA than bone.   Warinner and her team also inspected the protein in the samples for a more detailed look.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Stem Cells Repair, Strengthen Muscles in Aged Mice*
Stem Cells Repair, Strengthen Muscles in Aged Mice | Singularity Hub




> As people age, they become less able to bounce back from injuries &#8212; a problem that adds risk to many of common medical procedures the elderly face. At the same time, stem cells&#8217; greatest promise is to allow people to produce new, healthy tissue to recover from illness or injury. But because stem cell therapies remain cutting edge, they have largely been used to target life-threatening problems such as heart failure.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New device uses laser to provide life-saving information on patients' blood*


> Not everyone's blood clots at the same rate. While that might seem like simply an interesting bit of trivia, it's anything but trivial to doctors performing operations or emergency procedures, who need to know what might be required in the way of transfusions or anticoagulant drugs. Now, an optical device can provide them with that information within minutes.
> 
> Currently, in order to measure its clotting properties, patients' blood must be subjected to a series of lab tests that can take hours to perform, that require relatively large amounts of blood, or that involve large, expensive machines. The new device, developed by a team at Massachusetts General Hospital, gets much quicker, less costly results, it's about the size of a Kleenex box, and it only requires a few drops.
> 
> It utilizes a process known as laser speckle rheology, in which a laser is shined into the liquid, and the patterns of the reflected light are analyzed. In the case of unclotted blood, the freely-moving cells and platelets cause the pattern to fluctuate rapidly. As the cells and platelets start to join and the blood starts to coagulate, however



New device uses laser to provide life-saving information on patients' blood


----------



## ScienceRocks

*
Discovery of a 'conductor' in muscle development*

Discovery of a 'conductor' in muscle development



> A team led by Jean-François Côté, researcher at the IRCM, identified a ''conductor'' in the development of muscle tissue. The discovery, published online yesterday by the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences could have an important impact on the treatment of muscular diseases such as myopathies and muscular dystrophies.
> 
> 
> "For several years, we have been studying myogenesis, a process by which muscles are formed during embryonic development," says Jean-François Côté, PhD, Director of the Cytoskeletal Organization and Cell Migration research unit at the IRCM. "During the last step of this process, muscle cells called myoblasts align and fuse together to form muscle fibers."
> 
> The fusion of myoblasts is a critical step in the formation of embryonic muscle fibers as it determines muscle size, among other things. This process is also important in adult life because muscle stem cells fuse with existing fibers to achieve muscle growth and help regenerate damaged muscles. However, until now, fusion remained a poorly understood step within the scientific community.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Genetically modified three-parent children can prevent disease

Genetically modified three-parent children can prevent disease | DVICE



> If you&#8217;ve seen the movie Gattaca, you might understand the implications of eugenics, or genetically altering DNA to create a more perfect human. The film was science fiction way back in 1997, but since then, we&#8217;ve made a lot of progress in understanding our genetic code, making this sort of society (at least theoretically) possible. Both the US and UK governments are now considering allowing the genetic modification of embryos to battle mitochondrial diseases by mixing in a third parent&#8217;s mitochondrial DNA.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*No more needles: flu vaccines to come in patches*


No more needles: flu vaccines to come in patches | DVICE



> Every year, the flu kills thousands of Americans, and puts over 100,000 in hospitals. The best way to combat it is with an annual flu shot, administered via hypodermic needle (ouch) by a medical professional. But what would happen if vaccinations were simpler? What if there was a patch you could apply at home that would do exactly the same thing as those painful shots? A recent study done by Georgia Tech researchers suggests that not only would using a patch be more cost-effective and easier for everyone involved, but that more people would receive vaccinations if a patch were available.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Faster screening test to identify tuberculosis*


> With 9 million new cases and 2 million deaths annually, Tuberculosis is the second most prevalent and deadliest infectious disease worldwide. As an airborne disease, it spreads easily and is very contagious. Quick detection and identification is the key to success in preventing the spread of the disease.




Faster screening test to identify tuberculosis


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Ancient virus resurrected after 30,000 years, scientists say*
Ancient virus resurrected after 30,000 years, scientists say - CBS News



> As climate change leads to rapidly melting permafrost in the Russian tundra, a recent find has scientists worried that trouble may be lurking below. A 30,000 year old virus of unprecedented size has been found and reactivated.
> 
> The virus, dubbed Pithovirus Sibericum, appears to affect amoebas and not human or mouse cells. Named after the Greek word, "pithos," meaning a large earthenware jar, it was discovered by a group of researchers from Aix-Marseille University.
> 
> The virus, which is so large it can be seen under an optical microscope, was found in a 98-foot-deep sample of permafrost near the East Siberia Sea, where the average annual temperature is 7 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the Agence France-Presse


.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Genome Pioneer Launches Sequencing Company*

Genome Pioneer Launches Sequencing Company - WSJ.com



> Genomics pioneer Craig Venter has launched a new company that aims to create the world's largest human-genome sequencing operation for tackling aging-related ailments from Alzheimer's to heart disease.
> 
> Backed by an initial $70 million in funding, the California-based company says it will match patients' genetic data to individual health records in a far more detailed way than has been attempted before.


----------



## william the wie

Venter is likely to get breakthroughs.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Asthma drug aids simultaneous desensitization to several food allergies, study finds*
February 28, 2014

Stanford University Medical Center
Asthma drug aids simultaneous desensitization to several food allergies, study finds -- ScienceDaily




> n asthma drug accelerates the process of desensitizing patients with food allergies to several foods at the same time, a new study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford shows.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*HIV gene therapy using GM cells hailed a success after trial*



> Radical treatment helps patients' defences against virus by replacing immune cells with genetically modified versions
> 
> A radical gene therapy to combat HIV using genetically modified cells that are resistant to the virus has been declared a success by scientists following the first clinical trial.
> 
> The treatment, which has never been tested on humans before, raised patients' defences against HIV by replacing some of their natural immune cells with GM versions.
> 
> Tests on people enrolled in the trial found that the disease-resistant cells multiplied in their bodies.




HIV gene therapy using GM cells hailed a success after trial | Science | The Guardian


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Wello iPhone case tracks heart rate, temperature, ECG, lung functions, plus blood pressure & oxygen levels*



> Health monitoring start-up Azoi has announced the availability of a significant product in the form of the Wello, a thin lightweight smartphone case embedded with sensors that measures blood pressure, electrocardiography (ECG), heart rate, blood oxygen, temperature, and lung functions to a high level of accuracy. The US$199 Wello case will be initially available for iPhone 4S, 5 and 5S, but for those who don&#8217;t have one of those phones, the case will still work with any IOS or android device which has Bluetooth LE functionality &#8211; you just won&#8217;t be able to use the case on your phone.



Wello iPhone case tracks heart rate, temperature, ECG, lung functions, plus blood pressure & oxygen levels


----------



## ScienceRocks

*3-D printed electronic membrane could prevent heart attacks*



> Using an inexpensive 3-D printer, biomedical engineers have developed a custom-fitted, implantable device with embedded sensors that could transform treatment and prediction of cardiac disorders.
> An international team of biomedical engineers and materials scientists have created a 3-D elastic membrane made of a soft, flexible, silicon material, precisely shaped to match the heart's epicardium (its outer layer). Current technology is two-dimensional and cannot cover the full surface of the epicardium or maintain reliable contact for continual use without sutures or adhesives.
> 
> Tiny sensors can be printed onto this membrane that precisely measure temperature, mechanical strain and pH level, among other markers, or deliver a pulse of electricity in cases of arrhythmia. These sensors could assist physicians with determining the health of the heart, deliver treatment or predict an impending heart attack before a patient exhibits any physical signs.
> 
> "Each heart is a different shape, and current devices are one-size-fits-all and don't at all conform to the geometry of a patient's heart," says Professor Igor Efimov, at Washington University in St. Louis. "With this application, we image the patient's heart through MRI or CT scan, then computationally extract the image to build a 3-D model that we can print on a 3-D printer. We then mold the shape of the membrane that will constitute the base of the device deployed on the surface of the heart."


----------



## ScienceRocks

*LABONFOIL: Portable Bond-style lab promises low-cost detection and diagnosis*


LABONFOIL: Portable Bond-style lab promises low-cost detection and diagnosis


> A European project coordinated by Ikerlan and CIC microGUNE is developing a James Bond-style automated laboratory called "LABoratory skin patches and smart cards based ON FOILs and compatible with a smartphone" (LABONFOIL). Using lab-on-a-chip technology and smart patches to detect a wide variety of substances and diagnose diseases, the goal of the project is to create a cheap, portable laboratory that can interact with smart devices.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Compound in fruits and vegetables prevents symptoms of Alzheimer's disease in mice*

Compound in fruits and vegetables prevents symptoms of Alzheimer's disease in mice



> Alzheimer's disease represents the most common form of dementia, with the early stages of the disease generally characterized with short term memory loss and learning difficulties that increase in severity as the patient progresses in age. Scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, California, have discovered that with regular treatments of the antioxidant fisetin, they were able to prevent memory loss in mice with genetic mutations linked to Alzheimer's.
> 
> Whilst the cause and progression of Alzheimer's are not well understood, current theories link the existence of the disease to amyloid plaques and tangles in the brain. There is currently no cure or treatment to either eradicate or halt the advance of the disease, however the research carried out by the Salk Institute for Biological Studies is a good example of how scientists are instead attempting to combat the symptoms of the debilitating disease.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New blood test predicts onset of Alzheimer's disease with 90% accuracy*
New blood test predicts onset of Alzheimer's disease with 90% accuracy



> A group of medical researchers working at Georgetown University, the University of Rochester and UC-Irvine have developed a blood test which predicts with 90 percent accuracy if an individual will develop Alzheimer's disease or mild cognitive impairment (MCI) within three years. The test, which looks for a set of ten lipid markers, will allow treatments to be sought that may be effective during this early, asymptomatic stage of the disease.
> 
> Alzheimer's disease (memory-related MCI is thought to consist of early Alzheimer's symptoms) is a scourge ravishing the elderly among us, with 35 million currently afflicted worldwide, a number that is expected to grow to 115 million by mid-century. Alzheimer's is universally fatal, with life expectancy of about seven years after diagnosis. Diagnosis is generally indirect, largely based on symptoms and ruling out other causes of dementia.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Research on 3-D scaffolds sets new bar in lung regeneration*
Research on 3-D scaffolds sets new bar in lung regeneration -- ScienceDaily




> In end-stage lung disease, transplantation is sometimes the only viable therapeutic option, but organ availability is limited and rejection presents an additional challenge. Innovative research efforts in the field of tissue regeneration, including pioneering discoveries by University of Vermont Professor of Medicine Daniel Weiss, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues, hold promise for this population, which includes an estimated 12.7 million people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), the third leading cause of death in the U.S.
> 
> 
> In the past year alone, Weiss and colleagues published four articles in Biomaterials, the leading bioengineering journal, as well as two March 2014 articles by first author Darcy Wagner, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow working in Weiss' lab, reporting their development of new methods and techniques for engineering lungs for patients with COPD and pulmonary fibrosis.
> 
> Weiss and his team's work focuses on lung tissue bioengineering, which involves the use of a scaffold -- or framework -- of lungs from human cadavers to engineer new lungs for patients with end-stage disease. Their studies have examined multiple perspectives on the process of stripping the cellular material from these lungs -- called decellularizing -- and replacing it with stem cells (recellularization), in an effort to grow new, healthy lungs for transplantation.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New class of antibiotics discovered by chemists*
New class of antibiotics discovered by chemists -- ScienceDaily




> A team of University of Notre Dame researchers led by Mayland Chang and Shahriar Mobashery have discovered a new class of antibiotics to fight bacteria such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and other drug-resistant bacteria that threaten public health. Their research is published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society in an article titled "Discovery of a New Class of Non-beta-lactam Inhibitors of Penicillin-Binding Proteins with Gram-Positive Antibacterial Activity."


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Folding paper microscope could reduce deaths from malaria*

Folding paper microscope could reduce deaths from malaria



> According to the World Health Organization, there were approximately 207 million cases of malaria worldwide in 2012, 627,000 of which proved fatal. Unfortunately, the disease most often occurs in developing nations, where diagnostic equipment may not be available. This means that doctors can't determine the particular strain of malaria from which a patient is suffering, and thus don't know which medication will work best. Manu Prakash, an assistant professor of bioengineering at the Stanford School of Medicine, hopes to change that ... using his disposable folding paper microscope.
> 
> Known as the Foldscope, the device can be assembled on site by the user in just a few minutes, from flat-packed components. It's made almost entirely of cardstock paper, with the exception of its poppy seed-sized spherical lens. The lenses are in fact actually a type of abrasive grit, used to round off the rough edges of metal parts.
> 
> Materials-wise, each microscope is worth about 50 cents. Using them is fairly simple  as Stanford describes it:


----------



## ScienceRocks

*EyeGo adapters let you perform eye exams with a smartphone*

EyeGo adapters let you perform eye exams with a smartphone



> When it comes to thoroughly assessing the condition of someone's eyes, it's usually necessary to utilize large, expensive contraptions such as those found in an ophthalmologist's office. While that's OK in some situations, physicians in rural areas or developing nations might not have access to such technology. Additionally, emergency room personnel typically need information on-the-spot, ASAP. That's why two scientists from Stanford University have created the EyeGo system, which allows smartphones to do the job.
> 
> Developed by assistant professor of ophthalmology Dr. Robert Chang and ophthalmology resident Dr. David Myung, the system consists of two adapters that are simply added to an existing smartphone camera &#8211; one of them gets shots of the front surface of the eye, while the other focuses light through the pupil to get pics of the retina, along the back of the eye.
> 
> According to the university, EyeGo is designed to "make it easy for anyone with minimal training to take a picture of the eye and share it securely with other health practitioners or store it in the patient&#8217;s electronic record."


----------



## ScienceRocks

*U.S. drug regulator approves headband device to prevent migraines*

U.S. drug regulator approves headband device to prevent migraines | Reuters



> (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Tuesday it approved a nerve-stimulating device to prevent migraines that is worn as a band across the forehead.
> 
> The battery-powered device, which should be positioned above the eyes, sends an electric current to the skin and underlying tissue via a self-adhesive electrode to stimulate the trigeminal nerve that is associated with migraines.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists unlock potential heart attack drug without side effects*
Scientists unlock potential heart attack drug without side effects



> Melbourne scientists are a step closer to creating a new drug to stop a heart attack in its tracks and reduce the damage caused, without any side effects.
> 
> The Monash University research, published today in the journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA (PNAS), offers new hope to thousands of people who experience heart attacks and heart failure &#8211; one of the major causes of death worldwide.
> 
> Professors Arthur Christopoulos and Peter Scammells from the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (MIPS) led a team of scientists combining molecular pharmacology and medicinal chemistry to reveal new insights into a specific protein belonging to the family of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). After successfully combining two molecules, they are a step closer to creating a brand new class of drug that is more targeted and could possess minimal side effects.
> 
> GPCRs play a role in virtually every biological process and most diseases, including, cardiovascular disease, obesity and diabetes, neuropsychiatric disorder, inflammation and cancer. Almost half of all current medications available use GPCRs to achieve their therapeutic effect.
> 
> Current GPCR drugs work either by fully activating or completely blocking receptors, treating the protein like a simple "on-off" switch. This new research discovered alternative recognition sites on GPCRs that can be targeted by drugs to fine-tune the behavior of the protein, basically converting the "on-off" switch into a "dimmer switch".
> 
> Professor Christopoulos said it was this insight that enabled the new breakthrough.
> 
> "When a heart attack strikes, heart cells die because of a lack of oxygen and nutrients. But even more damage is caused when the blood rushes back to the heart cells due to the release of inflammatory chemicals and damaging free radicals," Professor Christopoulos said.
> 
> Currently, drugs to minimise damage to the heart activate the adenosine A1 receptor, a GPCR found in the heart. However, a major issue in activating the A1 receptor also slows down the heart, and too much activation can stop the heart.
> 
> "Correct dosage has been a serious challenge in clinical trials for A1 receptor drugs. The consequences are serious; a dosage that is too high can stop the heart from beating. Too low, and the drug fails to prevent cell damage. Getting this balance right has been a big problem," Professor Scammells said.
> 
> Professor Christopoulos said the Monash study focused on finding new ways to activate the protein, to achieve the beneficial effects (protection) without the side effects (slowing the heart).


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Vaccine shrinks tumors in deadly skin cancer*



> An experimental cancer vaccine used to treat advanced melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, proved effective in a late-stage study in shrinking tumors in a way that suggests the drug triggered the intended systemic immune response, according to data presented on Friday.
> 
> The Amgen Inc. vaccine shrank tumors that were directly injected with the drug and tumors around the body that were not injected, according to the data.




Vaccine shrinks tumors in deadly skin cancer | The Columbus Dispatch


----------



## ScienceRocks

*

Who's afraid of math? Genetics plays a role, but researchers say environment still key*

Who's afraid of math? Genetics plays a role, but researchers say environment still key



> A new study of math anxiety shows how some people may be at greater risk to fear math not only because of negative experiences, but also because of genetic risks related to both general anxiety and math skills.
> 
> The study, which examined how fraternal and identical twins differ on measures of math anxiety, provides a revised view on why some children &#8211; and adults &#8211; may develop a fear of math that makes it more difficult for them to solve math problems and succeed in school.
> 
> "We found that math anxiety taps into genetic predispositions in two ways: people's cognitive performance on math and their tendency toward anxiety," said Zhe Wang, lead author of the study and postdoctoral researcher in psychology at The Ohio State University.
> 
> The results don't mean that math anxiety can be blamed solely or even mostly on genetic factors, the researchers emphasized. In this study, genetic factors explained about 40 percent of the individual differences in math anxiety. Much of the rest was explained by the different environments&#8212;in the school, in the home and elsewhere&#8212;that the twins experienced.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*
Deletion of FAT10 gene reduces body fat, slows down aging in mice*

Deletion of FAT10 gene reduces body fat, slows down aging in mice



> A single gene appears to play a crucial role in coordinating the immune system and metabolism, and deleting the gene in mice reduces body fat and extends lifespan, according to new research by scientists at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center (USDA HNRCA) on Aging at Tufts University and Yale University School of Medicine. Their results are reported online today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.


----------



## ScienceRocks

.
*
First Full 3D Printed Skull Transplant Is an &#8220;Easy&#8221; Success*

First Full 3D Printed Skull Transplant - 3D Printing Industry




> Doctors from the University Medical Center (UMC) in Utrecht, Holland, have successfully carried out the first full skull transplant, using a 3D printed implant, on a 22 year old woman. The operation saved the young woman&#8217;s life from a rare disease that caused the inside of her natural skull to grow extra bone tissue, squeezing her brain.
> 
> The news &#8211; as it should be &#8211; is being reported by almost every important news outlet globally, as an amazing feat of modern medical technology. However, what I think is most amazing about this new success achieved through 3D printing technologies, is the relative ease with which it was achieved.
> 
> Surgical procedures are always complex and extremely delicate, especially when the brain is involved. However, surgeons routinely remove or replace parts of the skull to cure concussions or other conditions involving a swelling of the brain. Partial 3D printed skull replacements have also already been successfully implemented.
> 
> This time the Dutch doctors &#8220;simply&#8221; replaced the entire skull and they were able to do it without any complications because the new skull had been 3D printed in a biocompatible plastic material to perfectly fit the patient&#8217;s anatomy. Anatomics, the Australian company that handled the 3D modelling and 3D printing only had to adjust the CT scan data to remove the added skull growth form the patient&#8217;s natural bone.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Hepatitis C: New drug treatment 'is a breakthrough'*

BBC News - Hepatitis C: New drug treatment 'is a breakthrough'



> A new treatment for hepatitis C "cured" 90% of patients with the infection in 12 weeks, scientists said.
> 
> The study is a "major breakthrough" and marks a "turning point" in hepatitis C treatment, said experts.
> 
> More than 200,000 people are infected with hepatitis in the UK, and deaths from the infection have increased threefold since 1996.
> 
> Only 3% of patients in the UK currently opt for the existing treatment, which only works half of the time.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Universal artificial blood set for 2016 human trials*



Universal artificial blood set for 2016 human trials | DVICE


> As a species, humanity is getting good at creating artificial body parts: from artificial hearts and other organs to limbs and prosthetics. Obviously, creating artificial blood is the natural next step, especially considering how expensive and time consuming and sometimes dangerous it is to suck blood out of humans just to give to other humans. Scientists at Wellcome Trust have created a form of artificial universal blood made from stem cells that is just about ready for testing in humans needing transfusions, potentially making blood something that can be mass produced.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Leukaemia: Cardiff University breakthrough in disease treatment*



> Scientists at Cardiff University say they have made a significant breakthrough in the treatment of the most common form of leukaemia.
> 
> Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) affects 3,000 people in Wales and 20,000 in the UK.
> 
> A new drug has been developed that targets cancer cells, stopping them in their tracks before they have time to multiply and travel through the body.
> 
> Scientists said the disease would become less of a clinical problem.
> 
> A team at the institute of cancer and genetics at the University Hospital of Wales has been working on the project which has been led by Prof Chris Pepper, who has worked on the disease for 20 years.



BBC News - Leukaemia: Cardiff University breakthrough in disease treatment


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Innovative strategy to facilitate organ repair*

Source:

INSERM (Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale)


Summary:



> A significant breakthrough could revolutionize surgical practice and regenerative medicine. Researchers have demonstrated that the principle of adhesion by aqueous solutions of nanoparticles can be used in vivo to repair soft-tissue organs and tissues. This adhesion method is exceptional because of its potential spectrum of clinical applications. It is simple, easy to use and the nanoparticles employed can be metabolized by the organism. It can easily be integrated into ongoing research on healing and tissue regeneration and contribute to the development of regenerative medicine.



Innovative strategy to facilitate organ repair -- ScienceDaily


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists Move Closer to Inventing Artificial Life *

Inventing Artificial Life



> An international team of scientists led by Jef Boeke, PhD, director of NYU Langone Medical Center&#8217;s Institute for Systems Genetics, has synthesized the first functional chromosome in yeast, an important step in the emerging field of synthetic biology, designing microorganisms to produce novel medicines, raw materials for food, and biofuels.
> 
> Over the last five years, scientists have built bacterial chromosomes and viral DNA, but this is the first report of an entire eukaryotic chromosome, the threadlike structure that carries genes in the nucleus of all plant and animal cells, built from scratch. Researchers say their team&#8217;s global effort also marks one of the most significant advances in yeast genetics since 1996, when scientists initially mapped out yeast&#8217;s entire DNA code, or genetic blueprint.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Experiment grows new muscle in men's injured legs*

Experiment grows new muscle in men's injured legs - SFGate



> WASHINGTON (AP) &#8212; Scientists implanted thin sheets of scaffolding-like material from pigs into a few young men with disabling leg injuries &#8212; and say the experimental treatment coaxed the men's own stem cells to regrow new muscle.
> 
> The research, funded by the Defense Department, included just five patients, a small first step in the complex quest for regenerative medicine.
> 
> But the researchers described some of the men improving enough to no longer need canes, or to ride a bicycle again, after years of living with injuries that today have no good treatment.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New genome-editing platform significantly increases accuracy of CRISPR-based systems*

Apr 25, 2014 



> A next-generation genome editing system developed by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators substantially decreases the risk of producing unwanted, off-target gene mutations. In a paper receiving online publication in Nature Biotechnology, the researchers report a new CRISPR-based RNA-guided nuclease technology that uses two guide RNAs, significantly reducing the chance of cutting through DNA strands at mismatched sites.




 Read more at: New genome-editing platform significantly increases accuracy of CRISPR-based systems


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Ohio surgeons hope chip in man&#8217;s brain lets him control paralyzed hand with thoughts*



> COLUMBUS, Ohio &#8212; Chad Bouton snapped awake at 5 a.m. He skipped coffee, threw some Clif Bars and water in a bag, and left his wife and children and robot at home. He ordered three Sausage McMuffins from a drive-up window. He steered toward the hospital. He entered the operating room at 6:15 a.m.
> 
> Bouton is a research engineer, not a doctor, and he worked with an engineer&#8217;s precision. By 7 a.m., he and his team had set everything up in the operating room and tested it &#8212; the computer with the secret algorithm, the uplink cable, the Wand. They were ready to go, right on time. As they had been told to expect, the patient was late. So they tested the equipment again.



http://www.washingtonpost.com/busin...5515e2-ccaf-11e3-a75e-463587891b57_story.html


Added to my thread for long term seeking of information!


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Transfused Blood Rejuvenates Old Mice *



> By Ron Winslow
> 
> Giving old mice blood from young ones makes them smarter and improves such functions as exercise capacity, according to reports from two research teams that point to new ways to study and potentially treat diseases of aging.
> 
> In one study, researchers at Stanford University and the University of California, San Francisco found that blood transfusions from young mice reversed cognitive effects of aging, improving the old mice's memory and learning ability. The report was published Sunday in the journal Nature Medicine.
> 
> Two other reports appearing in Science from researchers at Harvard University found that exposing old mice to a protein present at high levels in the blood of young mice and people improved both brain and exercise capability. An earlier report by some of the same researchers linked injections of the protein to reversal of the effects of aging on the heart.
> 
> Researchers cautioned that much more work is needed to figure out how the findings might apply to humans. Many promising results obtained in mouse tests for various treatments through the years later turned out not to be effective in humans.
> 
> But they said the reports offer compelling evidence that certain factors present in blood may play an important role in how people age and offer potential avenues to slow or reverse the process and improve health.
> 
> "These are really exciting papers," said Brian Kennedy, chief executive officer of the Buck Institute for Aging Research in Novato, Calif., who wasn't involved in the studies. "We're finding more and more potential strategies to target age-related tissue decline and aging itself."



Transfused Blood Rejuvenates Old Mice - WSJ.com


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Depression treatment technique uses new helmet therapy*


BBC News - Depression treatment technique uses new helmet therapy




> A helmet that delivers electro-magnetic impulses to the brain has shown promise in treating people with depression, Danish researchers have said.
> 
> About 30% of those with the condition fail to respond to medication or psychological counselling.
> 
> The new device targets malfunctioning blood cells in the brain.
> 
> In clinical trials two-thirds who used it reported that their symptoms had disappeared, and improvements in mood were noticeable within a week.
> 
> The helmet was tested on 65 patients with treatment-resistant depression.
> 
> The trials were conducted by the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at Copenhagen University and the Psychiatric Centre at Hillerod in North Zealand.
> 
> Patients also continued taking their regular anti-depressant medication for the eight weeks of the trial.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Atomic level look at telomerase may unlock the secrets to the fountain of youth*

Atomic level look at telomerase may unlock the secrets to the fountain of youth



> (Nanowerk News) Arizona State University (ASU) scientists, together with collaborators from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shanghai, have published, in Nature Structural and Molecular Biology ("Structural basis for protein-RNA recognition in telomerase"), a first of its kind atomic level look at the enzyme telomerase that may unlock the secrets to the fountain of youth.
> 
> Telomeres and the enzyme telomerase have been in the medical news a lot recently due to their connection with aging and cancer. Telomeres are found at the ends of our chromosomes and are stretches of DNA which protect our genetic data, make it possible for cells to divide, and hold some secrets as to how we age &#8211;and also how we get cancer.


----------



## ScienceRocks

KL-VS gene makes up six IQ points of cognitive difference and would be the most influential intelligence gene and elevated intelligence could come soon from a pill



> Researchers have been studying the role in ageing of klotho, a protein encoded by a gene called KL. A particular version of this gene, KL-VS, promotes longevity. One way it does so is by reducing age-related heart disease. Dr Dubal and Dr Mucke wondered if it might have similar powers over age-related cognitive decline.
> 
> What they found was startling. KL-VS did not curb decline, but it did boost cognitive faculties regardless of a person&#8217;s age by the equivalent of about six IQ points. If this result, just published in Cell Reports, is confirmed, KL-VS will be the most important genetic agent of non-pathological variation in intelligence yet discovered.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Better cognition seen with gene variant carried by one in five*



> A scientific team led by the Gladstone Institutes and UC San Francisco has discovered that a common form of a gene already associated with long life also improves learning and memory, a finding that could have implications for treating age-related diseases like Alzheimer's.



Better cognition seen with gene variant carried by one in five


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Multiple sclerosis discovery may explain gender gap*

BBC News - Multiple sclerosis discovery may explain gender gap



> A key difference in the brains of male and female MS patients may explain why more women than men get the disease, a study suggests.
> 
> Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in the US found higher levels of protein S1PR2 in tests on the brains of female mice and dead women with MS than in male equivalents.
> 
> Four times more women than men are currently diagnosed with MS.
> 
> Experts said the finding was "really interesting".
> 
> MS affects the nerves in the brain and spinal cord, which causes problems with muscle movement, balance and vision. It is a major cause of disability, and affects about 100,000 people in the UK.


----------



## ScienceRocks

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/08/b...in-creating-artificial-genetic-code.html?_r=0



> Scientists reported Wednesday that they had taken a significant step toward altering the fundamental alphabet of life &#8212; creating an organism with an expanded artificial genetic code in its DNA.
> 
> The accomplishment might eventually lead to organisms that can make medicines or industrial products that cells with only the natural genetic code cannot.
> 
> The scientists behind the work at the Scripps Research Institute have already formed a company to try to use the technique to develop new antibiotics, vaccines and other products, though a lot more work needs to be done before this is practical.
> 
> The work also gives some support to the concept that life can exist elsewhere in the universe using genetics different from those on Earth.
> 
> &#8220;This is the first time that you have had a living cell manage an alien genetic alphabet,&#8221; said Steven A. Benner, a researcher in the field at the Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution in Gainesville, Fla., who was not involved in the new work.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*    Lipid transport: Research breakthrough paves way for understanding serious diseases *

Lipid transport: Research breakthrough paves way for understanding serious diseases -- ScienceDaily


> "With the model we have found a possible answer to the question known as 'the giant substrate problem.' It has not previously been possible to explain how a relatively small protein could transport large lipid molecules in the membrane. This fundamental question has occupied researchers around the world since the existence and size of the flippase protein became known. With the new knowledge we can understand how the mutation interferes with the lipid transport mechanism and thus, in this way, triggers disease," says postdoc Anna Lindeløv Vestergaard, who is one of the researchers behind the project.
> 
> "14 out of the 36 pumps in the cells are flippases. For that reason alone there is every reason to believe that they play an important role. Genetic errors in the flippases are probably the cause of many more diseases than we currently recognise. The basic scientific understanding is the first step. In the long term it can lead to us becoming better to diagnose and treat diseases that are caused by errors in a flippase," says postdoc Anna Lindeløv Vestergaard, before continuing:
> 
> "We surmise that the basic mechanism which we have discovered is universal for all flippases in humans and animals. So this is the first step towards far greater knowledge than we have today," says Professor Jens Peter Andersen, who has headed the study in collaboration with Anna Lindeløv Vestergaard.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists make deep-brain implants possible through wireless charging*



> Stanford researchers have figured out a way to wirelessly charge electronic devices that are deep inside your body. Currently pacemakers and nerve transmitters need to have large receiving coils near the top of your skin to charge up (limiting where you can put them), or periodically have their battery replaced through surgery. This new method, however, would allow devices to be much smaller because they don't have to tote around such a huge battery. Also since they're not reliant on charging coils they could live much deeper in the body and brain.



Scientists make deep-brain implants possible through wireless charging


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Blocking pain receptors found to extend lifespan in mammals*
Blocking pain receptors found to extend lifespan in mammals | Science Codex



> Chronic pain in humans is associated with worse health and a shorter lifespan, but the molecular mechanisms underlying these clinical observations have not been clear. A study published by Cell Press May 22nd in the journal Cell reveals that the activity of a pain receptor called TRPV1 regulates lifespan and metabolic health in mice. The study suggests that pain perception can affect the aging process and reveals novel strategies that could improve metabolic health and longevity in humans.
> 
> "The TRPV1 receptor is a major drug target with many known drugs in the clinic that can affect its function," says senior study author Andrew Dillin of the University of California, Berkeley. "Finding that manipulation of this receptor can not only promote a youthful metabolism but also increase lifespan should be highly significant for age-related maladies, diabetes being a major one."
> 
> Past research has shown that mice lacking TRPV1 are protected against diet-induced obesity, suggesting that this receptor plays a role in metabolism. Intriguingly, diets rich in capsaicin&#8212;the active molecule of chili peppers that can overstimulate and kill TRPV1 neurons&#8212;have long been linked to lower incidents of diabetes and metabolic problems in humans. Moreover, disruption of sensory perception increases longevity in worms and flies. But until now, it was not known whether sensory perception also affects aging in mammals.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Stanford researchers discover immune system's rules of engagement *

Stanford researchers discover immune system's rules of engagement



> "This is an important illustration of how SSRL's X-ray-imaging capabilities allow researchers to get detailed structural information on technically very challenging systems," said Britt Hedman, professor of photon science and science director at SSRL. "To understand the factors behind T-cell-receptor binding to peptides will have major impact on biomedical developments, including vaccine design and immunotherapy."


----------



## ScienceRocks

*DNA-Based Research May Have Unveiled Long-Sought Diabetes Treatment*

DNA-Based Method Finds Anti-Diabetes Drug That Other Methods Couldn?t | MIT Technology Review



> After decades of searching, researchers may have finally identified a chemical compound that could be used to study and treat diabetes.
> 
> 
> 
> Researchers have long known that the body carries an enzyme that breaks down insulin inside cells and helps regulate the body&#8217;s response to sugars&#8212;a process that goes awry in type 2 diabetes. Genetic studies have shown that people with type 2 diabetes are more likely to have mutations in the gene that encodes a protein called insulin-degrading enzyme, or IDE. But exactly which processes the enzyme controls is not yet clear.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Human stem cell treatment gets mice with MS-like condition walking again*



> When scientists at the University of Utah injected human stem cells into mice disabled by a condition similar to multiple sclerosis, they expected the cells to be rejected by the animals' bodies. It turned out that the cells were indeed rejected, but not before they got the mice walking again. The unexpected finding could have major implications for human MS sufferers.
> 
> In multiple sclerosis, the body's immune system attacks the myelin sheath that covers and insulates nerve fibers in the spinal cord, brain and optic nerve. With that insulation gone, the nerves short-circuit and malfunction, often compromising the patient's ability to walk &#8211; among other things.
> 
> In the U Utah study (which was begun at the University of California, Irvine) human neural stem cells were grown in a Petri dish, then injected into the afflicted mice. The cells were grown under less crowded conditions than is usual, which reportedly resulted in their being "extremely potent."



Human stem cell treatment gets mice with MS-like condition walking again


----------



## ScienceRocks

*'First drafts' of human protein catalogue published*

BBC News - 'First drafts' of human protein catalogue published



> The first two attempts at a database of every single human protein - the "proteome" - have been made public.
> 
> This builds on our knowledge of the genome by showing which genes actually produce proteins in which tissues.
> 
> One team in Germany and one spanning the US and India have published their proteome maps in the journal Nature, and on searchable, public websites.
> 
> Some of the 17-to-18,000 reported proteins arise from stretches of DNA previously thought to be "non-coding".
> 
> Along the vast length of DNA packed inside each of our cells, our genes are the sections which contain the instructions, or code, for making proteins.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Joint research builds stronger scaffold*

Medical Xpress: Joint research builds stronger scaffold



> (Medical Xpress)&#8212;A new biomaterial that enhances the ability of stem cells to regenerate into nerves and body parts is the direct result of collaborative work between Monash University and the University of Warwick.
> 
> Other biomedical "scaffold" materials, which act as templates for tissue regeneration, already exist but they can't communicate effectively with the cells they are trying to influence.
> 
> The Monash and Warwick researchers have created a more advanced material that targets specific cells and provides clear signals to these cells to enhance regeneration. The biomaterial also dissolves once repair is well underway and its stealth coating makes it invisible to the immune system.
> 
> Associate Professor John Forsythe from the Department of Materials Engineering at Monash said this research idea resulted from a workshop he attended at Warwick in 2012.
> 
> "I first met Warwick's Associate Professor Andrew Dove at the workshop, where we discussed the need for more effective scaffolding materials for regenerative medicine," Associate Professor Forsythe said.
> 
> "Warwick has the specialised facilities and knowledge to synthesise these materials, whereas Monash has the expertise in nanofabrication and applying them to biomedical research, so together we have very complementary strengths.
> 
> "Now we have developed this material, the next stage is to conduct further research to determine its effectiveness in models of Parkinson's disease."


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists Use Lasers To Regrow Teeth From Stem Cells*




> Imagine if a trip to the dentist to treat a cavity didn&#8217;t involve a filling, root canal, or crown. What if a simple light treatment could actually get your teeth to regrow themselves using stem cells? That&#8217;s the aim of a group of researchers at Harvard&#8217;s Wyss Institute, led by David Mooney, who have found success in regrowing rat teeth in this manner. The researchers have developed a technique using a low-power laser to coax stem cells into reforming dentin, which could have implications for dentistry, wound healing, and bone restoration. The results of the study have been published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
> 
> Proteins known as growth factors are what cause stem cells to differentiate into whatever type of cell they are bound to become. Introducing different growth factors force the cells to develop the desired type of tissue. Unfortunately, it isn&#8217;t quite as simple as it sounds. Most of the developments in using stem cells in regenerative medicine have regrown tissues in vitro and later need to be transplanted into the person. This involves a lot of technical care and is a highly regulated process, which slows down progress. Mooney&#8217;s team claims they have come up with a new technique that could streamline the process, making it a viable clinical option much more quickly.



Read more at Scientists Use Lasers To Regrow Teeth From Stem Cells | I Fucking Love Science


----------



## JimBowie1958

Nutz said:


> Sort of funny how Matthew can only post articles but has nothing to contribute unless he is on a racist diatribe.  I understand, Timmy, that you are looking for a miracle...perhaps you should try praying and quit trying to rely on aliens and junk science to fix you.



Why don't you keep you shit to the political forums, ass hole?


----------



## I.P.Freely

Matthew said:


> *Human stem cell treatment gets mice with MS-like condition walking again*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> When scientists at the University of Utah injected human stem cells into mice disabled by a condition similar to multiple sclerosis, they expected the cells to be rejected by the animals' bodies. It turned out that the cells were indeed rejected, but not before they got the mice walking again. The unexpected finding could have major implications for human MS sufferers.
> 
> In multiple sclerosis, the body's immune system attacks the myelin sheath that covers and insulates nerve fibers in the spinal cord, brain and optic nerve. With that insulation gone, the nerves short-circuit and malfunction, often compromising the patient's ability to walk &#8211; among other things.
> 
> In the U Utah study (which was begun at the University of California, Irvine) human neural stem cells were grown in a Petri dish, then injected into the afflicted mice. The cells were grown under less crowded conditions than is usual, which reportedly resulted in their being "extremely potent."
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Human stem cell treatment gets mice with MS-like condition walking again
Click to expand...

fuck me Mice get a real bum deal.


----------



## ScienceRocks

I.P.Freely said:


> Matthew said:
> 
> 
> 
> *Human stem cell treatment gets mice with MS-like condition walking again*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> When scientists at the University of Utah injected human stem cells into mice disabled by a condition similar to multiple sclerosis, they expected the cells to be rejected by the animals' bodies. It turned out that the cells were indeed rejected, but not before they got the mice walking again. The unexpected finding could have major implications for human MS sufferers.
> 
> In multiple sclerosis, the body's immune system attacks the myelin sheath that covers and insulates nerve fibers in the spinal cord, brain and optic nerve. With that insulation gone, the nerves short-circuit and malfunction, often compromising the patient's ability to walk  among other things.
> 
> In the U Utah study (which was begun at the University of California, Irvine) human neural stem cells were grown in a Petri dish, then injected into the afflicted mice. The cells were grown under less crowded conditions than is usual, which reportedly resulted in their being "extremely potent."
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Human stem cell treatment gets mice with MS-like condition walking again
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> fuck me Mice get a real bum deal.
Click to expand...


How so? The creature is walking again.


----------



## I.P.Freely

Matthew said:


> I.P.Freely said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Matthew said:
> 
> 
> 
> *Human stem cell treatment gets mice with MS-like condition walking again*
> 
> 
> 
> Human stem cell treatment gets mice with MS-like condition walking again
> 
> 
> 
> fuck me Mice get a real bum deal.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> How so? The creature is walking again.
Click to expand...

would you volunteer?


----------



## JimBowie1958

I.P.Freely said:


> Matthew said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I.P.Freely said:
> 
> 
> 
> fuck me Mice get a real bum deal.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> How so? The creature is walking again.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> would you volunteer?
Click to expand...


While it is quite understandable how you equate your life with that of a mouse, the rest of humanity is of far greater value and the mice very expendable for the cause of science.

Personally, I think the mice could just be put in a blender for entertainment purposes for all I care, you dimwitted ignoramus.

Leave it to libtards to make a science thread about medical advances into a controversial topic, roflmao.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Human studies are done all the time. So, if I had a bad disease after a few animal studies, I'd take the chance with a new "cure" to get better. Do you have any understanding of history at all? If you did, you'd understand that modern science over the past 200 years has added at least 30 years to our life. Not only, that the viruses, diseases and ailments that affect us aren't like they were in the 19th century when we had diseases that could wipe out entire families. This was within the modern world...And within the modern world, death was typically as painful as any in the shittest of third world countries.

So when I see a moron tell me that modern science is bad...Well, Why don't you just go into the jungle or something and live without it?


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists use 3D printing to make artificial blood vessels
*


> The tangled highway of blood vessels that twists and turns inside our bodies, delivering essential nutrients and disposing of hazardous waste to keep our organs working properly has been a conundrum for scientists trying to make artificial vessels from scratch. Now a team from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) has made headway in fabricating blood vessels using a three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting technique.



Read more at: Scientists use 3D printing to make artificial blood vessels


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New drugs may make a dent in lung, ovarian cancer*



> New drugs are making a dent against some hard-to-treat cancers, but some results raise fresh questions about whether the benefit is worth the cost.
> 
> For the first time in a decade, an experimental drug has extended the lives of patients with advanced lung cancer who relapsed after standard chemotherapy. But the drug used in the study gave patients just six extra weeks of life on average, and costs $6,000 per infusion as currently sold to treat a different form of cancer.
> 
> Eli Lilly and Co.'s drug, Cryamza, was discussed Saturday at a cancer conference in Chicago, where other studies showed:
> 
> The drug Imbruvica, sold by Pharmacyclics Inc. and Janssen Biotech, substantially improved survival and could set a new standard of care for relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukemia, or CLL, the most common leukemia in adults. Doctors say the pill more precisely targets cancer and is a good option for older people who can't tolerate standard chemotherapy infusions.



New drugs may make a dent in lung, ovarian cancer


----------



## I.P.Freely

Matthew said:


> Human studies are done all the time. So, if I had a bad disease after a few animal studies, I'd take the chance with a new "cure" to get better. Do you have any understanding of history at all? If you did, you'd understand that modern science over the past 200 years has added at least 30 years to our life. Not only, that the viruses, diseases and ailments that affect us aren't like they were in the 19th century when we had diseases that could wipe out entire families. This was within the modern world...And within the modern world, death was typically as painful as any in the shittest of third world countries.
> 
> So when I see a moron tell me that modern science is bad...Well, Why don't you just go into the jungle or something and live without it?


I must admit I do like the scientific advances in recognising foetal abnormalities. These advances obviously make abortion a simpler and quicker choice.The other great step science has made is the ability to stop puberty in a child with gender problems. Oh cloning is pretty cool as well so you are right fuck the mice.


----------



## ScienceRocks

I care about ending human suffering from disease like Cancer, etc. Get back to me when you're or someone you care about is laying in that bed suffering.


----------



## I.P.Freely

Matthew said:


> I care about ending human suffering from disease like Cancer, etc. Get back to me when you're or someone you care about is laying in that bed suffering.


I hope this helps
*State-by-State Guide to Physician-Assisted Suicide - Euthanasia - ProCon.org*


----------



## ScienceRocks

Fuck the anti-science left and right! 
*
'Quadrapeutics' works in preclinical study of hard-to-treat tumors: Animal tests show technology effective against aggressive cancer*



> http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/06/140601150816.htm
> The first preclinical study of a new Rice University-developed anti-cancer technology found that a novel combination of existing clinical treatments can instantaneously detect and kill only cancer cells -- often by blowing them apart -- without harming surrounding normal organs. The research, which is available online this week Nature Medicine, reports that Rice's "quadrapeutics" technology was 17 times more efficient than conventional chemoradiation therapy against aggressive, drug-resistant head and neck tumors.



The work was conducted by researchers from Rice, the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Northeastern University.


----------



## strollingbones

unfortunately not much of the stem cells things are being used in humans yet..the key word being yet...


----------



## JimBowie1958

strollingbones said:


> unfortunately not much of the stem cells things are being used in humans yet..the key word being yet...



Soon they will, just be aware its coming and be at the front of the line if you need the treatment.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Miniature artificial lung could revolutionize cancer research*
Miniature artificial lung could revolutionize cancer research


> Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology in Germany have created a miniature artificial lung that has the potential to significantly improve the process of developing treatments for lung cancer. In addition to the possibility of replacing animal trials currently used to test new medications, the "3D-lung" could be used to expand our understanding of how lung cancer spreads to the rest of the body.
> 
> With a volume of just half a cubic centimeter, the mini-lung has is made up of human lung cancer cells growing on tissue and is attached to a bioreactor that makes it "breathe" by pumping a nutrient medium through its blood vessels. The model is therefore able to react to medication the same as real human patients.
> 
> &#8220;We&#8217;ve developed an innovative 3D test system that allows us to superbly simulate what happens in the human body," says Professor Dr. Heike Walles of the Regenerative Technologies for Oncology project group responsible for the model. "Animal models may be the best we have at the moment, but all the same, 75 percent of the drugs deemed beneficial when tested on animals fail when used to treat humans.&#8221;


----------



## ScienceRocks

*
'Quadrapeutics' works in preclinical study of hard-to-treat tumors: Animal tests show technology effective against aggressive cancer*

'Quadrapeutics' works in preclinical study of hard-to-treat tumors: Animal tests show technology effective against aggressive cancer -- ScienceDaily



> The first preclinical study of a new Rice University-developed anti-cancer technology found that a novel combination of existing clinical treatments can instantaneously detect and kill only cancer cells -- often by blowing them apart -- without harming surrounding normal organs. The research, which is available online this week Nature Medicine, reports that Rice's "quadrapeutics" technology was 17 times more efficient than conventional chemoradiation therapy against aggressive, drug-resistant head and neck tumors.
> 
> The work was conducted by researchers from Rice, the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Northeastern University.
> 
> "We address aggressive cancers that cannot be efficiently and safely treated today," said Rice scientist Dmitri Lapotko, the study's lead investigator. "Surgeons often cannot fully remove tumors that are intertwined with important organs. Chemotherapy and radiation are commonly used to treat the residual portions of these tumors, but some tumors become resistant to chemoradiation. Quadrapeutics steps up when standard treatments fail. At the same time, quadrapeutics complements current approaches instead of replacing them."
> 
> Lapotko said quadrapeutics differs from other developmental cancer treatments in that it radically amplifies the intracellular effect of drugs and radiation only in cancer cells. The quadrapeutic effects are achieved by mechanical events -- tiny, remotely triggered nano-explosions called "plasmonic nanobubbles." Plasmonic nanobubbles are non-stationary vapors that expand and burst inside cancer cells in nanoseconds in response to a short, low-energy laser pulse. Plasmonic nanobubbles act as a "mechanical drug" against cancer cells that cannot be surgically removed and are otherwise resistant to radiation and chemotherapy.
> 
> In prior studies, Lapotko showed he could use plasmonic nanobubbles alone to literally blow cells apart. In quadrapeutics, his team is using them to detect and kill cancer cells in three ways. In cancer cells that survive the initial explosions, the bursting nanobubbles greatly magnify the local doses of both chemotherapy drugs and radiation. All three effects -- mechanical cell destruction, intracellular drug ejection and radiation amplification -- occur only in cancer cells and do not harm vital healthy cells nearby.
> 
> To administer quadrapeutics, the team uses four clinically approved components: chemotherapy drugs, radiation, near-infrared laser pulses of low energy and colloidal gold.
> 
> "Quadrapeutics shifts the therapeutic paradigm for cancer from materials -- drugs or nanoparticles -- to mechanical events that are triggered on demand only inside cancer cells," Lapotko said. "Another strategic innovation is in complementing current macrotherapies with microtreatment. We literally bring surgery, chemotherapies and radiation therapies inside cancer cells."


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New Coating May Finally Help Make Artificial Joints Last a Lifetime*



> Artificial replacement joints are well known for their tendency to fail and to require replacement after a number of years. Artificial spinal discs particularly suffer from the fact that replacing them is unusually difficult, so developing a material that can withstand decades of use has been a major research goal. Some years ago diamond-like carbon (DLC) was a promising coating for joint implants, but it failed spectacularly as it eventually chipped off from the implants and caused all sorts of problems.




New Coating May Finally Help Make Artificial Joints Last a Lifetime


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Medtronic MiniMed Duo Integrates Glucose Sensor, Insulin Infusion Into One Device*
Medtronic MiniMed Duo Integrates Glucose Sensor, Insulin Infusion Into One Device




> Medtronic is launching in Europe the world&#8217;s first combined continuous glucose sensor and insulin infusion pump, the MiniMed Duo. This device will allow diabetics who have to be vigilant in controlling their glucose levels to use only one access point on their body for both monitoring and delivery of insulin.
> 
> Mini Duo with Transmitter Medtronic MiniMed Duo Integrates Glucose Sensor, Insulin Infusion Into One DeviceThe sensor has to be changed every three days and is inserted using a button that pops out the needle discreetly so that it&#8217;s never seen by the user. The MiniMed Duo notably also features automatic insulin shut off if the glucose levels drop low enough to leave a patient in hypoglycemia.



*Rural clinics turn to telemedicine to bridge distance between emergency patients and hospitals*
http://www.usnews.com/news/science/...ral-clinics-increasingly-turn-to-telemedicine


> WAGNER, S.D. (AP) &#8212; Doctors across rural America are increasingly seeking help in emergencies from video services that let them connect with hospitals in bigger cities.
> 
> Telemedicine systems allow small-town physicians to reach out to more experienced specialists when an urgent case lands in their clinics. The video link allows the two doctors to work together as if they were in the same room.
> 
> Although telemedicine has been around for at least two decades, the practice is fast becoming a standard feature in many communities, even as other public services such as police and fire protection decline.
> 
> South Dakota-based Avera Health has a telemedicine network that includes 86 hospitals in seven states in the West and Midwest. It expects to have contracts with 100 facilities by the end of the year.


----------



## ScienceRocks

* Gene editing tool can write HIV out of the picture*

    20:00 09 June 2014 by Peter Aldhous



> Take a hot new method that's opened up a new era of genetic engineering, apply it to the wonder stem cells that in 2012 won their discoverer a Nobel prize, and you might just have a tool to cure HIV infection.
> 
> That's the hope of researchers led by Yuet Kan of the University of California, San Francisco &#8211; and they have proved the basic principle, altering the genome of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to give them a rare natural mutation that allows some people to resist HIV.
> 
> Kan's work relies on "genome editing" &#8211; snipping out a particular DNA sequence and replacing it with another. It's much more precise than traditional forms of genetic engineering, in which sequences are added to the genome at random locations.
> 
> To alter the stem cells, Kan's team turned to the CRISPR-Cas9 system, a super-efficient method of genome editing based on an ancient bacterial "immune system". In bacteria, the system takes fragments of DNA from invading viruses and splices them into the cell's own DNA, where they act like "wanted" posters, allowing the viruses to be recognised and attacked in future.



Gene editing tool can write HIV out of the picture - health - 09 June 2014 - New Scientist


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Developing terahertz detectors with carbon nanotubes: Improvements in MRIs on the horizon*



> Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories, along with collaborators from Rice University and the Tokyo Institute of Technology, are developing new terahertz detectors based on carbon nanotubes that could lead to significant improvements in medical imaging, airport passenger screening, food inspection and other applications.
> 
> A paper in Nano Letters journal, "Carbon Nanotube Terahertz Detector," debuted in the May 29 edition of the publication's "Just Accepted Manuscripts" section. The paper describes a technique that uses carbon nanotubes to detect light in the terahertz frequency range without cooling.
> 
> Historically, the terahertz frequency range&#8212;which falls between the more conventional ranges used for electronics on one end and optics on another&#8212;has presented great promise along with vexing challenges for researchers, said Sandia's François Léonard, one of the authors.



Read more at: Developing terahertz detectors with carbon nanotubes: Improvements in MRIs on the horizon


----------



## ScienceRocks

PulseOn watch PulseOns New Heart Rate Monitoring Wristwatch



> PulseOn, a spinoff of Nokia, has developed a heart rate monitoring wristwatch for athletes and fitness enthusiasts to improve how they train and exercise. An optical sensor on the back of the watch detects the pulse through the wrist and built-in algorithms make sure the readings are accurate in different situations. Wireless connectivity via Bluetooth lets the watch send its data to a companion iOS/Android smartphone app that helps interpret the readings, set goals, and keep track of calories burned.
> 
> The device is currently available for pre-ordering through Indiegogo with initial deliveries scheduled for September. Those not willing to skip the summer without a convenient heart rate monitor can take a look at our recent review of the Basis Carbon Steel Edition Band, a similar watch that also features heart rate monitoring.



PulseOn's New Heart Rate Monitoring Wristwatch


----------



## callenfl42

I personally think participating in medical research is the most important thing that anyone can do to help advance medicine and treatment of various diseases . I am participating in six week study now and will be paid $2,500 plus expenses when completed.  

I found this website USA Medical research.weebly.com and learned about different trial going on and signed up.  I feel like I am helping advance the development of much needed new and better medicines 

has any body here taken part in a clinical trial?


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Researchers Create Miniature Human Retina In A Dish *
Researchers create miniature human retina in a dish | KurzweilAI


> Johns Hopkins researchers have created a miniature human retina in a dish that can sense light.
> 
> The work, reported online June 10 in the journal Nature Communications, &#8220;advances opportunities for vision-saving research and may ultimately lead to technologies that restore vision in people with retinal diseases,&#8221; says study leader M. Valeria Canto-Soler, Ph.D., an assistant professor of ophthalmology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
> 
> The achievement emerged from experiments with human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS). While the system doesn&#8217;t yet produce images, it could eventually enable genetically engineered retinal cell transplants that halt or even reverse a patient&#8217;s march toward blindness, the researchers say.
> 
> The iPS cells are adult cells that have been genetically reprogrammed to their most primitive state. Under the right circumstances, they can develop into most or all of the 200 cell types in the human body. In this case, the Johns Hopkins team turned them into retinal progenitor cells destined to form light-sensitive retinal tissue that lines the back of the eye.
> 
> Canto-Soler says that the newly developed system gives them the ability to generate hundreds of mini-retinas at a time directly from a person affected by a particular retinal disease such as retinitis pigmentosa. This provides a unique biological system to study the cause of retinal diseases directly in human tissue, instead of relying on animal models.
> 
> Personalized retinal treatment to restore vision



*You can also help science by voting against the tea party and for congress members that wish to fund science!*


----------



## ScienceRocks

*A &#8216;Vaccine&#8217; for Heart Disease Could Mean No Pills, Lettuce or a Gym*



> It&#8217;s the latest in gene therapy, and it&#8217;s lowered cholesterol and heart attacks in mice. People are next
> Doctors, and especially doctors who do research, don&#8217;t like to use the words cure or eradicate. They know how dangerous that can be, since the human body is so unpredictable. But Dr. Kiran Musunuru is showing some uncharacteristic swagger about his latest success in lowering heart attack risk among some lucky mice.
> 
> Taking advantage of advances in genetic engineering, a team lead by Musunuru, who holds positions at Harvard University&#8217;s Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology and Brigham and Women&#8217;s Hospital, have edited the genomes of mice and successfully protected them from heart disease. The results, published in the journal Circulation Research, hint at an entirely new way of avoiding the leading killer of Americans by possibly cutting heart attack risk by up to 90%. &#8220;What has me excited as a cardiologist is that my goal is eradicating disease,&#8221; says Musunuru. &#8220;There is no bolder way I can put it. I want to eradicate the disease and this offers one potential way to do it.&#8221;



A Vaccine Against Heart Disease - TIME


----------



## ScienceRocks

*
Scientists find trigger to decode the genome*
3 hours ago





> Scientists from The University of Manchester have identified an important trigger that dictates how cells change their identity and gain specialised functions.
> And the research, published today in Cell Reports, has brought them a step closer to being able to decode the genome.
> 
> The scientists have found out how embryonic stem cell fate is controlled which will lead to future research into how cells can be artificially manipulated.
> 
> Lead author Andrew Sharrocks, Professor in Molecular Biology at The University of Manchester, said: "Understanding how to manipulate cells is crucial in the field of regenerative medicine which aims to repair or replace damaged or diseased human cells or tissues to restore normal function."




Read more at: Scientists find trigger to decode the genome


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Rescue of Alzheimer's memory deficit achieved by reducing 'excessive inhibition'*



> A new drug target to fight Alzheimer's disease has been discovered by a research team led by Gong Chen, a Professor of Biology and the Verne M. Willaman Chair in Life Sciences at Penn State University. The discovery also has potential for development as a novel diagnostic tool for Alzheimer's disease, which is the most common form of dementia and one for which no cure has yet been found. A scientific paper describing the discovery will be published in Nature Communications on 13 June 2014.
> 
> Chen's research was motivated by the recent failure in clinical trials of once-promising Alzheimer's drugs being developed by large pharmaceutical companies. "Billions of dollars were invested in years of research leading up to the clinical trials of those Alzheimer's drugs, but they failed the test after they unexpectedly worsened the patients' symptoms," Chen said. The research behind those drugs had targeted the long-recognized feature of Alzheimer's brains: the sticky buildup of the amyloid protein known as plaques, which can cause neurons in the brain to die. "The research of our lab and others now has focused on finding new drug targets and on developing new approaches for diagnosing and treating Alzheimer's disease," Chen explained.
> 
> "We recently discovered an abnormally high concentration of one inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brains of deceased Alzheimer's patients," Chen said. He and his research team found the neurotransmitter, called GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), in deformed cells called "reactive astrocytes" in a structure in the core of the brain called the dentate gyrus. This structure is the gateway to hippocampus, an area of the brain that is critical for learning and memory.



Rescue of Alzheimer's memory deficit achieved by reducing 'excessive inhibition'


----------



## ScienceRocks

*
A pill fights all cancers and gives lifelong protection*



> British scientists have discovered a drug which fights all cancers by boosting the body's defences and prevents the disease returning by increasing natural immunity.
> 
> 'Delta-inhibitors' were already known to help leukaemia patients, but researchers were amazed to find they also work on a whole range of other cancers. The drugs, which are taken orally as a pill, were so successful in leukaemia trials that the control group, who were taking placebos, were immediately switched to the medication on ethical grounds.
> 
> Now, scientists at UCL and the Babraham Institute in Cambridge, have discovered that the same 'delta inhibitors' are also effective against lung, pancreatic, skin and breast cancers, and probably many more.
> Cancer suppresses the immune system by producing an anzyme called 'p100delta' which tells it to power down, making it difficult for the body to fight the disease. The drugs 'inhibit' that enzyme, allowing the immune system to attack tumor cells.



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/...ts-disease-and-gives-lifelong-protection.html


----------



## ScienceRocks

> A next-generation ultrasonic imaging system that could provide 1,000 times higher resolution than today&#8217;s medical ultrasound systems has been demonstrated by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) researchers.
> 
> The researchers used a combination of subpicosecond laser pulses and unique nanostructures to produce acoustic phonons &#8212; quasi-particles of vibrational energy that move through an atomic lattice as sound waves &#8212; at a frequency of 10 gigahertz (10 billion cycles per second).
> 
> By comparison, medical ultrasounds devices today typically reach a frequency of only about 20 megahertz (20 million cycles per second). The 10GHz phonons can be used to &#8220;see&#8221; subsurface structures in nanoscale systems that optical and electron microscopes cannot.
> 
> &#8220;We have demonstrated optical coherent manipulation and detection of the acoustic phonons in nanostructures that offer new possibilities in the development of coherent phonon sources and nano-phononic devices for chemical sensing, thermal energy management and communications,&#8221; said research team leader Xiang Zhang, a faculty scientist with Berkeley Lab&#8217;s Materials Sciences Division and corresponding author of a paper published in Nature Communications describing this research.
> 
> Acoustic imaging offers several advantages over optical imaging. The ability of sound waves to safely pass through biological tissue has made sonograms a popular medical diagnostic tool. Sound waves have also become a valuable tool for the non-destructive testing of materials. Phonons at GHz frequencies can pass through materials that are opaque to photons, the particles that carry light. Ultrahigh frequency phonons also travel at the small wavelengths that yield a sharper resolution in ultrasound imaging.


Ultrasonic imaging at 1,000 times times higher resolution | KurzweilAI


----------



## ScienceRocks

*
No more fillings as dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment*
Scientists in London develop pain-free filling that allows teeth to repair themselves without drilling or injections


> Scientists have developed a new pain-free filling that allows cavities to be repaired without drilling or injections.
> 
> The tooth-rebuilding technique developed at King's College London does away with fillings and instead encourages teeth to repair themselves.
> 
> Tooth decay is normally removed by drilling, after which the cavity is filled with a material such as amalgam or composite resin.
> 
> The new treatment, called Electrically Accelerated and Enhanced Remineralisation (EAER), accelerates the natural movement of calcium and phosphate minerals into the damaged tooth.
> 
> A two-step process first prepares the damaged area of enamel, then uses a tiny electric current to push minerals into the repair site. It could be available within three years.


No more fillings as dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment | Society | theguardian.com


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Bionic pancreas shows promise in trials*




> This February, we first heard about a "bionic pancreas" that could radically improve the lives of type 1 diabetics. At the time, multi-day trials involving groups of adult and adolescent patients were still yet to occur. Those trials have now taken place, and the results are definitely encouraging.
> 
> Being developed by scientists at Boston University and Massachusetts General Hospital, the bionic pancreas is made up of two externally-worn pumps, an app on an iPhone 4s, and a tiny sensor within a needle that's inserted under the skin. Every five minutes, that sensor monitors the glucose levels in the surrounding tissue fluid, and sends the readings to the app. If those levels get too high or too low, the app automatically triggers one or the other of the pumps to release either insulin or its counteracting hormone, glucagon, into the bloodstream.
> 
> Ordinarily, diabetics must monitor glucose levels themselves several times a day via fingerstick blood tests. If more insulin is required, it must be either manually injected or pumped into their body.
> 
> In the tests, a group of 20 adult diabetics used the bionic pancreas for five days while conducting their usual activities in downtown Boston, plus a group of 32 adolescents also tried them out over a five-day period at a youth camp. As a control, both groups were also monitored for a five-day period while only using their regular manual insulin pumps.



Bionic pancreas shows promise in trials


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists Cook Up Microwave Helmet for Early Stroke Identification (VIDEO)*
Scientists Cook Up Microwave Helmet for Early Stroke Identification (VIDEO)



> According to the WHO, 15 million people suffer from stroke each year, of which 5 million succumb to fatal injuries, and another 5 million are permanently disabled, making stroke the second highest cause of disability worldwide. The disease is caused by a lack of blood flow to areas of the brain or spinal cord, either by an occlusion of a large artery (ischemic stroke), or as a downstream effect of a bleed into the brain (hemorrhagic stroke). The current treatment for an ischemic stroke is to give medication called tissue plasminogen activator (tPA). A clot buster, tPA can act to dissolve blood clots and restore circulation to the affected area of the brain. While it&#8217;s been shown to work highly effectively when used for ischemic stroke, it can cause more bleeding and worsen outcomes in the case of hemorrhagic stroke. Thus, the workflow to diagnose the type of stroke is an important step in its management. However, the process is lengthy and includes evaluation by stroke teams and long wait times for CT scans. It&#8217;s been thought that 1.9 million neurons die every minute that a stroke goes untreated, so timing is critical (as neurologists say: &#8220;Time is brain!&#8221. Making things more complicated is the fact that tPA treatment is only shown to be effective within a 4.5-hour window, starting from the onset of symptoms.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Edwards SAPIEN XT Transcatheter Heart Valve FDA Approved*
Edwards SAPIEN XT Transcatheter Heart Valve FDA Approved



> Edwards Lifesciences received FDA approval for its SAPIEN XT transcatheter aortic heart valve for implantation in patients with symptomatic aortic stenosis who are poor candidates for traditional surgery. The same device  has recently been approved in Europe for valve-invalve aortic and mitral procedures.
> 
> The SAPIEN XT is implanted using the NovaFlex+ system, that can be delivered via a 16-French expandable sheath, and the Ascendra+ transcapical and transaortic delivery systems. The new valve is available in sizes up to 29mm, allowing for treatment of patients with particularly large native annuli.
> 
> From the announcement:
> 
> &#8220;There is a substantial and growing body of evidence that the SAPIEN XT valve benefits both high-risk and inoperable patients, and clinicians have documented these consistently positive results in both randomized studies and European country registries,&#8221; said Martin B. Leon, MD, director, Center for Interventional Vascular Therapy at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center and professor of medicine at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. Dr. Leon was the co-principal investigator for the PARTNER II Trial, which was Edwards&#8217; second randomized controlled trial of a transcatheter valve and evaluated the SAPIEN XT valve. &#8220;The results from the PARTNER II Trial in treating U.S. inoperable patients with the SAPIEN XT valve demonstrated a reduction in complications with the TAVR procedure, and improved patient outcomes over earlier trials.&#8221;


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Bacteria 'bricklayer' protein set for attack*

BBC News - Bacteria 'bricklayer' protein set for attack



> Scientists have found a new route to attack antibiotic-resistant bacteria by blocking the mechanism they use to build their exterior coating.
> 
> The bugs construct this defensive barrier in a complex process that depends on a key dual-protein molecule.
> 
> Its structure has been mapped using the intense X-rays of the Diamond Light Source in Oxfordshire.
> 
> Researchers tell the journal Nature that drugs can now be developed to interfere with this LptDE protein.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*La Jolla Institute Advances Research Toward World&#8217;s First Vaccine for Heart Disease *
La Jolla Institute Advances Research Toward World?s First Vaccine for Heart Disease



> Newswise &#8212; SAN DIEGO &#8211; (June 17, 2014) Research toward the world&#8217;s first vaccine for heart disease continues to advance at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, with researchers demonstrating significant arterial plaque reduction in concept testing in mice.
> 
> Klaus Ley, M.D., a pioneer in vascular immunology, is leading the vaccine effort, which seeks to reduce plaque buildup in the arteries by targeting inflammation. In his latest finding, published recently in the journal Frontiers in Immunology, Ley used two mouse peptides, identified by Harley Tse, Ph.D., of Wayne State University, which he incorporated into testing the vaccine approach. In the study, vaccinated mice had about 40 percent less arterial plaque than mice that didn&#8217;t receive the vaccine.
> 
> &#8220;Heart disease remains our nation&#8217;s number one killer,&#8221; says Mitchell Kronenberg, Ph.D., La Jolla Institute president &chief scientific officer. &#8220;We are excited by Dr. Ley&#8217;s studies, which show promise for creating a vaccine that may one day reduce the incidence of this terrible illness.&#8221; If successful, the vaccine could be given to aid in preventing heart disease and also to stop or reduce disease progression. In addition to heart disease, the vaccine could target strokes, which are also fueled by plaque buildup in the arteries.
> 
> The research drew praise from several cardiology experts. Stanley Hazen, M.D., Ph.D., section head of Preventive Cardiology at the Cleveland Clinic, one of the nation&#8217;s top cardiology hospitals, called the research &#8220;elegant and tremendously exciting.&#8221;


----------



## whitehall

A spokesperson from Albert Einstein College of Medicine: "this is a very elegant and important validation that this approach can work -at least in mice".


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Self-repairing mechanism helps to preserve brain function in neurodegenerative diseases*
Self-repairing mechanism helps to preserve brain function in neurodegenerative diseases | KurzweilAI



> Neurogenesis, the self-repairing mechanism of the adult brain by creating new neurons, can help to preserve brain function in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer&#8217;s, Prion, and Parkinson&#8217;s, new research led by scientists at the University of Southampton has found.
> 
> The progressive degeneration and death of the brain, occurring in many neurodegenerative diseases, is often seen as an unstoppable and irrevocable process.
> 
> But now, a research team, led by Diego Gomez-Nicola, DPhil, from the Centre for Biological Sciences at the University of Southampton, has detected increased neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus (part of the brain system controlling learning and memory, the hippocampus) that partially counteracts neuronal loss.
> 
> An optimal time window for self-repairing
> 
> Using a model of prion disease from mice, the research identified the time-course of the generation of these newborn neurons and how they integrate into the brain circuitry. While this self-repairing mechanism is effective in maintaining some neuronal functions at early and mid-stages of the disease, it fails at more advanced phases. This highlights a window of time in which potential therapeutic intervention could preserve the beneficial effects of enhanced neurogenesis.
> 
> &#8220;This study highlights the latent potential of the brain to orchestrate a self-repairing response,&#8221; said Gomez-Nicola. &#8220;The continuation of this line of research is opening new avenues to identify what specific signals are used to promote this increased neurogenic response, with views focused in targeting neurogenesis as a therapeutic approach to promote the regeneration of lost neurons.&#8221;
> 
> The study, which is published in the journal Brain (open access), also involves the Universities of Hamburg and Valencia. It is funded by the European Union Seventh Framework Programme and the Medical Research Council (MRC).


----------



## ScienceRocks

*3-D Mammography Test Appears to Improve Breast Cancer Detection Rate*

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/25/h...ray.html?smid=tw-nytimeshealth&seid=auto&_r=0


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Agenus Brain Cancer Vaccine Doubles Life Expectancy per Study*




> Agenus stock rose dramatically yesterday after the announcement of the results of a study on Prophage, its new brain cancer vaccine, revealed that life expectancy could be doubled for patients treated with the drug. The median life expectancy in 50 percent of patients newly diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) increased to two years when the drug was given in addition to standard treatment. After two years 33 percent of patients remain alive and continue to have survival rates followed.
> 
> The study was a Phase 2, single-arm, open-label, multi-institutional study supported through funding from the American Brain Tumor Association, National Brain Tumor Society, Accelerated Brain Cancer Cure and National Cancer Institute Special Programs of Research Excellence. It was sponsored by Dr. Andrew Parsa, the principal investigator on the study.


Read more at Agenus Brain Cancer Vaccine Doubles Life Expectancy per Study


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Emerald Therapeutics: Biotech Lab for Hire*

Emerald Therapeutics: Biotech Lab for Hire - Businessweek



> There&#8217;s a basic formula these days for anyone looking to develop a cure for a disease. Along with a good idea, you need $20 million, a team of about 30 scientists, and a year to set up the lab equipment to start testing your theory. From there, the grunt work begins, as your team of well-paid researchers squirts fluid into test tubes, feeds chemicals into machines, and analyzes the results from thousands of experiments. If you luck out and discover something useful, then it&#8217;s time to pray that the desired result can be replicated.
> 
> Emerald Therapeutics, a 17-person startup in Silicon Valley, claims to have modernized much of this burdensome process, which might make drug discovery faster and cheaper. On July 1 the company unveiled a service that lets other labs send it instructions for their experiments via the Web. Robots then complete the work. The idea is a variation on the cloud-computing model, in which companies rent computers by the hour from Amazon.com (AMZN), Google (GOOG), and Microsoft (MSFT) instead of buying and managing their own equipment. In this case, biotech startups could offload some of their basic tasks&#8212;counting cells one at a time or isolating proteins&#8212;freeing their researchers to work on more complex jobs and analyze results. To control the myriad lab machines, Emerald has developed its own computer language and management software. The company is charging clients $1 to $100 per experiment and has vowed to return results within a day. &#8220;Emerald has brought laboratory experimentation into the digital age, allowing truly virtual scientific research,&#8221; says David Pompliano, a former executive with Merck (MRK) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) who is advising the company. &#8220;This will lead to better science.&#8221;


*
Bio-printing transplantable tissues, organs: Another step closer*


> Researchers have made a giant leap towards the goal of 'bio-printing' transplantable tissues and organs for people affected by major diseases and trauma injuries, a new study reports.
> 
> Scientists from the Universities of Sydney, Harvard, Stanford and MIT have bio-printed artificial vascular networks mimicking the body's circulatory system that are necessary for growing large complex tissues.
> 
> "Thousands of people die each year due to a lack of organs for transplantation," says study lead author and University of Sydney researcher, Dr Luiz Bertassoni.
> 
> "Many more are subjected to the surgical removal of tissues and organs due to cancer, or they're involved in accidents with large fractures and injuries.
> 
> "Imagine being able to walk into a hospital and have a full organ printed -- or bio-printed, as we call it -- with all the cells, proteins and blood vessels in the right place, simply by pushing the 'print' button in your computer screen.




http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/06/140630103136.htm

*
Antibiotic resistance may be reversed using fungus chemical, McMaster researchers find*


> TORONTO &#8212; A soil sample from Nova Scotia has yielded a compound that could help fight antibiotic resistance.
> 
> Researchers from McMaster University in Hamilton have discovered that a fungus found in the sample produces a chemical that inactivates the dangerous NDM-1 resistance gene, making bacteria containing it vulnerable to the antibiotics NDM-1 normally helps them evade.
> 
> The scientists liken the compound to an adjuvant, a chemical that enhances the power of vaccines.
> 
> &#8220;Simply put, the molecule knocks out NDM-1 so the antibiotics can do their job,&#8221; said Gerry Wright, the biochemistry professor who leads the team which conducted the research.



http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/0...ng-fungus-chemical-mcmaster-researchers-find/


----------



## ScienceRocks

*
Researchers May Have Discovered The Consciousness On/Off Switch
*



> Researchers from the George Washington University have managed to switch consciousness on and off in an epileptic woman by stimulating a single region of the brain with electrical impulses. While this is a single case study, it provides an exciting insight into the neural mechanisms behind consciousness, a subject of great interest that is poorly understood despite decades of research. The study has been published in Epilepsy & Behavior.
> 
> Consciousness is a fascinating topic that has both intrigued and puzzled scientists and philosophers for centuries. Despite significant advances in our understanding of the brain, little is known about the neural networks that underpin consciousness. However, research has hinted that consciousness is likely the result of an integration of activity from numerous different areas of the brain, marrying all of our perceptions together into one experience. But what is the central hub to this process?
> 
> A few years back, Francis Crick, one of the scientists involved in deciphering the structure of DNA, and colleague Christof Koch proposed that a brain region known as the claustrum may be at the heart of consciousness, stringing together the constant input of information arriving from different brain networks.


Read more at Researchers May Have Discovered The Consciousness On/Off Switch | IFLScience


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Corneas Regrown From Adult Human Stem Cells*




> Corneal abrasions are some of the most common eye injuries. While many heal up just fine, others can result in blindness and over 40,000 corneal transplants are done every year in the United States, with variable outcomes. Identifying the stem cells that regenerate corneas comes from a recent study involving a wide collaboration between healthcare facilities in Boston. Targeting the stem cells not only resulted in an increased success in corneal transplants, but is one of the first known instances of using adult-derived stem cells to regenerate tissue. The results of the research were published in Nature.
> 
> Guaranteeing a successful corneal transplant has traditionally been quite difficult, as limbal stem cells (the cells that create and maintain the cornea) are limited in number. Their presence can make or break the success a corneal transplant, but it has not always been easy to identify them for transplantation. This study&#8217;s success hinged on using the protein ABCB5 to identify the limbal stem cells. The human corneas were then implanted into mice, where they developed and became fully functional once again.
> 
> "Limbal stem cells are very rare, and successful transplants are dependent on these rare cells," lead author Bruce Ksander said in a press release. "This finding will now make it much easier to restore the corneal surface. It's a very good example of basic research moving quickly to a translational application.&#8221;



Read more at Corneas Regrown From Adult Human Stem Cells | IFLScience


----------



## itfitzme

How a Standford dropout is revolutionizing the blood-testing industry.



Two articles from February.  One in Wired , another in Takepart .  

I present both because they compliment each other.  I linked the Google search because I spotted other clips that looked interesting.  I think this one is big.









> With just a single, tiny drop of blood in Theranos' 'nanotainer' tube, which is smaller than a dime, almost 200 conditions can be tested for, everything to blood typing, cholesterol, HIV, Syphilis and Respiratory Virus.
> 
> Charging less than 50 percent of the standard Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement rates, Theranos says that it could save the two U.S. social insurance programs, used by some 78 million people*according*to the U.S. Census Bureau, anywhere from $98 to $104 billion in testing fees. Currently, most patients get medical tests done in hospital labs or independent companies, where prices can vary widely.




Forget Vials of Blood?New Tests Require Just One Drop | TakePart



> Theranos*lists its prices*on its website: blood typing, $2.05; cholesterol, $2.99; iron, $4.45. If all tests in the US were performed at those kinds of prices, the company says, it could save Medicare $98 billion and Medicaid $104 billion over the next decade.



This Woman Invented a Way to Run 30 Lab Tests on Only One Drop of Blood | Science | WIRED







Oh, and she dropped out of college at Stanford.  

There is a joke that goes, "Show me a 'C' student in college and I'll show you the owner of a company.  Show me an 'A' student and I'll show you the guy that works for the 'C' student.".  

I worked for such a 'C' student.  He was a UC Berkeley dropout.  


---------

https://www.google.com/webhp?ssrp=1&hl=en#hl=en&q=nano+blood+vial+testing


----------



## itfitzme

UCSD researchers announce debut of device that removes blood clots



UCSD researchers announce debut of device that removes blood clots | San Diego 6 | Local News



> AngioVac is a catheter-based device in which thin tubes are inserted into two major veins in the body through the neck or groin. Under X-ray guidance, the flexible tubes are advanced to the veins, right-sided heart chambers or lung arteries. Each is equipped with an expandable balloon-shaped funnel tip that vacuums material such as a blood clot out of the body.*


----------



## ScienceRocks

Light drinking may still damage your heart, study finds





> The new research reviewed evidence from over 50 studies that linked drinking habits and cardiovascular health for over 260,000 people.
> 
> According to a University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine report, by reducing the amount of alcohol they consume, light-to-moderate drinkers may improve cardiovascular health, reduce their risk of coronary heart disease, in addition to lower body mass index (BMI) and blood pressure.
> 
> The findings appear in The British Medical Journal, and challenge previous studies that propose consuming light-to-moderate amounts of alcohol (0.6-0.8 fluid ounces/day) may have a protective effect on cardiovascular health.



Read more: Light drinking may still damage your heart, study finds | Science Recorder


----------



## ScienceRocks

Saliva test might someday replace needle prick for diabetics

Saliva test might someday replace needle prick for diabetics



> A new type of sensor for people with diabetes is being developed to measure sugar levels in the body using saliva instead of blood, researchers report.
> 
> Scientists at Brown University in Providence, R.I., created the sensor and successfully tested it using artificial saliva. It uses light, metal and a special enzyme that changes color when exposed to blood sugar.
> 
> "Everybody knows that diabetics have to prick their fingers to draw blood to check their blood sugar and then respond to that information. And they have to do that multiple times a day," said study co-author Tayhas Palmore, a professor of engineering, chemistry and medical science at Brown.
> 
> "We're looking for another possibility, and realized that saliva is another bodily fluid that could be measured," Palmore said.
> 
> This idea is a welcome one, said Dr. Joel Zonszein, director of the Clinical Diabetes Center at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City. "People are always trying to come up with new ideas of how to measure blood sugar without pricking the fingers."


----------



## ScienceRocks

*USGI&#8217;s New Incisionless Endolumenal Bariatric Surgery Technology Now in U.S. Trial*



> Traditional bariatric surgery for weight loss has benefited thousands of people, but many who are interested in it are concerned about the incisions and some of the potential side effects involved. USGI Medical out of San Clemente, CA is about to begin a U.S. study of its g-Cath EZ Delivery Catheter with Snowshoe Suture Anchors that allows for incisionless endoscopic bariatric surgery through the mouth.
> 
> With the catheter, surgeons can fold stomach tissue and place anchors across the folds, reducing the stomach volume. The company enrolled 332 patients at 11 hospitals across the country that will receive either the g-Cath or sham treatment, and everyone will be followed for at least two years afterwards. Of note, all of the devices that make up the company&#8217;s Incisionless Operating Platform are already cleared in the U.S. and Europe.
> 
> Some details about the technology from the product page:
> 
> The g-Cath&#8482; is an integral accessory to the g-Prox® tissue approximation system. The catheter ends in a hollow needle and contains a pair of Snowshoe Suture Anchors&#8482;. A sliding button on the g-Cath allows the surgeon to advance the tissue anchors and deliver them on either side of a tissue fold or apposition. Then, the operator uses the g-Cath to bring the two anchors together with adjustable tensioning. The cinching is user-controlled under direct vision with tactile feedback, similar to a traditional suture. Also, the tension flattens out the mesh anchors, securing the tissue.



USGI's New Incisionless Endolumenal Bariatric Surgery Technology Now in U.S. Trial


----------



## itfitzme

Why researchers are growing miniature brains


The title is a bit of journalistic hyping.  While the real developments are less attention grabbing, they are far more significant.



> Scientists are growing tiny brains, livers, kidneys and other organs  aka "organoids"  that look and function much like their full-sized counterparts. These fun-sized organs could give a serious boost to biomedical research, helping to unravel diseases in ways that aren't possible in the animal models or flasks of cells usually used in research and drug testing. Some researchers are even designing "humans on a chip," mini-versions of every organ system, all on a credit card-sized chip. Eventually, scientists hope to use organoids  custom-made from patients' own stem cells  to replace diseased organ parts.



Why researchers are growing miniature brains


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists find early warning system for Alzheimer&#8217;s in the retina and lens of the eye *

Scientists find early warning system for Alzheimer?s in the retina and lens of the eye - Science - News - The Independent



> Scientists believe they have hit upon an early-warning system for identifying Alzheimer&#8217;s, after two separate new studies identified a &#8220;biomarker&#8221; of the disease that can be spotted in an eye test.
> 
> Early trials of two different techniques reveal that an indicator for the degenerative disorder can be identified in the retina and lens of the eye. Both methods were able to distinguish between probable Alzheimer&#8217;s patients and healthy volunteers with a high level of accuracy.
> 
> The scientists behind both projects stressed that their research was still at a very early stage but expressed hope that it could be developed into an eye test which could be used to identify people with the disease.
> 
> Dr Simon Ridley, head of science at the Alzheimer&#8217;s Research UK charity welcomed the research.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*
Roche skin cancer drug meets main goal in combination study
*

Roche skin cancer drug meets main goal in combination study | Reuters



> (Reuters) - An experimental drug from Roche helped people with an advanced form of skin cancer live longer without their disease worsening when used in combination with another treatment, the Swiss drugmaker said on Monday.
> 
> Pharmaceutical companies are looking to combination therapy to yield better results and drug cocktails are expected to be crucial as oncologists seek to block cancer on multiple fronts.
> 
> Cobimetinib, which is being developed in collaboration with Exelixis Inc, is designed to be used with another Roche drug called Zelboraf for patients with tumors that have a mutation in a gene known as BRAF that allows melanoma cells to grow.
> 
> About half of all melanomas have the genetic aberration the drugs target.
> 
> Results of a Phase III study involving 495 patients previously untreated for advanced melanoma found those taking both drugs lived significantly longer without their disease worsening compared to those taking Zelboraf alone.
> 
> Roche plans to present the results at an upcoming medical meeting and said it would file the data for approval with health regulators worldwide.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Diabetes drug reduces Alzheimer's risk, study suggests*

Diabetes drug reduces Alzheimer's risk, study suggests



> A large German database research is the latest clinical test to propose that a cheap generic treatment for diabetes can cut Alzheimer's risk, though conclusive evidence from a formal test could be 5 years away.
> 
> Previous researches have indicated that animals and people given the widely used drug for type 2 diabetes named pioglitazone, were less likely to develop Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia.



Why 5 years? wtf?


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Researchers Invent Nanotech Microchip To Diagnose Type-1 Diabetes*

Researchers Invent Nanotech Microchip To Diagnose Type-1 Diabetes : Drugs/Therapy : Counsel & Heal



> Stanford researchers have invented an inexpensive, portable, microchip-based test for diagnosing type-1 diabetes that could improve patient care worldwide and help researchers better understand the disease, according to a new study.
> 
> The test employs nanotechnology to detect type-1 diabetes outside hospital settings. The handheld microchips distinguish between the two main forms of diabetes mellitus, which are both characterized by high blood-sugar levels but have different causes and treatments, the press release added.
> 
> Up until now, making the distinction has required a slow, expensive test available only in sophisticated health-care settings.
> 
> "With the new test, not only do we anticipate being able to diagnose diabetes more efficiently and more broadly, we will also understand diabetes better - both the natural history and how new therapies impact the body," said Brian Feldman, MD, PhD, assistant professor of pediatric endocrinology and the Bechtel Endowed Faculty Scholar in Pediatric Translational Medicine, in the press release. Feldman, the senior author of the paper, is also a pediatric endocrinologist at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford.
> 
> Researchers are now seeking Food and Drug Administration approval of the device


----------



## ScienceRocks

*
50 Percent Of Kids's Learning Ability Is In Their DNA: Study*




> Genes determining a person's ability to tackle one subject influences their aptitude at the other, accounting for around half of a person's overall ability, a new research has found.
> 
> The study considered around 1,500 pairs of 12-year-old twins. It focused on teasing apart the effects of genetic inheritance and environmental variables on math and reading ability.
> 
> Twin studies provide an efficient way of assessing the balance of nature versus nurture.
> 
> "Twins are like a natural experiment," said Robert Plomin, a psychologist at Kings College London who worked on the study.
> 
> After administering a set of math and verbal tests to the children, researchers found that the twins' scores were twice as similar among pairs of identical twins as among pairs of fraternal twins. Findings further suggested that approximately half the children's math and reading ability stemmed from their genetic markup.



50 Percent Of Kids's Learning Ability Is In Their DNA: Study : Mental Health : Counsel & Heal


----------



## ScienceRocks

*U.S. strokes, stroke deaths decreased over past decades*
U.S. strokes, stroke deaths decreased over past decades | Reuters




> (Reuters Health) - The number of Americans having strokes and the number dying following strokes decreased over the past 20 years, according to a new study.
> 
> The declines in strokes and improvements in survival were similar between blacks, whites, men and women, according to the researchers.
> 
> &#8220;Stroke is still the fourth leading cause of death and the leading cause of disability in the U.S. but we&#8217;re doing better,&#8221; said Dr. Josef Coresh, the study&#8217;s senior author from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore.
> 
> More than 795,000 people in the U.S. have a stroke each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and about 130,000 die as a result.
> 
> The vast majority of strokes are ischemic strokes, which occur when blood flow to the brain is blocked. About 10 percent of strokes, known as hemorrhagic stokes, are caused by leaking blood vessels.
> 
> Coresh and his colleagues write in JAMA, the journal of the American Medical Association, that some studies have reported a decline in stroke rates.
> 
> Whether that decline has been consistent among people of all races and among both men and women is still up for debate, however.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*A Breakthrough in the Checkered History Of Brain Hacking *



> Scientists funded by the Defense Department have just announced a breakthrough that could allow researchers to create in 220 days an extremely detailed picture of the brain that previously would have taken 80 years of scans to complete.
> 
> The military has been looking to build better brain hacks for decades with results that ranged form the frightening to the comical. This latest development could revolutionize the study of the brain but also the national security applications of neuroscience.
> 
> Scientists at Stanford University who developed the new way to see the brain in greater detail, outlined in the journal Nature Protocols, said that it could mark a new era of rapid brain imaging, allowing researchers to see in much greater detail not only how parts of the brain interact on a cellular level but also to better understand those interactions across the entire brain.



A Breakthrough in the Checkered History Of Brain Hacking - Defense One


----------



## itfitzme

Matthew said:


> *A Breakthrough in the Checkered History Of Brain Hacking *
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Scientists funded by the Defense Department have just announced a breakthrough that could allow researchers to create in 220 days an extremely detailed picture of the brain that previously would have taken 80 years of scans to complete.
> 
> The military has been looking to build better brain hacks for decades with results that ranged form the frightening to the comical. This latest development could revolutionize the study of the brain but also the national security applications of neuroscience.
> 
> Scientists at Stanford University who developed the new way to see the brain in greater detail, outlined in the journal Nature Protocols, said that it could mark a new era of rapid brain imaging, allowing researchers to see in much greater detail not only how parts of the brain interact on a cellular level but also to better understand those interactions across the entire brain.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> A Breakthrough in the Checkered History Of Brain Hacking - Defense One
Click to expand...


Now if they can just figure out how to put it back in the subject head they'll really have something


----------



## JimBowie1958

Wow liberals are about to become a precious military commodity....not only are they immune to brain freeze, but they'll be unhackable as well!


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Gene therapy converts heart cells into "biological pacemakers"*

http://www.gizmag.com/biological-pacemakers/33002/



> Pacemakers serve an invaluable purpose, by electrically stimulating a recipient's heart in order to keep it beating at a steady rate. The implantation of a pacemaker is a major surgical procedure, however, plus its presence in the body can lead to complications such as infections. Now, for the first time, scientists have instead injected genes into the defective hearts of pigs, converting unspecialized heart cells into "biological pacemakers."
> 
> The procedure was reportedly the result of "dozens of years of research," and was carried out by a team led by Dr. Eduardo Marbán at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute in Los Angeles.
> 
> The pigs, all of which suffered from complete heart blocks, had the gene TBX18 injected into their hearts via what is described as a minimally invasive catheter procedure. As a Cedars-Sinai representative explained to us, this caused some of the existing unspecialized cardiac cells to transform into sinuatrial node cells. The sinuatrial node consists of tissue that initiates the electrical impulses that set the rhythm of the heart &#8211; it's essentially the heart's natural pacemaker.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Experimental 'pulse radiotherapy' kills cancer cells while sparing healthy tissue*
Experimental 'pulse radiotherapy' kills cancer cells while sparing healthy tissue



> (Medical Xpress)&#8212;French researchers have developed a new radiation technique that appears to target tumour cells while leaving healthy cells unharmed, according to a new study in mice.
> 
> The technique, known as 'FLASH', was developed by researchers at the Institut Curie in Paris and delivers short pulses of intense radiation to tumour cells.
> 
> Radiotherapy uses high-energy radiation to permanently damage the DNA of cancer cells, causing them to die by committing suicide.
> 
> Standard radiotherapy treatment delivers a continuous beam of radiation to targeted areas. But this can also damage normal tissue surrounding tumours.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Common gene variants account for most genetic risk for autism*

Common gene variants account for most genetic risk for autism



> Most of the genetic risk for autism comes from versions of genes that are common in the population rather than from rare variants or spontaneous glitches, researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have found. Heritability also outweighed other risk factors in this largest study of its kind to date.
> 
> About 52 percent of the risk for autism was traced to common and rare inherited variation, with spontaneous mutations contributing a modest 2.6 percent of the total risk.
> 
> "Genetic variation likely accounts for roughly 60 percent of the liability for autism, with common variants comprising the bulk of its genetic architecture," explained Joseph Buxbaum, Ph.D., of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS), New York City. "Although each exerts just a tiny effect individually, these common variations in the genetic code add up to substantial impact, taken together."
> 
> Buxbaum, and colleagues of the Population-Based Autism Genetics and Environment Study (PAGES) Consortium, report on their findings in a unique Swedish sample in the journal Nature Genetics, July 20, 2014.


----------



## itfitzme

*Scientists Create Biological Pacemaker*




> Scientists have successfully tested in pigs a form of gene therapy that turns ordinary cardiac muscle cells into specialized ones that signal to the heart when it should beat, effectively creating a biological pacemaker that restored normal heart rhythm to pigs with heart block. Pig and human hearts are quite similar, so the results are encouraging, and researchers hope to begin human trials within a few years. Eventually, this procedure could offer an alternative to artificial pacemakers, which require surgical implantation and regular replacement.



Gene therapy creates 'biological pacemaker' cells for the heart


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Newly identified genetic variants could delay Alzheimer's onset by four years*
Newly identified genetic variants could delay Alzheimer's onset by four years


> Over the past few years scientists and researchers have made some inroads in the fight against Alzheimer&#8217;s disease, but as yet no definitive cure has been found. In the latest promising development, a team of Canadian researchers has identified a genetic variant that can delay the onset of the disease by up to four years.
> 
> Alzheimer&#8217;s has been the focus of a great deal of research in the past few years. Scientists have identified genetic markers through advanced blood tests, discovered proteins complicit in the onset of the disease, investigated lasers that could potentially remove proteins that affect neurological processes and recently, a study by the University of California showed that the disease could be successfully halted, and even reversed, in mice. But while many of these developments are promising in the long run, the need to delay the diseases onset is considered crucial in the interim.
> 
> The Canadian research team, led by Judes Poirier, PhD, C.Q., from the Douglas Mental Health Institute and McGill University in Montréal, conducted a study on an extensive scale in which they found natural genetic variants that provided protection against the most common form of Alzheimer's.
> 
> "We found that specific genetic variants in a gene called HMG CoA reductase, which normally regulates the production and mobilization of cholesterol in the brain, could change the process and delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease by almost four years,&#8221; says Poirier. &#8220;This is a remarkable breakthrough in an area where research has been rarely successful in recent years.&#8221;


----------



## Chuckt

Softbank unveils 'human-like' robot Pepper

BBC News - Softbank unveils 'human-like' robot Pepper

SoftBank announces emotional robots to staff its stores and watch your baby | The Verge

SoftBank unveils Pepper, an emotional robot for consumers


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Drugmaker one step closer to producing worlds first malaria vaccine*




> On July 24, British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced the release of new malaria vaccine known as RTS,S, to the European Medicines Agency (EMA). According to the companys recent press release, the EMA will then assess the quality, safety and efficacy of the vaccine. Reuters explains that although the shot will be assessed by EMA as well the World Health Organisation (WHO), the vaccine is anticipated to be used solely outside of the European Union.
> 
> As outlined on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), all forms of human malaria are carried by female mosquitoes of the genus Anopheles, but between 30 and 40 of the 430 species defined under this genus are vectors for transmission. Furthermore the CDC identifies four particular species of Plasmodium, the genus under which malaria parasites are defined, that can infect humans.



Read more: Drugmaker one step closer to producing world?s first malaria vaccine | Science Recorder


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Single-Shot Radiotherapy For Breast Cancer*
Single-Shot Radiotherapy For Breast Cancer


> A new type of radiotherapy which could be delivered in a single dose during surgery is offering new hope for tens of thousands of women with breast cancer.
> 
> Intrabeam radiotherapy has been given a provisional go-ahead for NHS use by the health finance watchdog.
> 
> In new draft guidance, the National Institute for Health and Care excellence (Nice) said that the treatment option should be considered for people with early stage breast cancer.
> 
> Professor Carole Longson, director of health technology evaluation at Nice, said: "Unlike regular radiotherapy, with the Intrabeam Radiotherapy System only one dose is required.
> 
> "This single dose is given at the same time as surgery, eliminating the need for numerous hospital visits.
> 
> "Regular radiotherapy typically requires numerous doses over a three week period - although some people may receive it for longer - and is performed weeks or months after surgery or chemotherapy.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists eliminate HIV from cultured human cells*




> Researchers from Temple University School of Medicine have discovered how to permanently extricate HIV-1 from human cells, possibly avoiding the need for lifelong drug treatment. Though in its very early stages, this may prove to be a critical step in permanently defeating the disease.
> 
> At the closing ceremony of the AIDS 2014 conference last week in Melbourne, Australia, many of the speakers, including longtime AIDS researcher and International AIDS Society Presidential Award winner Eric Goosby, told of how utterly terrifying the disease seemed 30 years ago. That fear has not left. However as the medical community and wider community has learned more about the disease, the resolution to fight it  and destroy it by 2030 according to UNAIDS  has only become stronger. Hope now sits beside abject fear. Temple Universitys new discovery may yet be cause for greater hope. One of the main issues in the treatment of HIV-1 is not simply that it is expensive, but that antiretroviral therapy can only stay the illness, not destroy it. Many ARVs also have terrible side effects and they can speed up diseases more commonly associated with aging. They also may cause problems related to co-infections, such as Hepatitis C, where liver degradation is sped up by antiretroviral treatments.
> 
> Added to this is that HIV is a tricky and tenacious disease: it becomes part of a patients DNA making it nigh impossible to eradicate.



Scientists eliminate HIV from cultured human cells


----------



## ScienceRocks

*SensiumVitals could allow for near-constant observation of patients' vital signs*
SensiumVitals could allow for near-constant observation of patients' vital signs


> A new system developed by the Toumaz Group may hold the key to improving the level of life-saving attention received by patients, providing two-minute updates on their vital signs 24 hours a day with the use of a comfortable, wireless sensor pad. The equipment, known as SensiumVitals, is claimed to be so portable and convenient that it could even be used in the future to provide hospital-level observation to individuals in the comfort of their own homes.
> 
> The SensiumVitals system takes the form of a compact, single-use sensor pad, that when placed on the patient's chest, feeds regular updates on the their vital signs to hospital staff. According to the Toumaz Group, this will allow medical professionals to monitor the well-being of their patients in a more comprehensive and efficient manner. The system should also have the effect of creating a more relaxed atmosphere for nurses working a ward, allowing them to be more focused on the patient at hand, safe in the knowledge that their other patients are under near-constant observation.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Two weeks with PulseOn's (beta) heart rate monitor*

Two weeks with PulseOn's (beta) heart rate monitor


> A new fitness device claims it will make heart rate monitoring easier than ever. The PulseOn is a wrist-worn device with an optical heart rate sensor and an accompanying mobile app to store and present data. Gizmag took it for a spin to see if its claim would stand up.
> 
> We should start by saying that the PulseOn heart rate monitor is still very much in beta &#8211; and it shows. When the final device is shipped, the company tells us that its screen will be better, metallic finishings will be polished, the quality of the strap material will be improved, the overall quality and feel of the device will be better, the software will be more stable, additional features will be added, the battery life will be improved and data about distance and speed will be shown on the display.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Using Carbon Nanotubes and Lasers To Look Inside Living Brains*

Quote


> Stanford chemists have developed an non-invasive technique using lasers and carbon nanotubes to capture an unprecedented look at blood flowing through a living brain.
> The new technique was developed for mice but could one day be applied to humans, potentially providing vital information in the study of stroke and migraines, and perhaps even Alzheimers and Parkinsons diseases, the researchers say.



Using lasers and carbon nanotubes to look inside living brains | KurzweilAI


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Experimental drug compound found to reverse effects of Alzheimer's in mice*
Experimental drug compound found to reverse effects of Alzheimer's in mice


> While there has been progress made in the fight against Alzheimer's, our understanding of the dispiriting disease remains somewhat limited, with a definitive cure yet to be found. The latest development comes at the hands of researchers from Yale's School of Medicine, who have discovered a new drug compound shown to reverse the effects of Alzheimer's in mice.
> 
> The team's research centers on a protein in the brain called STtriatal-Enriched tyrosine Phosphatase (STEP). While STEP is essential to regulating learning and memory, high levels prevent the strengthening of synapses in the brain. This synaptic strengthening is necessary for people to convert short-term memories into long-term memories, therefore disruption of the process can lead to a range of neuropsychiatric disorders, including Alzheimer's.
> 
> The scientists studied thousands of molecules in search of one that would inhibit the negative effects of STEP. They identified the compound TC-2153 and proceeded to examine its efficacy in curtailing the impacts of STEP, observing a reversal of deficits in a number of cognitive exercises, including the mouse's ability to remember objects it had seen previously.
> 
> &#8220;A single dose of the drug results in improved cognitive function in mice," says Dr Paul Lombroso, professor in the Yale Child Study Center and lead author of the study. "Animals treated with TC compound were indistinguishable from a control group in several cognitive tasks.&#8221;


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Stem cell stroke therapy shows promise after first human trial*
Stem cell stroke therapy shows promise after first human trial


> A pilot study undertaken by researchers from Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and Imperial College London has shown promise in rapid treatment of serious strokes. The study, the first of its kind published in the UK, treated patients using stem cells from bone marrow.
> 
> Imagine a perfectly ordinary beginning to your day, say burned toast, no matching pair of socks and the usual damp commute to work. Except at some point through the usual minutiae you suffer a massive stroke. If you don&#8217;t die outright, you may soon afterwards. Even supposing you survive those first days or weeks, the chance of your life resuming its comforting tedium is impossibly remote. You may need assistance for the rest of your shortened life.
> 
> According to the Stroke Association, about 152,000 people suffer a stroke in the UK alone each year. However, the five patients treated in the recent Imperial College pilot study all showed improvements. According to doctors, four of those had suffered the most severe kind of stroke, which leaves only four percent of people alive or able to live independently six months after the event. All four of the patients were alive after six months.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists can remotely control moths' flight.*
Scientists to control moth 8217 s flight wirelessly The Eastern Tribune
NEW YORK: Scientists are developing a method to control the flight muscles of a moth remotely, at once creating a new expression to the vocabulary of technophobes: the mothpocalypse.

Researchers have worked out methods that would allow a moth’s flight muscles to be controlled wirelessly. Scientists attached electrodes to muscle groups in moths that let them observe the electric signals moths use to control their muscles in flight. The wired moth is connected to a wireless platform which collects the moth flight muscle data.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Whole organ 'grown' in world first*

*BBC News - Whole organ grown in world first*

A whole functional organ has been grown from scratch inside an animal for the first time, say researchers in Scotland.

A group of cells developed into a thymus - a critical part of the immune system - when transplanted into mice.

The findings, published in Nature Cell Biology, could pave the way to alternatives to organ transplantation.

Experts said the research was promising, but still years away from human therapies.

The thymus is found near the heart and produces a component of the immune system, called T-cells, which fight infection.

Grow your own
Scientists at the Medical Research Council centre for regenerative medicine at the University of Edinburgh started with cells from a mouse embryo.


----------



## ScienceRocks

A simple laser blast could help grow your teeth back

http://sciencealert....3005-25584.html


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Diabetes could be cured as scientists find cause of disease*



> Diabetes could be cured after scientists discovered that toxic clumps of a hormone stop cells producing insulin. Scientists at Manchester University have found that both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes are driven by the same underlying mechanism. The findings suggest that both forms occur when the hormone amylin begins to clump together, surrounding cells, and preventing them from producing insulin.




http://www.telegraph...of-disease.html


----------



## ScienceRocks

http://gizmodo.com/d...st-t-1628083577



implanted 3d printed vertibra


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientist honoured by the Vatican on verge of stem-cell breakthrough*
Scientist honoured by the Vatican on verge of stem-cell breakthrough CatholicHerald.co.uk




> A scientist honoured by the Vatican for his work in the field of adult stem cell research is close to producing a therapy to treat congestive heart failure – the biggest killer in the industrialised world.
> 
> Professor Silviu Itescu, the chief executive of Mesoblast, an Australia-based regenerative medicine company, is pioneering a therapy that requires a single injection of 150 million adult stem cells into the heart – and no surgery.
> 
> The scientist last year received the inaugural Key Innovator Award from the Pontifical Council for Culture for his leadership and ingenuity in translational science and clinical medicine in the field of adult stem cell therapy.
> 
> His work is identifying huge potential for a wide of therapies without any of the “ethical constraints” incumbent in destructive stem-cell research on human embryos.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New Drug Could Reduce Cardiovascular Deaths *


----------



## ScienceRocks

Nanoscale Production Line For The Assembly Of Biological Molecules Created




> Researchers have realized a long-held dream: inspired by an industrial assembly line, they have developed a nanoscale production line for the assembly of biological molecules.
> 
> Cars, planes and many electronic products are now built with the help of sophisticated assembly lines. Mobile assembly carriers, on to which the objects are fixed, are an important part of these assembly lines. In the case of a car body, the assembly components are attached in various work stages arranged in a precise spatial and chronological sequence, resulting in a complete vehicle at the end of the line.
> 
> The creation of such an assembly line at molecular level has been a long-held dream of many nanoscientists. "It would enable us to assemble new complex substances or materials for specific applications," says Professor Viola Vogel, head of the Laboratory of Applied Mechanobiology at ETH Zurich. Vogel has been working on this ambitious project together with her team and has recently made an important step. In a paper published in the latest issue of the Royal Society of Chemistry's Lab on a Chip journal, the ETH researchers presented a molecular assembly line featuring all the elements of a conventional production line: a mobile assembly carrier, an assembly object, assembly components attached at various assembly stations and a motor (including fuel) for the assembly carrier to transport the object from one assembly station to the next.
> 
> Production line three times thinner than a hair
> 
> At the nano level, the assembly line takes the form of a microfluid platform into which an aqueous solution is pumped. This platform is essentially a canal system with the main canal just 30 micrometres wide -- three times thinner than a human hair. Several inflows and outflows lead to and from the canal at right angles. The platform was developed by Vogel's PhD student Dirk Steuerwald and the prototype was created in the clean room at the IBM Research Centre in Rüschlikon.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*An experimental drug could be one of the greatest advances in protecting against heart failure in more than 25 years, cutting the risk of death or hospitalization due to the condition by 20 percent, researchers said. The drug — currently called LCZ696 — produced by the Swiss company Novartis cut the risk of death by a fifth when compared to an older drug, according to a study published Saturday in the New England Journal of Medicine. The drug “may well represent a new threshold of hope” for patients, Dr. Mariell Jessup, a former American Heart Association president, said in a statement. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			



New Drug May Revolutionize Heart Failure Treatment - NBC News*


----------



## ScienceRocks

* Battery-less device powers a pacemaker using heartbeats *
By Ben Coxworth
September 2, 2014






> Although cardiac pacemakers have saved countless lives, they do have at least one shortcoming – like other electronic devices, their batteries wear out. When this happens, of course, surgery is required in order to replace the pacemaker. While some researchers are looking into ideas such as drawing power from blood sugar, Swiss scientists from the University of Bern have taken another approach. They’ve developed a wristwatch-inspired device that can power a pacemaker via the beating of the patient’s own heart.


 Read More


----------



## ScienceRocks

* Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation found to boost memory *
By Darren Quick
September 1, 2014






> Failing memory is one of the (many) drawbacks of old age, but can also impact younger people suffering stroke, early-stage Alzheimer's disease, traumatic brain injury and cardiac arrest. In a breakthrough that opens up the potential for new treatments for memory impairments in the young and old, researchers at Northwestern University have shown that electrical stimulation of the brain can improve memory, with the benefits lasting long after treatment.


 Read More


----------



## ScienceRocks

* DARPA plans to shrink brain interface and organ control electronics to the size of nerve fibers  *
Here is follow up news on various DARPA brain related projects



> In May, Nextbigfuture reported that DARPA had $70 million in funding a project for brain implants for emotional mind control.
> 
> DARPA has a $79.8 million ElectRx project that aims to explore neuromodulation of organ functions to help the human body heal itself.
> 
> DARPA is planning to perform human trials of ElectRx in about five years. The initial goal will be improving the quality of life for US soldiers and veterans — though there’s no word on which condition DARPA will focus on.
> 
> The body’s peripheral nervous system constantly monitors the status of internal organs and helps regulate biological responses to infection, injury or other imbalances. When this regulatory process goes awry due to injury or illness, peripheral nerve signals can actually exacerbate a condition, causing pain, inflammation or immune dysfunction. A number of difficult-to-treat conditions might be managed more effectively by precise modulation of the peripheral nervous system than by conventional medical devices or medications.
> 
> “The technology DARPA plans to develop through the ElectRx program could fundamentally change the manner in which doctors diagnose, monitor and treat injury and illness,” said Doug Weber, DARPA program manager. “Instead of relying only on medication—we envision a closed-loop system that would work in concept like a tiny, intelligent pacemaker. It would continually assess conditions and provide stimulus patterns tailored to help maintain healthy organ function, helping patients get healthy and stay healthy using their body’s own systems.”


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New Automatic Test for Malaria to Reduce Requirement on Trained Clinicians, Bring Testing Into The Field*
by Editors on Sep 4, 2014






> While malaria has essentially disappeared in many countries, it still continues to ravage many parts of the world. The places where it survives tend to be poor and remote, and access to clinical laboratories with proper stains and microscopes sparse. Moreover, properly trained technicians that can analyze the slides can also be a rarity. Researchers from the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) have now developed a new malaria test that doesn’t require any staining and can be used by minimally trained personnel out in the field.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*FDA approves 'game changing' drug for melanoma*
*FDA approves game changing drug for melanoma*



> The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved a new immunotherapy drug to treat advanced melanoma, signaling a paradigm shift in the way the deadly skin cancer is treated.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The drug, Keytruda (pembrolizumab), was tested on more than 600 patients who had melanoma that had spread throughout their bodies. Because so many of the patients in the early testing showed significant long-lasting responses, the study was continued and the FDA granted the drug "breakthrough therapy" status, allowing it to be fast-tracked for approval.
> 
> The largest Phase 1 study in the history of oncology, the research was conducted at UCLA and 11 other sites in the U.S., Europe and Australia.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Long-distance virtual telepathy is demonstrated*

*Direct brain-to-brain communication has been demonstrated in humans located 5,000 miles apart via the Internet.*
Long-distance virtual telepathy is demonstrated









> In a first-of-its-kind study, an international team of neuroscientists and robotics engineers have demonstrated the viability of direct brain-to-brain communication in humans. Recently published in _PLOS ONE_, the highly novel findings describe the successful transmission of information via the Internet between the intact scalps of two human subjects – located 5,000 miles apart.
> 
> "We wanted to find out if one could communicate directly between two people by reading out the brain activity from one person and injecting brain activity into the second person, and do so across great physical distances by leveraging existing communication pathways," explains co-author Alvaro Pascual-Leone, PhD, Director of the Berenson-Allen Center for Noninvasive Brain Stimulation at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School. "One such pathway is, of course, the Internet, so our question became, 'Could we develop an experiment that would bypass the talking or typing part of Internet and establish direct brain-to-brain communication between subjects located far away from each other in India and France?'"
> 
> It turned out the answer was "yes."
> 
> In the neuroscientific equivalent of instant messaging, Pascual-Leone and his colleagues successfully transmitted the words "hola" and "ciao" in a computer-mediated brain-to-brain transmission, from a location in India to a location in France, using internet-linked electroencephalogram (EEG) and robot-assisted and image-guided transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) technologies.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Key Genetic Indicators of Longevity Found


> Scientists have been wondering about what the secrets are for living longer for some time now and while we understand that various lifestyle and environmental factors contribute to our longevity, it is also evident that genetics plays a role. In fact, family studies have indicated that genetic factors account for around 20-30% of the variation in adult lifespan. Now, a new study, published in Aging Cell, may have some answers.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Lifespan of fruit flies extended by 30 percent*

*Biologists have identified a gene that can slow the aging process throughout the entire body when activated "remotely" in key organ systems.*

Working with fruit flies, scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), activated a gene known as AMPK. This gene is a key energy sensor within cells; it gets activated when cellular energy levels are low. Increasing the amount of AMPK in fruit flies' intestines boosted their lifespans by 30% – to eight weeks from the typical six – and the flies stayed healthier for longer as well. This is equivalent to extending the average human lifespan for OECD countries from 80 to 104.

The research, published in the journal Cell Reports, could have important implications for delaying aging and disease in humans, explains David Walker, associate professor of integrative biology and physiology at UCLA and senior author of the study.

“We have shown that when we activate the gene in the intestine or the nervous system, we see the aging process is slowed beyond the organ system in which the gene is activated,” Walker said.

These findings are important because extending the healthy life of humans would presumably require protecting many of the body’s organ systems from the ravages of aging – but delivering anti-aging treatments to the brain or other key organs could prove technically difficult. This study suggests that activating AMPK in a more accessible organ such as the intestine, for example, could ultimately slow the aging process throughout the entire body, including the brain.

Humans have AMPK, but it is usually not activated at a high level, Walker explained: “Instead of studying the diseases of aging – Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer's disease, cancer, stroke, cardiovascular disease, diabetes – one by one, we believe it may be possible to intervene in the aging process and delay the onset of many of these diseases. We are not there yet, and it could, of course, take many years, but that is our goal and we think it is realistic. The ultimate aim of our research is to promote healthy aging in people.”
Lifespan of fruit flies extended by 30 percent
[TR][TD]
[TBODY]
[/TBODY]


----------



## ScienceRocks

*'Pocket' diagnosis for Parkinson’s*
_9 September 2014 ~ Smartphone technology revealed at the British Science Festival could help diagnose and treat Parkinson's disease._
Symptoms of Parkinson's are currently difficult to measure objectively after the patient leaves the doctor's clinic. New smartphone software developed at Aston University will bring the doctor into the patient's pocket to assess their movements and speech at home. Trials are now recruiting online, seeking people with and without the disease. Parkinson's is one of the commonest neurodegenerative diseases, affecting around 127,000 people in the UK.







Diagnosis is based on symptoms including tremor, stiffness and difficulty with movements and speech. However studies have shown that up to 20% of people diagnosed with Parkinson's show no evidence of the disease in post-mortem examinations. "Most people who have the disease will never be objectively measured," explained Dr Max Little, a mathematical researcher with Aston's Nonlinearity and Complexity Research Group. Dr Little's team has developed software that uses the microphone and motion detector of a standard smartphone to provide data to supplement traditional clinical assessment.

Machine learning

Voice change can be an early indicator of Parkinson's. Patients or their family may notice their voice becoming quieter, drifting in pitch and showing vocal tremors. Over the past eight years, Dr Little and colleagues have been developing tools to capture and quantify these changes in the lab and in the home. Using machine learning they are now able to "very accurately separate those who have Parkinson's from those who don't" - with up to 99% agreement with the diagnosis made by the neurologist in clinic. Their most recent study, the Parkinson's Voice Initiative, included 17,000 participants providing voice samples via telephone. Smartphones use accelerometers to measure force in three dimensions. These sensors can be used to collect data on Parkinson's with the phone stowed in the pocket - detecting "freezing of gait" when walking and other characteristic signs of the disease. By integrating this with GPS and other smartphone data, Dr Little's software can perform complex analyses of behaviours including "how many phone calls you make, what's your socialisation behaviour, are you spending a lot of time outside of the house, are you predominantly sitting or walking, how much do you explore your environment" - all of which can contribute to a diagnostic algorithm for Parkinson's.





Parkinson's is one of the commonest neuro-degenerative diseases

Personal diagnostic software raises new issues for diseases like Parkinson's which currently lack disease-modifying treatments. "For the first time, we could do population screening for Parkinson's," explained Dr Michele Hu, consultant neurologist at the Oxford Parkinson's Disease Centre. "But preclinical testing is a massive ethical can of worms - the issues must be carefully pre-empted and thought out. We don't know yet how accurate this could be as a predictor and the only way we will know is by very carefully following at-risk individuals over time." "The ethics clearly has to be worked out - what are we going to use these tools for? What would you like to know? What would you not like to know?" asked Dr Little. "We have made this tool and it's up to the community to decide what to do with it."

*Ongoing trials*


----------



## ScienceRocks

* Activating gene in key organ systems slows aging process throughout the body *
By Darren Quick
September 9, 2014






> With a typical lifespan of around six weeks, the common fruit fly is one animal that could benefit from a slowing of the aging process. And that's just what a team of biologists at UCLA have achieved by activating a gene called AMPK. Possibly of more interest to us higher life forms is the researchers' belief that the discovery could help delay aging and age-related diseases in humans.


 Read More


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Milestone reached in building replacement kidneys in the lab*



> Regenerative medicine researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina have developed what they say is the most successful method to date to keep blood vessels in new human-sized pig kidney organs open and flowing with blood — a major challenge in the quest to build replacement kidneys in the lab.




http://www.kurzweila...neys-in-the-lab


----------



## ScienceRocks

http://machprinciple...r-than-thought/



> A study has linked a type 2 diabetes drug to small increases in people’s lifespans. And a separate study has found greater lifespan boosts in fruit flies, from a treatment thought to work in a similar way.
> 
> Both are believed to boost the activity of a gene called AMPK, which in turn facilitates what biologists describe as a tiny “garbage disposal” process within cells of the body.


----------



## ScienceRocks

HOW 2 GENES SYNCH YOUR BODY’S CIRCADIAN CLOCK


> Researchers have figured out how two genes keep the circadian clocks in all human cells in time and in proper rhythm with the 24-hour day, as well as with the seasons.
> 
> The discovery has been a “long time coming,” says Aziz Sancar, a professor of biochemistry and biophysics at the UNC School of Medicine.
> 
> “We’ve known for a while that four proteins were involved in generating daily rhythmicity but not exactly what they did. Now we know how the clock is reset in all cells. So we have a better idea of what to expect if we target these proteins with therapeutics.”


----------



## ScienceRocks

Stanford researchers have developed a "decoy" protein that disrupts metastasis, the process that makes cancer cells spread to other sites in the body:


http://engineering.s...ancer-spreading


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Breast cancer drug Perjeta could extend patients’ lives by 15 months – study*


> A new but very expensive breast cancer drug has shown “unprecedented” benefits in extending the lives of women with an aggressive form of the disease.
> 
> Data released by the pharmaceutical company Roche suggests Perjeta could, in combination with other drugs, increase the survival of women with advanced breast cancer by 15 months. The results will raise the stakes in the battle in the UK over the funding of cancer drugs.


http://www.theguardi...end-lives-study


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists Coax Human Embryonic Stem Cells Into Making Insulin*
Scientists Coax Human Embryonic Stem Cells Into Making Insulin Shots - Health News NPR



> A team of Harvard scientists said Thursday that they had finally found a way to turn human embryonic stem cells into cells that produce insulin. The long-sought advance could eventually lead to new ways to help millions of people with diabetes.
> 
> Right now, many people with diabetes have to regularly check the level of sugar in their blood and inject themselves with insulin to keep the sugar in their blood in check. It's an imperfect treatment.
> 
> "This is kind of a life-support for diabetics," says Doug Melton, a stem-cell researcher at Harvard Medical School. "It doesn't cure the disease and leads to devastating complications of the disease."
> 
> People with poorly controlled diabetes can suffer complications such as blindness, amputations and heart attacks.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Broccoli Sprouts Chemical May Treat Autism




> Results of a small clinical trial suggest that a chemical derived from broccoli sprouts — and best known for claims that it can help prevent certain cancers — may ease classic behavioral symptoms in those with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs).
> 
> 
> 
> The study, a joint effort by scientists at MassGeneral Hospital for Children and the Johns Hopkins Univ. School of Medicine, involved 40 teenage boys and young men, ages 13 to 27, with moderate to severe autism.
> 
> 
> 
> In a report published online in PNAS this week, the researchers say that many of those who received a daily dose of the chemical sulforaphane experienced substantial improvements in their social interaction and verbal communication, along with decreases in repetitive, ritualistic behaviors, compared to those who received a placebo.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Creating e-noses using fruit flies*
_"Surprisingly capable of distinguishing chemicals that they have not evolved to process"_ 



> The “nose” (sensors on the antennas) of the common (drosophila melanogaster) could soon be used to detect illegal drugs and explosives, based on new research that has revealed the fly’s impressive ability to detect a wide range of smells, as described in an open-access paper published today (October 15) in the journal Bioinspiration and Biomimetics.
> 
> The researchers, from the University of Sussex, Monash University, and CSIRO Australia, hope to integrate the fly sensors into future electronic noses (e-noses), making the devices much faster and more sensitive to a host of chemicals.
> 
> The e-noses could be used in applications such as law enforcement, health monitoring, food-quality testing, environmental management, and even geological monitoring (volcanoes) and agriculture (detecting pests).


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Melton Lab Cells Could Help Cure Type 1 Diabetes*



> A team of Harvard researchers led by natural sciences professor and Eliot House Co-Master Douglas A. Melton developed a scalable technique for creating human insulin-producing beta cells in vitro, a major stride towards an effective treatment for type 1 diabetes.
> 
> According to a report published in the journal Cell on Oct. 9, this development is the first to yield beta cells that closely resemble normal functioning beta cells, in the quantities necessary for cell transfer and pharmaceutical use.
> 
> “This is an important venture for the field of stem cell research, with real potential to transform treatment for diabetics,” said Daniel G. Anderson, an MIT professor working with Melton’s laboratory on preparations for clinical implementation.
> 
> Type I diabetes, colloquially referred to as juvenile diabetes, results from an autoimmune destruction of beta cells in the pancreas which normally produce insulin—a hormone which regulates glucose levels in the blood.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Stem cells improve vision (well) enough for horse riding*









> Seeing is definitely believing when it comes to stem cell therapy. A blind man has recovered enough sight to ride his horse. A woman who could see no letters at all on a standard eye test chart can now read the letters on the top four lines. Others have recovered the ability to see colour. All have had injections of specialised retinal cells in their eyes to replace ones lost through age or disease.
> 
> A trial in 18 people with degenerative eye conditions is being hailed as the most promising yet for a treatment based on human embryonic stem cells.
> 
> "We've been hearing about their potential for more than a decade, but the results have always been in mice and rats, and no one has shown they're safe or effective in humans long term," says Robert Lanza of Advanced Cell Technology in Marlborough, Massachusetts, the company that carried out the stem cell intervention. "Now, we've shown both that they're safe and that there's a real chance these cells can help people."
> 
> Ten years ago, the team at Advanced Cell Technology announced that it had successfully converted human embryonic stem cells into retinal pigment epithelial cells. These cells help keep the eyes' light-detecting rods and cones healthy. But when retinal pigment epithelial cells deteriorate, blindness can occur. This happens in age-related macular degeneration and Stargardt's macular dystrophy.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Surgeons transplant heart that had stopped beating*

BBC News - Surgeons transplant heart that had stopped beating


> Surgeons in Australia say they have performed the first heart transplant using a "dead heart".
> 
> Donor hearts from adults usually come from people who are confirmed as brain dead but with a heart still beating.
> 
> A team at St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney revived and then transplanted hearts that had stopped beating for up to 20 minutes.
> 
> The first patient who received a heart said she felt a decade younger and was now a "different person".
> 
> Hearts are the only organ that is not used after the heart has stopped beating - known as donation after circulatory death.
> 
> Beating hearts are normally taken from brain-dead people, kept on ice for around four hours and then transplanted to patients.
> 
> 'Significant development'
> The novel technique used in Sydney involved taking a heart that had stopped beating and reviving it in a machine known as a "heart-in-a-box".
> 
> The heart is kept warm, the heartbeat is restored and a nourishing fluid helps reduce damage to the heart muscle.
> 
> The first person to have the surgery was Michelle Gribilas, 57, who was suffering from congenital heart failure. She had the surgery more than two months ago.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New treatment approved for rare form of hemophilia*
(HealthDay)—Obizur (antihemophilic factor recombinant) has been approved to treat a rare, non-inherited form of hemophilia in adults.
New treatment approved for rare form of hemophilia


> Unlike the more common form of hemophilia that's inherited and affects males, acquired hemophilia affects both males and females. The rarer form of the blood disorder occurs when the body's immune system attacks a protein that's necessary for normal blood clotting.
> 
> About half the cases of acquired hemophilia are related to other medical conditions, such as pregnancy, cancer or use of certain medications. But about half of cases have no known cause, the FDA said Friday in a news release.
> 
> Obizur was evaluated in clinical studies involving 29 adults with acquired hemophilia, who were given Obizur to treat a serious bleeding episode. The trial didn't identify any safety concerns, the FDA said.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists restore hearing in noise-deafened mice, pointing way to new therapies*

*



			Scientists have restored the hearing of mice partly deafened by noise, using advanced tools to boost the production of a key protein in their ears.
By demonstrating the importance of the protein, called NT3, in maintaining communication between the ears and brain, these new findings pave the way for research in humans that could improve treatment of hearing loss caused by noise exposure and normal aging.

In a new paper in the online journal eLife, the team from the University of Michigan Medical School's Kresge Hearing Research Institute and Harvard University report the results of their work to understand NT3's role in the inner ear, and the impact of increased NT3 production on hearing after a noise exposure.

Their work also illustrates the key role of cells that have traditionally been seen as the "supporting actors" of the ear-brain connection. Called supporting cells, they form a physical base for the hearing system's "stars": the hair cells in the ear that interact directly with the nerves that carry sound signals to the brain. This new research identifies the critical role of these supporting cells along with the NT3 molecules that they produce.
		
Click to expand...

Scientists restore hearing in noise-deafened mice pointing way to new therapies -- ScienceDaily*


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Paralysed man walks again after cell transplant*
BBC News - Paralysed man walks again after cell transplant


> A paralysed man has been able to walk again after a pioneering therapy that involved transplanting cells from his nasal cavity into his spinal cord.
> 
> Darek Fidyka, who was paralysed from the chest down in a knife attack in 2010, can now walk using a frame.
> 
> The treatment, a world first, was carried out by surgeons in Poland in collaboration with scientists in London.
> Details of the research are published in the journal Cell Transplantation.
> 
> BBC One's Panorama programme had unique access to the project and spent a year charting the patient's rehabilitation.





> Darek Fidyka, 40, from Poland, was paralysed after being stabbed repeatedly in the back in the 2010 attack.
> 
> He said walking again - with the support of a frame - was "an incredible feeling", adding: "When you can't feel almost half your body, you are helpless, but when it starts coming back it's like you were born again."


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Highly effective new anti-cancer drug shows few side effects in mice*


> *A new drug, known as OTS964, can eradicate aggressive human lung cancers transplanted into mice, according to a report in Science Translational Medicine. The drug, given as a pill or by injection, inhibits the action of a protein that is overproduced by several tumor types, including lung and breast, but is rarely expressed in healthy adult tissues. Without this protein, cancer cells fail to complete the cell-division process and die.*
> 
> When taken by mouth, the drug was well tolerated with limited toxicity. An intravenous form, delivered within a liposome, was just as effective with fewer side effects. Both approaches -- described in the October 22, 2014 issue of _Science Translational Medicine_ -- led to complete regression of transplanted tumors.
> 
> "We identified the molecular target for this drug ten years ago, but it took us nearly a decade to find an effective way to inhibit it," said study author Yusuke Nakamura, MD, PhD, professor of medicine at the University of Chicago and deputy director of the University's Center for Personalized Therapeutics. "We initially screened 300,000 compounds and then synthesized more than 1,000 of them, and found a few that were likely to work in humans. We focused on the most effective. We think we now have something very promising."
> 
> OTS964 targets TOPK (T -- lymphokine-activated killer cell -- originated protein kinase), a protein that is produced by a wide range of human cancers and is believed to promote tumor growth. High TOPK expression correlates with poor prognosis in patients with breast and lung cancer.



Highly effective new anti-cancer drug shows few side effects in mice -- ScienceDaily


----------



## ScienceRocks

Toxin-secreting stem cells to treat brain tumors


> Scientists from Harvard Medical School have discovered a way of turning stem cells into killing machines to fight brain cancer.
> 
> In experiments on mice, the stem cells were genetically engineered to produce and secrete toxins which kill brain tumours, without killing normal cells or themselves.


----------



## ScienceRocks

The genetics of epilepsy: bringing hope to families


> Twenty years ago doctors tended to regard most forms of epilepsy as acquired rather than inherited.
> 
> In other words, they believed epilepsy was mostly due to injury: the result of things like a crack on the head in a car accident, a bad fall in the playground, a tumour or something having gone wrong in labour. Parents felt responsible, and the resulting guilt was enormous.


----------



## Sarah G

Anything about Pulminary Hypertension in your travels, Matthew?


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Reply to the above post; I've posted some stuff earlier on a possible cure for heart disease and a few things on healing the damage done from it.*



*Scientists reverse ageing process in mice; early human trials showing 'promising results'*


http://www.abc.net.a...in-mice/5865714



> Scientists from Harvard and the University of New South Wales say they have discovered how to reverse the ageing process.
> 
> The research has focused on mice, but early clinical trials have also been conducted on humans.
> 
> The scientists said they switched youthful genes on and older genes off, using naturally occurring proteins and molecules.
> 
> "We've discovered genes that control how the body fights against ageing and these genes, if you turn them on just the right way, they can have very powerful effects, even reversing ageing - at least in mice so far," he said.
> 
> "We fed them a molecule that's called NMN and this reversed ageing completely within just a week of treatment in the muscle, and now we're looking to reverse all aspects of ageing if possible."
> 
> Professor Sinclair said the breakthroughs could be used to develop drugs to restore youthfulness in human cells.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*3-D-printed organs are on the way*



> NEW YORK (CNNMoney) —Add one more to the growing list of 3-D-printed products: human organs.
> 
> California-based biotech firm Organovo is set to begin selling 3-D-printed liver tissue by the end of the year, part of the growing movement to bring the technology to the medical field.
> 
> Organovo can't yet print a fully functioning liver. But the company has already been working with a handful of laboratories to manufacture live liver tissue, offering scientists a new way to conduct research.
> 
> "This gives researchers the kind of tool that they just haven't had in the past," said Michael Renard, executive vice president at Organovo. "They can't do the kind of experiments on a person that they can do with this tissue in a lab setting."







Read more: 3-D-printed organs are on the way Money - WYFF Home


----------



## ScienceRocks

California hospital explores genetics-aided cancer treatment



> A major California university hospital is exploring ways to gather and use genetic information gathered from cancer patients, hoping to break new ground in a fledgling field of genomic medicine.
> 
> The University of California San Francisco said in an interview it is working on a new project with Silicon Valley start-up Syapse. Using Syapse's technology, it wants to build a store of genetic data about various metastatic cancer cases with patients' consent, theoretically sharpening treatment or even coming up with new therapies.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Google making inroads with Genomics database



> Last March, Google announced that it had developed a database and associated ways for accessing the data it stored, geared towards storing human genome information—named quite naturally, Google Genomics. Since that time, the company has been actively pursuing hospital and university data, so as to have as much genome data stored as possible. The overall objective, the company says is to provide a service to researchers studying genomes as a means of curing diseases, primarily cancer.
> 
> Scientists suspect that if everyone (or at least an awful lot of us) had their genome decoded and the results put into a database, then finding cures to things like cancer would become possible. The hope is that by comparing the genomes of large numbers of people that get, say breast cancer, with those that don't, underlying genetic proclivities would be revealed. And if that happened, perhaps a means could be created to cause genetic changes to those with such a proclivity, to prevent it from happening to them.


----------



## ScienceRocks

UAB cures diabetes in lab mice, preparing for human trial



> A new study at the UAB Comprehensive Diabetes Center may prove beneficial for thousands of Alabamians. Researchers have cured diabetes in lab mice using a commonly prescribed blood pressure medication, Verapamil. “We found that we could reverse the disease completely,” said Dr. Anath Shalev, director of the UAB Comprehensive Diabetes Center.
> 
> Several studies in the past have cured diabetes in the early phases, but failed during the human clinical trials. “None of the therapies are actually addressing the underlying cause, namely the destruction and loss of insulin-producing Beta cells,” said Dr. Shalev. That’s where Verapamil differs. In the lab mice, Dr. Shalev said those treated with the drug not only showed reversal of the disease, but also showcased increased levels of Beta cells. “So, it’s really curing the underlying cause,” said Dr. Shalev.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Parkinson's stem cell 'breakthrough'*

7 November 2014











> Stem cells can be used to heal the damage in the brain caused by Parkinson's disease, according to scientists in Sweden.
> 
> They said their study on rats heralded a "huge breakthrough" towards developing effective treatments.
> There is no cure for the disease, but medication and brain stimulation can alleviate symptoms.
> Parkinson's UK said there were many questions still to be answered before human trials could proceed.
> The disease is caused by the loss of nerve cells in the brain that produce the chemical dopamine ,which helps to control mood and movement.
> To simulate Parkinson's, Lund University researchers killed dopamine-producing neurons on one side of the rats' brains.
> They then converted human embryonic stem cells into neurons that produced dopamine.
> These were injected into the rats' brains, and the researchers found evidence that the damage was reversed.
> There have been no human clinical trials of stem-cell-derived neurons, but the researchers said they could be ready for testing by 2017.





http://www.bbc.co.uk...health-29935449


----------



## ScienceRocks

*A pill to make you smart? Scientists' breakthrough in unlocking the brain's potential by returning it to child-like state*



> It sounds like something out of a film, but scientists may have discovered a way to make you smarter – by reverting the brain to a “plastic” child-like state.
> 
> Researchers at Stanford University experimented by interfering with PirB, a protein expressed in animal brain cells that allows skills to be recalled but which also hampers the ability to learn new skills, and realised they could disrupt the receptor’s regular function, allowing the brain to make faster connections.


----------



## Sarah G

Matthew said:


> *Reply to the above post; I've posted some stuff earlier on a possible cure for heart disease and a few things on healing the damage done from it.*
> 
> 
> 
> *Scientists reverse ageing process in mice; early human trials showing 'promising results'*
> 
> 
> http://www.abc.net.a...in-mice/5865714
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Scientists from Harvard and the University of New South Wales say they have discovered how to reverse the ageing process.
> 
> The research has focused on mice, but early clinical trials have also been conducted on humans.
> 
> The scientists said they switched youthful genes on and older genes off, using naturally occurring proteins and molecules.
> 
> "We've discovered genes that control how the body fights against ageing and these genes, if you turn them on just the right way, they can have very powerful effects, even reversing ageing - at least in mice so far," he said.
> 
> "We fed them a molecule that's called NMN and this reversed ageing completely within just a week of treatment in the muscle, and now we're looking to reverse all aspects of ageing if possible."
> 
> Professor Sinclair said the breakthroughs could be used to develop drugs to restore youthfulness in human cells.
Click to expand...

Thank you, Matthew.  I don't have coronary disease rather Pulmonary Hypertension.  High blood pressure in the lungs.  I find some things online but I'm looking for cures like the one you found for diabetes.  

Imo, diabetes should have been cured long ago but that's only one disease that should be wiped out.  So many out there..


----------



## ScienceRocks

*This Device Diagnoses Hundreds of Diseases Using a Single Drop of Blood*


http://www.wired.com...gle-drop-blood/


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Bladder cancer: 'Exciting' drug breakthrough*
BBC News - Bladder cancer Exciting drug breakthrough


> A drug which makes a wide range of cancers more vulnerable to the body's immune system is "exciting" and may mark a new era, say doctors.
> 
> It strips cancer cells of the "camouflage" they use to evade attack by the immune system.
> 
> In the most detailed study, published in Nature, some patients completely recovered from terminal bladder cancer.
> 
> Cancer Research UK said the field of immunotherapy was delivering "a lot of very exciting results".
> 
> The immune system is in delicate balance with some chemicals in the body encouraging a strong vigorous response, while others try to dampen it down.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Brain's dementia weak spot identified*


BBC News - Brain s dementia weak spot identified




> The brain has a weak spot for Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia, according to UK scientists who have pinpointed the region using scans.
> 
> The brain area involved develops late in adolescence and degenerates early during ageing.
> 
> At the moment, it is difficult for doctors to predict which people might develop either condition.
> The findings, in the journal PNAS, hint at a potential way to diagnose those at risk earlier, experts say.
> 
> Although they caution that "much more research is needed into how to bring these exciting discoveries into the clinic".


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists make enzymes from scratch*


1 December 2014











> Experts say they have achieved a scientific milestone - creating enzymes out of artificial genetic material that they made in their lab.
> 
> The synthetic enzymes functioned just as well as real ones.
> The work, in Nature journal, not only provides clues to the building blocks of life but also points to a new way to make therapeutic drugs for humans.
> The UK Medical Research Council team now hopes to make more complex structures that rival nature.
> The ground work for the pioneering project started a couple of years ago when Dr Philipp Holliger and his team created synthetic versions of DNA and its chemical cousin RNA - the molecules that carry the basic genetic code of life.
> Using these artificial XNAs as building blocks, the researchers set out to see if they could make synthetic enzymes - substances that drive a wide range of bodily functions, such as how we digest our food.
> Dr Holliger explained: "Until recently, it was thought that DNA and RNA were the only molecules that could store genetic information and, together with proteins, the only biomolecules able to form enzymes."
> His team found it was possible to create enzymes from scratch using material that does not exist in nature.
> Although entirely man-made, the synthetic enzymes are capable of building and breaking down molecules - just like naturally occurring ones.
> The "XNAzymes", as the researchers call them, could jump-start simple reactions, such as cutting and joining RNA strands in a test tube.






http://www.bbc.co.uk...health-30274635


----------



## ScienceRocks

* Scientists identify promising off-switch for chronic pain *
By Nick Lavars
November 30, 2014



 



> The more successful ways of reducing chronic pain such as that arising from bone cancer and chemotherapy rely on blocking certain brain pathways, but these aren't without their of side effects. Scientists at St Louis University have discovered that the pathway A3AR could be the key to mitigating pain without some of the unwanted baggage, potentially pointing to new methods of therapeutic treatment.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists hail the most 'advanced anti-ageing serum' in the world *
* New research suggests skincare tailored to individuals' DNA may be the best way to combat the appearance of ageing *

*Scientists hail the most advanced anti-ageing serum in the world - Telegraph*


> Those who believe that beauty is only skin deep may need to think again.
> 
> A most advanced anti-ageing serum ever created is going far deeper in the pursuit of the ultimate skincare regime, right into our DNA.
> 
> By studying the genetic code, experts can discover how fast the body degrades collagen – the structural protein which keeps the skin plump and supple - and the level of antioxidants which protect against damaging free radicals.
> 
> Clinical trials over 18 months suggested that ‘Geneu’ – pronounced ‘gene you’ reduces fine lines and wrinkles by up to 30 per cent within just 12 weeks.



But, intriguingly, it has not been created by a cosmetics giant, but by one of Britain’s leading scientists.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*HIV evolving 'into milder form'*


1 December 2014









> HIV is evolving to become less deadly and less infectious, according to a major scientific study.
> 
> The team at the University of Oxford shows the virus is being "watered down" as it adapts to our immune systems.
> It said it was taking longer for HIV infection to cause Aids and that the changes in the virus may help efforts to contain the pandemic.
> Some virologists suggest the virus may eventually become "almost harmless" as it continues to evolve.
> More than 35 million people around the world are infected with HIV and inside their bodies a devastating battle takes place between the immune system and the virus.
> HIV is a master of disguise. It rapidly and effortlessly mutates to evade and adapt to the immune system.






http://www.bbc.co.uk...health-30254697


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Two Crowdfunded Machines Make Biotechnology Accessible to All*



> “I predict that the domestication of biotechnology will dominate our lives during the next fifty years at least as much as the domestication of computers has dominated our lives during the previous fifty years.”
> 
> Freeman Dyson wrote these words in a piece called “Our Biotech Future” in The New York Times Book Review in 2007. By ‘domestication’, he means, quite literally, getting the tools and technology traditionally reserved for high-tech labs and universities “into the hands of housewives and children.”
> 
> A recent Kickstarter campaign called Open qPCR offers a sleek touch screen PCR thermocycler, with a price tag of $1500 (most commercial PCR machines cost upwards of $20,000). The machine not only copies DNA but also converts it to easily understandable data, made by the same team who brought us the original OpenPCR, which was successfully funded in 2010.


----------



## ScienceRocks

A drug that can encourage nerves in the spinal cord to grow and repair injuries has been developed by US scientists.

The study on rats, published in the journal Nature, showed some degree of movement and bladder control could be restored.

*Drug can repair spinal cord injuries, study shows*
By James Gallagher Health editor, BBC News website
BBC News - Drug can repair spinal cord injuries study shows


> The drug works by disrupting the "sticky glue" that prevents nerve cells from growing during an injury.
> 
> Further tests still need to take place, but the charity Spinal Research said "real progress" was being made.
> 
> Damage to the spinal cord interrupts the constant stream of electrical signals from the brain to the body.
> 
> It can lead to paralysis below an injury.
> 
> The team at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, in Ohio, said scar tissue that formed after an injury prevented spinal cord repair.
> 
> Sugary proteins are released by the scar tissue which act like glue.
> 
> The long spindly part of the nerve - the axon - gets trapped in the glue if it tries to cross the site of the injury.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*FDA signs off on potential new miracle drug to treat abdominal, urinary tract infections
 December 06, 20141
http://FDA signs off on potential new miracle drug to treat abdominal urinary tract infections Science Recorder





			The Food and Drug Administrations has given the green light to an antibiotic that is designed to treat infections caused by drug-resistant bacteria.

The FDA panel signed off on the Actavis antiobiotic, also known as ceftazidime-avibactam, as a safe and effective way to treat both intra-abdominal infections and urinary tract infections, when no other treatments are readily at hand, according to a Reuters report.

Still, the panel had some reservations about the labeling of the product, especially for users who have renal impairment, and the committee voted to not recommend the drug for hospital-acquired bacterial pneumonia and bacteremia due to a lack of evidence in those cases.

Actavis, the Dublin, Ireland-based company that produces the drug, said it will continue its testing in order to get adequate data and expand the drug’s usage.

The panel, which merely advises the FDA, does not have any legal force behind its decisions, but the FDA usually adopts its decisions. The FDA will give its final decision in early 2015, according to the company.
		
Click to expand...

*


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists Convert Human Skin Cells Into Pain Sensing Nerves*
December 4, 2014 | by Justine Alford
Scientists Convert Human Skin Cells Into Pain Sensing Nerves IFLScience






> For the first time, scientists have converted both mouse and human skin cells into functional pain sensing nerve cells in the lab. These neurons, which are responsible for transmitting pain signals to the brain, were found to respond to various different stimuli, such as the chemical in chilies that gives them their burn. This novel model of pain, or “pain in a dish” as it has been nicknamed, will hopefully advance our understanding of pain and could ultimately lead to the development of new forms of pain relief.
> 
> Our pain sensing system may not bring much joy to us like some of our other senses, such as smell or taste, but unfortunately we need it to survive. It tells us to withdraw from situations that could damage us, such as touching a hot surface, and alerts us when something is going awry, such as a grumbling appendix. There’s no doubt that it’s an extremely important sense, if not the most important.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Carestream Touch Ultrasound System Features All-Touch Control Panel*
*Carestream Touch Ultrasound System Features All-Touch Control Panel*
by Wouter Stomp on Dec 2, 2014 • 1:52 pm






> At RSNA, *Carestream* has unveiled its new Touch Ultrasound System, a device that completely does away with buttons and features a big touchscreen functioning as the control panel. This is a sealed panel that allows easy cleaning to help limit the spread of pathogens. Some of the most used controls are etched into the glass to give the operator tactile feedback and allowing for eyes-free operation to a certain degree.









> The Touch Ultrasound has a small, lightweight footprint and a high level of maneuverability It has (as far as ultrasound systems go) a very fast cold boot time of 18 seconds and therefore, according to the company, no need for standby mode or battery backup. It features and RFID reader which allows the operator to log-on by simply swiping a badge while at the same time promoting secure access.
> 
> The system comes with smart transducers which are enabled by merely touching them instead of having to go into a menu to select the appropriate one. Carestream plans to extend the Touch Ultrasound System’s technologies and features across a family of products, and the first two products in the Touch Ultrasound family are expected to ship in the third quarter of 2015.



*FDA Approval for Animas Vibe Insulin Pump with Dexcom G4 PLATINUM CGM (VIDEO)*
by Editors on Dec 2, 2014






> *Animas*, a division of *Johnson & Johnson*, won FDA approval for its Animas Vibe insulin pump and continuous glucose monitoring system. The pump is the first to pair with *Dexcom*‘s G4 PLATINUM continuous glucose monitor that samples interstitial fluid every five minutes and provides a trending chart of the patient’s sugar levels. This can be quite important, as a single reading doesn’t indicate where the overall trend is moving. The Animas device displays readings obtained wirelessly from the G4 PLATINUM glucometer and the patient can have basal insulin delivery pre-programmed to be delivered depending on glucose readings, or with a push of a button bolus insulin can be pumped in as necessary.
> 
> The system is completely water proof, so you can even take it swimming in the Maldives, and it’s a snap to disconnect the pump from the access site for showering and going through airport security.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Stimwave Freedom, World’s Smallest Neurostimulator, FDA Cleared for Back, Leg Pain (VIDEO)*
by Editors on Dec 4, 2014

 





> Severe chronic pain can in some cases be treated using neurostimulators that disrupt nerve signals moving up to the brain. Most such devices can benefit from being much smaller and not having to rely on an internal battery can also be a major advantage. That is why FDA’s clearance of *Stimwave Technologies*‘ wireless Freedom spinal cord stimulation system is so exciting.
> 
> The implant itself is tiny compared to the pacemaker-sized neurostimulators we’re used to, and it doesn’t even have wires leading from the implant to the stimulation site. It’s actually 95% smaller than the smallest implantable battery on the market. Instead, it’s an all-in-one device that can be accurately injected near the spinal nerves via a conventional needle. Additionally, the Freedom implant doesn’t rule out future MRI scans and can be safely worn even when inside a 3T magnetic field (as long as certain precautions are taken).


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Robotic-leg prosthetic allows amputees to walk normally*
*Robotic-leg prosthetic allows amputees to walk normally KurzweilAI*
Simplified gait model eliminates need for complex designs and team of physical-rehabilitation specialists
*December 5, 2014*







> Amputee with robot-inspired artificial leg can walk at near-normal speed on a treadmill (credit: UT Dallas)
> 
> Wearers of a new robotic leg can walk on a moving treadmill almost as fast as an able-bodied person, said inventor Robert Gregg, PhD, a University of Texas at Dallas professor, who applied robot control theory to enable powered prosthetics to dynamically respond to the wearer’s environment and help amputees walk.
> 
> “We borrowed from robot control theory to create a simple, effective new way to analyze the human gait cycle,” said Dr. Robert Gregg, a faculty member in theErik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science and lead author of the paper. “Our approach resulted in a method for controlling powered prostheses for amputees to help them move in a more stable, natural way than current prostheses.”
> 
> Humanoid robots can walk, run, jump and climb stairs autonomously, but modern prosthetics limit similar actions in humans. While prosthetics have been made lighter and more flexible, they fail to mimic the power generated from human muscles in able-bodied individuals.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Breast cancer vaccine shows promise in early trial*

 8203 Breast cancer vaccine shows promise in early trial - CBS News


> An experimental vaccine designed to stop breast cancer in its tracks appeared to be safe in a preliminary trial.
> 
> Fourteen women with breast cancer that had spread were injected with a vaccine that targets a specific protein, known as mammaglobin-A, that is found in high amounts in breast tumors.
> 
> Although the study was small, the findings suggest that the vaccine may also boost a patient's immune response and help slow disease progression.
> 
> "I don't want to oversell this," cautioned study co-author Dr. William Gillanders, vice chairman for research in the department of surgery at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. "This is a small clinical trial. But we can say confidently that the vaccine was safe," he said.
> 
> "We can also say with confidence that we were able to generate an immune response in almost all the patients who were vaccinated," he added. "And there is preliminary evidence that the vaccine may have an impact on breast cancer progression. But that needs to be studied further to be confirmed."
> 
> Gillanders and his colleagues reported their findings in the Dec. 1 issue of Clinical Cancer Research.
> 
> The study authors noted that overexpression of mammaglobin-A is found in up to 80 percent of breast cancer patients.
> 
> The vaccine prompts a specific kind of white blood cell in the immune system to track this protein down and eliminate it.
> 
> The women in the study were classified as having "advanced" disease. This meant they had prior exposure to chemotherapy, a process known to undermine a patient's immune function.
> 
> That said, none of the patients had undergone chemotherapy in the month leading up to vaccination.
> 
> The team found that side effects from the vaccine after one year were minimal, and included rashes, tenderness and mild flu-like symptoms.
> 
> What's more, by the one-year mark roughly 50 percent of the patients showed no sign of disease progression, the investigators found.
> 
> By comparison, only 20 percent of a similar group of 12 patients showed no signs of disease progression one year out, according to the study authors.
> 
> Even though the researchers stressed the need for a larger, longer study, they theorized that if the vaccine were given to newly diagnosed breast cancer patients who had not yet been exposed to chemotherapy, the vaccine might prove even more effective at halting disease.
> 
> "This trial wasn't really designed to look at this question, which makes it difficult to interpret the results so far," Gillanders noted. "But there's been a lot of interest in the development of a prevention vaccine for breast cancer and other cancers. And this work confirms the promise of such a strategy."
> 
> Dr. Courtney Vito, a breast surgeon and assistant clinical professor of surgical oncology with the City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center in Duarte, Calif., suggested the vaccine approach "makes a lot of sense and is very promising."


----------



## ScienceRocks

*We may be able to reverse signs of early Alzheimer's disease*
By *Stephanie Smith*, CNN
updated 6:23 AM EST, Mon December 8, 2014
We may be able to reverse early Alzheimer s disease - CNN.com




> ...Yet a very small study out of UCLA is offering a glimmer of hope for those with what is often a hopeless diagnosis. Nine out of the 10 patients involved in the study, who were in various stages of dementia, say their symptoms were reversed after they participated in a rigorous program. The program included things like optimizing Vitamin D levels in the blood, using DHA supplements to bridge broken connections in the brain, optimizing gut health, and strategic fasting to normalize insulin levels.
> 
> A few months after starting the extreme program, patients in the study, aged 55 to 75, noticed their cognition had either improved or returned to normal. Only one patient, a 60 year-old female who was in the late-stages of dementia when she began the program, continued to decline...


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Dr. Ido Bachelet recently brought good news to London. Clinical trials may soon begin on the nanorobots he has developed to fight cancer.*



> Dr. Ido Bachelet, of the Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences and Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, recently brought good news to London. Clinical trials may soon begin on the nanorobots he has developed to fight cancer.
> 
> The nanorobots, which can be injected into patients, are able to identify and kill cancer cells without affecting healthy cells. So far, the robots can recognize a dozen types of cancer, including leukemias and solid tumors, the London Jewish Chronicle reported.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*FDA Approves Cervical Cancer Vaccine That Covers More HPV Strains*l







> WEDNESDAY, Dec. 10, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved a new vaccine with expanded protection against the human papillomavirus (HPV), by far the leading cause of cervical and certain other cancers.
> 
> The agency said that Gardasil 9 can shield users against nine strains of the virus, compared to the four strains covered by Gardasil, the Merck & Co. vaccine approved in 2006. Merck also makes Gardasil 9.
> 
> "Gardasil 9 has the potential to prevent approximately 90 percent of cervical, vulvar, vaginal and anal cancers," the FDA said in an agency news release.
> 
> "Vaccination is a critical public health measure for lowering the risk of most cervical, genital and anal cancers caused by HPV," Dr. Karen Midthun, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in the release. "The approval of Gardasil 9 provides broader protection against HPV-related cancers."


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Artificial Skin That Senses, and Stretches, Like the Real Thing*



> Some high-tech prosthetic limbs can be controlled by their owners, using nerves, muscles, or even the brain. However, there’s no way for the wearer to tell if an object is scalding hot, or about to slip out of the appendage’s grasp.
> 
> Materials that detect heat, pressure, and moisture could help change this by adding sensory capabilities to prosthetics. A group of Korean and U.S. researchers have now developed a polymer designed to mimic the elastic and high-resolution sensory capabilities of real skin.
> 
> The polymer is infused with dense networks of sensors made of ultrathin gold and silicon. The normally brittle silicon is configured in serpentine shapes that can elongate to allow for stretchability. Details of the work are published today in the journalNature Communications.


----------



## ScienceRocks

* "Fat-burning pill" inches closer to reality *
By Dario Borghino
December 10, 2014
2 Pictures





> Researchers at Harvard University say they have identified two chemical compounds that could replace "bad" fat cells in the human body with healthy fat-burning cells, in what may be the first step toward the development of an effective medical treatment – which could even take the form of a pill – to help control weight gain.


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## ScienceRocks

*Researchers discover new class of stem cells*
*37 minutes ago by Monte Morin, Los Angeles Times*


> Researchers have identified a new class of lab-engineered stem cells-cells capable of transforming into nearly all forms of tissue-and have dubbed them F-class cells because they cluster together in "fuzzy-looking" colonies.
> 
> The discovery, which was described in a series of five papers published Wednesday in the journals _Nature_ and _Nature Communications_, sheds new light on the process of cell reprogramming and may point the way to more efficient methods of creating stem cells, researchers say.
> 
> Because of their extraordinary shape-shifting abilities, so-called pluripotent cells have enormous value to medical researchers. They allow scientists to study the effects of drugs and disease on human cells when experiments on actual people would be impossible, and they have given rise to the field of regenerative medicine, which seeks to restore lost or damaged organs and tissues.
> 
> The F-class cells were created using genetically engineered mouse cells, and may not occur naturally outside the lab, according to senior author Andras Nagy, a stem cell researcher at Toronto's Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute of Mount Sinai Hospital.




Read more at: Researchers discover new class of stem cells


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## ScienceRocks

*New Technology Helps Color Blind Watch Television*
by Editors on Dec 9, 2014






> Colorblindness is not the worst thing that could happen to someone, but it can be pretty frustrating nevertheless. Objects can often blend with each other, making it difficult to perceive them, and dressing to impress can be a chore that requires the assistance of others. Watching television can be particularly challenging as today’s programming is constantly trying to get the most out of the capabilities of modern screens. The ability to show millions of colors using densely packed pixels can wash out a lot of the definition that colorblind people would otherwise see using older TVs. *Spectral Edge*, a spin-out company of the University of East Anglia, is now making its image enhancement technology available for televisions to allow colorblind folks to see their favorite shows better.


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## ScienceRocks

*Microneedles Allow Samping Interstitial Fluid, Deliver Drugs Painlessly (VIDEO)*
by Editors on Dec 9, 2014






> Researchers at Queens University Belfast have been working for the last few years on a new microneedle patch that may help us say goodbye to the fear of needles, needle stick injuries, and having to convince children that it’s all for their own good.
> 
> The microneedles are manufactured from a biocompatible polymer and when pressed against the skin are able to absorb interstitial fluid and swell up in response. This allows a drug chamber on the opposite end of the needles to empty its contents through the needles and deliver the medication in a controlled manner into the skin. Once the patch is removed, the swollen microneedles never go back to their sharp shape and cannot be administered to another person. Not having a pre-loaded drug within the patch allows for easy sampling of interstitial fluid that holds a lot of clues to the person’s current state of health.


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## ScienceRocks

*Clothes that can monitor and transmit biomedical info*
Clothes that can monitor and transmit biomedical info
*Researchers at Université Laval in Canada have developed "smart textiles" able to monitor and transmit wearers' biomedical information via wireless or cellular networks.*









> This technological breakthrough, described in the scientific journal _Sensors_, paves the way for a host of new developments for people suffering from chronic diseases, elderly people living alone, and even firemen and police officers. A team under the supervision of Professor Younès Messaddeq created the smart fabric by successfully superimposing multiple layers of copper, polymers, glass and silver.
> 
> "The fibre acts as both sensor and antenna," explains Professor Messaddeq, Canada Excellence Research Chair in Photonic Innovations. "It is durable but malleable, and can be woven with wool or cotton. And signal quality is comparable to commercial antennas." The surface of the fibre can also be adjusted to monitor a range of information such as glucose levels, heart rhythm, brain activity, movements and spatial coordinates.
> 
> The design is based on hollow-core polymer-clad silica fibres, featuring a thick polyimide polymer overcoat. This enables it to withstand high tensile and bending stresses, mechanical abrasion, extreme heat conditions (up to 350°C), humidity, water, detergent or acidic environments. A patent application has already been filed, though certain elements still need to be fine-tuned before the innovation is ready for commercialisation.
> 
> "Of course, the technology will have to be connected to a wireless network – and there is the issue of power supply to be solved," notes Messaddeq. "We have tested a number of solutions, and the results are promising."


----------



## ScienceRocks

Potential cure for hepatitis B enters phase 1/2a clinical trial



> A new treatment developed by Walter and Eliza Hall Institute researchers to promote the cure of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is now recruiting patients for a phase I/2a clinical trial.
> 
> Dr Marc Pellegrini, Dr Greg Ebert and colleagues developed the new treatment in collaboration with TetraLogic Pharmaceuticals, a biotech company based in Malvern, Pennsylvania, US. The clinical trial will be held at sites across Australia and New Zealand, including Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and Auckland.



NANOBOTS DEFEAT NEARLY EVERY DISEASE



> Surgeries. We do not like them but sometimes we can not avoid them. Before a surgery you feel a bit afraid and worried. But who would not be. Surgeries today are very complicated and they are often very risky. Imagine in near future you arrive to the hospital and instead of being prepared by an  anesthesist for the surgery a surgeon pulls out a syringe. Inside the syringe there are millions of tiny robots that will be injected into your bloodstream and cure you. These tiny machines will autonomously locate the place they need to be in. They will excise out the injured issue and remove dead cells. Then they will stimulate and guide the growth of new cells across the issue gaps. Furthermore they will release drugs that relieve pain. And all the while  you are reading the newspaper or watching television in the hospital.  As soon as the robots completed their job they simply disintegrate and disappear from the bloodstream, the next day. Such robots have been in vision by people like Eric Drexler and Ray Kurzweil already 30 years ago. Today, they exist!


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## ScienceRocks

http://medicalxpress...ents-aging.html



> In a study published today by Nature, researchers at Joslin Diabetes Center used a microscopic worm (C. elegans) to identify a new path that could lead to drugs to slow aging and the chronic diseases that often accompany it—and might even lead to better cosmetics.
> 
> The Joslin team looked at how treatments known to boost longevity in the one-millimeter long C. elegans (including calorie restriction and treatment with the drug rapamycin) affected the expression of genes that produce collagen and other proteins that make up the extra-cellular matrix (ECM), the framework of scaffolding that supports tissues, organs and bones.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Biopsy-Free Cervical Cancer Detection Tool In The Works*
by Editors on Dec 15, 2014






> Researchers from Central South University in China have now shown that cervical cancer may be spotted using a photoacoustic technique that analyzes the screened tissue in-depth and doesn’t involve a nowadays standard biopsy.
> 
> Photoacoustics involves beaming light at an object and detecting sound waves that form within the object due to the light’s excitation. The team used samples of healthy and cancerous cervical tissue from real patients and embedded them within phantoms to simulate sampling through real tissue. Special software was used to analyze the data gathered from the photoacoustic transducers. The investigators were able not only to detect the cancerous lesions, but to also identify what stage they were in.




*Durabook P24 Review: A Solid All-In-One Clinical Computer*
by Editors on Dec 15, 2014

 


> Clinical computers are still traditional PCs connected to separate monitors. All-in-one computers, like the Durabook P24 from *GammaTech Computer Corporation* reviewed here, combine a fully capable computer within the back of a large high resolution display and allow for easy transportation between rooms, take up less space, need fewer cords, and make life a little easier for clinicians that use them and tech support folks that maintain them. We spent a couple weeks using the Durabook P24, an all-in-one computer developed for clinical applications, and would like to share our findings about this interesting new product.
> 
> *DESIGN: *The P24 certainly looks slick, having nothing but a curved white bezel surrounding its 24-inch high-definition touchscreen. Besides an embedded webcam near the top and a small proximity sensor near the bottom, the front is visually sterile and doesn’t have any buttons, lights, jacks, or anything else to distract the user. Conveniently, the same design principle prevents any splashes or spills from damaging ports and dirty hands from accidentally touching the power button.


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## ScienceRocks

* Zinc blood test could lead to early diagnosis of breast cancer *
By Karen Sprey
December 15, 2014


> Early diagnosis of breast cancer could one day be possible via a simple blood test that detects changes in zinc in the body. Scientists have taken techniques normally used for studying climate change and planetary formation and shown that changes in the isotopic composition of zinc, which is detectable in breast tissue, may help identify a "biomarker" (a measurable indicator) of early breast cancer.


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## ScienceRocks

*Thumbs-up for mind-controlled robotic arm (w/ Video)*




One of four new hand movements from the 10-D control of the robotic arm. Credit: _Journal of Neural Engineering_/IOP Publishing
Thumbs-up for mind-controlled robotic arm w Video 


> A paralysed woman who controlled a robotic arm using just her thoughts has taken another step towards restoring her natural movements by controlling the arm with a range of complex hand movements.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks to researchers at the University of Pittsburgh, Jan Scheuermann, who has longstanding quadriplegia and has been taking part in the study for over two years, has gone from giving "high fives" to the "thumbs-up" after increasing the manoeuvrability of the robotic arm from seven dimensions (7D) to 10 dimensions (10D).
> 
> The extra dimensions come from four hand movements—finger abduction, a scoop, thumb extension and a pinch—and have enabled Jan to pick up, grasp and move a range of objects much more precisely than with the previous 7D control.
> 
> It is hoped that these latest results, which have been published today, 17 December, in IOP Publishing's _Journal of Neural Engineering_, can build on previous demonstrations and eventually allow robotic arms to restore natural arm and hand movements in people with upper limb paralysis.


----------



## ScienceRocks

* Scientists reduce blood sugar levels in mice by remote control *
By Nick Lavars
December 16, 2014






> Sufferers of type 1 diabetes regularly need to inject themselves with insulin in order to regulate levels of sugar in their blood, a process that is invasive and requires particular care. But a new study conducted at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute suggests that more comfortable treatment methods may not be all that far away, with scientists remotely manipulating insulin production in mice using electromagnetic waves.


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## ScienceRocks

*Cure for Alzheimer's closer*
by JAMES CHAPMAN, Daily Mail


> A treatment to reverse Alzheimer's Disease could be available in five years, it has been revealed.
> 
> Experiments on mice have indicated that a new vaccine not only halts the advance of the disease, but repairs damage already done.
> 
> It could also be given to patients whose families have a history of Alzheimer's, to prevent them developing the disease.
> 
> The research by British, American and Canadian scientists, was being hailed last night as the most significant breakthrough yet. Harry Cayton, chief executive of the Alzheimer's Society, said: 'This really does make us optimistic.'
> 
> A growing number of elderly and even middle-aged people are being struck down by the degenerative brain disease, which has some 500,000 sufferers in Britain alone. It causes untold misery to families who are left to care for loved ones who may no longer recognise them.
> 
> The vaccine attacks the build-up of a protein called beta-amyloid, which forms a damaging waxy plaque on brain cells. The latest research, reported today in the scienctific journal Nature, suggests the drug not only removes the proteins but can restore mental functions.
> 
> Clinical trials of the vaccine, which is
> 
> called Betabloc and made by Dublin-based Elan Pharmaceuticals, are already under way in the UK.
> 
> Preliminary results appear to show it is safe and has no side-effects. About 80 patients with mild to moderate forms of Alzheimer's are taking part in a second set of safety trials, which are close to completion.
> 
> The breakthrough came as researchers worked with mice genetically engineered to develop a disease similar to Alzheimer's.




Read more: Cure for Alzheimer s closer Daily Mail Online 
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook


----------



## ScienceRocks

* Scientists developing drug that could prevent sun-related aging of skin *
By Ben Coxworth
December 18, 2014






> Excessive exposure to sunlight is the leading cause of skin deterioration, causing it to age prematurely. We need some exposure, however, in order to synthesize vitamin D – plus who wants to stay in the shade all the time? Using a good sunscreen definitely helps, although scientists from the University of British Columbia are taking things a step farther – they're developing a drug that could ultimately prevent the sunlight-related aging of skin.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New brain implant tech from Blackrock is making ‘mind over matter’ a reality*

*New brain implant tech from Blackrock is making 8216 mind over matter 8217 a reality ExtremeTech*


> In 2012 quadriplegic Jan Scheuermann had two electrode arrays implanted in her brain’s left motor cortex. Within a week, she could use the implant to move a prosthetic arm in all three dimensions, and move its wrist in an additional four. That was good enough for her to use it to take a sip of coffee with the arm, and good enough to make her a national celebrity. Researchers from the University of Pittsburg have now been able to finesse an additional three degrees of freedom out of an improved implant-to-arm pipeline by swapping in additional finger motions where previously Jan had only a crude pincer grip.
> 
> It is hard to underestimate the difficulty, and therefore value, of making advances like this to the field of brain-computer interfaces or BCIs. Mapping specific functions to specific places has generally proven difficult. We know, for example, that with crude TMS stimulation, the most reliable response obtained for activating an cortical motor area discovered to date is a simple adduction of the thumb (bringing it back into the plane of the palm of the hand). In fact, that is precisely what is used as the reference point to calibrate the coil’s position and power. It is no surprise then that researchers have now been able to add more subtle thumb control to the existing suite of prosthetic powers.


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## ScienceRocks

* 3D-printed tumor replicas to better measure doses of cancer-fighting drugs *
By Nick Lavars
December 18, 2014






> Administering the correct dosages to fight cancerous tumors can be a difficult balancing act. Too much of the radioactive drugs can cause harm to healthy tissue, but not enough will see the cancer cells survive and continue to spread. But a new technique developed at The Institute of Cancer Research in London may afford doctors an unprecedented level of accuracy in performing radiotherapy, using 3D-printed replicas of a patient’s organs and tumors to better determine how much radiation a tumor has received.


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## ScienceRocks

*A taste of the future: Double amputee controls two bionic arms at the same time*

By Graham Templeton on December 19, 2014 at 1:39 pm
A taste of the future Double amputee controls two bionic arms at the same time ExtremeTech








> Colorado resident Les Baugh has become the newest face of bionic technology, as researchers from Johns Hopkins have fitted him with _two_ cutting edge bionic limbs under direct control from his brain. Not only is this a major evolution for modern prosthetics, but it’s also managed to capture the imaginations of millions because it, first of all, looks really cool, and second, because it clearly illustrates the equivalence of biology and tech. The sight of the man fitted with two Modular Prosthetic Limbs (MPLs) really drives the point home: we are well on our way to the sort of bionics that powerfully challenge our concept of humanity.
> 
> Whether you want to move an arm fashioned out of stem cells or carbon fiber, you always start the same way. First comes the storm of neural activity associated with a particular action, and this pattern is recognized by a tiered network of either neurons or electrodes, then funneled off to the appropriate destination. Most amputees will need to use the electrode method, but Baugh was lucky enough to have some living nerve tissue left over in his shoulders.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Stem cells: First therapy approved by EU*


> *A stem cell therapy has been approved for widespread medical use in the EU for the first time.*
> 
> *Stem cells can become any type of tissue in the body and hold huge promise in medicine.*
> 
> *The treatment - Holoclar - is used to treat a rare eye condition that can lead to blindness. It works in around 80% of cases.*
> 
> *The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said the move represented a "major step forward" for the field.*
> 
> *The act of blinking strips cells off the surface of the eye. These are normally replaced by limbal stem cells in order to keep the eye healthy.*
> 
> *Some people, after burns or acid attacks, do not have enough limbal stem cells and the surface of the eye begins to scar.*
> 
> *It can eventually lead to blindness.*
> 
> *Restore*
> 
> *Research clinics and specialised centres have been testing a technique to replace the lost stem cells.*
> 
> *A small sample of remaining stem cells are taken, grown into larger numbers in the laboratory and placed back on to the surface of the eye.*
> 
> *The decision by the EMA means the therapy can move beyond a limited research or case-by-case setting and be offered far more widely.*
> 
> *Enrica Alteri, the head of the Human Medicines Evaluation Division at the EMA said: "This recommendation represents a major step forward in delivering new and innovative medicines to patients."*
> 
> *Prof Chris Mason, from University College London, told the BBC: "This is a therapy that has been done a lot and is very successful, we've treated around 20 people at Moorfields hospital.*
> 
> *"This move would enable far more people to access it, you could now prescribe this."*





http://www.bbc.com/n...health-30550113


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Lost memories might be able to be restored, new study indicates*




David Glanzman is holding a marine snail. Credit: Christelle Nahas/UCLA


> New UCLA research indicates that lost memories can be restored. The findings offer some hope for patients in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> For decades, most neuroscientists have believed that memories are stored at the synapses—the connections between brain cells, or neurons—which are destroyed by Alzheimer's disease. The new study provides evidence contradicting the idea that long-term memory is stored at synapses.
> 
> "Long-term memory is not stored at the synapse," said David Glanzman, a senior author of the study, and a UCLA professor of integrative biology and physiology and of neurobiology. "That's a radical idea, but that's where the evidence leads. The nervous system appears to be able to regenerate lost synaptic connections. If you can restore the synaptic connections, the memory will come back. It won't be easy, but I believe it's possible."
> 
> The findings were published recently in _eLife_, a highly regarded open-access online science journal.


Lost memories might be able to be restored new study indicates


----------



## ScienceRocks

* Ibuprofen extended lifespan an average of 15 percent in model organisms *


> Ibuprofen, a common over-the-counter drug used to relieve pain and fever, could hold the keys to a longer healthier life, according to a study by researchers at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging. Publishing in PLoS Genetics on December 18th, scientists showed that regular doses of ibuprofen extended the lifespan of yeast, worms and fruit flies.
> 
> “There is a lot to be excited about,” said Brian Kennedy, PhD, CEO of the Buck Institute, who said treatments, given at doses comparable to those used in humans, extended lifespan an average of 15 percent in the model organisms. “Not only did all the species live longer, but the treated flies and worms appeared more healthy,” he said. “The research shows that ibuprofen impacts a process not yet implicated in aging, giving us a new way to study and understand the aging process.” But most importantly, Kennedy said the study opens the door for a new exploration of so-called “anti-aging medicines.” “Ibuprofen is a relatively safe drug, found in most people’s medicine cabinets,” he said. “There is every reason to believe there are other existing treatments that can impact healthspan and we need to be studying them.”







_Ibuprofen inhibits tryptophan import, reduces intracellular tryptophan levels and does not extend RLS in the absence of tryptophan permeases._


----------



## ScienceRocks

*First successful vaccination against 'mad cow'-like wasting disease in deer*


> Researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center and elsewhere say that a vaccination they have developed to fight a brain-based, wasting syndrome among deer and other animals may hold promise on two additional fronts: Protecting U.S. livestock from contracting the disease, and preventing similar brain infections in humans.



First successful vaccination against mad cow -like wasting disease in deer


----------



## ScienceRocks

* Johns Hopkins develops safer suit for Ebola workers *
By David Szondy
December 21, 2014
4 Pictures





> For doctors, nurses, soldiers, and other responders fighting the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, currently available protective suits are both too hot to wear in the tropics and often a source of contagion when they're being taken off. To make moving and treating patients safer, Johns Hopkins University, along with international health affiliate Jhpiego and other partners, is developing a new anti-contamination suit for health care workers that is both cooler to wear and easier to remove.


----------



## ScienceRocks

* FDA approves blood test that predicts risk of coronary heart disease *
By Karen Sprey
December 22, 2014






> Coronary heart disease (CHD) kills more than 385,000 people in the United States each year, and more than half of those who die suddenly have no previous symptoms. A new blood test that could reduce CHD-related illness and mortality by predicting the risk of future heart disease has been cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The PLAC Test for Lp-PLA2 screens for cardiovascular inflammation which can lead to a build up of rupture-prone plaque and result in a heart attack or stroke.



=====
* Non-invasive MRI technique picks up early signs of Alzheimer’s disease *
By Nick Lavars
December 22, 2014



 


> The development of brain plaques are thought to correlate with symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, such as memory loss. Previous research has indicated that limiting these buildups could be the key to tackling the disease, but scientists from Northwestern University are digging a little deeper. The team has devised a non-invasive MRI technique capable of tracking the specific toxins that accumulate to form plaques, potentially enabling doctors to pick up early signs of the disease before it starts to take hold.


----------



## ScienceRocks

* 'Nerve Hack' Offers Arthritis Sufferers Hope *
 Nerve Hack Offers Arthritis Sufferers Hope

More than half of patients using the tiny pacemaker-style device say their condition has improved dramatically.

By Thomas Moore, Health and Science Correspondent


> People with arthritis have been offered fresh hope after patients were effectively cured using a revolutionary electronic implant.
> 
> Doctors used tiny pacemaker style devices embedded in the necks of patients with severe rheumatoid arthritis to "hack" into their nervous systems.
> 
> The implant - whose effects were exclusively demonstrated to Sky News - fires bursts of electrical impulses into a key nerve that relays brain signals to the body's vital organs.


----------



## ScienceRocks

* MOCAheart keeps an eye on your cardiovascular health *
By Ben Coxworth
December 23, 2014
3 Pictures





> Your heart rate, blood oxygen level and blood pressure are all key indicators of your cardiovascular state of health. It would follow, then, that if you want to stay ahead of problems in that area, monitoring those parameters would be a great help. Well, that's just what MOCAheart is designed to do.
> 
> First of all, there are indeed already heart rate-monitoring smartphone apps that utilize the phone's camera and light. According to MOCAheart's designers, however, their device is more accurate and provides a greater amount of information.
> 
> To utilize it, users just place a finger from one hand over its optical sensor, while placing a finger from the other hand elsewhere on its stainless steel front surface. Using red and infrared lights (combined with the optical sensor), along with an EKG sensor, it then measures the electrical activity of the heart, blood oxygen levels, and blood velocity. The latter is reportedly fairly consistent with blood pressure.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Researchers take 'first baby step' toward anti-aging drug*
*by Dennis Thompson, Healthday Reporter 
Researchers take first baby step toward anti-aging drug*




Inhibiting the mTOR pathway in 200 elderly volunteers improved immune function, as measured by their response to an influenza vaccine. Credit: V. Altounian/Science Translational Medicine


> Researchers could be closing in on a "fountain of youth" drug that can delay the effects of aging and improve the health of older adults, a new study suggests.
> 
> Seniors received a significant boost to their immune systems when given a drug that targets a genetic signaling pathway linked to aging and immune function, researchers with the drug maker Novartis report.
> 
> The experimental medication, a version of the drug rapamycin, improved the seniors' immune response to a flu vaccine by 20 percent, researchers said in the current issue of _Science Translational Medicine_.
> 
> The study is a "watershed" moment for research into the health effects of aging, said Dr. Nir Barzilai, director of the Institute for Aging Research at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City.
> 
> Rapamycin belongs to a class of drugs known as mTOR inhibitors, which have been shown to counteract aging and aging-related diseases in mice and other animals.
> 
> Barzilai, who wasn't involved in the study, said this is one of the first studies to show that these drugs also can delay the effects of aging in humans.
> 
> "It sets the stage for using this drug to target aging, to improve everything about aging," Barzilai said. "That's really going to be for us a turning point in research, and we are very excited."


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Existing drug riluzole may prevent foggy ‘old age’ brain*
*December 24, 2014*
*[+]*




> New experiments suggest that riluzole, a drug already on the market as a treatment for ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), may help prevent the fading memory and clouding judgment that comes with advancing age,
> 
> Researchers at The Rockefeller University and The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai found they could stop normal, age-related memory loss in rats by treating them with riluzole. The treatment prompted changes known to improve connections, and as a result, communication between certain neurons within the brain’s hippocampus.
> 
> “By examining the neurological changes that occurred after riluzole treatment, we discovered one way in which the brain’s ability to reorganize itself — its neuroplasticity — can be marshaled to protect it against some of the deterioration that can accompany old age, at least in rodents,” says co-senior study author Alfred E. Mirsky Professor Bruce McEwen, head of the Harold and Margaret Milliken Hatch Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology. The research is published this week in _Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences_.



Existing drug riluzole may prevent foggy old age brain KurzweilAI

------

*Gold Nanorods Halt Growth of Cervical Cancer Cells*
by Editors on Dec 23, 2014






> Researchers at Swinburne University of Technology in Australia have shown for the first time that gold nanorods can effectively stop the growth of cervical cancer cells. The laboratory study of attaching the nanorods to their cell receptors used the famous HeLa cell lines as a cervical cancer model.
> 
> The gold nanorods, positioned where they are and with growth factors attached to their tips, stop the clustering of the cell receptors and halt the growth of the cell. This happens because apparently the cell receptors need to reach a certain density in a region for a signal from the growth factors to be passed into the cell.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Cure For Baldness? Spanish Scientists Use Stem Cells To Restore Hair Growth*
Dec 23, 2014 03:35 PM By  Dana Dovey @danadovey
Cure For Baldness Spanish Scientists Use Stem Cells To Restore Hair Growth


> In 2014, we are able to restore sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf, but still figuring out a way to reverse hair loss eludes us. Well, 2015 may prove otherwise, as researchers in Spain believe they’ve found a way to spur new hair growth by using our body's immune defense to stimulate stem cells in the surrounding skin.
> 
> Stem cell technology is being used for everything, from HIV treatment to reversing neurodegenerative disease, so why not try using it to tackle the much more common problem of hair loss. According to a recent press release, scientists have figured out a way to manipulate macrophages, a certain type of white blood cell, into reactivating hair follicles. The result? No more baldness.


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## ScienceRocks

* New combination of drugs slows heart decline in muscular dystrophy patients *
By Nick Lavars
December 29, 2014






> Signs of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) can start to appear in boys as young as six, leading to deterioration of the heart muscles and ultimately death. Pharmaceuticals aimed at controlling high blood pressure have been used to treat the one in 3,500 young males suffering from the condition, but a new study suggests that a novel combination of these drugs could slow the decline in heart function earlier on, and in promising new ways.


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## ScienceRocks

*Report on remission in patients with MS three years after stem cell transplant*

Date: December 29, 2014

Source: The JAMA Network Journals


Summary:


> Three years after a small number of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) were treated with high-dose immunosuppressive therapy and then transplanted with their own hematopoietic stem cells, most of the patients sustained remission of active relapsing-remitting MS and had improvements in neurological function, according to a study


.


Read the full piece @ Report on remission in patients with MS three years after stem cell transplant -- ScienceDaily


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## ScienceRocks

*Two strategies help prevent CMV disease in transplant patients*

*Two strategies help prevent CMV disease in transplant patients*






> (HealthDay)—For liver transplant recipients, universal prophylaxis and preemptive strategies (using ganciclovir or valganciclovir) are similarly effective for preventing cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease (CMD), according to research published online Dec. 17 in the _American Journal of Transplantation_.
> 
> Khalid Mumtaz, M.D., from The Ohio State University in Columbus, and colleagues conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine the efficacy of universal prophylaxis and preemptive strategies for preventing CMD in liver transplant recipients. The authors assessed CMD as the primary outcome, while secondary outcomes included acute cellular rejection, graft loss, and mortality. An indirect comparison of the studies was performed due to the heterogeneity of comparative studies. Data were included for 32 studies involving 2,456 liver transplant recipients.


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## ScienceRocks

*Cancer Death Rate Drop Spares 1.5 Million Americans: Report*
*Cancer Death Rate Drop Spares 1.5 Million Americans Report - NBC News*


> A 22 percent drop in cancer death rates during the past two decades has spared the lives of more than 1.5 million people in this country, the American Cancer Society reported Tuesday.
> 
> In its annual dissection of cancer diagnoses, mortality and survival data, the group pinned the ongoing decline in cancer death rates on a downturn in U.S. smoking habits, extra attention to cancer prevention, improvements in various cancer treatments, and advances in early detection methods.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Neonatal HBV vaccine reduces liver cancer risk *
PLOS




> Neonatal HBV vaccination reduces the risk of liver cancer and other liver diseases in young adults in China, according to a study published by Chunfeng Qu, Taoyang Chen, Yawei Zhang and colleagues from the Cancer Institute & Hospital at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Qidong Liver Cancer Institute, China, and Yale School of Public Health and School of Medicine, USA in this week's _PLOS Medicine_.
> 
> The researchers report long-term outcomes from the Qidong Hepatitis B intervention Study (QHBIS), a randomized controlled trial of neonatal HBV vaccination that was conducted between 1983 and 1990 in Qidong County, a rural area in China with a high incidence of HBV-related primary liver cancer (PLC) and other liver diseases. In this study, 41 rural towns (including a total of 77,658 newborns over the study period) were randomized to the intervention (HBV vaccination for all newborns) or control (no vaccination) groups, with two-thirds of the control group participants receiving a catch-up vaccination at age 10-14 years.


Neonatal HBV vaccine reduces liver cancer risk EurekAlert Science News


----------



## ScienceRocks

Mutations Found In 115 Year Old Woman's Blood Could Help Unlock Secrets Of Aging



> Hendrikje van Andel-Schipper died at the ripe old age of 115 in 2005, making her one of the longest lived humans on record. For a woman her age she was also in considerably good health until shortly before she passed away. She was also kind enough to donate her body to science and scientists have been eager to find out more about her, which may help to increase our understanding of ageing. In particular, researchers based  at the VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam were keen to know more about the accumulation of mutations in somatic cells as we age.
> 
> In the study, which has been published in the journal Genome Research, the team used deep whole-genome sequencing and found 450 somatic mutations within her healthy white blood cells. Furthermore, these mutations were enriched in noncoding regions that are not evolutionarily conserved and appeared to be harmless passenger mutations, unlike those associated with disease.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Biological bad luck blamed in two-thirds of cancer cases*
Biological bad luck blamed in two-thirds of cancer cases Reuters



> (Reuters) - Plain old bad luck plays a major role in determining who gets cancer and who does not, according to researchers who found that two-thirds of cancer incidence of various types can be blamed on random mutations and not heredity or risky habits like smoking.


----
*This is the worst flu season in years*
MarketWatch  - ‎1 hour ago‎


> NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - All those fevers, headaches and achy muscles mean one thing: The flu is getting to more people and making them sicker than usual this winter.


----------



## ScienceRocks

* New approach could lead cancer cells down path of destruction *
By Nick Lavars
January 1, 2015






> Scientists from Case Western Reserve University's School of Medicine have discovered a potential treatment that may steer cancer cells toward their own destruction. The study focused on a particular gene that was found to influence levels of a tumor-fighting protein called 53BP1, the heightened presence of which makes cancer cells more vulnerable to existing forms of treatment.


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## ScienceRocks

* Man-made ligament could replace ruptured ACLs *
By Ben Coxworth
January 2, 2015



 


> If you follow sports at all, then you've probably heard about athletes rupturing their ACL, or anterior cruciate ligament. It connects the femur to the tibia, and once it breaks, it's incapable of healing. Treatment most often involves reconstructing the ACL using grafts from the patellar tendon, which connects the patella (aka the kneecap) to the tibia – although this can present problems of its own. Now, scientists at Northwestern University in Illinois are creating a man-made replacement ACL, which could make treatment much more effective.


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## ScienceRocks

*Not all obese people develop metabolic problems linked to excess weight*
*Not all obese people develop metabolic problems linked to excess weight*


> New research demonstrates that obesity does not always go hand in hand with metabolic changes in the body that can lead to diabetes, heart disease and stroke.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> In a study at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, researchers found that a subset of obese people do not have common metabolic abnormalities associated with obesity, such as insulin resistance, abnormal blood lipids (high triglycerides and low HDL cholesterol), high blood pressure and excess liver fat.
> 
> In addition, obese people who didn't have these metabolic problems when the study began did not develop them even after they gained more weight.
> 
> The findings are published Jan. 2 in _The Journal of Clinical Investigation_.


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## ScienceRocks

*Defying Textbook Science, Study Finds New Role for Proteins*
Defying Textbook Science Study Finds New Role for Proteins


> Open any introductory biology textbook and one of the first things you’ll learn is that our DNA spells out the instructions for making proteins, tiny machines that do much of the work in our body’s cells. Results from a study published on Jan. 2 in _Science_ defy textbook science, showing for the first time that the building blocks of a protein, called amino acids, can be assembled without blueprints – DNA and an intermediate template called messenger RNA (mRNA). A team of researchers has observed a case in which another protein specifies which amino acids are added.


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## ScienceRocks

*New Israeli Cancer Vaccine Triggers Response In 90% Of Cancer Types*
*Vaxil BioTherapeutics, based in Nes Ziona, Israel, has spent over half a decade developing ImMucin, a prophylactic cancer vaccine*
*By*: Jonathan Neff, NoCamels
New Israeli Cancer Vaccine Triggers Response In 90 Of Cancer Types - Shalom Life


> There’s no doubt that cancer is one of the world’s most vicious diseases. For decades, scientists have been trying to find a cure for cancer, a terminal illness that kills 8 million people worldwide every year. With 14 million new cancer cases diagnosed around the globe every year, according to the World Health Organization, the need for prevention is vital. Now, an Israeli biotechnology company is developing a vaccine for cancer, which is not designed to treat the disease – but to prevent it from returning.
> 
> Vaxil BioTherapeutics, based in Nes Ziona, Israel, has spent over half a decade developing ImMucin, a prophylactic cancer vaccine, which can trigger a response in about 90 percent of all types of cancer, according to the company.
> 
> *Immunotherapy: A hybrid cross between a vaccine and a drug*
> 
> “Vaxil is developing a drug to keep the cancer from coming back,” Julian Levy, Vaxil’s CFO, tells NoCamels.com. “We are trying to harness the natural power of the immune system to fight against cancer by seeking out cancer cells and destroying them.”
> 
> Levy explains that ImMucin is not a replacement for traditional cancer treatments such as chemotherapy or radiation. Rather, the company is targeting a different stage in the patient’s battle against cancer, specifically the early stages of the detection, as well as during remission. That’s why, unfortunately, the drug won’t be helpful to many cancer patients – specifically those who are in advanced stages of the disease – because it requires a relatively healthy body to be fully effective.
> 
> Even though ImMucin is a vaccine, it is given to people who are already sick, unlike traditional vaccines. So, while ImMucin’s scientific mechanism is one of a vaccine, from the point of view of the patient, it acts exactly like a drug that has physiological effects when introduced to the body.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*A step toward a potential anti-aging drug *

http://www.kurzweila...anti-aging-drug


> According to a new study published in Science Translational Medicine, researchers have tested a potential anti-aging drug called everolimus (AKA RAD001) — an analog (version) of the drug rapamycin (sirolimus)*.
> 
> In previous research, rapamycin extended the life span of mice by 9 to 14%, even when treatment was initiated late in life, and it improved a variety of aging-related conditions in old mice, including tendon stiffening, cardiac dysfunction, cognitive decline, and decreased mobility.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Progress in Rotator Cuff Repair Extends to the Lab*
*Reinforced allograft fascia lata patch shows promise*


> As Gregory Gilot, MD, further refines his scaffold-based augmentation technique in Florida (see related post), his colleagues at Cleveland Clinic’s main campus have been developing novel fiber-reinforced extracellular matrix (ECM) scaffolds for musculoskeletal soft tissue repair.
> 
> A Cleveland Clinic team led by Kathleen Derwin, PhD, saw its patent-pending design for a reinforced allograft fascia lata patch receive 510(k) clearance from the FDA in November 2012. The patch was approved for use in reinforcing soft tissues repaired by sutures or suture anchors during tendon repair surgery, including reinforcement of rotator cuff, patellar, Achilles, biceps and other tendons.


Progress in Rotator Cuff Repair Extends to the Lab


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## ScienceRocks

* Diet pill tricks body into burning fat, by making it think you've eaten *
By Ben Coxworth
January 6, 2015
3 Pictures





> When we eat a meal, our body detects that we've consumed calories and responds by burning fat in order to make room for them. The catch for the weight-conscious is that if we don't burn off those newly-arrived calories, they just end up being stored as more fat. For people with metabolic disorders or other conditions, exercise just isn't enough to keep that from happening. Soon, however, a newly-developed drug could help. It triggers the body's "burning fat to make space for calories" response, even when the patient hasn't eaten anything.


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## ScienceRocks

NANOMEDICINE REVOLUTION – 2015 HUMAN TRIAL OF DNA NANOBOTS
https://hacked.com/n...l-dna-nanobots/


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## ScienceRocks

*First new antibiotic in 30 years discovered in major breakthrough*
* The discovery of Teixobactin could pave the way for a new generation of antibiotics because of the way it was discovered. *
*First new antibiotic in 30 years discovered in major breakthrough - Telegraph*


> * The first new antibiotic to be discovered in nearly 30 years has been hailed as a ‘paradigm shift’ in the fight against the growing resistance to drugs. *
> 
> 
> * Teixobactin has been found to treat many common bacterial infections such as tuberculosis, septicaemia and C. diff, and could be available within five years. *
> 
> 
> * But more importantly it could pave the way for a new generation of antibiotics because of the way it was discovered. *
> 
> 
> * Scientists have always believed that the soil was teeming with new and potent antibiotics because bacteria have developed novel ways to fight off other microbes. *



Pretty big news as the last one was  30 years ago!

Here is the wiki on it Teixobactin - Wikipedia the free encyclopedia


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## ScienceRocks

*Stem Cell BioGenerator to Help Repair Broken Hearts*
by Editors on Jan 6, 2015






> *NuVascular Technologies* (Ashland, MA) has partnered with Worcester Polytechnic Institute and *BioSurfaces*, Inc. (Ashland, MA) to introduce the BioGenerator stem cell device for clinical applications. The device holds stem cells produced at Worcester from adult bone marrow cells. It can either be attached to the heart wall or injected into cardiac tissue via a catheter.
> 
> The electrospun vesicle allows stem cells within to release proteins and growth factors directly into the heart to motivate production of new myocytes. The stem cells themselves stay put and can be removed at any time by explanting the BioGenerator. The hope is that the system will serve as a functional treatment option for hearts damaged by infarcts, eclipsing many current therapies that only marginally and temporarily address the problem.


-----

Researchers Create Artificial Organs That Fit In Your Hand



> Great balls of cells! Scientists are developing mock human organs that can fit in the palm of your hand.
> These organs-on-a-chip are designed to test drugs and help understand the basics of how organs function when they are healthy and when they are diseased.


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## ScienceRocks

Reposting the first post of this page as this has more info. This is huge.


http://www.bbc.co.uk...health-30657486



> The decades-long drought in antibiotic discovery could be over after a breakthrough by US scientists.
> 
> Their novel method for growing bacteria has yielded 25 new antibiotics, with one deemed "very promising".
> 
> The last new class of antibiotics to make it to clinic was discovered nearly three decades ago.
> 
> The study, in the journal Nature, has been described as a "game-changer" and experts believe the antibiotic haul is just the "tip of the iceberg".
> 
> The heyday of antibiotic discovery was in the 1950s and 1960s, but nothing found since 1987 has made it into doctor's hands.
> 
> Since then microbes have become incredibly resistant. Extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis ignores nearly everything medicine can throw at it.
> 
> Back to soil
> The researchers, at the Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, turned to the source of nearly all antibiotics - soil.
> 
> This is teeming with microbes, but only 1% can be grown in the laboratory.
> 
> The team created a "subterranean hotel" for bacteria. One bacterium was placed in each "room" and the whole device was buried in soil.
> 
> It allowed the unique chemistry of soil to permeate the room, but kept the bacteria in place for study.
> 
> The scientists involved believe they can grow nearly half of all soil bacteria.
> 
> Chemicals produced by the microbes, dug up from one researchers back yard, were then tested for antimicrobial properties.
> 
> The lead scientist, Prof Kim Lewis, said: "So far 25 new antibiotics have been discovered using this method and teixobactin is the latest and most promising one.
> 
> "[The study shows] uncultured bacteria do harbour novel chemistry that we have not seen before. That is a promising source of new antimicrobials and will hopefully help revive the field of antibiotic discovery."
> 
> Bacteria
> 
> Tests on teixobactin showed it was toxic to bacteria, but not mammalian tissues, and could clear a deadly dose of MRSA in tests on mice.
> 
> Human tests are now needed.
> 
> The researchers also believe that bacteria are unlikely to develop resistance to teixobactin.
> 
> It targets fats which are essential for building the bacterial cell wall, and the scientists argue it would be difficult to evolve resistance.
> 
> "Here is an antibiotic that essentially evolved to be free of resistance," said Prof Lewis. "We haven't seen that before.
> 
> "It has several independent different tricks that minimise resistance development."


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## ScienceRocks

* Glowing compound could lead to more effective cancer surgery *
By Nick Lavars
January 8, 2015
2 Pictures





> Scientists from Oregon State University (OSU) have developed a new method that could make for better precision in the killing of cancer cells. The technique puts to use a unique compound with the ability to illuminate cancerous cells when exposed to near-infrared light, potentially acting as markers for surgeons taking on the intricate task of tumor removal.


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## ScienceRocks

* Spinal implant could one day let paralyzed people walk again *
By Ben Coxworth
January 9, 2015
3 Pictures


 


> Three years ago, scientists at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) reported success in getting rats with severed spinal cords to walk again. They did so by suspending the animals in a harness, then using implants to electrically stimulate neurons in their lower spinal cord. Although this ultimately resulted in the rats being able to run on their previously-paralyzed hind legs, the technology still wasn't practical for long-term use in humans. Thanks to new research conducted at EPFL, however, that may no longer be the case.


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## ScienceRocks

*BBS Revolution Automatic Bladder Volume Measurement Device FDA Cleared*
by Editors on Jan 8, 2015






> *dBMEDx*, a company with offices in Denver, Colorado and Bellevue, Washington, won FDA clearance to introduce its BBS Revolution automated bladder volume measurement device. It’s intended to help clinicians assess whether a patient really needs that catheter that is so often the source of urinary tract infections.
> 
> The ultrasound device requires only a squeeze of gel and a short sweep across the abdomen while pressing down the trigger on the handle. The system automatically calculates bladder volume and displays the reading on the screen. The whole process takes minutes to complete, doesn’t require much training, and can be done by staff not trained in using ultrasound equipment. While the system is easy to use, the underlying technology is fairly complicated, producing a true 3D volume dataset using multiple b-mode slices that allows the measurement of the bladder.


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## ScienceRocks

*Live forever: Scientists say they’ll soon extend life ‘well beyond 120’*

http://www.theguardi...oogle-longevity


> In Palo Alto in the heart of Silicon Valley, hedge fund manager Joon Yun is doing a back-of-the-envelope calculation. According to US social security data, he says, the probability of a 25-year-old dying before their 26th birthday is 0.1%. If we could keep that risk constant throughout life instead of it rising due to age-related disease, the average person would – statistically speaking – live 1,000 years. Yun finds the prospect tantalising and even believable. Late last year he launched a $1m prize challenging scientists to “hack the code of life” and push human lifespan past its apparent maximum of about 120 years (the longest known/confirmed lifespan was 122 years).


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## ScienceRocks

* Drug shown to prevent and treat diabetes in mice *
By Nick Lavars
January 11, 2015






> Research carried out at the University of California and the University of Barcelona has uncovered an enzyme inhibitor found to prevent and reverse the effects of diabetes in obese mice. In addition to discovering a potential form of treatment for the disease, scientists say the study has shone new light on healthy properties of fatty acids.



Rats do so much for humanity. We should be grateful for them.


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## ScienceRocks

Researchers identify mechanism involved in causing cataracts in mice


> Cataract is one of the most common eye diseases, becoming more prevalent as people age. Over half of adults in the United States develop cataracts before age 80 and more than six million have undergone surgery to prevent vision loss caused by the clouding of the eye lens.
> 
> Now, a team of scientists have established that a breakdown in communication between two biochemical pathways in the eye is involved in causing cataracts. The new information could help researchers develop pharmaceutical and dietary approaches to delaying the onset of cataracts. Scientists from the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (USDA HNRCA) at Tufts University led the study in mice and their results are published in the January 12-16 Online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.


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## ScienceRocks

*First contracting human muscle grown in laboratory*
*3 hours ago by Ken Kingery *




A microscopic view of lab-grown human muscle bundles stained to show patterns made by basic muscle units and their associated proteins (red), which are a hallmark of human muscle. Credit: Nenad Bursac, Duke University


> In a laboratory first, Duke researchers have grown human skeletal muscle that contracts and responds just like native tissue to external stimuli such as electrical pulses, biochemical signals and pharmaceuticals.
> 
> The lab-grown tissue should soon allow researchers to test new drugs and study diseases in functioning human muscle outside of the human body.
> 
> The study was led by Nenad Bursac, associate professor of biomedical engineering at Duke University, and Lauran Madden, a postdoctoral researcher in Bursac's laboratory. It appears January 13 in the open-access journal _eLife_





Read more at: First contracting human muscle grown in laboratory


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## ScienceRocks

*Cancer deaths under 80 ‘will be eradicated’*
Cancer deaths under 80 will be eradicated The Times


> Dying of cancer could be confined to the very old within decades, experts have predicted.
> 
> A daily aspirin for the middle-aged, cancer testing by pharmacists and improvements in screening and drugs will help to eliminate cancer deaths in people under 80, according to a report published today.


----------



## ScienceRocks

One punch to knock out flu: Researcher sees universal flu vaccine ahead



> The fact that this year's flu shot is not a good match against this year's influenza strain is well known, and has happened before.
> 
> But now researchers at McMaster University and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York say that a universal flu vaccine may be on the horizon, thanks to the recent discovery of a new class of antibodies that are capable of neutralizing a wide range of influenza A viruses.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Michigan man leaves hospital with artificial heart*


> A Michigan man is wearing his heart on his back.
> 
> Stan Larkin, 24, is the first person in the state to walk out of the hospital without a human heart thanks to a 13-pound portable compressor known as the Freedom Driver.
> 
> The device, which can be carried around in a backpack, keeps the Ypsilanti resident’s SynCardia temporary Total Artificial Heart beating while he waits for a transplant, according to the Detroit Free Press.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Prolonging lifespan: Researchers create 'Methuselah fly' by selecting best cells*


> *Scientists have managed to considerably prolong the lifespan of flies by activating a gene which destroys unhealthy cells. The results could also open new possibilities in human anti-aging research*





> Normally, there are two copies of this gene in each cell. By inserting a third copy, the researchers were able to select better cells more efficiently. The consequences of this improved cell quality control mechanism were, according to Moreno, "very exciting": The flies appeared to maintain tissue health better, aged slower and had longer lifespans.* "Our flies had median lifespans 50 to 60 percent longer than normal flies,"* said Christa Rhiner, one of the authors of the study.
> 
> *Could azot also slow down the human aging process?*
> 
> However, the potential of the results goes beyond creating Methuselah flies, the researchers say: Because the gene azot is conserved in humans, this opens the possibility that selecting the healthier or fitter cells within organs could in the future be used as an anti aging mechanism. For example, it could prevent neuro- and tissue degeneration produced in our bodies over time.




http://www.scienceda...50115134624.htm


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## ScienceRocks

*Vitamin D 'helps immune system to fight colorectal cancer'*
Medical News Today  - ‎3 hours ago‎



> Researchers from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have shown in a new study that vitamin D can help the body fight against colorectal cancer by boosting the immune system.


----------



## ScienceRocks

* Temporary tattoo could let diabetics monitor glucose levels without jabbing themselves *
By Ben Coxworth
January 16, 2015
2 Pictures





> Finger-prick blood tests are currently an unpleasant necessity for diabetics. Perhaps before too long, however, the blood glucose information gathered in those tests could be attained using something much more fun and painless than a lancet – a temporary tattoo.


----------



## ScienceRocks

* Microcapsule delivery method opens door for protein to treat osteoarthritis *
By Darren Quick
January 20, 2015



 



> Although known to reduce inflammation and aid in the repair of damaged tissue, the protein molecule called C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) could not previously be put to use in treating osteoarthritis as it breaks down easily in the body. But now researchers at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) could make this possible by using slow-release microcapsules containing the protein.


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## ScienceRocks

* Portable device could be used to treat Parkinson’s disease *
By Ben Coxworth
January 21, 2015



 


> Among other things, one of the symptoms of advanced Parkinson’s disease is an impaired sense of balance. Although this typically isn't very responsive to medication, Swedish scientists at the University of Gothenburg's Sahlgrenska Academy are developing an alternative treatment – a wearable device that stimulates the patient's vestibular system.


----------



## ScienceRocks

* Nanobot micromotors deliver medical payload in living creature for the first time *
By Colin Jeffrey
January 21, 2015
3 Comments





> Researchers working at the University of California, San Diego have claimed a world first in proving that artificial, microscopic machines can travel inside a a living creature and deliver their medicinal load without any detrimental effects. Using micro-motor powered nanobots propelled by gas bubbles made from a reaction with the contents of the stomach in which they were deposited, these miniature machines have been successfully deployed in the body of a live mouse.


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## ScienceRocks

* Targeting certain immune cell halts type 1 diabetes in mice *
By Nick Lavars
January 21, 2015






> Scientists working at St Louis University (SLU) have demonstrated the ability to prevent type 1 diabetes in mice by focusing on a particular immune cell whose properties weren't entirely clear. They discovered that impeding the development of this cell they could in fact stop the onset of the disease.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists successfully slow ageing and increase lifespan of mice*
January 22, 2015 Lucy Ingham


> For the first time ever, scientists have successfully modified the expression of a particular gene in mice to not only increase their lifespan, but also slow the rate at which they age.
> 
> The gene in question, Myc, is common to all animals, and has long been the subject of research after it was found to be responsible for regulating cell proliferation, growth and death. It has even been closely linked to cancer.
> 
> Normally animals have two copies of the Myc gene, but researchers from Brown University bred laboratory mice to only have one – the first time anyone has done this in any mammal.
> 
> To their surprise, the scientists found that the mice lived longer than their two-Myc counterparts and also aged at a slower rate.
> 
> The female mice lived 20% longer, while the male mice lived 10% longer.
> 
> “The animals are definitely aging slower. They are maintaining the function of their organs and tissues for longer periods of time,” explained lead study author John Sedivy, the Hermon C Bumpus professor of biology and professor of medical science at Brown University.



Scientists successfully slow ageing and increase lifespan of mice - Factor

A mice is a hell of a lot closer to us then a fly  Progress.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Innovative organ preservation system to boost transplant rates and success*
January 22, 2015 Lucy Ingham


> Scientists have developed an organ preservation system that could significantly improve the success rate of liver transplants, while enabling the organs to be preserved for longer before transplant.
> 
> The system, which has been successful in animal studies, uses what is known as machine perfusion to pump a cell-free, cooled, oxygen-rich fluid into the liver while it is waiting to be transplanted.
> 
> This keeps the liver fed with oxygen as if it were still in the body, and so maintains its quality for longer than with the traditional organ storage and transport system.
> 
> As a result, the system has been demonstrated to have a considerably higher success rate, suggesting it could be used to significantly increase the number of healthy, quality livers available to patients on the transplant waiting list.


----------



## ScienceRocks

http://timesofindia....ow/45976403.cms


> NEW DELHI: A global team of about 300 scientists studied over 30,000 brain scans of people from 33 countries and found that eight common genetic mutations are behind the aging of brain. This was the largest collaborative study of the brain to date and its findings could lead to targeted therapies and interventions for Alzheimer's disease, autism and other neurological conditions.
> 
> The study known as the Enhancing Neuro Imaging Genetics through Meta Analysis (ENIGMA) Network was led by researchers from the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) and involved 190 institutions. The findings are published on Jan 21 in Nature. This is the first high-profile study since the National Institutes of Health (NIH) of the US launched its Big Data to Knowledge (BD2K) centers of excellence in 2014.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*4-Year-Old Australian Boy Receives World’s First Artificial Pancreas *





> In 2013 alone, over 79,000 children around the globe were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes: an autoimmune disorder that affects the amount of insulin produced by the pancreas. Receiving insulin therapy through a traditional pump or injections can require a lot of work to ensure blood sugar levels are safe, particularly during the night.



- See more at: IFLScience


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Telomere extension turns back aging clock in cultured human cells, study finds *



> A new procedure can quickly and efficiently increase the length of human telomeres, the protective caps on the ends of chromosomes that are linked to aging and disease, according to scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
> 
> Treated cells behave as if they are much younger than untreated cells, multiplying with abandon in the laboratory dish rather than stagnating or dying.
> 
> The procedure, which involves the use of a modified type of RNA, will improve the ability of researchers to generate large numbers of cells for study or drug development, the scientists say. Skin cells with telomeres lengthened by the procedure were able to divide up to 40 more times than untreated cells. The research may point to new ways to treat diseases caused by shortened telomeres.
> 
> "Now we have found a way to lengthen human telomeres by as much as 1,000 nucleotides, turning back the internal clock in these cells by the equivalent of many years of human life," said Helen Blau, PhD, professor of microbiology and immunology at Stanford and director of the university's Baxter Laboratory for Stem Cell Biology. "This greatly increases the number of cells available for studies such as drug testing or disease modeling."
> 
> 
> The researchers found that as few as three applications of the modified RNA over a period of a few days could significantly increase the length of the telomeres in cultured human muscle and skin cells. A 1,000-nucleotide addition represents a more than 10 percent increase in the length of the telomeres. These cells divided many more times in the culture dish than did untreated cells: about 28 more times for the skin cells, and about three more times for the muscle cells.
> 
> "We were surprised and pleased that modified TERT mRNA worked, because TERT is highly regulated and must bind to another component of telomerase," said Ramunas. "Previous attempts to deliver mRNA-encoding TERT caused an immune response against telomerase, which could be deleterious. In contrast, our technique is nonimmunogenic. Existing transient methods of extending telomeres act slowly, whereas our method acts over just a few days to reverse telomere shortening that occurs over more than a decade of normal aging. This suggests that a treatment using our method could be brief and infrequent."


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Samsung Unveils Prototype Stroke Detecting Headset*
by Editors on Jan 23, 2015






> While brain monitoring using EEG is not a new technique, advancements in technology may allow it to be used for detecting a variety of conditions that are currently hard to diagnose. *Samsung* is continuing to show evidence that it’s serious about getting a major foothold in the medical field with the announcement that it’s been working on a wearable EEG headset that can be used by patients themselves to detect signs of stroke as well as for regular monitoring to gauge stress levels, analyze sleep, and other brain health parameters that are often not measured quantitatively.
> 
> The Early Detection Sensor & Algorithm Package (EDSAP) will pair up with a user’s smartphone or tablet to display the results of the ECG tests, which can be done within about a minute. The company says that its sensors are able to pickup a much higher quality signal than current EEG headsets thanks to newly developed dry electrodes made of a novel material discovered by the group. The material is rubbery in feel, is highly conductive, and doesn’t require a gel or saline solution to be applied to make a good electrical connection with the scalp.


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## ScienceRocks

*Stem Cell Transplant Improves Physical and Cognitive Symptoms In 50% Of MS Patients*
January 23, 2015 | by Janet Fang









> Multiple sclerosis, or MS, is an autoimmune disorder that affects the brain and spinal cord. The immune system destroys the patient's own myelin, the protective membrane wrapped about the nerves, thus disrupting communication with the central nervous system. About 50 percent of patients are unable to walk 25 years after their diagnosis.
> 
> Rather than suppress the immune system with a high dose of drugs, a technique called autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) hopes to reset the immune system. Hematopoietic simply refers to blood, and autologous means using one’s own cells, instead of those from a donor. So what happens is, after low-dose immunosuppressive drugs are administered to dampen the body’s response, stem cells harvested from the patient’s blood are infused back.
> 
> Northwestern’s Richard Burt and colleagues examined the outcomes of 145 MS patients who were treated with this stem cell transplant during trials between 2003 and 2014. Specifically, the patients—who ranged in age from 18 to 60 years old—have relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis: Symptom flare-ups are followed by periods with little or no symptoms. The patients were periodically tested (2.5 years on average) with the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS), which measures the functi





> The team found significant improvement in 41 patients tested after two years—that’s about 50 percent of the patients who were tested at that interval. For patients tested at four years, they found similar improvement in 23 patients, or 64 percent of the patients tested. Patients who received HSCT showed improvement in physical and cognitive function as well as quality of life, the researchers report. Furthermore, MRI imaging showed a reduction in the volume of brain lesions.
> 
> After four years, the relapse-free survival was 80 percent. And the four-year progression-free survival was 87 percent. However, the EDSS score did not improve in patients with secondary-progressive MS or in those who've had MS for more than 10 years.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Researchers pinpoint two genes that trigger severest form of ovarian cancer*
Researchers pinpoint two genes that trigger severest form of ovarian cancer


> In the battle against ovarian cancer, UNC School of Medicine researchers have created the first mouse model of the worst form of the disease and found a potential route to better treatments and much-needed diagnostic screens.


----------



## ScienceRocks

* Telomere-lengthening procedure turns clock back years in human cells *
By Helen Clark
January 28, 2015






> Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have developed a new procedure to increase the length of human telomeres. This increases the number of times cells are able to divide, essentially making the cells many years younger. This not only has useful applications for laboratory work, but may point the way to treating various age-related disorders – or even muscular dystrophy.


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## ScienceRocks

*Structure of world's largest single cell is reflected at the molecular level*
Published: Thursday, January 29, 2015 - 16:52 in Biology & Nature
Structure of world s largest single cell is reflected at the molecular level e Science News


> _Daniel Chitwood, Ph.D., assistant member, and his research group at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center's in St. Louis, in collaboration with the laboratory of Neelima Sinha, Ph.D., at the University of California, Davis, are using the world's largest single-celled organism, an aquatic alga called Caulerpa taxifolia, to study the nature of structure and form in plants. They have recently reported the results of their work in the online journal, PLOS Genetics. "Caulerpa is a unique organism," said Chitwood. "It's a member of the green algae, which are plants. Remarkably, it's a single cell that can grow to a length of six to twelve inches. It independently evolved a form that resembles the organs of land plants. A stolon runs along the surface that the cell is growing on and from the stolon arise leaf-like fronds, and root-like holdfasts, which anchor the cell and absorb phosphorus from the substrate. All of these structures are just one cell."_


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New model for preserving donor tissue will allow more natural joint repair for patients*
Published: Wednesday, January 28, 2015 - 14:03 in Health & Medicine
*New model for preserving donor tissue will allow more natural joint repair for patients e Science News*





> Currently, doctors have to throw away more than 80 percent of donated tissue used for joint replacements because the tissue does not survive long enough to be transplanted. Now, following a recent study, University of Missouri School of Medicine researchers have developed a new technology that more than doubles the life of the tissue. This new technology was able to preserve tissue quality at the required level in all of the donated tissues studied, the researchers found. "It's a game-changer," said James Stannard, co-author of the study and J. Vernon Luck Sr. Distinguished Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the MU School of Medicine. "The benefit to patients is that more graft material will be available and it will be of better quality. This will allow us as surgeons to provide a more natural joint repair option for our patients."


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## ScienceRocks

*Improved Anti-HIV Antibodies Created Through Genetic Engineering*





> Part of what makes human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) so difficult to treat is its ability to elude the body’s immune system in a variety of ways. However, a recent study has described genetically-altered antibodies which have 100 times the HIV-fighting power of natural antibodies. This could be used to develop new treatments. Rachel Galimidi of Caltech was lead author of the paper, which was published in _Cell_.


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## ScienceRocks

*Electronic Glasses Allow Legally Blind Woman To See Her Baby For First Time*




There’s no shortage of heartwarming videos on YouTube, and this is no exception. In the short clip, you get to see the moment when a legally blind woman sees her newborn baby boy for the first time, thanks to a pair of innovative electronic specs.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*3-D printers to make human body parts? It's happening*
*4 hours ago by Steve Johnson, San Jose Mercury News *


> It sounds like something from a science fiction plot: So-called three-dimensional printers are being used to fashion prosthetic arms and hands, jaw bones, spinal-cord implants - and one day perhaps even living human body parts.





Read more at: 3-D printers to make human body parts It s happening


----------



## ScienceRocks

For the first time, Johns Hopkins researchers used biodegradable nano-particles to kill brain cancer cells in animals and lengthen their survival.



> Despite improvements in the past few decades with surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy, a predictably curative treatment for glioma does not yet exist. New insights into specific gene mutations that arise in this often deadly form of brain cancer have pointed to the potential of gene therapy, but it’s very difficult to effectively deliver toxic or missing genes to cancer cells in the brain. Now, Johns Hopkins researchers report they have used nanoparticles to successfully deliver a new therapy to glioma cells in the brains of rats, prolonging their lives. A draft of the study appeared this week on the website of the journal _ACS Nano_.
> 
> For their studies, the Johns Hopkins team designed and tested a variety of nanoparticles made from different polymers, or plastics. When they found a good candidate that could deliver genes to rat brain cancer cells, they filled the nanoparticles with DNA encoding an enzyme, herpes simplex virus type 1 thymidine kinase (HSVtk), which turns a compound with little effect into a potent therapy that kills brain cancer cells. When combined with the compound, called ganciclovir, these loaded nanoparticles were 100 percent effective at killing glioma cells grown in laboratory dishes.
> 
> “We then evaluated the system in rats with glioma and found that by using a method called intracranial convection-enhanced delivery, our nanoparticles could penetrate completely throughout the tumor following a single injection,” says Jordan Green, Ph.D, associate professor of biomedical engineering, neurosurgery and ophthalmology at Johns Hopkins and a member of the Institute for NanoBioTechnology. “When combined with systemic administration of ganciclovir, rats with malignant glioma lived significantly longer than rats that did not receive this treatment.” (Intracranial convection-enhanced delivery uses a pressure gradient to enhance diffusion throughout the tumor.)
> 
> In its current form, Green envisions that the nanoparticles would be administered locally in the brain during the surgery that is commonly used to treat glioma. In the future, these nanoparticles may be able to be administered systemically rather than directly to the brain. “We are encouraged by these promising results and look forward to optimizing the intracranial distribution of this new nanoparticle gene therapy strategy,” says Tyler.





http://www.hopkinsme..._cancer_in_rats


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## ScienceRocks

*Code cracked for infections by major group of viruses including common cold and polio*



> Researchers have cracked a code that governs infections by a major group of viruses including the common cold and polio.
> Until now, scientists had not noticed the code, which had been hidden in plain sight in the sequence of the ribonucleic acid (RNA) that makes up this type of viral genome.
> But a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) Early Edition by a group from the University of Leeds and University of York unlocks its meaning and demonstrates that jamming the code can disrupt virus assembly. Stopping a virus assembling can stop it functioning and therefore prevent disease.


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## ScienceRocks

*FDA approves new drug to treat estrogen-receptor–positive breast cancer*
*UCLA resesarch played key role in development of Ibrance*
*FDA approves new drug to treat estrogen-receptor positive breast cancer UCLA*


> The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved a new drug to treat patients with advanced breast cancer, signaling a new strategy for arresting tumor growth and extending the time before cancer worsens in women with metastatic disease.
> 
> The drug, Ibrance (palbociclib), was studied in 165 post-menopausal women with advanced estrogen–receptor positive (ER+) and HER2–negative (HER2-) breast cancer who had received no prior systemic therapy for their metastatic disease. In 2013, after patients in a clinical study led by UCLA researchers showed a dramatic improvement, the FDA granted the drug “breakthrough therapy” status, allowing it to be fast-tracked for approval.


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## ScienceRocks

* "Robot scientist" Eve to save time and money in drug development *
By David Szondy
February 7, 2015






> Modern pharmaceuticals are a wonder of our age, but they also take years to develop at incredible cost. To shorten development time and increase economy, scientists at the Universities of Cambridge and Manchester have built Eve, an artificially-intelligent "robot scientist" that is not only faster and cheaper than its human counterparts, but has already identified a compound that could be used to fight malaria.


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## ScienceRocks

French Maker Creates a 3D Printed, Robotic Prosthetic Hand

http://3dprint.com/3...t-robotic-hand/


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## ScienceRocks

* Newly Discovered Networks among Different Diseases Reveal Hidden Connections *
Enormous databases of medical records have begun to reveal connections among diseases that could provide insights into the biological missteps that make us sick
February 5, 2015 |By Veronique Greenwood and Quanta Magazine
Newly Discovered Networks among Different Diseases Reveal Hidden Connections - Scientific American






From Quanta (Find original story here).


> Stefan Thurner is a physicist, not a biologist. But not long ago, the Austrian national health insurance clearinghouse asked Thurner and his colleagues at the Medical University of Vienna to examine some data for them. The data, it turned out, were the anonymized medical claims records—every diagnosis made, every treatment given—of most of the nation, which numbers some 8 million people. The question was whether the same standard of care could continue if, as had recently happened in Greece, a third of the funding evaporated. But Thurner thought there were other, deeper questions that the data could answer as well.


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## ScienceRocks

* MIT researchers develop glucose-responsive diabetes treatment *
By Chris Wood
February 10, 2015



 


> Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a new method for tackling diabetes that could represent a significant breakthrough in treating the condition. The team's engineered insulin stays in the patient’s bloodstream, but is only activated when sugar levels start to tip the scales.


----------



## ScienceRocks

* Oil-exuding silicone could prevent bacterial infections *
By Ben Coxworth
February 12, 2015






> Whenever foreign objects such as catheters, implants or other devices are placed within the human body, there's a danger that bacterial colonies known as biofilms could collect on them, leading to infections. Now, however, scientists at Harvard University's Wyss Institute have created a material that's too slippery for those biofilms to cling onto. It works by continuously releasing oil.


----------



## ScienceRocks

* Ultrasound technique shown to reverse Alzheimer’s symptoms in mice *
By Nick Lavars
February 12, 2015
2 Pictures





> Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging-guided ultrasound, a technology that involves highly-targeted ultrasound beams and monitoring their effects through imaging, has shown to help treat symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease in mice. The treatment was found to improve brain performance in the animals and has the researchers hopeful that the technique may prove effective in improving cognitive behavior in humans.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Nanorobot takes on hepatitis C virus, wins*

http://www.gizmag.co...-florida/23379/



> A new scientific breakthrough points to a new way of treating the Hepatitis C virus, which infects 170 million people worldwide. Researchers at the University of Florida have created nanorobots that can attack the very mechanism of viral replication. It acts on a cellular level as a tiny particle destroys the mechanism that reproduces the proteins related to the disease.
> 
> The virus is destroyed by a particle called a nanozyme, the surface of which is made up of two main biological components. The first is an enzyme that destroys mRNA, the carrier of the genetic recipe of the disease-related protein. The other part is the intelligence of the system, a DNA oligonucleotide that identifies the material and instructs the enzyme to destroy the carrier of the protein code.
> 
> The main current treatment option for sufferers of hepatitis C, which can lead to scarring and cirrhosis of the liver and for which no vaccine is yet available, involves a grueling 48-week regime of Interferon and Ribavirin, with success rate of just below 50 percent. The combination therapy can cause debilitating side effects in patients, and some even have to quit treatment due to anemia, depression and and extreme fatigue. The nanotherapy also tackles the side effect issue: because it does not trigger the body’s defense mechanisms, the possibility of adverse reactions is greatly reduced.
> 
> But it’s not only hepatitis C that can be treated with nanotherapy. Lead researcher Dr. Chen Liu said the new technology can have broad application because it can target any gene researchers want, such as cancer and other viral infections. “This opens the door to new fields so we can test many other things. We’re excited about it,” Liu said.
> 
> Nanoparticle technologies are already being used in medical treatments, especially in genetic testing and to help determine genetic markers of diseases. The researchers say they could hail a new age in medicine because nanorobots can enter diseased cells only, targeting only the specified disease process but leaving healthy cells unharmed. What’s more, therapies could be delivered in pill form. In the case of this particular nanoparticle, further safety testing is needed.


----------



## ScienceRocks

* Promising lung cancer breath test device moves into clinical trials *
By Nick Lavars
February 15, 2015



 


> The developers of a promising new lung cancer detection instrument have announced they are now moving their device into clinical trials. By relying on breath tests as a means of diagnosing the disease, it is hoped that the device could a non-invasive method for earlier detection and ultimately boost lung cancer survival rates.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Alzheimer’s Breakthrough: Scientists Home In On Molecule Which Halts Development of Disease*
*Telegraph (UK) ^ * | February16, 2015 | John Bingham



> Alzheimer’s Breakthrough: Scientists Home In On Molecule Which Halts Development of Disease Cambridge scientists raise prospect of new generation of treatments after finding technique to limit development of biggest cause of dementia
> 
> By John Bingham, 16 Feb 2015
> 
> Scientists have found a method which could potentially stop the growth of Alzheimer’s disease in its tracks, raising the prospect of a wave of new treatments for the condition.
> 
> A team at Cambridge University, working with partners in Sweden and Estonia, has identified a molecule which can block the progress of Alzheimer’s at a crucial stage in its development. Not only is it the first time that experts have identified a means of breaking the cycle leading to the development of Alzheimer’s but they believe the technique could be used to identify other molecules as future treatments to curb the growth of the condition. Charities hailed it as an "exciting" discovery. More than 520,000 people in the UK are estimated to be living with Alzheimer's, by far the most common cause of dementia.


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## ScienceRocks

* Gold nanotubes used to image and destroy cancer cells *
By Nick Lavars
February 16, 2015






> For some time, the potential of gold nanoparticles as a diagnostics and imaging tool has been known to scientists, but new research suggests they could prove even more useful than previously thought. A team at the University of Leeds has discovered that shaping the particles in the form of nanotubes sees them take on a number of new properties, including the ability to be heated up to destroy cancer cells.


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## ScienceRocks

*OLIVE OIL COMPOUND KILLS CANCER IN MINUTES*


> An ingredient in extra-virgin olive oil kills a variety of human cancer cells without harming healthy ones.
> Scientists knew that oleocanthal killed some cancer cells, but weren’t really sure how. They thought the compound might be targeting a key protein in cancer cells that triggers a programmed cell death, known as apoptosis, and decided to test their hypothesis.
> “We needed to determine if oleocanthal was targeting that protein and causing the cells to die,” says Paul Breslin, professor of nutritional sciences in the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences at Rutgers and coauthor of a new study published in Molecular and Cellular Oncology.
> 
> Link to actual study: http://www.tandfonli...77#.VOXocS5A-Cg
> Link to originial article on Rutgers: http://news.rutgers....11#.VOYbrfnF9lp


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## ScienceRocks

*The biggest biotech discovery of the century is about to change medicine forever*



> A scientific stampede commenced, and in just the past two years, researchers have performed hundreds of experiments on CRISPR. Their results hint that the technique may fundamentally change both medicine and agriculture.
> 
> Some scientists have repaired defective DNA in mice, for example, curing them of genetic disorders. Plant scientists have used CRISPR to edit genes in crops, raising hopes that they can engineer a better food supply.
> 
> Some researchers are trying to rewrite the genomes of elephants, with the ultimate goal of re-creating a woolly mammoth.
> 
> Writing last year in the journal Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology, Motoko Araki and Tetsuya Ishii of Hokkaido University in Japan predicted that doctors will be able to use CRISPR to alter the genes of human embryos "in the immediate future."
> 
> Thanks to the speed of CRISPR research, the accolades have come quickly. Last year MIT Technology Review called CRISPR "the biggest biotech discovery of the century."


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Designer protein 'blocks all known strains of HIV'*


> A novel drug candidate against HIV has been created by a joint team led by researchers at The Scripps Research Institute in Jupiter, FL. The scientists consider it to be so potent and effective that it could form the basis of a vaccine alternative.


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## ScienceRocks

* Injectable self-healing gel provides long-term drug delivery *
By Chris Wood
February 19, 2015






> A team of MIT researchers have developed a new, self-healing hydrogel that doesn’t require surgical implantation, but can be injected using a syringe. The new gel, which can carry two drugs at once, allows for more convenient treatment of numerous conditions.


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## ScienceRocks

*DNA screening kit given the go-ahead by US regulator*

*http://m.bbc.co.uk/n...nology-31552029*



> _A Californian start-up will be allowed to advertise a mail order DNA test that screens for a rare genetic condition, after a U-turn by the US regulator_


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Men have hands amputated and replaced by bionic ones*
http://www.newscientist.com/article...RSS|NSNS|2012-GLOBAL|online-news#.VO3WwvmsVUV


> The procedure, dubbed "bionic reconstruction", was carried out by Oskar Aszmann at the Medical University of Vienna, Austria.Bionic hands are go. Three men with serious nerve damage had their hands amputated and replaced by prosthetic ones that they can control with their minds.
> 
> The men had all suffered accidents which damaged the brachial plexus – the bundle of nerve fibres that runs from the spine to the hand. Despite attempted repairs to those nerves, the arm and hand remained paralysed.
> 
> "But still there are some nerve fibres present," says Aszmann. "The injury is so massive that there are only a few. This is just not enough to make the hand alive. They will never drive a hand, but they might drive a prosthetic hand."
> 
> This approach works because the prosthetic hands come with their own power source. Aszmann's patients plug their hands in to charge every night. Relying on electricity from the grid to power the hand means all the muscles and nerves need do is send the right signals to a prosthetic.


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## ScienceRocks

* 3D engineered bone marrow-like material produces functioning human platelets *
By Chris Wood
February 25, 2015






> Researchers at Tufts University School of Engineering and the University of Pavia (Italy) have developed a three-dimensional tissue made from porous silk, that’s capable of producing platelets for clinical use. The development is expected to have a significant impact on treatment of blood diseases.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*First Human Head transplant could happen in 2017*

26 February 2015











> The first human head transplant could take place in just two years, according to a radical proposal by an Italian surgeon.
> 
> Sergio Canavero, from the Turin Advanced Neuromodulation Group, wants the surgery to be used to help extend the lives of people who have suffered degeneration of the muscles and nerves or those who have advanced cancer.
> The surgeon plans to announce the project at the American Academy of Neurological and Orthopaedic Surgeons (AANOS) conference in Annapolis, Maryland, in June, the New Scientist reported.
> Mr Canavero published a paper on the technique he would use in the Surgical Neurology International journal this month.
> The recipient's head and the donor body would be cooled at the start of the procedure to extend the time that cells can survive without oxygen.
> Tissue around the neck would be dissected and major blood vessels would be joined using tiny tubes.






http://news.sky.com/...head-transplant


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Brain makes decisions with same method used to break WW2 Enigma code*


> When making simple decisions, neurons in the brain apply the same statistical trick used by Alan Turing to help break Germany’s Enigma code during World War II, according to a new study in animals by researchers at Columbia University’s Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute and Department of Neuroscience.
> Results of the study were published Feb. 5 in Neuron.
> As depicted in the film “The Imitation Game,” Alan Turing and his team of codebreakers devised the statistical technique to help them decipher German military messages encrypted with the Enigma machine.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Graphene shown to neutralize cancer stem cells


> University of Manchester scientists have used graphene oxide to target and neutralize cancer stem cells (CSCs) while not harming other cells.
> 
> This new development opens up the possibility of preventing or treating a broad range of cancers, using a non-toxic material.
> 
> In combination with existing treatments, this finding could eventually lead to tumor shrinkage as well as preventing the spread of cancer and its recurrence after treatment, according to the team of researchers led by Professor Michael Lisanti and Aravind Vijayaraghavan, writing in an open-access paper in the journal Oncotarget.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Johns Hopkins scientists identify genetic pathway that may spur cancer cell growth*



24 February 2015


> Working with cells taken from children with a very rare but ferocious form of brain cancer, Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center scientists have identified a genetic pathway that acts as a master regulator of thousands of other genes and may spur cancer cell growth and resistance to anticancer treatment.
> 
> Their experiments with cells from patients with atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor (AT/RT) also found that selumetinib, an experimental anticancer drug currently in clinical trials for other childhood brain cancers, can disrupt part of the molecular pathway regulated by one of these factors, according to a research team led by Eric Raabe, M.D., Ph.D., an assistant professor of oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
> AT/RT mostly strikes children 6 and younger, and the survival rate is less than 50 percent even with aggressive surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, treatments that can also disrupt thinking, learning and growth. AT/RT accounts for 1 percent of more than 4,500 reported pediatric brain tumors in the U.S., but it is more common in very young children, and it represents 10 percent of all brain tumors in infants.






http://www.news-medi...n-children.aspx


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Epigenome of more than 100 tissue and cell types mapped*


> Much like mapping the human genome laid the foundations for understanding the genetic basis of human health, new maps of the human epigenome may further unravel the complex links between DNA and disease. The epigenome is part of the machinery that helps direct how genes are turned off and on in different types of cells.
> "With this increased understanding of the full epigenome, and the datasets available to the entire scientific community, the NIH Common Fund is striving to catalyze future research, to aid the understanding of how epigenomics plays a role in human diseases, with the expectation that further studies will identify early indications of disease and targets for therapeutics," said James Anderson, M.D., Ph.D., director of NIH Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives that oversees the NIH Common Fund.
> 
> 
> Ageing is the result of on/off in the genomics. Hacking the control machinery will payback huge than trying to stop ageing by current drugs. Rapamycin like drugs "may" enlengthen life by 10 years, but this next generation technology has the potential to enlengthen it indefinitely.


----------



## ScienceRocks

* Protein shown to slow progress of Alzheimer’s and multiple sclerosis *
By Nick Lavars
March 2, 2015






> Researchers have identified a promising new target in the battle against certain neurological diseases. A protein known as TREM2 has been proven effective in clearing away unwanted debris in the brain, the unchecked buildup of which can lead to both Alzheimer's disease and multiple sclerosis (MS).


----------



## ScienceRocks

* Drug-delivering nano "drones" to help prevent heart attacks *
By Karen Sprey
March 2, 2015
2 Pictures


 


> Scientists have developed targeted, biodegradable nano "drones" to deliver anti-inflammatory drugs that heal and stabilize arterial plaque in mice. Their work could pave the way for more effective prevention of heart attack and stroke in humans caused by atherosclerosis, in which artery walls thicken and suffer reduced plasticity due to an accumulation of white blood cells.


----------



## ScienceRocks

* Prosthetic ankle scans the ground ahead and adjusts accordingly *
By Nick Lavars
March 2, 2015



 


> Computer-controlled artificial legs have aided in improving amputees' freedom of movement by mimicking the natural motion of their missing limbs. Now, a new robotic ankle promises to make this motion even more precise by using a camera to scan the ground ahead and dynamically adjusting to the terrain underfoot.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Neuroscientists identify new way several brain areas communicate


> Carnegie Mellon University neuroscientists have identified a new pathway by which several brain areas communicate within the brain's striatum.
> 
> Published in the Journal of Neuroscience, the findings illustrate structural and functional connections that allow the brain to use reinforcement learning to make spatial decisions, such as the dorsolateral prefrontal (DLPFC), orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and posterior parietal cortex (PPC). Communication between these regions is important for abilities like how a baseball player is able to estimate where to swing his bat or how a person finds a car in a large parking lot filled with similar cars.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Activating genes on demand


> "Such a capability could lead to gene therapies that would mitigate age-related degeneration and the onset of disease; in the study, Church and his team demonstrated the ability to manipulate gene expression in yeast, flies, mouse and human cell cultures."


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Lung cancer stem cell therapy to be trialled in UK*

Friday 6 March 2015 07.53 GMT


> British patients will be the first in the world to receive a pioneering cell therapy that scientists hope will transform the treatment of lung cancer.
> 
> The treatment uses stem cells taken from bone marrow that have been genetically modified to find and destroy cancer cells.
> 
> If successful, the treatment would offer hope to lung cancer patients, who continue to face one of the worst outlooks of all cancer patients. More than 40,000 people are diagnosed with the disease in the UK each year and only 5% of patients survive beyond 10 years.



http://www.theguardi...herapy-trial-uk


----------



## ScienceRocks

* Prosthetic arm takes alternate route to mind control *
By Lakshmi Sandhana
March 9, 2015
3 Pictures





> Researchers from the Medical University of Vienna have developed a technique that allows amputees to control a robotic prosthesis with their mind when there's no neural connection left to exploit between the brain and the part of the hand that remains. Called "bionic reconstruction," the procedure was applied to three patients who were able to successfully use the prosthesis to undertake routine activities, thereby improving their quality of life.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Genetics breakthrough will boost diabetes research*
*Genetics breakthrough will boost diabetes resear*





Patrick Concannon, director of the University of Florida Genetics Institute. Credit: UF Health file photo


> The genes that increase the risk of Type 1 diabetes have lost their hiding place. A research group that includes a University of Florida genetics expert has located and narrowed down the number of genes that play a role in the disease, according to a study published Monday in the journal _Nature Genetics_. Knowing the identities and location of causative genes is a crucial development: Other researchers can use this information to better predict who might develop Type 1 diabetes and how to prevent it.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists find class of drugs that boosts healthy lifespan*






> A research team from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), Mayo Clinic and other institutions has identified a new class of drugs that in animal models dramatically slows the aging process—alleviating symptoms of frailty, improving cardiac function and extending a healthy lifespan.
> The new research was published March 9 online ahead of print by the journal _Aging Cell_.
> 
> The scientists coined the term "senolytics" for the new class of drugs.
> 
> "We view this study as a big, first step toward developing treatments that can be given safely to patients to extend healthspan or to treat age-related diseases and disorders," said TSRI Professor Paul Robbins, PhD, who with Associate Professor Laura Niedernhofer, MD, PhD, led the research efforts for the paper at Scripps Florida. "When senolytic agents, like the combination we identified, are used clinically, the results could be transformative."


Scientists find class of drugs that boosts healthy lifespan


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## ScienceRocks

* Researchers develop new paper-based portable lab *
By Antonio Pasolini
March 11, 2015
2 Pictures





> Point-of-care medical diagnostics technologies offer a fast and cheap way to help patients as they require no experienced personnel or expensive laboratory tests. Several innovations such as a DNA test chip and a biosensor that can detect viruses give us an idea of the possibilities in this field. Now a research team at the University of Rhode Island in the US has developed a paper-based platform that's claimed can perform complex diagnostics.


----------



## ScienceRocks

* Heart-on-a-chip beats a steady rhythym *
By Colin Jeffrey
March 11, 2015






> The growing number of biological structures being grown on chips in various laboratories around the world is rapidly replicating the entire gamut of major human organs. Now one of the most important of all – a viable functioning heart – has been added to that list by researchers at the University of California at Berkeley (UC Berkeley) who have taken adult stem cells and grown a lattice of pulsing human heart tissue on a silicon device.


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## ScienceRocks

*Shot Helps Blood Clot in Otherwise Fatal Wounds*
A new injectable polymer dramatically slows blood loss from wounds and could one day save lives after accidents or injury on the battlefield. 


> University of Washington doctors and bioengineers who developed the material, called PolySTAT, report that it works by augmenting natural blood clotting after internal or external injuries.
> 
> “Most of the patients who die from bleeding die quickly,” said Dr. Nathan White, an assistant professor of emergency medicine who coauthored a study on the new macromolecule featured last week in the journal Science Translational Medicine. “This is something you could potentially put in a syringe inside a backpack and give right away to reduce blood loss and keep people alive long enough to make it to medical care.”



Txchnologist


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## ScienceRocks

* 3D Cell Explorer produces 3D holograms of living cells in near real time *
By Heidi Hoopes
March 11, 2015
11 Pictures





> Swiss company Nanolive has created 3D Cell Explorer, a new technology that creates vibrantly detailed 3D holograms of living cells on the nanometric scale. Created through combining 3D imagery with digital staining, the new microscope offers researchers and hospitals a novel tool to non-invasively peer inside living cells almost in real time, opening up new areas of biological research.


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## ScienceRocks

* Non-invasive Alzheimer's treatment restores memory using ultrasound *
By Colin Jeffrey
March 11, 2015



 


> Alzheimer's disease is a chronic neurodegenerative disease that most often begins in people over 65 years of age. Usually it starts slowly and continues to worsen over time until the sufferer succumbs to an increasing loss of memory, bodily functions and, eventually, death. Research has shown that there is an association with Alzheimer's and the accumulation of plaques that affect the neuronal connections in the brain. Now researchers at the University of Queensland have discovered a new way to remove these toxic plaques using a non-invasive form of ultrasound therapy.


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## ScienceRocks

* Interacting proteins could hold the key to a cure for asthma *
By Nick Lavars
March 11, 2015






> As common a condition as it is, not only does asthma have no cure, but its direct causes remain unknown. New research now suggests that targeting a particular set of molecules could hamper the survival rate of some asthma-inducing cells, possibly paving the way for the development of a cure for the respiratory disease.


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## ScienceRocks

*Beyond Resveratrol: The Anti-Aging NAD Fad*


> Recent research suggests it may be possible to reverse mitochondrial decay with dietary supplements that increase cellular levels of a molecule called NAD (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide). But caution is due: While there’s promising test-tube data and animal research regarding NAD boosters, no human clinical results on them have been published.


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## ScienceRocks

*BiVACOR bionic heart in development in Texas*
*BiVACOR bionic heart in development in Texas*
*by Nancy Owano 

*







> (Medical Xpress)—A bionic heart is under development in Houston, Texas, which has been steadily generating interest over the past several years. According to Dylan Baddour in the _Houston Chronicle_ on Thursday, researchers said this could be the first feasible commercial replacement for the human heart (short lifespan of past attempted bionic hearts have limited their usefulness, said Baddour—the constant grind of moving parts will wear down a manufactured heart). The invention's roots are attributed to Daniel Timms, who is the founder of BiVACOR. Timms, a biomedical engineer from Australia, instigated the project in 2001 while studying at the Queensland University of Technology.


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## ScienceRocks

*Experimental anti-cholesterol drug shows promise*




Cholesterol test
Experimental anti-cholesterol drug shows promise


> People taking an experimental drug called Repatha (evolocumab) for high cholesterol were half as likely to die or suffer a heart attack or stroke as those taking conventional statins, researchers said Sunday.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The findings were based on 4,465 patients who were studied for one year after completing an earlier phase of the drug's safety and efficacy testing.


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## ScienceRocks

*Losing weight substantially reduces atrial fibrillation*
Published: Monday, March 16, 2015 - 20:01 in Health & Medicine


> Obese patients with atrial fibrillation who lost at least 10 percent of their body weight were six times more likely to achieve long-term freedom from this common heart rhythm disorder compared to those who did not lose weight, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology's 64th Annual Scientific Session. The study is the first to track the long-term effects of weight loss and the degree of weight fluctuation on atrial fibrillation burden. Patients who lost more weight and maintained a more stable weight over four years showed marked reductions in atrial fibrillation burden and severity, the study's primary endpoints.



Losing weight substantially reduces atrial fibrillation e Science News


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## ScienceRocks

http://www.wsj.com/a...ease-1426542180


> Some of the top researchers on aging in the country are trying to get an unusual clinical trial up and running.
> 
> They want to test a pill that could prevent or delay some of the most debilitating diseases of old age, including Alzheimer’s and cardiovascular disease. The focus of the project isn’t to prolong life, although that could occur, but to make the last years or decades of people’s lives more fulfilling by postponing the onset of many chronic diseases until closer to death.
> 
> The project aims to tap into the growing body of research targeting aging, which has revealed a half dozen or more drugs that appear to delay the aging process in laboratory experiments on animals and observational studies of people. Some of the drugs also have been found to reduce the incidence of chronic diseases associated with old age.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Stanford scientists make leukemia 'grow up' and eat itself*






 by Andrew Tarantola |  @terrortola  | 2hrs ago






> A team at Stanford's School of Medicine has reportedly uncovered a potent new treatment method for combating one of leukemia's most aggressive forms -- and they did it pretty much by accident. While survival rates for B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a particularly nasty form of white blood cell cancer, have risen to about 85 percent over the past decade thanks to the advent of stem cell therapies, the prognosis for this disease in the presence of a Philadelphia chromosome mutation remains quite poor. But thanks to a chance observation by Dr. Scott McClellan, the Stanford team believes it's figured out way to neutralize the disease using its own cancerous cells against it.


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## ScienceRocks

* Drug-like molecule halts inflammation, could prevent progression of MS *
By Darren Quick
March 18, 2015







> Scientists at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Australia have developed a new drug-like molecule with the ability to inhibit a key signal that triggers inflammation in the body. The scientists say the molecule has already shown promise for putting the brakes on the progression of multiple sclerosis (MS).


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## ScienceRocks

*Blood test 'could cut antibiotics'*

Quote

19 March 2015







> A new blood test can help doctors tease out whether an infection is caused by a bacteria or a virus within two hours, research in Plos One suggests.
> It could stop patients being given antibiotics when they are not needed, scientists say.
> It is still at a laboratory stage but the team is working on a portable device too.
> Independent experts say the work addresses a serious problem. Further studies are being carried out.




http://m.bbc.co.uk/n...health-31941538


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## ScienceRocks

*New drug for Crohn's disease shows early promise*


(





> HealthDay)—An experimental drug may quickly quash symptoms of the digestive disorder Crohn's disease—at least for the short term, an early clinical trial finds.


----------



## longknife

*Life-saving treatments learned from war being missed*


There is only one good thing that ever comes out of war – learning how to treat and care for those wounded in the fighting. We've seen advances come out of every modern war and many advanced societies are learning how to use them. What is so sad is that many of the very countries where these conflicts are waged do not have the ability to take advantage of many of them.


_Trauma is responsible for more global deaths annually than HIV, malaria and tuberculosis combined. Yet healthcare systems in many countries are missing out on life-saving treatments learned on the battlefield, according to a new review._


Full story @ Life-saving treatments learned from war being missed -- ScienceDaily


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## ScienceRocks

*Biogen’s new Alzheimer’s drug shows hopeful results*
* Joseph Scalise * | *@jscaliseok1| March 20, 2015
Biogen s new Alzheimer s drug shows hopeful results Science Recorder*

*A new drug developed by Biogen Idec might be able to help with Alzheimer’s disease like never before.




A study of a potential Alzheimer’s disease treatment developed by the biotech company, Biogen Idec showed that the treatment was indeed effective in slowing cognitive decline in some patients.

According to Fox News, this comes from a report that started  in December, when the company announced that the drug they were developing (aducanumab) reduced a type of plaque in the brain believed to play a key role in the disease. This plaque also has been shown to slow clinical impairment in patients with a mild form of the disease. As such, getting rid of this plaque could serve as a way to lessen the effects of Alzheimer’s.

Data gathered from a study of 166 people who received the largest dose of the drug, showed significant improvement over patients receiving placebo. This prompted the company to accelerate the development of the drug and move directly to a much larger late-stage study. What’s more, the drug also met all the safety goals. Typically, early-stage studies focus mainly on safety, while the late-stage focus more closely on efficacy. This later study is generally the final phase before a company submits a drug to regulators for approval, but these good early results have sped up the process.
		
Click to expand...

*


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## ScienceRocks

*Genetically Modified Yeast Could Boost Health Benefits Of Wine And Reduce Hangovers*


> As if the human population needed an excuse to drink more booze: Scientists have demonstrated that it is possible to genetically engineer yeast in such a way that it could improve the content of the health-boosting substances of wine and beer. And the icing on the cake? It could potentially reduce the amount of toxic byproducts that can contribute to that dreaded hangover. Praise science!



- See more at: IFLScience


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## ScienceRocks

* Biomarker discovery points to blood test for osteoarthritis *
By Darren Quick
March 22, 2015






> While blood tests are used to rule out other forms of arthritis, the diagnosis of osteoarthritis (OA) generally relies on physical symptoms, with X-rays or MRI scans used for conformation if required. But researchers at the University of Warwick in the UK have identified a biomarker for OA that could lead to a blood test that could diagnose it, and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), years before physical symptoms present themselves.


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## ScienceRocks

*Breakthrough in identification of important protein*
*44 minutes ago *


> Researchers from the University of Copenhagen are the first in the world to develop a secure way of measuring the important protein apo-M. This could prove relevant for research into diseases such as diabetes, arteriosclerosis and sclerosis.





Read more at: Breakthrough in identification of important protein


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## ScienceRocks

*Promising vaccine strategy for type 1 diabetes extended to humans*






> A molecule that prevents Type 1 diabetes in mice has provoked an immune response in human cells, according to researchers at National Jewish Health and the University of Colorado. The findings, published online in the _Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences_, suggest that a mutated insulin fragment could be used to prevent Type 1 diabetes in humans.


Promising vaccine strategy for type 1 diabetes extended to humans


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## ScienceRocks

*Air pollution linked to increased risk of anxiety and stroke*
*Air pollution linked to increased risk of anxiety and stroke*




Credit: Alfred Palmer/Wikipedia


> Air pollution is linked to a higher risk of stroke, particularly in developing countries, finds a study published in _The BMJ_ today. In a second article, new research also shows that air pollution is associated with anxiety.
> 
> Stroke is a leading cause of death and kills around 5 million people each year worldwide. Common risk factors include obesity, smoking and high blood pressure. But the effect of the environment, such as, air pollution is uncertain because evidence is lacking.
> 
> In a systematic review and meta analysis, a team of researchers from Edinburgh University looked at the association between short term air pollution exposure and stroke related hospital admissions and deaths. In total, they analysed 103 observational studies that covered 28 countries across the world.


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## ScienceRocks

*Study pinpoints genetic cause of increased leukemia risk*
*Study pinpoints genetic cause of increased leukemia risk*






A Wright's stained bone marrow aspirate smear from a patient with precursor B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Credit: VashiDonsk/Wikipedia


> A University of Colorado Cancer Center study published today in the journal _Nature Genetics_ describes a newly-discovered, heritable genetic cause of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), namely mutation of the gene ETV6. Much like mutation of the gene BRCA marks people at risk to develop breast and ovarian cancers, identification of mutations in the gene ETV6 may allow doctors to predict the development of ALL, allowing increased monitoring and in the future, perhaps strategies to prevent the disease. There are just over 30,000 cases of ALL diagnosed in the United States each year, with the majority of those cases being in children ages 2-5.


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## ScienceRocks

* Scientists create functioning "mini-lungs" to study cystic fibrosis  *
By Lakshmi Sandhana
March 25, 2015
2 Pictures





> Researchers at the University of Cambridge have grown functional "mini-lungs" using stems cells derived from the skin cells of patients with a debilitating lung disease. Not only can the development help them in coming up with effective treatments for specific lung diseases like cystic fibrosis, but the process has the potential to be scaled up to screen thousands of new compounds to identify potential new drugs


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## ScienceRocks

* Magnetic nanoparticles open blood-brain barrier for delivery of therapeutic molecules *
By Darren Quick
March 26, 2015






> The blood-brain barrier is a highly selective semipermeable barrier running inside almost all vessels in the brain that lets through water, some gases and a few other select molecules, while preventing potentially toxic elements in the blood from entering the brain. Researchers from the University of Montreal, Polytechnique Montréal, and CHU Sainte-Justine say that currently 98 percent of therapeutic molecules are also blocked by the barrier, but they have developed a technique using magnetic nanoparticles that opens the door for such molecules, thereby also opening the door to new treatments for brain diseases.


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## ScienceRocks

*MRI based on a sugar molecule can tell cancerous from noncancerous cells*
*MRI based on a sugar molecule can tell cancerous from noncancerous cells*




Normal cells (left) have far more sugar attached to mucin proteins than do cancerous cells (right). Mucin-attached sugar generates a high MRI signal, shown in red. Credit: Xiaolei Song/Johns Hopkins Medicine


> Imaging tests like mammograms or CT scans can detect tumors, but figuring out whether a growth is or isn't cancer usually requires a biopsy to study cells directly. Now results of a Johns Hopkins study suggest that MRI could one day make biopsies more effective or even replace them altogether by noninvasively detecting telltale sugar molecules shed by the outer membranes of cancerous cells.


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## ScienceRocks

*The switch that might tame the most aggressive of breast cancers*
*The switch that might tame the most aggressive of breast cancers*




Id4+ stem cells are in red, luminal cells in green, and all cells are marked with blue nuclear dye. Credit: Garvan Institute of Medical Research


> Australian researchers have found that so-called 'triple-negative breast cancers' are two distinct diseases that likely originate from different cell types. This helps explain why survival prospects for women with the diagnosis tend to be either very good or very bad.
> 
> The Sydney-based research team has found a gene that drives the aggressive disease, and hopes to find a way to 'switch it off'.
> 
> The aggressive form of triple-negative breast cancer appears to arise from stem cells, while the more benign form appears to arise from specialised cells.
> 
> Stem cells have many of the same features as cancers. They are plastic and flexible, and have the ability to proliferate and spread into other tissues - deadly traits in cancers.


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## ScienceRocks

*Revolutionary Fetal Pacemaker Ready to Treat Complete Heart Block*
by Editors on Mar 27, 2015






> When a fetus has a complete heart block, pacemakers can be implanted after birth, but this sometimes can be too late and typically involves further waiting for the child to reach a safe weight for the procedure. Attempts to implant pacemakers before delivery have required the generator unit to remain outside the child’s body, creating its own problems due to the freely running leads that can be easily dislodged or infected.
> 
> Now researchers at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and University of Southern California have reported on a tiny new pacemaker that can be implanted _in utero_ into a fetus, reducing the side effects that are common to externally placed devices. The researchers have conducted pre-clinical testing of the device and believe it is ready for use in human trials. The pacemaker received a Humanitarian Use Device designation from the FDA and initial implantations are expected in the near future.


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## ScienceRocks

*Nanoparticles Deliver siRNA to Wound Sites to Speed Up Healing (VIDEO)*
by Editors on Mar 26, 2015






> Researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, a part of Yeshiva University, are using novel nanoparticles to significantly speed up the healing of wounds. They discovered that the naturally produced fidgetin-like 2 (FL2) enzyme slows down the migration of cells as they travel toward a wound site. To counteract this process, the investigators developed a silencing RNA (siRNA) drug that inhibits the gene responsible for the production of FL2.
> 
> In order to actually deliver the siRNA into the interior of cells before degrading, the researchers encapsulated it in specially designed nanoparticles that keep their cargo fresh and intact before reaching the cell and letting it flow out.


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## ScienceRocks

*Google teams with Johnson & Johnson to improve robot surgeon vision*
Google teams with Johnson Johnson to improve robot surgeon vision


> Google wants in on the operating room, at least so it can help robot surgeons to a better job.
> 
> The search giant and inveterate experimenter has partnered with Ethicon, one of the U.S.’s biggest operating room tools and equipment suppliers, to develop new vision systems that could improve results when using robotic surgery tools.
> 
> A division of Johnson & Johnson, Ethicon "makes a host of surgical products and is in the overwhelming majority of hospitals around the country," said Johnson & Johnson VP of Media Relations Ernie Knewitz.


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## ScienceRocks

* Genetics breakthrough is a game changer for type 1 diabetes research*
The genes that increase the risk of Type 1 diabetes have lost their hiding place.


> A research group that includes a University of Florida genetics expert has located and narrowed down the number of genes that play a role in the disease, according to a study published Monday in the journal Nature Genetics. Knowing the identities and location of causative genes is a crucial development: Other researchers can use this information to better predict who might develop Type 1 diabetes and how to prevent it.
> 
> “It’s a game-changer for Type 1 diabetes,” said Patrick Concannon, director of the University of Florida Genetics Institute.


----------



## ScienceRocks

* Nanoparticles help wounds to heal 50 percent faster *
By Richard Moss
March 30, 2015
1 Comment
2 Pictures



 


> An experimental nanoparticle therapy cuts in half the time wounds take to heal compared to natural healing. The therapy has already been tested successfully in mice and will soon be tried on pigs, whose skin is similar to that of humans. If it reaches clinical use in humans, this sort of nanoparticle therapy could be used to speed healing of surgical incisions, chronic skin ulcers, and everyday cuts and burns and other wounds.


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## longknife

*Battlefield lessons transform US emergency care*








Although it's been decades since I left my assignment to the Army's Medical Research and Development Command, this great article confirms what was known back then. Using super glue to close wounds – that came from military medics. Dental implants also came from military research. So, why shouldn't all the great stuff listed in this article not be true – and maybe someday vital to YOUR well being.


Read more @ Battlefield lessons transform US emergency care Fox News


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## ScienceRocks

*World's First Human Nanobot Medical Procedure

A human patient with late stage leukemia will be given DNA nanobot treatment. Without the DNA nanobot treatment the patient would be expected to die in the summer of 2015. Based upon animal trials they expect to remove the cancer within one month.*



> In a brief talk, Bachelet said DNA nanobots will soon be tried in a critically ill leukemia patient. The patient, who has been given roughly six months to live, will receive an injection of DNA nanobots designed to interact with and destroy leukemia cells—while causing virtually zero collateral damage in healthy tissue.
> 
> According to Bachelet, his team have successfully tested their method in cell cultures and animals and written two papers on the subject, one in Science and one in Nature.
> 
> Contemporary cancer therapies involving invasive surgery and blasts of drugs can be as painful and damaging to the body as the disease itself. If Bachelet's approach proves successful in humans, and is backed by more research in the coming years, the team’s work could signal a transformational moment in cancer treatment.
> 
> If this treatment works this will be a medical breakthrough and can be used for many other diseases by delivering drugs more effectively without causing side effects.


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## ScienceRocks

http://www.scienceda...50330112256.htm



> Scientists have developed tiny 'nanoneedles' that have successfully prompted parts of the body to generate new blood vessels, in a trial in mice.
> 
> The researchers, from Imperial College London and Houston Methodist Research Institute in the USA, hope their nanoneedle technique could ultimately help damaged organs and nerves to repair themselves and help transplanted organs to thrive.
> 
> The nanoneedles work by delivering nucleic acids to a specific area. Nucleic acids are the building blocks of all living organisms and they encode, transmit and express genetic information. Scientists are currently investigating ways of using nucleic acids to re-program cells to carry out different functions.


----
*Welch Allyn Unveils Connex Spot Monitor for Quick Patient Vitals Measurement*
by Editors on Mar 30, 2015






> *Welch Allyn* is releasing a new clinical patient monitor designed for automatic collection of vital signs and sharing of that data with the hospital’s EMR. The Connex Spot Monitor can be used with nearly all patients, from neonates to adults, to record the pulse rate, blood pressure, blood oxygenation, as well as body temperature.
> 
> The blood pressure component utilizes Welch Allyn’s 15-second SureBP protocol that comes up with an accurate BP estimate while the cuff is inflating. This allows the meter to refrain from inflating the cuff to excessive suprasystolic pressures in many patients, leading to a more comfortable experience and fast measurement times.


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## ScienceRocks

*Novel nanoparticle therapy promotes wound healing*
Date:
March 26, 2015
Source:
Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University
Summary:


> An experimental therapy successfully tested in mice cut in half the time it takes to heal wounds compared to no treatment at all. "We envision that our nanoparticle therapy could be used to speed the healing of all sorts of wounds, including everyday cuts and burns, surgical incisions, and chronic skin ulcers, which are a particular problem in the elderly and people with diabetes," said a study co-leader.



Novel nanoparticle therapy promotes wound healing -- ScienceDaily


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## ScienceRocks

*1,000-year-old onion and garlic eye remedy kills MRSA*

30 March 2015


> A 1,000-year-old treatment for eye infections could hold the key to killing antibiotic-resistant superbugs, experts have said.
> 
> Scientists recreated a 9th Century Anglo-Saxon remedy using onion, garlic and part of a cow's stomach.
> 
> They were "astonished" to find it almost completely wiped out methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, otherwise known as MRSA.
> 
> Their findings will be presented at a national microbiology conference.



http://www.bbc.co.uk...mshire-32117815


----------



## ScienceRocks

* Biohackers develop night vision eye drops to see in the dark *
By David Nield
March 30, 2015
1 Comment
2 Pictures





> It sounds like something from a science-fiction movie, but a biohacking group in California has managed to develop eye drops that temporarily give a human being excellent night vision. The chemicals used are still very much at the experimental stage – this isn't something you'd want to try at home just yet – but the first trial has been a successful one.


----------



## ScienceRocks

* Non-invasive brain-machine interface gets a grip on bionic hand control *
By Darren Quick
March 31, 2015



 


> A team of researchers from the University of Houston (UH) has developed an algorithm that enabled a man whose right hand had been amputated to grasp objects using a bionic hand controlled by his thoughts. While we've seen similar accomplishments in recent years, the new technique is non-invasive, capturing brain activity via a scalp EEG.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Nanoparticles release drugs to reduce tooth decay*
*2 hours ago *




Farnesol is released from the nanoparticle carriers into the cavity-causing dental plaque. Credit: Michael Osadciw/University of Rochester


> Therapeutic agents intended to reduce dental plaque and prevent tooth decay are often removed by saliva and the act of swallowing before they can take effect. But a team of researchers has developed a way to keep the drugs from being washed away.





Read more at: Nanoparticles release drugs to reduce tooth decay


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Unpowered Ankle Exoskeleton Takes the Load Off a Long Hike*


> Evolution has had four million years to tinker with the locomotion experiment called walking on two feet. With that much time for natural selection to keep what works and chuck what doesn’t, there wouldn’t seem to be much room for improvement.
> 
> But what about those tired feet you get after standing on them all day? Or the dull ache that starts creeping up your legs after walking for a few hours? It turns out that even evolutionary fine-tuning leaves room for improvement, and a number of public and private sector engineers have been working on exoskeletons to improve bipedal efficiency.
> 
> Researchers have now built an ankle exoskeleton that requires no external chemical or electrical power and decreases the energy a person uses for walking by more than 7 percent, about the equivalent of taking off a 10-pound backpack. The team, from Carnegie Mellon, North Carolina State and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, say this walking efficiency improvement is on par with units that run on powered motors. It could also be a simple and cheap way to help people whose work keeps them on their feet all day. Learn more and see images below.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*High-resolution biosensor can report conditions from deep in the body*
Going where no light has gone before


> A new microscopic shape-shifting probe capable of sensitive, high-resolution remote biological sensing has been developed by scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).




http://www.kurzweila...eep-in-the-body


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Key mechanism identified in tumor-cell proliferation in pediatric bone cancers*
Key mechanism identified in tumor-cell proliferation in pediatric bone cancers


> A particular molecular pathway permits stem cells in pediatric bone cancers to grow rapidly and aggressively, according to researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center and its Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> In normal cell growth, the Hippo pathway, which controls organ size in animals, works as a dam, regulating cell proliferation. What the researchers found is that the transcription factor of a DNA binding protein called sex determining region Y box 2, or Sox2 for short, which normally maintains cell self-renewal, actually releases the floodgates in the Hippo pathway in osteosarcomas and other cancers, permitting the growth of highly aggressive, tumor-forming stem cells.
> 
> Results from the study are to be published in the journal _Nature Communications_ online April 2.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Bionic Eye Patient "Thrilled" to Reconnect with Visual World*


> Allen Zderad thought darkness had invaded his world to stay. He’s among the 1-in-4,000 people who are born with retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative eye condition. There is no effective treatment or cure. While not all patients will lose their sight entirely, Mayo Clinic researcher and ophthalmologist Raymond Iezzi Jr., M.D. says, a “bionic eye” may help some of those who do. For the Mayo Clinic News Network, here’s Dennis Douda with Allen’s story.



Bionic Eye Patient Thrilled to Reconnect with Visual World Mayo Clinic News Network


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Robot Matches Open Surgery for Cervical Cancer*
*Similar cancer outcomes, better safety with robotics*
*Robot Matches Open Surgery for Cervical Cancer Medpage Today*


> CHICAGO -- Robotic and open hysterectomy achieved similar disease control and survival in early cervical cancer, but robotic procedures led to significantly fewer complications and blood loss, a retrospective comparison of more than 500 cases showed.
> 
> The two procedures had identical 9% recurrence rates after adjustment for a 10-month longer follow-up for the open procedures. Mortality was 3% in patients who underwent robotic radical hysterectomy and 4% in the patients who had open radical hysterectomy.



*Stomach Acid May Be Key Player in Bone Health*
*Stomach acid regulates blood calcium, may be key to bone health.*

*Stomach Acid May Be Key Player in Bone Health Medpage Today*
*



			Mouse studies may help explain the reported increased risk of osteoporosis and related fractures among long-term users of proton pump inhibitors, which are among the most widely used drugs on the planet.

Researchers from the Forsyth Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts, showed that stomach acid helps the intestines absorb and transfer calcium to the skeletal system. By dramatically reducing stomach acid, proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) appear to block this pathway, researcher Ricardo Battaglino, PhD, told MedPage Today.
		
Click to expand...

*


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientist Provide Rats with Supernatural Sensory System*
WallStreet OTC  - ‎4 hours ago‎


> Researcher Yuji Ikegaya and Hiroaki Norimoto from the University of Tokyo have performed an experiment in which they have provided a series of rats with geomagnetic prosthetics.


----------



## ScienceRocks

http://www.nature.com/news/tumour-mutations-harnessed-to-build-cancer-vaccine-1.17250
*Tumour mutations harnessed to build cancer vaccine*
Nature.com  - ‎Apr 2, 2015‎


> The results, published on 2 April in Science, are the latest from mounting efforts to generate personalized *cancer* therapies.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Nearing “the finish line” on cancer vaccine trial, Maryland firm raises $40 ...*
Washington Post  - ‎Apr 3, 2015‎



> A British investor has injected another $40 million into Northwest Biotherapeutics, fueling the Maryland company's increasingly promising pursuit of new *vaccine* therapies targeting both operable and inoperable *cancers*.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Russian scientists create ‘bio-cement’ for human bones


Russian scientists have created a new biological material they called “bone cement”, which after 3D printing into a fracture or a crack, completely dissolves over time, while in its place the human body regenerates the missing part of the bone tissue.*

Russian scientists create bio-cement for human bones RT News


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Cancer Genes Turned off in Deadly Brain CancerNew therapy approach goes directly to the source of cancer development*


> CHICAGO --- Northwestern Medicine scientists have identified a small RNA molecule called miR-182 that can suppress cancer-causing genes in mice with glioblastoma mulitforme (GBM), a deadly and incurable type of brain tumor. While standard chemotherapy drugs damage DNA to stop cancer cells from reproducing, the new method stops the source that creates those cancer cells: genes that are overexpressing certain proteins. - See more at:


Cancer Genes Turned off in Deadly Brain Cancer Northwestern University News


----------



## ScienceRocks

Shape-shifting nanoprobes report on internal body conditions using magnetic fields
By Colin Jeffrey
April 5, 2015
3 Pictures






> Scientists have developed a new type of shape-shifting nanoprobe that can perform high-resolution remote biological sensing not possible with current technology. Around one-tenth the size of a single red blood cell, the nanoprobes are designed to provide accurate feedback on internal body conditions by altering their magnetic fields in response to their environment. The researchers predict wide-spread applications for the nanoprobes in the fields of chemistry, biology, engineering and, one day, to aid physicians in high-accuracy clinical diagnostics.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Skin cell-laced dressing reduces burn healing time by half
By Ben Coxworth
April 7, 2015






> In the not-too-distant future, burn victims may be able to recover in the half the time than is possible today. If so, it will be thanks to a biodegradable dressing that applies cultured skin cells directly to the wound site.


----------



## ScienceRocks

New biosensing platform extends reach of disease diagnosis
By Emily Price
April 7, 2015
2 Pictures






> Researchers at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) have created a cheap and simple biosensing platform that is able to detect the presence of various types of harmful bacteria and viruses in a single drop of blood. When used in conjunction with a smartphone, the system offers the potential of diagnosing diseases in remote locations from anywhere in the world.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Shorter people have bigger risk of heart disease*



> Short people face a greater lifetime risk of clogged arteries, according to a study out Wednesday that confirmed the long-known link between height and heart disease by examining genetics.
> 
> The study is the first to show that the higher risk is primarily due to a variety of genes that influence whether a person is tall or short, and not potentially confounding factors like poverty or poor nutrition.
> 
> The research is published in the _New England Journal of Medicine_.
> 
> Researchers examined 180 different genetics variants in a database of nearly 200,000 people with and without coronary heart disease, which is caused by a buildup of plaque in the arteries and can lead to heart attack.
> 
> It is the most common cause of early death worldwide, killing nearly one in six men and one in 10 women.



Shorter people have bigger risk of heart disease


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Graphene and Nanoparticles Might Offer High-Tech Help for Your Choppers*


> Nanotechnology advances might soon be giving people with an upcoming dental appointment something to smile about. Scientists have published two studies focused on deploying either nanoparticle assemblies or graphene to control the bacteria that attack teeth.
> 
> Both materials have shown promise to dramatically slow tooth decay, cavity formation and gum disease, and one even offers a defense against antibiotic resistant bacteria.
> 
> The first possibility comes from the University of Rochester and the University of Pennsylvania, where researchers have figured out a way to keep an antibacterial compound on teeth after eating and being washed with saliva.




Txchnologist


----------



## ScienceRocks

*First look at 'wasabi receptor' brings insights for pain drug development*
*8 hours ago *


> In a feat that would have been unachievable only a few years ago, researchers at UC San Francisco have pulled aside the curtain on a protein informally known as the "wasabi receptor," revealing at near-atomic resolution structures that could be targeted with anti-inflammatory pain drugs.




Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-04-wasabi-receptor-insights-pain-drug.html#jCp


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Allergy drug inhibits hepatitis C in mice*

An over-the-counter drug indicated to treat allergy symptoms limited hepatitis C virus activity in infected mice, according to a National Institutes of Health study. The results suggest that the drug, chlorcyclizine HCl (CCZ), potentially could be used to treat the virus in people. Results were published April 8 in _Science Translational Medicine_.

Allergy drug inhibits hepatitis C in mice

Love you national institutes of health!!!!


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Japanese Ebola test gives results in 11 minutes: researcher*

TOKYO (AFP) - 


> A Japanese research team said on Thursday it had developed a field test for Ebola that gives results in just over 11 minutes -- down from the 90-minute test used now.
> 
> The breakthrough by Nagasaki University's Institute of Tropical Medicine will allow medics to move much more quickly in treating people with the haemorrhagic fever, Professor Jiro Yasuda told AFP.
> 
> "The result time was unexpectedly short," said Yasuda of the trial conducted in Guinea last month on 100 samples, of which 47 proved positive.
> 
> The Guinean government has now asked the institute and its collaboration partner Toshiba to supply equipment to roll out the test, he added.



Flash - Japanese Ebola test gives results in 11 minutes researcher - France 24


----------



## ScienceRocks

MIT's acoustic tumor cell sorting method is now up to 20 times faster
By Chris Wood
April 9, 2015
1 Comment
2 Pictures





> A team of researchers from MIT, Pennsylvania State University and Carnegie Mellon University has announced key improvements to its acoustic wave-harnessing cell sorting method unveiled last year. The device, which is intended for use in the detection of cancer cells in the bloodstream, is now able to obtain accurate results from a patient sample in as little as five hours.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists discovered a new way to use sound waves to detect cancer*
April 8, 2015 pacosite
Scientists discovered a new way to use sound waves to detect cancer Pacosite s Blog


> *Scientists discovered a new way to use sound waves to detect cancer Detecting cancer can be difficult. Sometimes, the diagnosis comes too late to be life-saving. But now, scientists at Carnegie Mellon University and Penn State University say they’ve developed a system that can quickly and accurately detect traces of cancer in blood using sound waves.*


----------



## ScienceRocks

*People Who Are Obese Are Much Less Likely To Get Dementia With Age*
A good reason to keep the chub on

By Alexandra Ossola  Posted April 10, 2015



> Obesity has been linked to a huge number of health conditions, such as diabetes, various types of cancer, and diseases of the heart and liver. But according to a new study, people who are obese in middle age are significantly less likely to get dementia, a loosely defined condition that includes memory loss and decreased cognitive function in older age. This large-cohort study, published this week in _The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology_, overturns previous work that indicated that obesity raised a person’s risk for dementia. But the reason why the obese may stay lucid for longer is still up for debate.




People Who Are Obese Are Much Less Likely To Get Dementia With Age Popular Science


----------



## ScienceRocks

New technique puts two branches of the immune system to work fighting cancer 
By Chris Wood
April 14, 2015







> A team of MIT researchers has developed a new approach to attacking cancer, creating a method that allows two major branches of the immune system to work together. The new technique, which is known as cancer immunotherapy, has already proved successful in tests on laboratory mice.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Medtronic announces world's smallest pacemaker
By Ben Coxworth
April 14, 2015







> Two years ago we heard about the Nanostim, a pacemaker that's less than 10 percent the size of a regular model. While it's pretty darn small, Medtronic's just-announced Micra TPS (Transcatheter Pacing System) is reportedly even tinier. Billed as the world's smallest pacemaker, it's described as being the size of a large vitamin capsule – and it can be implanted using a catheter.


----------



## ScienceRocks

* Modified Salmonella eats away at cancer, without a side order of food poisoning *
By Nick Lavars
April 15, 2015






> Though generally a bacteria we'd associate with a severe bout of food poisoning, previous research has suggested that Salmonella needn't always bring bad news and stomach cramps. Certain strains have been shown to kill off cancer cells, but to use them as a form of treatment for humans without inducing any nasty side effects has so far proven difficult. But now, researchers have developed genetically modified salmonella that turns toxic only after it enters a tumor.


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## ScienceRocks

*Scientists may have found potential cause of the disease in the behaviour of immune cells - giving new hope to millions.*


> *Experts said the findings, from Duke University in North Carolina, USA, could “open new doors” in the increasingly frustrated global hunt for a dementia therapy.
> 
> Researchers at Duke announced that their studies of Alzheimer’s in mice had thrown up a new process they believe contributes to the disease’s development.
> 
> They observed that in Alzheimer’s, immune cells that normally protect the brain instead begin to consume a vital nutrient called arginine.
> 
> By blocking this process with a drug, they were able to prevent the formation of ‘plaques’ in the brain that are characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease, and also halted memory loss in the mice.*




*Alzheimer s breakthrough Scientists may have found potential cause of the disease in the behaviour of immune cells - giving new hope to millions - Health News - Health Families - The Independent*


----------



## ScienceRocks

Dementia 'halted in mice brains'



Quote

15 April 2015












> Tweaking the brain's immune system with a drug has prevented mice developing dementia, a study shows.
> The team at Duke University, in the US, showed immune cells which start attacking nutrients in the brain may be a trigger for the disease.
> They say their findings could open up new avenues of research for a field that has not developed a single drug to slow the progression of the disease.
> Experts said the findings offered new hope of a treatment.
> The researchers indentified microglia - normally the first line of defence against infection in the brain - as major players in the development of dementia.
> They found some microglia changed to become exceptionally adept at breaking down a component of protein, an amino acid called arginine, in the early stages of the disease.
> As arginine levels plummeted, the immune cells appeared to dampened the immune system in the brain.






http://www.bbc.co.uk...health-32315763


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Researchers believe a biological revolution enabling humans to experience everlasting youthfulness is coming*



> IT is likely the first person who will live to be 1,000 years old is already alive today.
> 
> This is according to a growing regiment of researchers who believe a biological revolution enabling humans to experience everlasting youthfulness is just around the corner.
> 
> At the epicentre of the research is Aubrey de Grey — a Cambridge gerontologist and co-founder or the California-based Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence(SENS) Research Foundation.
> 
> “The first thing I want to do is get rid of the use of this word immortality, because it’s enormously damaging, it is not just wrong, it is damaging,” he told Motherboard.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Researchers make key malarial drug-resistence finding*


> According to the World Health Organization's 2014 World Malaria Report, there are an estimated 198 million cases of malaria worldwide with 3.3 billion people at risk for contracting the infection.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Study reveals a cause of poorer outcomes for African-American patients with breast cancer
Poorer outcomes for African-American women with estrogen-receptor positive (ER+) breast cancer, compared with European-American patients, appears to be due, in part, to a strong survival mechanism within the cancer cells,...
*


----------



## Abishai100

*Blood Tests, HGH, & Stroke: Down Syndrome Lancet
*

A new discovery is really enticing:

"DNA blood test detects Down Syndrome faster" (source news.discovery.com).

Website Source



How will this affect proactive research into the factorial/branching affects/effects of Down Syndrome?  We already know that the ailment affects brain perception, attention mechanisms, and prioritization timing.  However, there are also lesser-studied connections such as those with dwarfism.

A study suggests that people suffering from dwarfism (a condition caused by unnatural slow growth and hormone imbalances) are possibly candidates for Down Syndrome --- sounds interesting, but is it too odd to be verifiable?

What we really need is a deeper study of the hormonal activity in Down Syndrome patients and people suffering from dwarfism.

Maybe this news release is relevant:

Children prescribed HGH at risk of stroke and body-brain coordination problems






Dwarfism (Wikipedia)

The Growth Hormone Research Society

HGH deficiency in Down Syndrome Patients (NIH)


----------



## ScienceRocks

Exoskeleton helps spinal injured walk and reactivates nerves in some
 






> An exoskeleton that enables movement and provides tactile feedback has helped eight paralysed people regain sensation and move previously paralysed muscles. People can spend a lifetime feeling disconnected from their lower body, and tend to receive less physical therapy as a result. Just over a third of the 12,500 people who experience a...


----------



## ScienceRocks

* Russia printed mouse thyroid gland and are targeting a functioning bioprinted kidney in 2018 * 






> Skolkovo biomed cluster resident 3D Bioprinting Solutions has announced the successful printing of a mouse's thyroid gland. 3d Bioprinting Solutions is targeting functional printed kidney scheduled for 2018. If confirmed, it would reportedly be the world's first synthetic construction of a complete, transplantable living organ.


----------



## ScienceRocks

* 3D printers are churning out made-to-order bones and rudimentary organs *
 






> The advent of three-dimensional (3D) printing has generated a swell of interest in artificial organs meant to replace, or even enhance, human machinery. Printed organs, such as a prototype outer ear developed by researchers at Princeton University in New Jersey and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, was on the agenda at the.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Protein converts pancreatic cancer cells back into healthy cells
By Nick Lavars
April 21, 2015







> Scientists working in the area of pancreatic cancer research have uncovered a technique that sees cancerous cells transform back into normal healthy cells. The method relies in the introduction of a protein called E47, which bonds with particular DNA sequences and reverts the cells back to their original state.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Drugs stimulate body's own stem cells to replace brain cells lost in multiple sclerosis*


> A pair of topical medicines already alleviating skin conditions each may prove to have another, even more compelling use: instructing stem cells in the brain to reverse damage caused by multiple sclerosis.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Research reveals new possibilities for islet and stem cell transplantation


> (Edmonton) James Shapiro, one of the world's leading experts in emerging treatments of diabetes, can't help but be excited about his latest research. The results he says, could soon mark a new standard for treatment—not only in diabetes, but in several other diseases as well.




Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-04-reveals-possibilities-islet-stem-cell.html#jCp


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## ScienceRocks

New sampling device promises to make blood tests needle-free
By Nick Lavars
April 21, 2015
2 Pictures






> Though the pain they cause is minor, a lot of people still find something pretty unsettling about needles. When it comes to conducting a routine blood test, one US-based company believes that these unpleasant pricks can be removed from the equation completely. Its ping pong-sized HemoLink blood sampler can be operated by the patient at home, and needs only to be placed against the skin for two minutes to do its job.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Team first to model atomic structures of three bacterial nanomachines*
*7 hours ago *




Hong Zhou runs the Electron Imaging Center for Nanomachines laboratory at CNSI, where a highly sophisticated cryo electron microscope made the research possible.


> Researchers at UCLA's California NanoSystems Institute have become the first to produce images of the atomic structures of three specific biological nanomachines, each derived from a different potentially deadly bacterium—an achievement they hope will lead to antibiotics targeted toward specific pathogens.





Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-04-team-atomic-bacterial-nanomachines.html#jCp


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## ScienceRocks

Journal Nature reports Chinese scientists have genetically modified human embryos with 32.5% success rate.  






> In a world first, Chinese scientists have reported editing the genomes of human embryos. The results are published in the online journal Protein and Cell and confirm widespread rumours that such experiments had been conducted—rumours that sparked a high-profile debate last month about the ethical implications of such work. In the paper,...


----------



## ScienceRocks

Existing skin medications may reverse effects of multiple sclerosis
By Ben Coxworth
April 23, 2015






> It's a frustrating situation. There are already stem cells in the nervous system that are capable of repairing the damage done by multiple sclerosis, but getting them to _do_ so has proven very difficult. Now, however, a multi-institutional team led by Case Western Reserve University's Prof. Paul Tesar may have found the answer – and it involves using medications that were designed to treat athlete's foot and eczema.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Implantable device could allow for better-targeted cancer treatment 
By Chris Wood
April 24, 2015







> While there are a large number of approved cancer treatments, identifying which drugs are best suited to individual patients is extremely difficult for doctors. A team of MIT researchers has developed a small, implantable device that aims to change this by allowing scientists to measure the effectiveness of different drugs, on a patient-by-patient basis.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*They’re Alive! Watch These Mini 3D Printed Organs Beat Just Like Hearts*


> There’s something almost alchemical going on at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine. Scientists there have genetically transformed skin cells into heart cells and used them to 3D print mini-organs that beat just like your heart. Another darker organoid fused to a mini-heart mimics your liver.
> 
> The work, developed by Anthony Atala and his Wake Forest team for the “Body on a Chip” project, aims to simulate bodily systems by microfluidically linking upminiature organs—hearts, livers, blood vessels, and lungs—and testing new drug treatments and chemicals or studying the effects of viruses on them.


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## ScienceRocks

http://www.technolog...ture-discovery/




> One of the great challenges in molecular biology is to determine the three-dimensional structure of large biomolecules such as proteins. But this is a famously difficult and time-consuming task.
> 
> The standard technique is x-ray crystallography, which involves analyzing the x-ray diffraction pattern from a crystal of the molecule under investigation. That works well for molecules that form crystals easily.
> 
> But many proteins, perhaps most, do not form crystals easily. And even when they do, they often take on unnatural configurations that do not resemble their natural shape.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Single-Port Urologic Surgery’s Next Phase*
*New robotic system provides advantages *


> _By Jihad H. Kaouk, MD_
> 
> Since the inception of minimally invasive surgery, physicians have been inspired to push the limits of available technology by devising new methods and instruments.
> 
> The evolution of a single-site technique in robotic surgery has resulted in the development of a device intended specifically for use during urologic procedures appropriate for a single-port approach, including laparoendoscopic single-site surgery (LESS).
> 
> LESS has the primary goal of accelerating patient recovery and improving quality of life, but its role has yet to be determined due to inherent challenges compared with standard laparoscopic techniques.
> 
> *RLESS Is More*
> In 2009, Cleveland Clinic’s Glickman Urological & Kidney Institute reported the first series of successful robotic single-site surgeries. We found that combining LESS with the robotic platform (RLESS) greatly enhanced our surgical capability by offering increased articulation and stability for precise suturing and dissection.
> 
> Since the publication of our initial series, multiple institutions have adopted the technique and published series of their own.



Single-Port Urologic Surgery s Next Phase


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Meet the doctor who is convinced he will live to 150*

*Medical advancements mean that life expectancy is now far greater than we believe, an ageing expert has claimed*

3:47PM BST 25 Apr 2015

[...]



> Dr Zhavoronkov, 37: "Even people past their 70s, who are in good health, have a fighting chance to live past 150. People alive today will soon see the fruits of biomedical research come to market and gradually reduce mortality from many diseases and extend healthy longevity. Even if you look at the previous century, life expectancies in developed countries doubled, even without major technological interventions. So unless our civilization suffers a major blow from catastrophic events like a global economic crisis, rise of militant religions or bioterrorism, many people alive today will be living extraordinarily long lives and take an active role in further human evolution."


Read more: http://www.telegraph...ive-to-150.html


----------



## ScienceRocks

Implanted micropump could deliver epilepsy drugs right into the brain
By Richard Moss
April 26, 2015






> A promising new treatment for epilepsy directly targets the nerve cells, deep within the brain, that cause seizures. The treatment uses an electronic micropump and an anticonvulsant drug to inhibit the relevant areas of the brain without affecting healthy brain regions. It has had promising initial results on mice in vitro and will now be tested on live animals.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Study identifies key factor in neural death that causes Parkinson's disease*


> In studying the molecular biology of brain development, a team of researchers led by Ludwig Stockholm director Thomas Perlmann has discovered how disruption of a developmental mechanism alters the very nerve ...


----------



## ScienceRocks

*The world’s most advanced prosthetic is changing lives*


> For many amputees, the improvement in quality as seen by Ackland will remain a dream. The prosthesis is expensive and few NHS limb-fitting centres offer it. He said the technology had persuaded him that "life-changing doesn't really have to be life-ending".
> He now has a variety of grips and can even tie his shoelaces. If the NHS were to make advanced prosthetics available to more amputees, Ackland says, their lives could also be changed for the better.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Smartphone app promises cheap, easy and accurate diagnosis of sleep apnea
By Nick Lavars
April 28, 2015
4 Pictures






> And so the emerging value of smartphones as a tool for diagnosing various medical conditions continues to grow. Recent advances have raised the possibility of using phones to detect ailments like ear infections, cervical cancer, HIV and syphilis. Now, researchers at the University of Washington (UW) have created an app they claim can detect sleep apnea with similar accuracy to available methods, potentially removing the need for expensive equipment and overnight hospital stays.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Key blood pressure drug seen in startling new detail*
*Apr 28, 2015 by Richard Harth *





This rendering shows how a molecule known as ZD7155 (yellow, blue and red) binds inside the "pocket" (light gray) of an angiotensin receptor. These receptors play an important role in regulating blood pressure. ZD7155 is a type of angiotensin …more


> A new Arizona State University research study has revealed the fine details of how an experimental drug works to regulate blood pressure, paving the way to the development of better drugs.





Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-04-key-blood-pressure-drug-startling.html#jCp


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Genetic editing can delete deleterious mitochondria
Genetic editing can delete deleterious mitochondria Science News
*


> A new genetic engineering technique could help prevent mitochondrial diseases without the ethically sticky “three-parent problem” of another recently developed method.
> 
> The three-parent method involves transferring the nucleus of a prospective mother’s egg into a donor egg containing healthy mitochondria in order to replace mutant mitochondria with healthy ones.
> 
> The new gene-editing method, researchers report April 23 in _Cell,_ removes or depletes the number of mutant mitochondria from eggs or early embryos. This approach could keep mitochondrial diseases from being passed from mother to child.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*We're Getting Closer to Creating a Universal Blood Supply*




> The approach involved randomly mutating the enzyme’s genes, Kwan said, for several generations, only selecting the more efficient versions as they went along. “It’s like evolution in nature, but it’s done in a lab,” Kwan said. The final product was 170 times more efficient than the enzyme they started with
> 
> The idea of changing one blood type to another using special enzymes was pioneeredby a scientist named Jack Goldstein in the 1980s. Since then, researchers have attempted to identify the right enzymatic approach to creating a universal blood supply, often citing the lack of efficient enzymes that would make the technique cost-effective and quick as a barrier.


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## ScienceRocks

*Study points way forward for retinal disease gene therapy*
*Study points way forward for retinal disease gene therapy*
*
*



Enlarge
LCA is an inherited disorder that causes vision loss in childhood. It primarily affects the functioning of the retina, the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye, as shown here. Credit: National Eye Institute


> Gene therapy for Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA), an inherited disorder that causes vision loss starting in childhood, improved patients' eyesight and the sensitivity of the retina within weeks of treatment. Both of these benefits, however, peaked one to three years after treatment and then diminished, according to results from an ongoing clinical trial funded by the National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health.


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## ScienceRocks

*Scientists identify novel drug mechanism that fights brain cancer*
By Chris Wood
May 5, 2015






> Researchers at the University of California, Davis have developed and tested a molecule that has the ability to disrupt the body's regulation of cancer cells, causing the cells to self-destructing rather than multiply. The method was found to be effective when tackling dormant brain cancer cells that existing treatments are ineffective at eradicating.


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## ScienceRocks

*Tiny cellular bubbles enable delivery of Parkinson's drugs straight to the brain*
By Nick Lavars
May 5, 2015
1 Comment
2 Pictures





> A natural enzyme called catalase may prove hugely significant in treating neurological disorders such as Parkinson's. These extremely potent antioxidants can tackle neuron-killing inflammation with an effectiveness unparalleled by small molecule drugs. But there's a problem, they are big. So big that getting them through the blood-brain barrier for delivery straight to the brain is nearly impossible. But researchers have now discovered that loading them into tiny, naturally occurring bubbles allows them to sneak past the brain's defenses, pointing to the possibility of improved treatments for such conditions.


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## ScienceRocks

*New technology maps human genome in days*
*11 hours ago by Michele Munz, St. Louis Post-Dispatch *




The two 3-by-1-inch glass chips held the unfathomable amount of genetic information contained in 16 human genomes. Last week, a technician placed the chips - called flow cells - in a new genetic sequencing machine at the Genome Institute at Washington University and closed the door.

In just three days, the task will be complete.

It's mind-boggling given that it took scientists working all over the world more than 10 years and about $1 billion to first sequence the human genome, a feat declared officially complete in 2003.

This ultra-fast sequencing machine, which hit the market last year, is only sold in groups of 10 - a system capable of sequencing 18,000 human genomes a year at just $1,000 to $1,500 per genome.



Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-05-technology-human-genome-days.html#jCp

Science,,,worth every cent!


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## ScienceRocks

*Scientists reverse bacterial resistance to antibiotics*
*Scientists reverse bacterial resistance to antibiotics
*



Enlarge
Staphylococcus aureus - Antibiotics Test plate. Credit: CDC


> The rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is a growing problem in the United States and the world. New findings by researchers in evolutionary biology and mathematics could help doctors better address the problem in a clinical setting.]
> 
> Biologist Miriam Barlow of the University of California, Merced, and mathematician Kristina Crona of American University tested and found a way to return bacteria to a pre-resistant state. In research published in the open-access journal _PLOS ONE_, they show how to rewind the evolution of bacteria and verify treatment options for a family of 15 antibiotics used to fight common infections, including penicillin.
> 
> Their work could have major implications for doctors attempting to keep patient infections at bay using "antibiotic cycling," in which a handful of different antibiotics are used on a rotating basis.


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## ScienceRocks

*Smartphone microscope scans blood for parasitic worms in minutes*
By Nick Lavars
May 7, 2015
3 Pictures





> In Africa, the spread of parasitic worms known as _Loa loa_ is seriously hindering the efforts of health care workers to cure particular rampant diseases. Though there are drugs available to treat both river blindness and lymphatic filariasis, if they are administered to a patient who also happens to also be infected with _Loa loa _the consequences can be lethal. This is complicated further by the inherent difficulties in screening for the worms, but a newly developed mobile phone microscope needing only a drop of blood to automatically detect the parasite


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## ScienceRocks

*BioBots bioprinter to complement cutting-edge research*


> A high-resolution desktop 3D bioprinter that builds functional 3D living tissue was shown recently at TechCrunch Disrupt in New York. The machine is significant as a less expensive way for researchers to ...




*An alternative state of pluripotency: New stem cell may overcome hurdles for regenerative medicine*


> Scientists at the Salk Institute have discovered a novel type of pluripotent stem cell—cells capable of developing into any type of tissue—whose identity is tied to their location in a developing embryo. ...


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## ScienceRocks

*New malaria vaccine shows promise in field trial*
A vaccine against malaria, developed at Oxford University's Jenner Institute, has shown promising results in its first field trial. The results are published today in journal _Science Translational Medicine_.


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## ScienceRocks

*Cardiac events could be diagnosed using a "heart attack thermometer"*
By Ben Coxworth
May 7, 2015






> In order to confirm that a patient presenting with a heart attack has in fact had one, doctors typically use bulky, expensive lab equipment ... which isn't always available to clinicians in developing nations or rural locations. That's why scientists from Korea's Pohang University of Science and Technology have created a simple thermometer-like device that reportedly does the job.


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## ScienceRocks

*Onion cells used to create artificial muscles*
By Ben Coxworth
May 7, 2015
2 Pictures





> Artificial muscles could one day revolutionize fields such as robotics, prosthetics and nanotechnology. So far, we've seen examples made from materials like electroactive elastomers, crumpled graphene, and vanadium dioxide. The problem is, most artificial muscles can only expand in one direction, or contract in the other. Now, however, scientists from National Taiwan University have gotten around that limitation using gold-plated onion cells.


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## ScienceRocks

*Russia printed mouse thyroid gland and are targeting a functioning bioprinted kidney in 2018*

*http://nextbigfuture...-gland-and.html*


> If confirmed, it would reportedly be the world's first synthetic construction of a complete, transplantable living organ.
> 
> "This is undoubtedly a breakthrough in the world of regenerative medicine," said the bioprinter's developer Vladimir Mironov. "We have successfully demonstrated the possibilities of Russia's first bioprinter, and we're continuing our validation work, systematically testing and optimizing our technology for 3D organ bioprinting," he added.


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## ScienceRocks

*New technique allows for production of drug-delivering silicone microspheres*
By Ben Coxworth
May 8, 2015






> Scientists are increasingly looking at using medication-filled microspheres for targeted drug delivery within the human body. Silicone _would_ be a particularly good building material for such spheres, as it's biocompatible, waterproof, and chemically stable. Unfortunately, using traditional methods, it can't be made into small enough spheres. Now, however, a new process has allowed for the creation of silicone microspheres that are about one one-hundredth the size of any previously produced.


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## ScienceRocks

*Organic ion transistor blocks pain signals from reaching the brain*
By Nick Lavars
May 11, 2015
2 Pictures





> A new type of medical device could one day put the minds of chronic pain sufferers at ease by distributing the body's own natural pain relief signals at just the right time. Developed at Linköping University in Sweden, the tiny "ion pump" is made from organic electronics and could be implanted in patients, serving to cut off pain signals in the spinal chord before they make their way to the brain.


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## ScienceRocks

*Optogenetic therapy shows promise for reversing acquired blindness*
By Colin Jeffrey
May 10, 2015
2 Pictures



Across the world many millions of people suffer from inherited conditions that progressively degenerate the light-sensing cells in their eyes, and eventually send them blind. Recently, however, researchers from the University of Bern and the University of Gottingen have developed a way to possibly reverse this damage by using a newly-developed, light-sensitive protein embedded into other cells in the retina to restore vision.


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## ScienceRocks

Scientists announce discovery of Lokiarchaeota, which is a transitional form between Archaea and Eukaryotes.[214]


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## ScienceRocks

*New method detects more breast cancer in screening*
WATCH New method detects more breast cancer in screening Lund University



> Tomosynthesis detects 40% more breast cancers than traditional mammography does, according to a major screening study from Lund University, Sweden. This is the first large-scale study to compare the screening method with regular mammograms. The 3D X-ray technique is also more comfortable for women, as breast compression is halved.


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## ScienceRocks

*New device allows for skin biopsies in under five minutes without anesthetic*
By Chris Wood
May 12, 2015
4 Pictures





> Researchers at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) and the Institute Ramón y Cajal for Health Research (IRYCIS) have created a new device that significantly cuts down the time required to perform a skin biopsy. It doesn't require any specialized skills to use, and could open the door to faster skin cancer diagnoses.


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## ScienceRocks

*One step closer to artificial intelligence: Scientists create cells replicating human brain processes*

One step closer to artificial intelligence Scientists create cells replicating human brain processes RT News


> Australian scientists have for the first time developed an electronic long-term memory cell that mimics the work of a human brain. Researchers say the discovery is a step towards creating a bionic brain.
> 
> Researchers from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) have created the world’s first electronic multi-state memory cell which mirrors the brain’s ability to simultaneously process and store multiple strands of information, according to the university’s press-release.
> 
> The groundbreaking discovery was recently published in the materials science journal Advanced Functional Materials.
> 
> The device which is 10,000 times thinner than a human hair is a “_vital step towards creating a bionic brain,_” the scientists said.
> 
> _“This is the closest we have come to creating a brain-like system with memory that learns and stores analog information and is quick at retrieving this stored information_,” said project leader and co-leader of the RMIT Functional Materials and Microsystems Research Group, Dr Sharath Sriram.



I hope we do create a stage 1 or 2 civilization AI being!!!


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## ScienceRocks

*Tech Allows Color-Blind To See Colors*



> EnChroma lenses look like ordinary tinted lenses, but when you look through them something amazing happens: your experience of color vision is fundamentally transformed. Colors appear more vibrant, saturated, full, and yet without compromising the accuracy or color balance of the scene. Colorful objects, such as flowers, colorful paint and fabrics, food, and traffic signs suddenly “pop” with a heightened purity and intensity. Experiences like a rainbow or a sunset, seen for the first time with EnChroma, are magically transformed beyond any rational description.
> 
> Of course, there is nothing actually magic in this — it’s all based on science and technology — that is, color vision science and optical technology.


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## ScienceRocks

*PDE3A mutations cause autosomal dominant hypertension with brachydactyly*
http://www.nature.com/ng/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ng.3302.html


> Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death worldwide, and hypertension is the major risk factor1. Mendelian hypertension elucidates mechanisms of blood pressure regulation. Here we report six missense mutations in _PDE3A_ (encoding phosphodiesterase 3A) in six unrelated families with mendelian hypertension and brachydactyly type E (HTNB)2. The syndrome features brachydactyly type E (BDE), severe salt-independent but age-dependent hypertension, an increased fibroblast growth rate, neurovascular contact at the rostral-ventrolateral medulla, altered baroreflex blood pressure regulation and death from stroke before age 50 years when untreated3, 4. _In vitro_ analyses of mesenchymal stem cell–derived vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) and chondrocytes provided insights into molecular pathogenesis. The mutations increased protein kinase A–mediated PDE3A phosphorylation and resulted in gain of function, with increased cAMP-hydrolytic activity and enhanced cell proliferation. Levels of phosphorylated VASP were diminished, and PTHrP levels were dysregulated. We suggest that the identified _PDE3A_ mutations cause the syndrome. VSMC-expressed PDE3A deserves scrutiny as a therapeutic target for the treatment of hypertension.


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## ScienceRocks

*Drug perks up old muscles and aging brains*


> Whether you're brainy, brawny or both, you may someday benefit from a drug found to rejuvenate aging brain and muscle tissue.
> Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have discovered that a small-molecule drug simultaneously perks up old stem cells in the brains and muscles of mice, a finding that could lead to drug interventions for humans that would make aging tissues throughout the body act young again.
> "We established that you can use a single small molecule to rescue essential function in not only aged brain tissue but aged muscle," said co-author David Schaffer, director of the Berkeley Stem Cell Center and a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering. "That is good news, because if every tissue had a different molecular mechanism for aging, we wouldn't be able to have a single intervention that rescues the function of multiple tissues."


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## ScienceRocks

DARPA investigating ways to Restore Active Memory
 


> A new DARPA program aims to investigate the role of neural “replay” in the formation and recall of memory, with the goal of helping individuals better remember specific episodic events and learned skills. The 24-month fundamental research program, Restoring Active Memory Replay or RAM Replay, is designed to develop novel and rigorous computational...



Read more »


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## ScienceRocks

*Genetic Algorithms Reverse Resistance To Antibiotics*



> If you use antibiotics against bacteria then antibiotic resistance is inevitable. However, if you use multiple antibiotics in a clever way you can engineer the bacterial population to remain unchanged. This algorithmic approach to controlling evolution is one way that we might retain the usefulness of antibiotics for generations to come and also has wider applications.
> If you use a single antibiotic against a population of bacteria then you will kill most or all of the organisms that are susceptible to it. The few bacteria left alive form the start of a new population resistant to the antibiotic. This is evolution in action. As the population is subjected to a pressure the fittest organisms survive and increase as a proportion of the whole. Notice that this is going to happen even if antibiotics aren't overused. Overuse speeds the process, but being restrained in antibiotic use still leads to resistance eventually.
> Annually more than 2 million people in the United States get infections that are resistant to antibiotics and at least 23,000 people die as a result, according to the CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
> One approach to using antibiotics to avoid selection for resistance is to rotate the antibiotics used. In this way you hope to avoid applying a single evolutionary pressure to make the population move in the direction of resistance to any specific or multiple antibiotics.


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## ScienceRocks

Electrical stimulation proven to accelerate wound healing
By Richard Moss
May 15, 2015
2 Pictures
Electrical stimulation proven to accelerate wound healing







> A study of skin wound healing in 40 (human) volunteers has found that electrical stimulation significantly speeds up the healing process. The researchers hope to now develop and test dressings and devices that could be used in treatment of human or veterinary surgical wounds, sports injuries, and other serious skin trauma.


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## ScienceRocks

Liz Parrish on transcending the aging paradigm with gene therapy 


> _Elizabeth is the CEO of BioViva USA Inc ™, which is committed to building gene therapies to eradicate disease and extend healthy life. She is a board member of Radish Medical Solutions and founder of Biotrove Investments and media. She is actively involved in international educational media via the International Longevity Alliance, of which she is a board member and the American Longevity Alliance, on which she serves as Secretary._


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## Abishai100

*Holism & Hovering: HIV Molecule Counter-Agent*

The colorful A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) robot fantasy-adventure franchise "Transformers" (Hasbro) presents modern-era relevant transmission-themed robotics avatars such as Soundwave (an auditory espionage diabolical warrior who transforms into a radio/cassette player that ejects mini-warriors that transform into compact espionage audio cassettes) and Bruticus (an amalgam of diabolical soldier drones), but it also presents modern-era relevant medicine-optimism robotics avatars such as the Protecobots (a group of human defenders and medicine robots that transform into a super-amalgam Doctor Crusader medicine-warrior robot named Defensor).

Isn't it interesting how we're fascinated by systems analysis in modern age medicine?





Protectobots

Deconstructive HIV Molecule Weapon Discovery


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## ScienceRocks

Scientists have reactivated neuroplasticity in older mice, restoring their brains to a more youthful state


http://www.scienceda...50518121847.htm



> Researchers wanted to know whether the flexibility of the juvenile brain could be restored to the adult brain. Apparently, it can: They've successfully re-created a critical juvenile period in the brains of adult mice. In other words, the researchers have reactivated brain plasticity -- the rapid and robust changes in neural pathways and synapses as a result of learning and experience.
> 
> The scientists achieved this by transplanting a certain type of embryonic neuron into the brains of adult mice. The transplanted neurons express GABA, a chief inhibitory neurotransmitter that aids in motor control, vision and many other cortical functions.
> 
> Much like older muscles lose their youthful flexibility, older brains lose plasticity. But in the Gandhi study, the transplanted GABA neurons created a new period of heightened plasticity that allowed for vigorous rewiring of the adult brain. In a sense, old brain processes became young again.


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## ScienceRocks

*'Rosetta Stone' for prostate cancer*

20 May 2015








> Scientists have unveiled a comprehensive genetic map of advanced prostate cancer, hailing it as the disease's "Rosetta Stone".
> The study, published in the journal Cell, shows that nearly nine in 10 men had gene mutations that could be targeted with drugs.
> The study was led in the UK by scientists at the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) London in collaboration with several teams in the United States.
> Researchers analysed the genetic codes of tumours from 150 patients with metastatic - or advanced - prostate cancer, whose disease had spread to other parts of the body.
> They found that 89% had genetic aberrations for which there were existing drugs or treatments undergoing clinical trials.
> Prof Johann de Bono, of the ICR and Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust told the BBC: "This is truly a game-changer. We are calling this prostate cancer's Rosetta Stone, because we can now decode the disease for the first time.
> "In the past, we used to treat lethal prostate cancer as a single illness but this shows that it is a group of diseases, each driven by their own set of mutations."
> Prof de Bono said it meant that, using genetic testing, it would be possible to individualise patient care, heralding the arrival of personalised treatment for advanced prostate cancer.
> More than 40,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer and nearly 11,000 die in the UK each year.






http://www.bbc.co.uk...health-32818060


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## ScienceRocks

*Breakthrough bionic leg prosthesis controlled by subconscious thoughts *
By David Szondy
May 24, 2015
5 Pictures





> Biomedical engineering company Össur has announced the successful development of a thought controlled bionic prosthetic leg. The new technology uses implanted sensors sending wireless signals to the artificial limb's built-in computer, enabling subconscious, real-time control and faster, more natural responses and movements.


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## ScienceRocks

A device that lets you see “three times better than 20/20 vision” without wearing any contacts or glasses at all — for an entire lifetime.

Read more: http://www.businessi...5#ixzz3b74qAFrU


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## ScienceRocks

*Scientists reverse aging in human cell lines and give theory of aging a new lease of life*


> Can the process of aging be delayed or even reversed? Research has shown that, in human cell lines at least, it can. They also found that the regulation of two genes involved with the production of glycine, the smallest and simplest amino acid, is partly responsible for some of the characteristics of aging.




http://www.scienceda...50526085138.htm


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## ScienceRocks

Young Blood Speeds Healing Of Old Broken Bones 

http://www.iflscienc...oken-bones-heal


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## ScienceRocks

*Memories emerge intact from cryogenic resurrection machine*
*Memories emerge intact from cryogenic resurrection machine ExtremeTech*

By John Hewitt on May 29, 2015 at 8:24 am
50 Comments









> Many animals can survive prolonged periods of exposure to freezing temperatures. To do this, they run a sophisticated ‘freeze’ program on the way into the frozen state, and another ‘thaw’ program on the way out. Although there have been advances in freezing and thawing animals that lack these built-in cold survival responses, it hasn’t been made clear whether important higher-level functions, like memory, would emerge unscathed. Two researchers, Natasha Vita-More and Daniel Barranco, have now proven for the first time that cryogenically-suspended worms retain specific acquired memories after reanimation.
> 
> To do this, the researchers first trained the worms to move to specific areas when they smelled benzaldehyde (a component of almond oil). After mastering this new task, the worms were bathed in a glycerol-based cryoprotectant solution and put into to a deep freeze. When the worms were thawed, they remembered their job and moved to the right spot when benzaldehyde wafted in. The researchers compared two different methods of cooling: The first one was based on the old-fashioned way to freeze cells or organs — a low concentration of cryoprotectant and a slow cool/thaw cycle. The second way was a more aggressive procedure known as vitrification.


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## ScienceRocks

*Lung cancer therapy is 'milestone'*
Lung cancer therapy is milestone - BBC News


> A lung cancer therapy can more than double life expectancy in some patients, a "milestone" trial shows.
> 
> Nivolumab stops cancerous cells hiding from the body's own defences, leaving the cancer vulnerable to attack.
> 
> The results from 582 people, presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology, were described as "giving real hope to patients".
> 
> Lung cancer is the most deadly type of cancer, killing nearly 1.6 million people every year.
> 
> It is hard to treat as it is often diagnosed late and many people with smoking-related diseases are unsuitable for surgery.


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## ScienceRocks

*Doctors Hail 'Spectacular' Cancer Breakthrough*

1 June 2015






> The results of new cancer drugs trials have been hailed as spectacular, with one expert claiming the potential for a cure for the disease is "definitely there".
> Immunotherapy, which uses the body's immune system to attack cancerous cells, proved so effective that in one British-led trial, more than half of patients with advanced melanoma saw tumours shrink or brought under control, according to researchers.
> The trials, a number of which have been presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's annual conference in Chicago, could herald a "new era" for cancer treatments.
> Professor Roy Herbst, chief of medical oncology at Yale Cancer Centre, described some of the findings as "spectacular", and said immunotherapy could replace chemotherapy as the standard cancer treatment within the next five years, according to reports.
> He told reporters: "I think we are seeing a paradigm shift in the way oncology is being treated.





http://news.sky.com/...er-breakthrough


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## ScienceRocks

*VirScan reveals your viral infection history in a single drop of blood*



> New technology developed by Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) researchers makes it possible to test for current and past infections with any known human virus by analyzing a single drop of a person's blood. The method, called VirScan, is an efficient alternative to existing diagnostics that test for specific viruses one at a time.


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## ScienceRocks

*Researchers discover key to maintaining muscle strength while we age*





> What causes us to lose muscle strength as we age and how exercise can prevent it from happening has never been thoroughly understood, but McMaster University researchers have discovered a key protein required to maintain muscle mass and muscle strength during aging.
> 
> This important finding means new and existing drugs targeting the protein may potentially be used to preserve muscle function during aging.
> 
> "We found that the body's fuel gauge, AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), is vital to slow muscle wasting with aging," said Gregory Steinberg, the study's senior author and professor of medicine at the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine. He is also co-director of MAC-Obesity, the Metabolism and Childhood Obesity Research Program at McMaster.
> 
> Despite the importance of maintaining muscle function and strength as we age, there is currently no treatment besides exercise. With an aging population, age-related muscle wasting and loss of muscle strength is a growing issue that shortens lives and creates a significant financial burden on the Canadian health care system.
> 
> "We know we can turn on the AMPK pathway with intense exercise and commonly-used Type 2 diabetes medications," said Steinberg. "By knowing that AMPK is vital for maintaining muscle mass with aging, we can now try to adapt exercise regimes and existing drugs to switch on AMPK in muscle more effectively. The development of new selective activators of the AMPK pathway in muscle may also be effective to prevent muscle loss with aging."




http://medicalxpress...rength-age.html


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## ScienceRocks

*Tiny particles mimic the body's pancreas cells to combat type 1 diabetes*
By Nick Lavars
June 9, 2015






> The destruction of the pancreatic cells that leads to type 1 diabetes arises when the body's own immune cells identify them as foreign targets and begin to attack them. But a new technique using tiny particles to mimic the form and function of the pancreatic cells is showing promise in halting the onset of the condition.


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## ScienceRocks

*Single protein causes Parkinson's disease and multiple system atrophy*
Single protein causes Parkinson s disease and multiple system atrophy


> Several neurodegenerative disorders are caused by aggregates of a single protein known as alpha-synuclein. In collaboration with CNRS and the University of Antwerp, KU Leuven neurobiologists have discovered that the shape of these aggregates - 'cylinders' or 'ribbons' - determines whether a patient develops Parkinson's disease or Multiple System Atrophy, respectively.


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## ScienceRocks

*Blood test for cancer biomarkers using an electrochemical clamp assay*


> (Phys.org)—Researchers have found an innovative way to detect cancer biomarkers in a person's blood. Nucleic acids, the components of DNA and RNA, are typically located within the cell. However, sometimes these nucleic acids can be found circulating in the blood. Cancer patients tend to have more of these cell-free nucleic acids in their blood. A small portion of these cell-free nucleic can contain mutations associated with certain cancers.


Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-06-blood-cancer-biomarkers-electrochemical-clamp.html#jCp


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## ScienceRocks

*IBM researchers develop new technique for integrating ‘III-V’ materials onto silicon wafers*

*A breakthrough that may allow for an extension to Moore's Law*



> A team of IBM researchers in Zurich, Switzerland with support from colleagues in Yorktown Heights, New York has developed a relatively simple, robust and versatile process for growing crystals made from compound semiconductor materials. The new method will allow the materials to be integrated onto silicon wafers — an important step toward making future computer chips that will allow integrated circuits to continue shrinking in size and cost, even as they increase in performance.
> Appearing this week on the cover of the journal Applied Physics Letters in an open-access article, the finding may allow for an extension to Moore’s Law. “We need better performing transistors as we continue down-scaling, and transistors based on silicon won’t give us improvements anymore,” said Heinz Schmid, a researcher with IBM Research GmbH at Zurich Research Laboratory in Switzerland and the lead author on the paper.
> For consumers, extending Moore’s Law will mean continuing the trend of new computer devices having increasing speed and bandwidth at reduced power consumption and cost. The new technique may also impact photonics on silicon, with active photonic components integrated seamlessly with electronics for greater functionality.


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## ScienceRocks

*A critical step to ultra-high-speed all-optical data transmission*



> Researchers from Lehigh University, Japan, and Canada have advanced a step closer to the dream of all-optical data transmission by building and demonstrating what they call the “world’s first fully functioning single-crystal waveguide in glass.”
> In an open-access article published in Scientific Reports, a Nature publication, the group said it had employed ultrafast femtosecond lasers to produce a three-dimensional single crystal capable of guiding light waves through glass with little loss of light.
> The group says its achievement will boost ongoing efforts to develop photonic integrated circuits (PICs) that are smaller, cheaper, more energy-efficient and more reliable than current networks that use bulky discrete optoelectronic components — waveguides, splitters, modulators, filters, amplifiers —- to transport optical signals.
> “A major trend in optics,” the researchers write, “has been a drive toward … replacing systems of large discrete components that provide individual functions with compact and multifunctional PICs, in much the same way that integration of electronics has driven the impressive advances of modern computer systems.”


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## ScienceRocks

*NRAM’s Time Is Here, Says Startup Nantero*


> Nantero is coming out of stealth mode and announcing a round of financing because it believes its proprietary NRAM is ready to take its place as a storage class memory and replacement for flash and DRAM.
> The company has raised $31.5 million from both new investors and existing investors, which it will use to accelerate development of its NRAM (non-volatile random access memory, sometimes known as Nano-RAM) for use in both enterprise and consumer applications.
> NRAM is based on carbon nanotubes, cylinders made out of carbon atoms, explained said Nantero CEO Greg Schmergel in a telephone interview with EE Times. Stronger than steel, these nanotubes have a diameter of one to two nanometers, and are better conductors of electricity than other known materials used in chips.
> Although Nantero was founded in 2001, it is still very much in a startup phase. EE Times named Nantero one of 10 top startups to watch in 2013. Schmergel said progress working with systems and device companies prompted Nantero to come out of stealth mode. He said NRAM is ready for commercialization and high-volume production, and that the company is sampling 4Mb high-yield memory chips, with the NRAM process installed in in seven production CMOS fabs.


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## ScienceRocks

Genetic modification of mice embyros approaching 100% efficiency using CRISPR CAS9 gene therapy
 




Mice embryos can be genetically modified with CRISPR gene therapy. The procedure is approaching 100% efficiency already. Prof Perry said the technique could one day be performed during fertility treatment. Dr Tony Perry believes genetic diseases like cystic fibrosis could be prevented before conception Invitro fertilization (IVF) treatments...


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## ScienceRocks

*Time-lapse captures the death of white blood cells for the first time*
By Nick Lavars
June 15, 2015






> With a pivotal role in fending off infections and disease, white blood cells are the engine room of the body's immune system. But little was known about what happens exactly when these cells reach the end of their life cycles. Scientists have now captured the death of white blood cells on camera for the first time, showing that they eject much of their contents while decomposing. One reason for this could be to warn neighboring cells of dangerous pathogens in the area. The researchers say learning more about their expiration could help bring about improved health treatments in the future.


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## ScienceRocks

*First full genome of a living organism sequenced and assembled using technology the size of smartphone*



> The findings, which were published today in the journal Nature Methods, provide proof of concept for the technology and the methods lay the groundwork for using it to sequence genomes in increasingly more complex organisms, eventually including humans, said Dr. Jared Simpson, Principal Investigator at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research and a lead author on the study.
> "The amazing thing about this device is that it is many times smaller than a normal sequencer -- you just attach it to a laptop using a USB cable," said Simpson. "And while our work is a demonstration of the capabilities of the technology, the most significant advance is in the methods. We were able to mathematically model nanopore sequencing and develop ways to reconstruct complete genomes off this tiny sequencer."


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## ScienceRocks

*New anti-malaria drug developed*

17 June 2015



> Researchers at Dundee University have discovered a new compound which could treat malaria while protecting people from the disease and preventing its spread, all in a single dose.
> 
> The compound, DDD107498, was developed by the university's Drug Discovery Unit and the Medicines for Malaria Venture.
> Scientists said the "exciting" new drug could work well against parasites resistant to current treatments.
> Details of the discovery have been published in the journal Nature.
> The World Health Organisation reported 200 million clinical cases of malaria in 2013, with 584,000 people dying from the mosquito-borne disease, most of them pregnant women or children under five.
> Concerns have been growing about strains of malaria which are resistant to current treatments, which have already appeared on the border between Myanmar and India.




http://www.bbc.co.uk...entral-33164528


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## ScienceRocks

On June 24, FDA will meet with researchers to consider a clinical trial which treats aging as a disease target
 






> Doctors and scientists want drug regulators and research funding agencies to consider medicines that delay ageing-related disease as legitimate drugs. Such treatments have a physiological basis, researchers say, and could extend a person’s healthy years by slowing down the processes that underlie common diseases of ageing — making them worthy...


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## ScienceRocks

*Scientists asking FDA to consider aging a treatable condition*



> Doctors and scientists want drug regulators and research funding agencies to consider medicines that delay ageing-related disease as legitimate drugs. Such treatments have a physiological basis, researchers say, and could extend a person’s healthy years by slowing down the processes that underlie common diseases of ageing — making them worthy of government approval. On 24 June, researchers will meet with regulators from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to make the case for a clinical trial designed to show the validity of the approach.
> Current treatments for diseases related to ageing “just exchange one disease for another”, says physician Nir Barzilai of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. That is because people treated for one age-related disease often go on to die from another relatively soon thereafter. “What we want to show is that if we delay ageing, that’s the best way to delay disease.”


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## ScienceRocks

*Activation of a single gene reverses colon cancer growth in mice in 4 days*




> A simple genetic tweak can turn colorectal cancer cells in mice back into healthy tissue in a matter of days, essentially reversing tumour growth, new research has revealed.
> The scientists are now looking for ways they can use the same approach to develop more effective and less toxic cancer treatments in humans.
> 
> According to a press release put out by the journal Cell, where the research was published: “The findings provide proof of principle that restoring the function of a single tumour suppressor gene can cause tumour regression and suggest future avenues for developing effective cancer treatments.”
> Most of the drugs we use to fight cancer are designed to kill cancerous cells. While this can be effective, colorectal tumours often come back just weeks after treatment, and the side effects can be intense.
> “Treatment regimes for advanced colorectal cancer involve combination chemotherapies that are toxic and largely ineffective, yet have remained the backbone of therapy over the last decade," said senior researcher Scott Lowe from the Weill Cornell Medical College in New York.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*The end of animal testing? Human-organs-on-chips win Design of the Year*



> Tiny tubes emerge from a small transparent block, pumping imperceptible amounts of fluid and air to and fro. It looks like a Fox’s Glacier Mint has been plugged into a life support machine, but this humble chunk of see-through silicone is a model organ that could revolutionise the pharmaceutical industry, reducing the need for animal testing and speeding up the development of new drugs.
> Meet the Lung-on-a-chip, a simulation of the biological processes inside the human lung, developed by the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University – and now crowned Design of the Year by London’s Design Museum.
> Lined with living human cells, the “organs-on-chips” mimic the tissue structures and mechanical motions of human organs, promising to accelerate drug discovery, decrease development costs and potentially usher in a future of personalised medicine.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Smart patch to take pain and hassle out of insulin injections*
By Darren Quick - June 23, 2015  3 Pictures 





> According to the International Diabetes Federation, 387 million people around the world suffer from diabetes, with this number expected to rise to 592 million by 2035. That adds up to a lot of blood sugar checks, diet watching and insulin shots, but researchers in the US have developed a patch that could revolutionize how the disease is managed. The patch contains of more than 100 microneedles, each automatically secreting insulin into the bloodstream when required.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*NHS to give volunteers 'synthetic blood' made in laboratory within two years*




> The first attempt at giving human volunteers “synthetic blood” made in a laboratory for the first time will take place within the next two years, the NHS has announced.
> 
> 
> A long-awaited clinical trial of artificial red blood cells will occur before 2017, NHS scientists said. The blood is made from stem cells extracted from either the umbilical cord blood of newborn babies or the blood of adult donors.
> The trial, thought to be a world first, will involve small transfusions of a few teaspoons of synthetic blood to test for any adverse reactions. It will allow scientists to study the time the manufactured red blood cells can survive within human recipients.
> Eventually, it is hoped that the NHS will be able to make unlimited quantities of red blood cells for emergency transfusions. However, the immediate goal is to manufacture specialised donations for patients suffering from blood conditions such as sickle-cell anaemia and thalassemia, who need regular transfusions.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New class of compounds shrinks pancreatic cancer tumors, prevents regrowth
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/06/150625125958.htm
*



> Scientists from UCL (University College London) have designed a chemical compound that has reduced the growth of pancreatic cancer tumors by 80 percent in treated mice.
> 
> The compound, called MM41, was designed to block faulty genes. It appears to do this by targeting little knots in their DNA, called quadruplexes, which are very different from normal DNA and which are especially found in faulty genes.
> 
> The findings, published in _Nature Scientific Reports_, showed that MM41 had a strong inhibiting effect on two genes -- k-RAS and BCL-2 -- both of which are found in the majority of pancreatic cancers.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists develop potential new class of cancer drugs in lab*




SLU pharmacology researchers Thomas Burris, Ph.D., and Colin Flaveny, Ph.D., discuss their cancer research. Credit: Saint Louis University


> In research published in _Cancer Cell_, Thomas Burris, Ph.D., chair of pharmacology and physiology at Saint Louis University, has, for the first time, found a way to stop cancer cell growth by targeting the Warburg Effect, a trait of cancer cell metabolism that scientists have been eager to exploit.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists identify a calcium channel essential for deep sleep*
Sleep seems simple enough, a state of rest and restoration that almost every vertebrate creature must enter regularly in order to survive. But the brain responds differently to stimuli when asleep than when ...


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Human radiologists missed 7% of cancers in a study, a deep learning algorithm missed 0%*



> Cancer is good at hiding.
> It's so good that sometimes sick patients are sent home with a clean bill of health.
> And screenings don't always help: A 2013 study by Oxford University found "no evidence" that screening programs are responsible for the decline in breast cancer, and a study by the Huntsman Cancer Institute last year found that colon cancer is missed in about 6% of colonoscopies.
> A company is looking to change that margin of error by bringing a super-smart computer into the examination room.
> "In one panel of scans that we looked at, when you look at the number of times that radiologists sent someone home with a clean bill of health, about 7% of the time that patient was ultimately found to have cancer," said John Zedlewski, a data scientist with Enlitic, a medical technology company.
> When Zedlewski used Enlitic's algorithm against the same panel, there weren't any mistakes.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*First-ever possible treatments for MERS*
As the South Korean epidemic of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) continues unabated, researchers have raced to find treatments for the deadly virus, which has killed more than 400 people since it was ...


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Researchers discover new mechanism of DNA repair*



> The DNA molecule is chemically unstable giving rise to DNA lesions of different nature. That is why DNA damage detection, signaling and repair, collectively known as the DNA damage response, are needed.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Researchers develop world's most sensitive test to detect infectious disease, superbugs*
Infectious diseases such as hepatitis C and some of the world's deadliest superbugs—C. difficile and MRSA among them—could soon be detected much earlier by a unique diagnostic test, designed to easily ...


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Midlife changes in Alzheimer's biomarkers may predict dementia*
Studying brain scans and cerebrospinal fluid of healthy adults, scientists have shown that changes in key biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease during midlife may help identify those who will develop dementia ...


----------



## ScienceRocks

Stem Cell Exosomes used to Induce Damaged Mouse Hearts to Repair Themselves
 


> A little more than a decade ago, researchers discovered that all cells secrete tiny communications modules jammed with an entire work crew of messages for other cells. Today, a team of researchers, led by stem cell researcher Raj Kishore, PhD, Director of the Stem Cell Therapy Program at the Center for Translational Medicine at Temple University School of Medicine (TUSM), is harnessing the communications vesicles excreted by...


----------



## ScienceRocks

Multiple Monkey brains and multiple rat brains linked into brainnets
 






> Researchers have linked multiple rat brains and multiple monkey brains and synchronized them and trained them to perform classificiation and other tasks Nature Scientific Reports - Building an organic computing device with multiple interconnected brains Researchers proposed that Brainets, i.e. networks formed by multiple animal brains,...


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Ultrasound cuts healing rate of chronic wounds by 30 percent*
By Nick Lavars - July 13, 2015  1 Picture 





> Further to the mental anguish, a lot of time in a hospital bed can bring about some agonizing physical discomfort. This is most commonly brought about by skin ulcers and bedsores, which threaten to evolve into dangerous and potentially deadly infections if left untreated. But a British research team has happened upon a technique that promises to cut the healing time of these and other chronic wounds by around a third, using simple low-intensity ultrasounds.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Lung simulation could improve respiratory treatment*


> The first computer model that predicts the flow of liquid medication in human lungs is providing new insight into the treatment of acute respiratory distress syndrome.



*Chemotherapeutic coatings enhance tumor-frying nanoparticles*


> In a move akin to adding chemical weapons to a firebomb, researchers at Duke University have devised a method for making a promising nanoscale cancer treatment even more deadly to tumors.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Hydrogels developed for controlled release of hepatitis C drug
 




Researchers at the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) of A*STAR have developed a drug-delivering hydrogel to treat chronic diseases such as hepatitis C, a liver disease that kills around 500,000 people worldwide every year. “The new gel from IBN prevents premature drug release in the body. This allows for long-term drug...

Read more »


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Egg yolk extract could allow people with celiac disease to eat gluten*
By Ben Coxworth - July 17, 2015  1 Picture 





> If you or someone you know has celiac disease, then you'll know how much it can limit one's diet. Because people with the autoimmune condition have a negative reaction to the gluten in grains such as wheat, rye or barley, that means they can't consume many baked goods, pastas, liquors, or any number of processed foods that use wheat as a binding agent. Soon, however, they may be able to eat whatever they want – if they take a new egg-based supplement first.


----------



## ScienceRocks

seconds ago

Researchers use bone powder, bio-glue to 3D print bones http://ift.tt/1CMyzQN


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Laser device may soon non-invasively monitor diabetics' glucose levels*
By Ben Coxworth - July 17, 2015  2 Pictures 



In order to monitor their blood glucose levels, diabetics typically have to perform painful and inconvenient finger-prick blood tests – in some cases, several times a day. Using an implantable glucose-monitoring sensor is one alternative, although it must be surgically installed and subsequently removed for replacement. Another option may be on the way, however, in the form of a device that simply shines a laser on the user's finger.


----------



## ScienceRocks

CRISPR DNA editing system controlled by light
 






> Japanese researchers led by University of Tokyo chemist Moritoshi Sato have refined the CRISPR-Cas9 method by developing alight-activated Cas9 nuclease, a technological advancement that significantly improves scientists’ ability to hone in on target genes for research. Converging these two methods brings specificity on a new level, making...



Read more »


----------



## ScienceRocks

Scientists arm cells with tiny lasers
Distinctive colors could enable biologist to track individual cells for weeks
news.sciencemag.org


----------



## ScienceRocks

Increasing Lifespans by Changing Our RNA? - http://bit.ly/1JuMsA5




Altering RNA helicases in roundworms doubles their lifespan: similar technique could be used on human cells, experts say
www.sciencedaily.com


----------



## ScienceRocks

Hope is on the horizon for people struggling with prostate & pancreatic cancers.




Diabetes drug could treat prostate and pancreatic cancers
Diabetes drugs could also be effective against some types of cancer by preventing the delivery of glucose to those cells and reducing tumor growth,...
www.redorbit.com|By redOrbit


----------



## ScienceRocks

'Universal' flu vaccine in the works

Each year, scientists create an influenza (flu) vaccine that protects against a few specific influenza strains that researchers predict are going to be the most common during that year. Now, a new study shows that scientists may be able to create a 'universal' vaccine that can provide broad protection against numerous influenza strains, including those that could cause future pandemics.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Cell transplant 'regenerates' liver

The Medical Research Council team showed severely damaged organs in mice could be restored to near-normal function.
They say the findings, published in Nature Cell Biology, could eventually help people stuck on a waiting list for a transplant.
Further tests are now taking place with human tissue.


----------



## ScienceRocks

FDA approves finger-prick blood test

Theranos technology uses a finger prick like the one diabetics use to measure their blood sugar. With just a few milliliters of blood Theranos can test for hundreds of things, from cancer biomarkers to cholesterol counts, illegal drugs to infectious diseases. What’s more, many of the tests are cheap. And in at least one state, the system doesn’t require a visit to a doctor’s office or a lab. But Theranos has been slow to deploy its system. Now things are starting to pick up.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Further evidence that solanezumab slows mild Alzheimer’s disease*
Posted on 22nd July 2015
Further evidence that solanezumab slows mild Alzheimer s disease Alzheimer s Research UK
*Results of a phase 3 trial of Alzheimer’s drug solanezumab are to be presented today (22 July) at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference 2015.*
The trial, which followed 1,322 people with mild Alzheimer’s disease, showed that the drug was able to slow the decline in memory and thinking skills over time, and suggest that the treatment may be able to slow the underlying disease process.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Bionic eye implant world first*
Bionic eye implant world first - BBC News

Surgeons in Manchester have performed the first bionic eye implant in a patient with the most common cause of sight loss in the developed world.

Ray Flynn, 80, has dry age-related macular degeneration which has led to the total loss of his central vision.

He is using a retinal implant which converts video images from a miniature video camera worn on his glasses.

He can now make out the direction of white lines on a computer screen using the retinal implant.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New Eye Drops Can Dissolve Cataracts With No Need For Surgery*

July 24, 2015 | by Aamna Mohdin


> A cataract is the clouding of the eye’s lens and accounts for over half of all cases of blindness worldwide. Though cataracts can be effectively treated with surgery, it’s costly and requires trained surgeons. This is a problem for developing countries with poor health systems. Drug treatments have the potential to be a game changer in providing cheap and accessible treatment, but there are many hurdles. A new study that used eye drops to shrink cataracts in dogs may have made an important step in overcoming them.



http://www.iflscienc...-cataracts-dogs


----------



## ScienceRocks

A new antibody appears to slow the advance of Alzheimer's disease http://econ.st/1HStJOO


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New company plans to revolutionize genomic medicine with deep learning*
By Richard Moss - July 26, 2015  1 Picture 





> Deep learning has already had a huge impact on computer vision and speech recognition, and it's making inroads in areas as computer-unfriendly as cooking. Now a new startup led by University of Toronto professor Brendan Frey wants to cause similar reverberations in genomic medicine. Deep Genomics plans to identify gene variants and mutations never before observed or studied and find how these link to various diseases. And through this work the company believes it can help usher in a new era of personalized medicine.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Tweaking One Enzyme Doubles A Worm's Lifespan



*It could work the same way in humans*




> From the second we’re born, our cells are given their marching orders for how to grow, mature, and maintain our bodies. But at a certain point, the repairs become faulty, and we age and eventually die. Now a team of Korean researchers has found a way to modify a particular type of enzyme in roundworms to double their lifespan—and they suspect the same mechanisms might work in humans.
> 
> 
> 
> _Caenorhabditis elegans_, the roundworm in question, may not look much like humans since they measure just one millimeter in length, but a number of their biological processes are similar to ours. In the study, published this week in _PNAS_, the researchers turned their attention to a family of enzymes called RNA helicase. These enzymes are known to regulate RNA, which is found in every living cell to carry instructions from DNA to control protein synthesis and maintain cells. Though RNA helicase is well studied, researchers don’t know much about the role it plays in the aging process.
> 
> 
> 
> When the researchers suppressed one particular helicase, HEL-1, as well as a gene called daf-2, the mutated roundworms were not only more immune to environmental stresses of heat, cold and pathogenic bacteria, but also their lifespans were double that of wild roundworms.
> 
> 
> 
> They suspect HEL-1 plays a key role in how cells convert DNA to RNA, and even conscript other enzymes to do it too. "In contrast to the expectation that RNA helicases have general housekeeping roles in RNA metabolism, our findings reveal that the RNA helicase HEL-1 has specific roles in a specific longevity pathway,” the researchers write.
> 
> HEL-1 is found in many different types of organisms, including mammals—even humans. And while it’s not clear that helicases play the same role in human longevity, some evidence suggest that it could be. That could be particularly useful in treating neurological diseases that become more common with age like Alzheimer’s. But ultimately researchers hope that this work could lead to new ways to increase human longevity.





http://www.popsci.co...es-its-lifespan


----------



## ScienceRocks

*MIT-developed material could be used for single-use, ultra-long term drug delivery*
By Chris Wood - July 29, 2015  1 Picture 



Researchers at MIT have developed a new material that shows promise for use in ultra-long drug delivery systems, as well as electronic monitoring of the stomach and weight-loss intervention. A type of polymer gel, the material is flexible and pH-responsive, allowing it to reside in the stomach for long periods of time before safety dissolving in the small intestine.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Harnessing the survival powers of cancer cells could wipe out heart disease*
By Richard Moss - July 29, 2015  1 Picture 



The same genes that allow many cancers to proliferate and thrive could in the future be repurposed as a force for good. A study at the San Diego State University (SDSU) Heart Institute has found that mouse hearts regenerate cells better, causing the mice to live longer, when their progenitor cells are modified to over-express a key gene in cancer production. The researchers believe this could lead to a new treatment for people with heart disease or who have suffered from other age-related cardiac problems.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists successfully edit human immune-system T cells*


> In a project led by investigators at UC San Francisco , scientists have devised a new strategy to precisely modify human immune-system T cells, using the popular genome-editing system known as CRISPR/Cas9. T cells play important roles in a wide range of diseases, from diabetes to AIDS to cancer, so this achievement provides a path toward CRISPR/Cas9-based therapies for many serious health problems, the scientists say. It also provides a versatile new tool for research on T cell function.
> Specifically, the researchers disabled a protein on the T-cell surface called CXCR4, which can be exploited by HIV when the virus infects T cells and causes AIDS. The group also successfully shut down PD-1. Scientists have shown that using drugs to block PD-1 coaxes T cells to attack tumors.
> The CRISPR/Cas9 system makes it possible to easily and inexpensively edit genetic information in virtually any organism. T cells, which circulate in the blood, are an obvious candidate for medical applications of the technology, as these cells are at the center of many disease processes, and could be easily gathered from patients, edited with CRISPR/Cas9, then returned to the body to exert therapeutic effects.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*World's first bilateral hand transplant on child*
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/07/150728162422.htm
Date:
July 28, 2015
Source:
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Summary:
Surgeons recently completed the world's first bilateral hand transplant on a child. Earlier this month, the surgical team successfully transplanted donor hands and forearms onto 8-year-old Zion Harvey who, several years earlier, had undergone amputation of his hands and feet and a kidney transplant following a serious infection.


----------



## ScienceRocks

http://www.nanowerk....ewsid=40902.php




> (Nanowerk News) Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Northwestern University have engineered a tethered ribosome that works nearly as well as the authentic cellular component, or organelle, that produces all the proteins and enzymes within the cell. The engineered ribosome may enable the production of new drugs and next-generation biomaterials and lead to a better understanding of how ribosomes function.
> 
> The artificial ribosome, called Ribo-T, was created in the laboratories of Alexander Mankin, director of the UIC College of Pharmacy’s Center for Biomolecular Sciences, and Northwestern’s Michael Jewett, assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering. The human-made ribosome may be able to be manipulated in the laboratory to do things natural ribosomes cannot do.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Paralyzed men move legs with new non-invasive spinal cord stimulation*
*After training, men move legs independently, without stimulation*
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/07/150730162240.htm
Date:
July 30, 2015
Source:
NIH/National Institute of Biomedical Imaging & Bioengineering
Summary:
Five men with complete motor paralysis were able to voluntarily generate step-like movements thanks to a new strategy that non-invasively delivers electrical stimulation to their spinal cords. The strategy, called transcutaneous stimulation, delivers electrical current to the spinal cord by way of electrodes strategically placed on the skin of the lower back. This expands to nine the number of completely paralyzed individuals who have achieved voluntary movement while receiving spinal stimulation.


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## ScienceRocks

*Cell aging slowed by putting brakes on noisy transcription*
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/07/150730172605.htm



> Working with yeast and worms, researchers found that incorrect gene expression is a hallmark of aged cells and that reducing such "noise" extends lifespan in these organisms. The team published theirfindings this month in _Genes & Development_.
> 
> The team was led by senior author Shelley Berger, PhD, a Daniel S. Och University Professor in the departments of Cell & Developmental Biology, Biology & Genetics at thePerelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and Weiwei Dang, PhD, a former Penn postdoctoral fellow who is now an assistant professor at Baylor College of Medicine, along with first author Payel Sen, PhD*, *currently a postdoctoral fellow in the Berger lab. Berger is also director of the Penn Epigenetics Program.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Imaging tool lets scientists look inside brain at nanoscale resolution*
By Richard Moss - August 1, 2015  5 Pictures 



The human brain contains more synapses than there are galaxies in the observable universe (to put a number on it, there are perhaps 100 trillion synapses versus 100 billion galaxies), and now scientists can see them all – individually. A new imaging tool promises to open the door to all sorts of new insights about the brain and how it works. The tool can generate images at a nanoscale resolution, which is small enough to see all cellular objects and many of their sub-cellular components (so for the biology-literate, that's stuff like neurons and the synapses that permit them to fire, plus axons, dendrites, glia, mitochondria, blood vessel cells, and so on).

Read More


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## ScienceRocks

Scientists discover genetic pathway responsible for aging

It’s no secret that corporate America has declared a war on death. Fueled by the collective fears of 76 million baby boomers, heavyweights like Google and Synthetic Genomics have waded in to the life extension business, bringing with them millions of dollars in funding. The result has been an uptick in the number of discoveries made in gerontology – the study of aging. But despite swamping the issue with money and media attention –an actual cure to aging remains elusive. That may soon change.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Pending Treatment for Huntingtons on tap.  Human trials begin


> "It has worked on mice and monkeys. And starting next month in Vancouver, scientists will begin a long-awaited trial to see if a new drug might also slow the progression of Huntington’s disease in humans"


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Three-protein biomarker raises possibility of a urine test for pancreatic cancer*
By Nick Lavars - August 4, 2015  1 Picture 
 


> With a lack of clear symptoms even when the disease is well progressed, more than 80 percent of pancreatic cancer diagnoses come after the cancer has already spread. This has led some researchers to look beyond blood to urine testing, which is a less complex fluid. Among those is a team at the Queen Mary University of London, which has uncovered a three-protein biomarker in the urine of pancreatic cancer sufferers, suggesting a less invasive, early stage test may be on the way.


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## ScienceRocks

*New research tool tracks real-time DNA-protein binding in cells*
Researchers have developed a new technology that precisely marks where groups of regulatory proteins called transcription factors bind DNA in the nuclei of live cells.


*Scientists show how aging cripples the immune system, suggesting benefits of antioxidants*
Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have shown how aging cripples the production of new immune cells, decreasing the immune system's response to vaccines and putting the elderly at ...


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists pinpoint how a single genetic mutation causes autism*
Last December, researchers identified more than 1,000 gene mutations in individuals with autism, but how these mutations increased risk for autism was unclear. Now, UNC School of Medicine researchers are the first to show ...

*Researchers identify drug candidate for skin, hair regeneration in scarred burn and trauma victims*
Johns Hopkins researchers have identified a novel cell signaling pathway in mice through which mammals—presumably including people—can regenerate hair follicles and skin while healing from wounds.


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## ScienceRocks

Anti-aging pill could be "Fountain of Youth"

imagine being able to stop the hands of time, or perhaps move them back a bit.

Mankind has searched for a “Fountain of Youth” for centuries. Scientists in San Antonio think they may have made an important breakthrough.


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## Toddsterpatriot

Tree of Life root. I wanna be a Protector!


----------



## ScienceRocks

We may cure aging before curing cancer. Weird how that works.


*Chemical-only cell reprogramming transforms human and mouse skin cells into neurons*



> Two labs in China have independently succeeded in transforming skin cells into neurons using only a cocktail of chemicals, with one group using human cells from healthy individuals and Alzheimer's patients, and the other group using cells from mice. The two studies reinforce the idea that a purely chemical approach is a promising way to scale up cell reprogramming research that may avoid the technical challenges and safety concerns associated with the more popular method of using transcription factors. Both papers appear on August 6 in the journal Cell Stem Cell.
> 
> One of the challenges of forcing cells to change identity is that the cells you end up with may look normal but have different internal activities than their naturally forming counterparts. The two papers provide evidence that similar gene expression, action potentials, and synapse formation can be detected in transcription-factor-induced neurons as those generated from the chemical cocktails. (Both groups used mixtures of seven small molecules, but different recipes—outlined in detail in the supplemental information section of each paper—because they focused on different species.)


----------



## Toddsterpatriot

Matthew said:


> We may cure aging before curing cancer. Weird how that works.
> 
> 
> *Chemical-only cell reprogramming transforms human and mouse skin cells into neurons*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Two labs in China have independently succeeded in transforming skin cells into neurons using only a cocktail of chemicals, with one group using human cells from healthy individuals and Alzheimer's patients, and the other group using cells from mice. The two studies reinforce the idea that a purely chemical approach is a promising way to scale up cell reprogramming research that may avoid the technical challenges and safety concerns associated with the more popular method of using transcription factors. Both papers appear on August 6 in the journal Cell Stem Cell.
> 
> One of the challenges of forcing cells to change identity is that the cells you end up with may look normal but have different internal activities than their naturally forming counterparts. The two papers provide evidence that similar gene expression, action potentials, and synapse formation can be detected in transcription-factor-induced neurons as those generated from the chemical cocktails. (Both groups used mixtures of seven small molecules, but different recipes—outlined in detail in the supplemental information section of each paper—because they focused on different species.)
Click to expand...


Now if only we could cure liberal idiocy.......


----------



## ScienceRocks

* Universal plaque-busting drug could treat various brain diseases *








> A virus found in sewage has spawned a unique drug that targets plaques implicated in a host of brain-crippling diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). Results from tests of the drug, announced this week, show that it breaks up plaques in mice affected with Alzheimer’s disease or Parkinson’s...


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New material helps diabetic wounds heal faster*
By Ben Coxworth - August 10, 2015  1 Picture 



Because they often have weakened immune systems and/or blood flow restrictions, diabetics run a heightened risk of serious infection from even the smallest of open wounds. That's why a team of scientists from Egypt's Alexandria University have developed a means of getting those wounds to heal faster – silver-impregnated dressings.


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## ScienceRocks

*Scientists Amplify Intelligence Of Mice*


> The researchers altered a gene in mice to inhibit the activity of an enzyme called phosphodiesterase-4B (PDE4B), which is present in many organs of the vertebrate body, including the brain.
> 
> In behavioural tests, the PDE4B-inhibited mice showed enhanced cognitive abilities.
> 
> They tended to learn faster, remember events longer and solve complex exercises better than ordinary mice.
> 
> For example, the “brainy mice” showed a better ability than ordinary mice to recognise another mouse that they had been introduced to the day before. They were also quicker at learning the location of a hidden escape platform in a test called the Morris water maze


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## Toddsterpatriot

Matthew said:


> *Scientists Amplify Intelligence Of Mice*
> 
> 
> 
> The researchers altered a gene in mice to inhibit the activity of an enzyme called phosphodiesterase-4B (PDE4B), which is present in many organs of the vertebrate body, including the brain.
> 
> In behavioural tests, the PDE4B-inhibited mice showed enhanced cognitive abilities.
> 
> They tended to learn faster, remember events longer and solve complex exercises better than ordinary mice.
> 
> For example, the “brainy mice” showed a better ability than ordinary mice to recognise another mouse that they had been introduced to the day before. They were also quicker at learning the location of a hidden escape platform in a test called the Morris water maze
Click to expand...


*Scientists Amplify Intelligence Of Mice*

If only they could do the same for liberals.........


----------



## ScienceRocks

Toddsterpatriot said:


> Matthew said:
> 
> 
> 
> *Scientists Amplify Intelligence Of Mice*
> 
> 
> 
> The researchers altered a gene in mice to inhibit the activity of an enzyme called phosphodiesterase-4B (PDE4B), which is present in many organs of the vertebrate body, including the brain.
> 
> In behavioural tests, the PDE4B-inhibited mice showed enhanced cognitive abilities.
> 
> They tended to learn faster, remember events longer and solve complex exercises better than ordinary mice.
> 
> For example, the “brainy mice” showed a better ability than ordinary mice to recognise another mouse that they had been introduced to the day before. They were also quicker at learning the location of a hidden escape platform in a test called the Morris water maze
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> *Scientists Amplify Intelligence Of Mice*
> 
> If only they could do the same for liberals.........
Click to expand...



I wish they'd do the same for us all! The world would be a better place when people understand basic political concepts and the history of civilization.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Sleeping on your side could reduce Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s risk, study finds: http://bit.ly/1gDfkyZ


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Newly discovered brain network recognizes what’s new, what’s familiar*


> *Network has broad role in memory, learning processes, study suggests*
> 
> New research from Washington University in St. Louis has identified a novel learning and memory brain network, dubbed the Parietal Memory Network (PMN), that processes incoming information based on whether it’s something we’ve experienced previously or appears to be new and unknown — helping us recognize, for instance, whether a face is that of a familiar friend or a complete stranger.
> 
> The study pulls together evidence from multiple neuroimaging studies and methods to demonstrate the existence of this previously unknown and distinct functional brain network, one that appears to have broad involvement in human memory processing.
> 
> “When an individual sees a novel stimulus, this network shows a marked decrease in activity,” said Adrian Gilmore, first author of the study and a fifth-year psychology doctoral student at Washington University. When an individual sees a familiar stimulus, this network shows a marked increase in activity.”
> 
> The new memory and learning network shows consistent patterns of activation and deactivation in three distinct regions of the parietal cortex in the brain’s left hemisphere — the precuneus, the mid-cingulate cortex, and the dorsal angular gyrus.


----------



## ScienceRocks

​
*Scientists uncover nuclear process in the brain that may affect disease*
Every brain cell has a nucleus, or a central command station. Scientists have shown that the passage of molecules through the nucleus of a star-shaped brain cell, called an astrocyte, may play a critical role in health and


----------



## ScienceRocks

​
*'Jumping genes' unusually active in many gastrointestinal cancers, studies find*


> Results of a trio of studies done on human cancer tissue biopsies have added to growing evidence that a so-called jumping gene called LINE-1 is active during the development of many gastrointestinal cancers. The Johns Hopkins


----------



## ScienceRocks

*A Transformational Leap Toward Precision Medicine*







> It wouldn't be crazy to believe a new era in health and longevity is starting based on research coming out nearly every week, which highlights the power of bringing big data analytics, genetics, clinical testing and biotechnology together.
> 
> Scientists recently revealed thatapplying computer science to more than 15,000 electronic medical records had revealed a way to predict more than a day in advance when a patient was likely to suffer potentially deadly septic shock. Others have usedmassive amounts of data from an entire country's population to uncover the connections between the appearance of seemingly unrelated traits with later disease development. Examples abound.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Maybe one day they'll be controlling humans this way!

This mouse can be wirelessly controlled with an LED device: http://gizmo.do/xDhCDvp


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Study reveals new insights into how asthma 'pathways' could be blocked*


> Researchers from the University of Leicester and University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, working with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and Genentech, have discovered new insights into ...




*Synthetic DNA vaccine against MERS induces immunity in animal study*


> A novel synthetic DNA vaccine can, for the first time, induce protective immunity against the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) coronavirus in animal species, reported researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine ...


----------



## ScienceRocks

*First almost fully-formed human brain grown in lab, researchers claim*


> An almost fully-formed human brain has been grown in a lab for the first time, claim scientists from Ohio State University. The team behind the feat hope the brain could transform our understanding of neurological disease.
> Though not conscious the miniature brain, which resembles that of a five-week-old foetus, could potentially be useful for scientists who want to study the progression of developmental diseases. It could also be used to test drugs for conditions such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, since the regions they affect are in place during an early stage of brain development.
> The brain, which is about the size of a pencil eraser, is engineered from adult human skin cells and is the most complete human brain model yet developed, claimed Rene Anand of Ohio State University, Columbus, who presented the work today at the Military Health System Research Symposium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*A metabolic master switch underlying human obesity*


> Obesity is one of the biggest public health challenges of the 21st century. Affecting more than 500 million people worldwide, obesity costs at least $200 billion each year in the United States alone, and contributes to potentially ...


----------



## ScienceRocks

* Working longer hours increases stroke risk, major study finds *
Working longer hours increases stroke risk, major study finds

Danger highlighted by research suggesting those working a 55-hour week face 33% increased risk of stroke than those working a 35- to 40-hour week


> The likely toll of long working hours is revealed in a major new study which shows that employees still at their desks into the evening run an increased risk of stroke – and the longer the hours they put in, the higher the risk.
> 
> The largest study conducted on the issue, carried out in three continents and led by scientists at University College London, found that those who work more than 55 hours a week have a 33% increased risk of stroke compared with those who work a 35- to 40-hour week. They also have a 13% increased risk of coronary heart disease.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Remember how it took our fastest supercomputers about 12 years to complete the Human Genome Project? Yeah, about that... like, _all _that...


*Supercomputer Force Knocks Full Human Genome Assembly to Under 9 Minutes*



> A team from the Joint Genome Institute at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and researchers from UC Berkeley have used 15,000 cores on the Cray XC30 “Edison” supercomputer to boost the complete assembly of the human genome, bringing the time down to 8.4 minutes.
> The work represents how the coupling of high-powered computational capacity, matched with novel approaches to complex code parallelization, can significantly speed large-scale scientific research. For genomics, this speedup marks a dramatic improvement in what was possible before for using de novo assemblers to rebuild a genome from a selection of short reads. For instance, on the same machine, the unmodified Meraculous code took 23.8 hours. For the far more complex wheat genome, full assembly has been difficult for most standard de novo assemblers. The team used their HipMer approach to scale wheat genome assembly across 15,000 cores in just under 40 minutes.
> The team says that while the de novo approach has “inherent advantages of discovering variations that may remain undetected when aligning sequence data to a reference genome, unfortunately, de novo assembly computational runtimes cannot up with the data generation of modern sequencers.”


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New drug protects against the deadly effects of nuclear radiation 24 hours after exposure*


> An interdisciplinary research team led by The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston reports a new breakthrough in countering the deadly effects of radiation exposure. A single injection of a regenerative peptide ...


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Marijuana Kills Cancer Says US National Cancer Institute*


> Cannabis kills cancer, the National Cancer Institute admits.
> 
> The institute recently updated its ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ page about marijuana to include various studies revealing how cannabis “may inhibit tumor growth by causing cell death, blocking cell growth, and blocking the development of blood vessels needed by tumors to grow” while also protecting normal, healthy cells.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Generic heart medication shown to prolong ovarian cancer patients' survival*
In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers demonstrate a benefit in overall survival among epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) patients receiving generic heart medications known as beta-blockers. Survival was shown to be greatest ...


----------



## ScienceRocks

* Universal flu vaccine is near and could potentially save billions of dollars each year and thousands of lives *






Researchers say they are closer to developing a vaccine to give life-long protection against any type of flu, after promising trials in animals. Two separate US teams have found success with an approach that homes in on a stable part of the flu virus. That should remove the problem with current flu vaccines which must be given anew each...


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Artificial nerves created in the lab*

*Researchers create linkages of polymer nanotubes resembling nerves that can gather and send electrical impulses; may serve as future interfaces between nerves and prosthetic devices*


> Using a succession of biological mechanisms, Sandia National Laboratories researchers have created linkages of polymer nanotubes that resemble the structure of a nerve, with many out-thrust filaments poised to gather or send electrical impulses.
> 
> "This is the first demonstration of naturally occurring proteins assembling chemically created polymers into complex structures that modern machinery can't duplicate," said Sandia National Laboratories researcher George Bachand.
> Sandia co-researcher Wally Paxton said, "This is foundational science, but one possibility we see, way down the road, is to use soft artificial structures like these to painlessly interface with the body's nerve structures."
> Currently, rigid electrodes that cause inflammation are used to penetrate nerve tissue trying to communicate with an artificial limb, he explained. Instead, in a future application, the polymer network could be used extend the nerve, providing a gentler prosthetic interface.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Scientists find way to 'turn off cancer' by reverting cancerous cells to benign tissue


> Scientists believe they may have found a way to "turn off cancer" by reverting cancerous cells to healthy tissue.
> 
> Researchers at the US Mayo Clinic demonstrated a method to turn cancerous breast and bladder cells benign, according to their study published in the _Nature Cell Biology.  _The study, which although in its early stages has been hailed by cancer charities as “crucial”, works by focusing on the PLEKHA7 protein that clumps healthy cells together.  Led by Panos Anastasiadis, researchers found that when the usual sequence of cell regulation is disrupted, cancerous cells quickly occur and multiply out of control, but by adding mircoRNAs molecules scientists were able to prevent cancer.


----------



## ScienceRocks

* Researchers find pathway that controls metabolism and will try to use it to cure obesity *





Obesity is one of the biggest public health challenges of the 21st century. Affecting more than 500 million people worldwide, obesity costs at least $200 billion each year in the United States alone, and contributes to potentially fatal disorders such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer. But there may now be a new approach...
Read more »


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New tech lets the paralyzed speak via "breath signals"*
By Ben Coxworth - August 28, 2015



We've seen a number of technologies that speak on behalf of paralyzed people who are unable to do so. While some of these utilize cues as subtle as eye movements, the fact is that many severely paralyzed patients are unable to manage even those. That's why researchers at Britain's Loughborough University have created a system that speaks words based on the user's breathing.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Speech-classifier program is better at predicting psychosis than psychiatrists*

*100% accurate*


> An automated speech analysis program correctly differentiated between at-risk young people who developed psychosis over a later two-and-a-half year period and those who did not.
> In a proof-of-principle study, researchers at Columbia University Medical Center, New York State Psychiatric Institute, and the IBM T. J. Watson Research Center found that the computerized analysis provided a more accurate classification than clinical ratings. The study was published Wednesday Aug. 26 in an open-access paper in NPJ-Schizophrenia.
> About one percent of the population between the ages of 14 and 27 is considered to be at clinical high risk (CHR) for psychosis. CHR individuals have symptoms such as unusual or tangential thinking, perceptual changes, and suspiciousness. About 20% will go on to experience a full-blown psychotic episode. Identifying who falls in that 20% category before psychosis occurs has been an elusive goal. Early identification could lead to intervention and support that could delay, mitigate or even prevent the onset of serious mental illness.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Research team develops quick way to determine bacteria's antibiotic resistance*
Bacteria's ability to become resistant to antibiotics is a growing issue in health care: Resistant strains result in prolonged illnesses and higher mortality rates.


----------



## irosie91

Matthew said:


> *Research team develops quick way to determine bacteria's antibiotic resistance*
> Bacteria's ability to become resistant to antibiotics is a growing issue in health care: Resistant strains result in prolonged illnesses and higher mortality rates.



thanks matthew------keep up the good work----confine your posts to    continuing medical education


----------



## ScienceRocks

thank you


*Completely paralyzed man steps out in robotic exoskeleton*

 Colin Jeffrey 
September 2, 2015
 5 PICTURES 



Working with a team of UCLA scientists, a man with protracted and complete paralysis has recovered sufficient voluntary control to take charge of a bionic exoskeleton and take many thousands of steps. Using a non-invasive spinal stimulation system that requires no surgery, this is claimed to be the first time that a person with such a comprehensive disability has been able to actively and voluntarily walk with such a device.


----------



## ScienceRocks

​*Could common diabetes drugs help fight leukemia?*
Common diabetes drugs might help eradicate drug-resistant cancer cells in a certain form of leukemia when added to standard treatment, a small new study suggests.


----------



## irosie91

Matthew said:


> ​*Could common diabetes drugs help fight leukemia?*
> Common diabetes drugs might help eradicate drug-resistant cancer cells in a certain form of leukemia when added to standard treatment, a small new study suggests.



thanks Mathew-----I am a post actos presently non-practioner---but I am impressed----nonetheless-----sorta -----a little


----------



## ScienceRocks

* $100 in supplies can now make tens of thousands CRISPR gene editing units *







> University of California, Berkeley, researchers have discovered a much cheaper and easier way to target a hot new gene editing tool, CRISPR-Cas9, to cut or label DNA. The CRISPR-Cas9 technique, invented three years ago at UC Berkeley, has taken genomics by storm, with its ability to latch on to a very specific sequence of DNA and cut it,...



Think of what we could do with this..Cure cancer, increase intelligence,,,,maybe even change the sex of yourself for our transgender friends.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Discovery of new code makes reprogramming of cancer cells possible*


> *Cancer researchers dream of the day they can force tumor cells to morph back to the normal cells they once were. Now, researchers on Mayo Clinic's Florida campus have discovered a way to potentially reprogram cancer cells back to normalcy.*



http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/08/150824064916.htm


----------



## ScienceRocks

* A Red Flag for a Neurodegenerative Disease That May Be Transmissible *
Animal experiments show how a just-discovered prion triggers a rare Parkinson’s-like disease

By Simon Makin | September 1, 2015


> Scientists claim to have discovered the first new human prion in almost 50 years. Prions are misfolded proteins that make copies of themselves by inducing others to misfold. By so doing, they multiply and cause disease. The resulting illness in this case is multiple system atrophy (MSA), a neurodegenerative disease similar to Parkinson's. The study, published August 31 in _Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences_, adds weight to the idea that many neurodegenerative diseases are caused by prions.



A Red Flag for a Neurodegenerative Disease That May Be Transmissible


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## ScienceRocks

*Nanomesh dressings may draw bacteria from chronic wounds*

 Ben Coxworth 
September 8, 2015
 2 PICTURES 





> We've previously heard about wound dressings that kill bacteria, but now researchers at Britain's Swinburne University of Technology are taking a different approach. They're creating a dressing material that attracts bacteria out from within the wound, so that the material and the microbes can then just be pulled off and discarded.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Could Alzheimer's disease be transferred between patients? http://huff.to/1ifxnN5


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## ScienceRocks

*Patient receives 3D-printed titanium sternum and rib cage*

 Darren Quick 
September 10, 2015
 3 PICTURES 



Following a 3D-printed heel bone, a 3D-printed mouth guard for sleep apnea sufferers and the world's first 3D-printed jet engine, Lab 22 at Australia's CSIRO has added to the growing list of 3D-printed medical implants by designing and printing a replacement titanium sternum and rib cage for a 54-year-old cancer patient.


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## ScienceRocks

* Discovery of cause and potential treatment for muscle weakness and loss due to aging *






Scientists at the University of Iowa have discovered the first example of a protein that causes muscle weakness and loss during aging. The protein, ATF4, is a transcription factor that alters gene expression in skeletal muscle, causing reduction of muscle protein synthesis, strength, and mass. The UI study also identifies two natural compounds,...


----------



## ScienceRocks

*'Lab-on-a-Chip' technology to cut costs of sophisticated tests for diseases and disorders*


> Rutgers engineers have developed a breakthrough device that can significantly reduce the cost of sophisticated lab tests for medical disorders and diseases, such as HIV, Lyme disease and syphilis.



*Resveratrol impacts Alzheimer's disease biomarker*


> The largest nationwide clinical trial to study high-dose resveratrol long-term in people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease found that a biomarker that declines when the disease progresses was stabilized in people ...



*Scientists discover a genetic mechanism for cancer progression*


> Genetics researchers from Case Western Reserve School of Medicine have identified a novel long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), dubbed DACOR1, that has the potential to stymie the growth of tumor cells in the second-most deadly form


----------



## irosie91

Matthew said:


> * A Red Flag for a Neurodegenerative Disease That May Be Transmissible *
> Animal experiments show how a just-discovered prion triggers a rare Parkinson’s-like disease
> 
> By Simon Makin | September 1, 2015
> 
> 
> 
> Scientists claim to have discovered the first new human prion in almost 50 years. Prions are misfolded proteins that make copies of themselves by inducing others to misfold. By so doing, they multiply and cause disease. The resulting illness in this case is multiple system atrophy (MSA), a neurodegenerative disease similar to Parkinson's. The study, published August 31 in _Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences_, adds weight to the idea that many neurodegenerative diseases are caused by prions.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> A Red Flag for a Neurodegenerative Disease That May Be Transmissible
Click to expand...


not exactly news ----matthew---but keep up the good work----CME  beats your political opinions  HANDS DOWN


----------



## ScienceRocks

A lot of this is done because of federal grants and in this case below because of Darpa. So really, my opinion makes sure a whole lot of science is funded. So you can't have all this and not have the funding.
*Revolutionary mechanical hand adds a sense of touch to mind-controlled prostheses*

 Anthony Wood 
September 14, 2015





> A mechanical hand utilizing DARPA-developed neural technologies has become the first to allow a paralyzed patient to feel physical sensations through a prosthesis. The 28 year-old test subject was able to determine which mechanical finger was being touched whilst blindfolded, with total accuracy.





*Molecule made by muscle shown for first time to build bone*


> A recently identified molecule produced by skeletal muscle in response to exercise, has been shown to increase bone mass, according to a collaborative study between researchers at the Mount Sinai Bone Program, Icahn School ...




*New leukemia gene stops blood cells 'growing up'*


> Scientists have identified a gene - FOXC1 - that, if switched on, causes more aggressive cancer in a fifth of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) patients, according to a Cancer Research UK study published in the journal Cancer ...


----------



## ScienceRocks

* First Human head transplant scheduled for December 2017 *





The world’s first head transplant patient has scheduled the procedure for December 2017. Valery Spiridonov, 30, was diagnosed with a genetic muscle-wasting condition called Werdnig-Hoffmann disease, and volunteered for the procedure despite the risks involved. Nextbigfuture has covered the proposed full human body [aka human head transplant]...


----------



## ScienceRocks

Bioengineered collagen patch repairs damaged heart muscles in animals - The Hoops News


> Scientists representing the Stanford University School of Medicine along with their colleagues have discovered a way of regenerating damaged heart muscles by delivering a protein to them by means of a bioengineered patch carrying a protein called Fstl1.
> 
> Pilar Ruiz-Lozano, who teaches pediatrics at Stanford, said that this finding will give birth to a revolutionary treatment. She added that right now there’s not a single effective treatment for reversing heart-attack induced scarring in heart. Ruiz-Lozano is the senior author of the study; the other experts to share the study’s authorship are University of California, San Diego’s postdoctoral scholar Ke Wei and Stanford’s postdoctoral scholar in cardiology Vahid Serpooshan.


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## ScienceRocks

*Targeting gene interactions to kill tumor cells*


> (Medical Xpress)—A particular kind of genetic interaction called synthetic dosage lethality (SDL) is a promising avenue for future cancer treatment, according to a study reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy



​
*Team reports major breakthrough in understanding Alzheimer's disease*


> Scientists at Trinity College Dublin have shed light on a fundamental mechanism underlying the development of Alzheimer's disease, which could lead to new forms of therapy for those living with the condition.



*3-D printed guide helps regrow complex nerves after injury*


> A national team of researchers has developed a first-of-its-kind, 3D-printed guide that helps regrow both the sensory and motor functions of complex nerves after injury. The groundbreaking research has the potential to help


----------



## irosie91

Matthew said:


> *Targeting gene interactions to kill tumor cells*
> 
> 
> 
> (Medical Xpress)—A particular kind of genetic interaction called synthetic dosage lethality (SDL) is a promising avenue for future cancer treatment, according to a study reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ​*Team reports major breakthrough in understanding Alzheimer's disease*
> 
> 
> 
> Scientists at Trinity College Dublin have shed light on a fundamental mechanism underlying the development of Alzheimer's disease, which could lead to new forms of therapy for those living with the condition.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> *3-D printed guide helps regrow complex nerves after injury*
> 
> 
> 
> A national team of researchers has developed a first-of-its-kind, 3D-printed guide that helps regrow both the sensory and motor functions of complex nerves after injury. The groundbreaking research has the potential to help
> 
> Click to expand...
Click to expand...


thanks matthew-----stick to science and medicine-------politics is not your thing


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New technique bodes well for lung transplant success rate*

 Nick Lavars 
September 20, 2015






> Our bodies have developed a particularly unforgiving immune response when a threat is posed to our lungs. This is great for warding off infections and illness, though is something of a double-edged sword regarding transplants, with the recipient's body often perceiving the incoming organ as a threat and seeking to destroy it. But a new approach promises to boost the success rate of such procedures, by both repairing unhealthy donor lungs that wouldn't otherwise make the grade and reducing the chances of rejection once it is implanted.


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## ScienceRocks

*3D-printed guide aids in complex nerve regeneration*

 Colin Jeffrey 
September 21, 2015
 2 PICTURES 



Complex nerve injuries are a challenging problem for the medical fraternity, as their reattachment and regrowth is a fraught and delicate process that is very rarely successful. Overcoming these difficulties, however, would mean that a cure for debilitating conditions like paraplegia, quadriplegia and other forms of paralysis may one day be found. In this vein, US researchers have created the first-ever 3D printed guide specifically designed to assist in the regrowth of the sensory and motor functions of complex nerves.

====
Nanoparticles disguised as blood-cell fragments slip past body's immune defence http://ow.ly/SuNTm


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## ScienceRocks

*Researchers identify possible physiological cause of brain deficits with aging*


> Like scratchy-sounding old radio dials that interfere with reception, circuits in the brain that grow noisier over time may be responsible for ways in which we slow mentally as we grow old, according to the results of new ..




*Researchers grow kidneys and urinary pathways that work in live animals*


> (Medical Xpress)—A team of researchers affiliated with several institutions in Japan has succeeded in growing kidneys from stem cells that worked as they were supposed to after being transplanted into rats and pigs.


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## ScienceRocks

*Liquid crystals show potential for detection of neuro-degenerative disease*


> Liquid crystals are familiar to most of us as the somewhat humdrum stuff used to make computer displays and TVs. Even for scientists, it has not been easy to find other ways of using them.



​
*The hidden evolutionary relationship between pigs and primates revealed by genome-wide study of transposable elements*


> (Phys.org)—In the past, geneticists focused primarily on the evolution of genes in order to trace the relationships between species. More recently, genetic elements called SINEs (short interspersed elements) have emerged ...



*Study links two human brains for question-and-answer experiment*


> Imagine a question-and-answer game played by two people who are not in the same place and not talking to each other. Round after round, one player asks a series of questions and accurately guesses the object the other is ...



*Drug disarms deadly C. difficile bacteria without destroying healthy gut flora*


> Stanford University School of Medicine scientists successfully defeated a dangerous intestinal pathogen, Clostridium difficile, with a drug targeting its toxins rather than its life.



*Researchers isolate human muscle stem cells*


> UC San Francisco researchers have successfully isolated human muscle stem cells and shown that the cells could robustly replicate and repair damaged muscles when grafted onto an injured site. The laboratory finding paves ...


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Paralyzed man uses own brainwaves to walk again – no exoskeleton required*

 Nick Lavars 
September 23, 2015






> A man suffering complete paralysis in both legs has regained the ability to walk again using electrical signals generated by his own brain. Unlike similar efforts that have seen paralyzed subjects walk again by using their own brainwaves to manually control robotic limbs, the researchers say this is the first time a person with complete paralysis in both legs due to spinal cord injury was able to walk again under their own power and demonstrates the potential for noninvasive therapies to restore control over paralyzed limbs.


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## ScienceRocks

*Antidepressants plus blood thinners cause brain cancer cells to eat themselves in mice*
Scientists have been exploring the connection between tricyclic antidepressants and brain cancer since the early 2000s. There's some evidence that the drugs can lower one's risk for developing aggressive glioblastomas, but ...

*'Remote control' of immune cells opens door to safer, more precise cancer therapies*
UC San Francisco researchers have engineered a molecular "on switch" that allows tight control over the actions of T cells, immune system cells that have shown great potential as therapies for cancer. The innovation lays ...

*Vaccination on the horizon for severe viral infection of the brain*
Researchers from the University of Zurich and the University Hospital Zurich reveal possible new treatment methods for a rare, usually fatal brain disease. Thanks to their discovery that specific antibodies play a key role


----------



## ScienceRocks

* New porous hydrogel could boost the success of stem-cell-based tissue regeneration *





Stem cell therapies are often limited by low survival of transplanted stem cells and the lack of precise control over their differentiation into the terminal cell types needed to repair or replace injured tissues. Now, a team led by Wyss Institute Core Faculty member David Mooney, Ph.D., has developed a new strategy – embedding stem cells...


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Hydrogel boosts uptake of stem cells in repairing damaged hearts*

 Nick Lavars 
September 24, 2015




With their ability to help repair damaged muscle, stem cells have shown promise as tools for rebuilding the body's organs, but their potential is yet to be fully realized – especially when it comes to the heart. Part of this is because only a small percentage of stem cells injected actually survive the process, but a newly developed liquid could make life a little easier for freshly transplanted cells. Researchers have found that encapsulating them in a sticky hydrogel gives them the ability to not only survive, but multiply and improve the injured heart's ability to pump blood.


----------



## ScienceRocks

* Different Proteins can be used for CRISPR gene editing which will get around legal issues on CRISPR-Cas9 *






The cutting protein Cas9 can be replaced by a different protein, Cpf1, which Feng Zhang, a researcher at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard says will also work as a versatile editing tool. The background for the Broad announcement is a bruising patent fight with the University of California, Berkeley, over who invented the first CRISPR...


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Whale protein puts researchers on path to developing synthetic blood*

 David Szondy 
September 27, 2015
 2 PICTURES 



Researchers at Rice University have discovered that a protein found in whale meat may hold the key to developing synthetic blood. The protein, called myoglobin, allows marine mammals to remain submerged at great depths for up to two hours and has an ultra-stable structure that could one day allow for the manufacturing of a blood substitute using bacteria as biofactories.

Read More


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## ScienceRocks

*Regular aspirin use found to double survival rates for gastrointestinal cancer patients*

 Nick Lavars 
September 28, 2015




A study involving almost 14,000 cancer patients has linked increased survival rates with regular aspirin use. The research involved sufferers of various forms of gastrointestinal tumors and found that patients who starting to use aspirin after they had been diagnosed doubled their chances of survival.


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## waltky

New sepsis treatment could save millions...

*New Deadly Septic Shock Treatment Could Save Millions*
_ September 28, 2015 - Sepsis is a leading cause of death worldwide. But many people have never heard of it. In the United States, one million people develop sepsis annually, and up to half of them die from it. And in the developing world, it is responsible for up to 80 percent of deaths each year, with women and children hit especially hard._


> Sepsis can be triggered by pneumonia, surgery, even childbirth. Symptoms include fever, increased breathing, and confusion. The body’s defense system goes out of control, causing widespread inflammation, organ failure and septic shock, where blood pressure drops to a dangerously low level.  But now a new, innovative treatment for sepsis may save many lives.
> 
> Scientists at Harvard University’s Wyss Institute are working on a new dialysis system that cleans the blood of poisonous pathogens before they trigger that deadly inflammatory response.  "The current standard of therapy is to give antibiotics and fluids,” said senior scientist, Mike Super. “But what we are talking about here is treatment for sepsis.”  The researchers are filtering blood through a tube with tiny mesh fibers coated with an engineered protein called fcMBL. "They bind to the cell wall of bacteria, of fungi, of many viruses and many parasites and they bind to toxins as well,” Super explained.
> 
> He further described the procedure saying: "We’re coating the inside of the tubes with that protein and we are running the infected blood from the patient through that, through the filter and binding, absorbing, capturing the pathogens that are in that blood, so that the blood that is going back to the patient after the dialysis is cleansed.”  In a trial phase using rats, the dialysis treatment was more than 99 percent effective in filtering out deadly bacteria. The research team anticipates beginning human trials soon, in hopes of saving millions of lives around the world.
> 
> VIDEO


----------



## ScienceRocks

*BioViva USA, Inc. has become the first company to treat a person with gene therapy to reverse biological aging, using a combination of two therapies developed and applied outside the United States of America. Testing and research on these therapies is continuing in BioViva's affiliated labs worldwide. BioViva CEO Elizabeth Parrish announced that the subject is doing well and has resumed regular activities. Preliminary results will be evaluated at 5 and 8 months with full outcome expected at 12 months. The patient will then be monitored every year for 8 years. *

https://www.fightagi...-activation.php


WAHOOOO!!!! Pray for success!


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Tiny particles propel themselves upstream to stop severe internal bleeding*

 Nick Lavars 
October 5, 2015






> Though materials have been developed that clot blood in order to slow bleeding, when the bleeding is internal things get a little more complicated. The flow of blood makes it difficult to deliver these agents upstream to the site of the injury, but now a team of Canadian researchers says it may have a solution. It has developed a micro-sized particle that produces gas to propel itself against the tide.


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## ScienceRocks

*Studies suggest new ways to inhibit oncogenes, enhance tumor-suppressor activity*


> Two new studies by cancer scientists at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC - James) suggest new approaches for treating ..


.


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## ScienceRocks

*Genentech announces favorable results for MS drug ocrelizumab*


> Swiss pharmaceutical company Genentech a member of the Roche Group, has released (at the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis meeting) findings from Phase III clinical trials for its multiple


..


​
*Chemistry nobel DNA research lays foundation for new ways to fight cancer*


> Our cells are up against a daily onslaught of damage to the DNA that encodes our genes. It takes constant effort to keep up with the DNA disrepair – and if our cells didn't bother to try to fix it, we might not survive. ...


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Key to longevity? Blocking over 200 genes boosts lifespan by 60%, study reveals*
*Key to longevity? Blocking over 200 genes boosts lifespan by 60%, study reveals*


> Once a bucket of genes linked to aging is removed, the lifespan of cells increases significantly, American scientists discovered during ten years of meticulous research, stressing that the results could be applied to humans.
> An_ “exhaustive, ten-year effort”_ allowed scientists at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging and the University of Washington to identify some 238 genes which could be targeted to improve human health and possibly extend life spans by 60 percent. The paper was published on Thursday in the journal Cell Metabolism.





> The study was carried out on nearly 4,700 yeast strains, but a series of experiments involving roundworms allowed scientists to say that its results could be applied to humans, as well.
> 
> _“This study looks at aging in the context of the whole genome and gives us a more complete picture of what aging is,”_ said lead author Brian Kennedy, Buck Institute’s president and CEO, in the press release. _“It also sets up a framework to define the entire network that influences aging in this organism.”_
> 
> 
> The researchers had to count yeast cells one by one, tracing the consequences of a single gene deletion with the help of several microscopes. The indication of success was a number of daughter cells produced before a mother cell stopped dividing.
> 
> The most _“stunning”_ gene has turned out to be LOS1, which is in part responsible for building proteins, but also is linked to mTOR, which regulates cell growth, and Gcn4gene, which helps to manage DNA damage. The deletion of this gene was demonstrated to_ “robustly extended lifespan.”_


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Study stops vision loss in late-stage canine X-linked retinitis pigmentosa*


> Three years ago, a team from the University of Pennsylvania announced that they had cured X-linked retinitis pigmentosa, a blinding retinal disease, in dogs. Now they've shown that they can cure the canine disease over the .



*First comprehensive profile of non-protein-coding RNAs in human cancers*


> Growing insights about a significant, yet poorly understood, part of the genome - the "dark matter of DNA"—have fundamentally changed the way scientists approach the study of diseases. The human genome contains about 20,000 ..


..


----------



## ScienceRocks

* One person show Bioviva - tests antiaging gene therapy on herself  *


> Elizabeth Parrish, the 44-year-old CEO of a biotechnology startup called BioViva, says she underwent a gene therapy at an undisclosed location overseas last month, a first step in what she says is a plan to develop treatments for ravages of old age like Alzheimer’s and muscle loss. Parrish says she had received two forms of gene therapy produced under contract with a commercial laboratory, which she did not identify, outside...


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Destructive disease shows potential as a cancer treatment*
*http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/10/151013135548.htm*
Date:
October 13, 2015
Source:
University of British Columbia
Summary:
Scientists have discovered a protein from malaria that could one day help stop cancer in its tracks. This new approach, which halted the growth of various tumours in mice, was based on a discovery made while exploring why pregnant women are particularly susceptible to malaria.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Scientists achieve a breakthrough in finding a general cure for cancer by attaching malaria proteins to cancer cells, which appears effective on 90% of cancer types. Human trials are expected to begin within four years.



http://www.scienceda...51013135546.htm




> Danish scientists from the University of Copenhagen and the University of British Columbia (UBC) face a possible breakthrough in the fight against cancer, which may result in a genuine medical treatment for the dreaded disease. The hunt for a weapon to fight malaria in pregnant women has revealed that, expressed in popular terms, armed malaria proteins can kill cancer. The researchers behind the discovery hope to be able to conduct tests on humans within four years.
> 
> In collaboration with cancer researcher Mads Daugaard from the University of British Columbia in Canada, malaria researcher Professor Ali Salanti from the Faculty of Medical Health and Sciences, UCPH, has revealed that the carbohydrate that the malaria parasite attaches itself to in the placenta in pregnant women is identical to a carbohydrate found in cancer cells.
> 
> In the laboratory, scientists have created the protein hat the malaria parasite uses to adhere to the placenta and added a toxin. This combination of malaria protein and toxin seeks out the cancer cells, is absorbed, the toxin released inside, and then the cancer cells die. This process has been witnessed in cell cultures and in mice with cancer. The discovery has only just been described in an article in the scientific journal _Cancer Cell_.
> 
> In collaboration, the two university research groups have tested thousands of samples from brain tumors to leukemia's and a general picture emerges to indicate that the malaria protein is able attack more than 90% of all types of tumors. The drug has been tested on mice that were implanted with three types of human tumours. With non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, the treated mice's tumours were about a quarter the size of the tumours in the control group. With prostate cancer, the tumours disappeared in two of the six treated mice a month after receiving the first dose. With metastatic bone cancer, five out of six of the treated mice were alive after almost eight weeks, compared to none of the mice in a control group. "We have separated the malaria protein, which attaches itself to the carbohydrate and then added a toxin. By conducting tests on mice, we have been able to show that the combination of protein and toxin kill the cancer cells," Mads Daugaard explains.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists create a pumping artificial heart – using foam*

 Ben Coxworth 
October 16, 2015




Perhaps you sleep on a memory foam mattress. Well, in the future, a similar material could be used to create artificial body parts. Researchers at Cornell University recently used their new "elastomer foam" to build a functioning fluid pump that looks and works like a human heart.


----------



## longknife

*Peppermint rubbed on forehead and back of the neck can help ease migraines* @ The popular candy flavor that may offer migraine relief


----------



## ScienceRocks

* An extra-muscular beagle has been created through myostatin inhibited genome engineering *







> Scientists in China say they are the first to use gene editing to produce customized dogs. They created a beagle with double the amount of muscle mass by deleting a gene called myostatin. The dogs have “more muscles and are expected to have stronger running ability, which is good for hunting, police (military) applications,” Liangxue Lai,...



This is awesome news!!! This shows that we can do great things with gene editing!!!!! We can remove cancer, heart disease, and possibly increase intelligence.

I think it is wonderful.


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## ScienceRocks

* Genetically engineered virus called talimogene laherparepvec (T-VEC) has been approved by the FDA to treat advanced melanoma *





Nature reports that the First cancer-fighting virus has been approved. An engineered herpesvirus that provokes an immune response against cancer has become the first treatment of its kind to be approved for use in the United States, paving the way for a long-awaited class of therapies. On 27 October, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)...


----------



## ScienceRocks

Antiaging protein is the real deal, Harvard team claims



> Back in the 1950s in a weird, vampiric experiment, scientists first showed that connecting the circulatory systems of old and young mice seems to rejuvenate the more elderly animals. A handful of labs have recently been racing to find factors in young blood that may explain this effect. Now, a Harvard University group that claims to have found one such antiaging protein has published a study countering critics who dismissed the work on the molecule as flawed.


----------



## ScienceRocks

* Gene-edited immune cells treat 1-year-old's 'incurable' leukemia *







> A new treatment that uses ‘molecular scissors’ to edit genes and create designer immune cells programmed to hunt out and kill drug resistant leukaemia has been used at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH). The treatment, previously only tested in the laboratory, was used in one-year-old, Layla, who had relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukaemia...


----------



## ScienceRocks

* Eye drops for dissolving cataracts works in dogs and in the lab on human tissue *








> A chemical that could potentially be used in eye drops to reverse cataracts, the leading cause of blindness, has been identified by a team of scientists from UC San Francisco (UCSF), the University of Michigan (U-M), and Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL). Identified as a “priority eye disease” by the World Health Organization, cataracts..


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Ultrasound prises open blood-brain barrier to deliver chemotherapy in a world first*

 Nick Lavars 
November 9, 2015
 7 PICTURES 



The blood-brain barrier is an almost impenetrable membrane that surrounds vessels in the brain and stops harmful particles from entering. The trouble is that it doesn't discriminate, at the same time making it very difficult for beneficial molecules like medication to pass through. But researchers have now non-invasively breached the barrier for the first time in a human subject, delivering chemotherapy drugs to a brain cancer patient with a high level of precision and paving the way for improved treatments and fewer side effects for sufferers of neurological disorders.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Experimental drug targeting Alzheimer's disease shows anti-aging effects

We still have to see how it behaves in humans. My fear is that it may work by overloading the metabolism of the mouse, so that part of the systems of the mouse work in "youth mode" even though that may even be detrimental to the life expectancy of the mouse in the longer term. Like burning the wood of the ship to keep the engines going.

However, the simple fact of considering age as the root cause of a medical condition that has to be treated is a huge step.








> Salk Institute researchers have found that an experimental drug candidate aimed at combating Alzheimer’s disease has a host of unexpected anti-aging effects in animals. The Salk team expanded upon their previous development of a drug candidate, called J147, which takes a different tack by targeting Alzheimer’s major risk factor–old age.
> In the new work, the team showed that the drug candidate worked well in a mouse model of aging not typically used in Alzheimer’s research. When these mice were treated with J147, they had better memory and cognition, healthier blood vessels in the brain and other improved physiological features.
> 
> “Initially, the impetus was to test this drug in a novel animal model that was more similar to 99 percent of Alzheimer's cases,” says Antonio Currais, the lead author and a member of Professor David Schubert’s Cellular Neurobiology Laboratory at Salk. “We did not predict we’d see this sort of anti-aging effect, but J147 made old mice look like they were young, based upon a number of physiological parameters.”
> ....


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## ScienceRocks

*Primordial goo coating to aid in medical procedures*

 Colin Jeffrey 
November 16, 2015
 4 PICTURES 



Prebiotic compounds that promote the growth of microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi, can be traced back billions of years to their origins in the primordial goo – a rich soup of compounds from which all organic life on Earth is theorized to have begun. Now, scientists at Australia's CSIRO have discovered just how good a rich broth of these early molecules may be at improving the acceptance of implanted medical devices in the human body.


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## ScienceRocks

*One-step urine test to simplify diagnosis of hepatitis C*

 Nick Lavars 
November 16, 2015




According to the World Health Organization, somewhere between 130 and 150 million people around the globe suffer from chronic hepatitis C infection. As the virus is usually asymptomatic it can go undetected in its early stages, giving rise to complications such as liver damage and cirrhosis. Screening for the virus is possible, but is neither straightforward nor widely accessible, as it involves taking a blood sample and two separate lab tests. But researchers have now developed a one-step test that can detect hepatitis C using only a urine sample, promising to boost the availability of diagnosis and efforts to curb the virus around the world.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Modulating brain's stress circuity might prevent Alzheimer's disease*
In a novel animal study design that mimicked human clinical trials, researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine report that long-term treatment using a small molecule drug that reduces activity of ...

*Team identifies emergency response system for blood formation*
Scientists at the Children's Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern (CRI) have determined how the body responds during times of emergency when it needs more blood cells. In a study published in Nature, researchers .

*New fat cell metabolism research could lead to new ways to treat diabetes and obesity*
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego report new insights into what nutrients fat cells metabolize to make fatty acids. The findings pave the way for understanding potential irregularities in fat cell metabolism ..


----------



## longknife

*Chemical Compound to Melt Away Cataracts *from This Chemical Compound Could Melt Away Cataracts  | Innovation | Smithsonian



Awesome if it works. I had mine surgically removed .


----------



## ScienceRocks

*RNA blood test detects, classifies and pinpoints location of cancer *

 Chris Wood 
November 17, 2015




In an effort to find an accurate and easy method of detecting and locating cancers, negating the need for invasive cell tissue sampling, researchers from Umeå University in Sweden have developed a new blood test that looks at blood platelets in just a single drop of blood to identify cancer. Results of the method are very promising, with a 96 percent identification accuracy.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Firefighter gets most comprehensive face transplant yet*

 Colin Jeffrey 
November 17, 2015
 3 PICTURES 



In what is being touted as the most complex and complete face transplant ever performed, a crew of medicos at New York University's (NYU) Langone Medical Center has replaced the entire face of 41-year-old Patrick Hardison, a volunteer firefighter who suffered catastrophic burns while on duty in 2001. The team replaced Patrick's scalp, ears and ear canals, parts of bone in the chin and cheeks, and his entire nose. He also received new eyelids and the muscles that control them.


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## ScienceRocks

*Blocking immune cell treats new type of age-related diabetes*
Diabetes is often the result of obesity and poor diet choices, but for some older adults the disease might simply be a consequence of aging. New research has discovered that diabetes—or insulin resistance—in aged, lean ...

-----

*Scientists grow functional vocal cord tissue in the lab*
University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists have succeeded in growing functional vocal cord tissue in the laboratory, a major step toward restoring a voice to people who have lost their vocal cords to cancer surgery or other ...


------

*Novel technology vastly improves CRISPR/Cas9 accuracy*
A new CRISPR/Cas9 technology developed by scientists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School is precise enough to surgically edit DNA at nearly any genomic location, while avoiding potentially harmful off-target ...


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Injectable, intelligent gel targets cancer at the source*

 Nick Lavars 
November 19, 2015




Enlisting the body's naturally produced T cells to fight off cancer is an immunotherapy technique that has shown early promise in clinical trials. But one limitation is that these cells generally lack the firepower to do the job on their own, meaning they need to be modified and reintroduced to the bloodstream to have a real impact. Researchers may now have discovered a more efficient way forward, with the development of a T cell-loaded biogel that can be injected directly into the tumor for a more targeted, less laborious approach to immunotherapy.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Functional vocal cord tissue grown in the lab for first time*

 Chris Wood 
November 23, 2015






> For the first time, scientists have successfully grown vocal cords in the lab, with tests showing the engineered tissue to be functional, with the ability to transmit sound. While the research is just the first step on a long path towards clinical use, the results are very promising, providing a solid basis for future study.


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## ScienceRocks

*Functional human liver cells grown in the lab*
In new research appearing in the prestigious journal Nature Biotechnology, an international research team led by The Hebrew University of Jerusalem describes a new technique for growing human hepatocytes in the laboratory. ...

*New way to use ultrasound allows for imaging live blood vessels with more clarity*
(Medical Xpress)—A team of researchers affiliated with several institutions in France has developed a new way to create live images of blood vessels. In their paper published in the journal Nature, the team describes their ...

*Protein networks help identify new chemo drug candidates*
An experimental chemotherapy kills leukemia cells that are abundant in proteins critical to cancer growth, according to new research from Weill Cornell Medicine.

*Immunotherapy for type 1 diabetes deemed safe in first US trial*
In the first U.S. safety trial of a new form of immunotherapy for type 1 diabetes (T1D), led by UC San Francisco scientists and physicians, patients experienced no serious adverse reactions after receiving infusions of as ...


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## ScienceRocks

*Scientists' identification of essential genes could lead to new cancer treatments*

 Chris Wood 
November 26, 2015




A team of University of Toronto researchers has worked through the human genome, switching off genes in an effort to map out those essential in keeping our cells alive. The scientists were able to identify sets of genes associated with specific cancers, paving the way for highly targeted treatments.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Study discovers how Alzheimer's disease destroys brain cell connections early on*

 Chris Wood 
November 27, 2015




A research team led by scientists from the University of New South Wales in Australia has studied the mechanism by which connections in the brain are destroyed in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. The findings represent another angle of attack in the ongoing battle to find a cure for the widespread degenerative condition.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Testosterone replacement makes Type 2 diabetic men more sensitive to insulin*
Men with Type 2 diabetes who have low testosterone levels can benefit significantly from testosterone treatment.

*A breakdown product of aspirin blocks cell death associated with Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases*
A new study finds that a component of aspirin binds to an enzyme called GAPDH, which is believed to play a major role in neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Pill to help us live to 120: 10p-a-day MIRACLE drug could slow the ageing process



> Clinical trials on older people of cheap drug metformin have been given the green light by The Food and Drug Administration in America.
> 
> The pill's developers hope that it could one day wipe out diseases like Alzheimer's.
> 
> It is hoped that the clinical trials will show that you can slow down the ageing process in humans, making those in their 70s as healthy a 50-year-old.


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## irosie91

Lactic acidosis


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Discovery of an embryonic switch for cancer stem cell generation*


> An international team of scientists, headed by researchers at UC San Diego School of Medicine and UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center, report that decreases in a specific group of proteins trigger changes in the cancer microenvironment that accelerate growth and development of therapy-resistant cancer stem cells (CSCs).



*Oscillating electric field used to remove nanoparticles from blood*

 David Szondy 
November 30, 2015
 3 PICTURES 





> Nanoparticles as a vehicle for delivering drugs precisely where they are needed promise to be a major revolution in medical science. Unfortunately, retrieving those particles from the body for detailed study is a long and involved process. But that may soon change with a team of engineers at the University of California, San Diego developing a technique that uses an oscillating electric field to separate nanoparticles from blood plasma in a way that may one day make it a routine procedure.


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## irosie91

Matthew said:


> *Discovery of an embryonic switch for cancer stem cell generation*
> 
> 
> 
> An international team of scientists, headed by researchers at UC San Diego School of Medicine and UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center, report that decreases in a specific group of proteins trigger changes in the cancer microenvironment that accelerate growth and development of therapy-resistant cancer stem cells (CSCs).
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Oscillating electric field used to remove nanoparticles from blood*
> 
> David Szondy
> November 30, 2015
> 3 PICTURES
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Nanoparticles as a vehicle for delivering drugs precisely where they are needed promise to be a major revolution in medical science. Unfortunately, retrieving those particles from the body for detailed study is a long and involved process. But that may soon change with a team of engineers at the University of California, San Diego developing a technique that uses an oscillating electric field to separate nanoparticles from blood plasma in a way that may one day make it a routine procedure.
> 
> Click to expand...
Click to expand...


an utterly fascinating model.   -------ever try to treat a case of LACTIC ACIDOSIS---
in a diabetic on metformin------matt?


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## ScienceRocks

nope,,,,

*Kinect measures body thickness to lessen radiation exposure from X-rays*

 Nick Lavars 
December 1, 2015
 2 PICTURES 





> The depth-sensing capabilities of the Microsoft's Kinect has seen it put to use in a number of unexpected applications, such as helping Parkinson's sufferers to walk and the visually impaired to practice yoga. Scientists now claim to have expanded the applications for the gaming technology to include a more precise approach to X-ray imaging, which they say can limit exposure to radiation by measuring the thickness of a subject's body parts.



*Japanese exoskeleton could help users walk and run, no batteries required*

 Ben Coxworth 
December 1, 2015
 2 PICTURES 





> Assistive exoskeletons are a bit like electric bikes – they do indeed give users a power boost, but part of that boost is needed just to move the extra weight along. Japanese researchers at Hiroshima University and Daiya Industry Co., however, have created a minimalist exoskeleton that does away with heavy batteries and motors. Instead, their Unplugged Powered Suit (UPS) harnesses the wearer's own weight.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Liquid metal "Nano-Terminators" could mean hasta la vista for cancer*



> Scientists are increasingly turning to nanoparticles in search of new ways to treat cancer. Tiny nanorobots that wade through the bloodstream and microscopic particles that blow up diseased cells are a couple of menacing examples. But none sound quite so ominous as a new technique under development at North Carolina State University (NCSU). Its researchers have designed liquid metal particles they describe as "Nano-Terminators" that latch onto cancer cells to more effectively deliver drugs that kill them off.


----------



## ScienceRocks

MIT, Broad scientists overcome key CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing hurdle 


> Researchers at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT have engineered changes to the revolutionary CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing system that significantly cut down on “off-target” editing errors. The refined technique addresses one of the major technical issues in the use of genome editing.



Great news!


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## ScienceRocks

* $1000 whole genome sequencing with interpretation and analysis *








> Veritas Genetics announced that the company is making it possible for participants in the Personal Genome Project (PGP) to be among the first to get their whole genome sequenced and interpreted for less than a $1,000. Led by Veritas Genetics Co-Founder Dr. George Church, Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School and Director of the...


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## ScienceRocks

* Engineered Protein dramatically cut down on gene editing errors to pave way for human applications *







> Researchers at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT have engineered changes to the revolutionary CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing system that significantly cut down on “off-target” editing errors. The refined technique addresses one of the major technical issues in the use of genome editing. The..



* George Church Aging Reversal Prediction and the costs and capabilities of genetic treatments are nearing levels for effective human treatments *







> The specific prediction made by George Church in regards to antiaging and aging reversal is in the 5 to 10 year timeframe there would be at least one aging reversal drug in clinical trials. This may already be true. What is George Church's opinion of potential antiaging drugs [Metformin and rapaymycin] as compared to the prospective effectness...


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## ScienceRocks

*First-ever ibuprofen patch delivers pain relief right where it's needed*

 Ben Coxworth 
December 8, 2015
 2 PICTURES 





> One problem with orally-administered painkillers is that even though you may just have pain in a particular area, the medication affects your whole body. This both increases the chance of side effects, and limits the effect of the medication on that one area. Now, however, scientists at Britain's University of Warwick have developed a solution – they've created the world's first ibuprofen skin patch.




* Losing a single gram of fat in the pancreas can reverse Type 2 diabetes*

 Chris Wood 
December 8, 2015





> A new study at Newcastle University in the UK has improved our understanding of Type 2 diabetes, providing a new insight into the positive effects that weight loss can have on sufferers. According to the researchers, reversing the condition can be as simple as losing a single gram of fat in the right place.




*MIT scientists develop promising triple helix cancer treatment*

 Chris Wood 
December 8, 2015





> Scientists have created a new method of tackling tumors by combining three strands of microRNA. The gel-based treatment was tested on laboratory mice, with the results showing it to be hugely more effective than existing treatments such as chemotherapy.



*Scientists discover new computerized linguistic approach to detect Alzheimer's disease*


> Researchers have discovered how to diagnose Alzheimer's disease with more than 82 per cent accuracy by evaluating the interplay between four linguistic factors; and developing automated technology to detect these impairments.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Exploding nanobubbles attack cancer cells from the inside out*

 Nick Lavars 
December 8, 2015
 2 PICTURES 





> No cancer treatment is straightforward, but attacking a tumor in the liver is an especially problematic process that normally involves surgery. A new technique may come to offer a less-invasive approach, however, by relying on nanobubbles that sneak cancer-fighting drugs into the tumor and can be popped to release their payload at just the right time.


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## ScienceRocks

* Bandage Signals Infection by Turning Fluorescent *







> Researchers have developed a new kind of wound dressing that could serve as an early-detection system for infections. Bacterial infection is a fairly common and potentially dangerous complication of wound healing, but a new “intelligent” dressing that turns fluorescent green to signal the onset of an infection could provide physicians a...



*Suicide gene therapy kills prostate tumor cells*


> Results from a long-term clinical trial conducted by cancer researchers at Houston Methodist Hospital show that combining radiation treatment with "suicide gene therapy," a technique in which prostate cancer cells are genetically ..


.


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## ScienceRocks

*Antidepressants taken during pregnancy increase risk of autism by 87 percent*

Researchers came to their conclusion after reviewing data from the outcomes of 145,456 pregnancies. 


> Anick Bérard: Using antidepressants, especially selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI), during the 2nd/3rd trimesters of pregnancy increases the risk of having a child with autism (87 percent increased risk of autism with any antidepressants; more than doubling the risk with SSRI use specifically) – this risk is above and beyond the risk associated with maternal depression alone (maternal depression was associated with a 20 percent increased risk of autism in our study). Given the mounting evidence showing increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcome with antidepressant use during pregnancy, our study shows that depression should be treated with other options (other than antidepressants) during this critical period.
> 
> Indeed, 80-85 percent of depressed pregnant women are mildly to moderately depressed; exercise and psychotherapy have been shown to be efficacious to treat depression in this sub-group. Therefore, we acknowledge that depression is a serious condition but that antidepressants are not always the best solution.
> 
> RG: We normally think of the first trimester as being the riskiest time for the fetus, but this study was actually in the second and third trime


sters. Why is the risk greater later in pregnancy?


Snip 

Antidepressants taken during pregnancy increase risk of autism by 87 percent


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists use nanoparticles to attack chronic bacterial infections *

 Chris Wood 
December 18, 2015






> Researchers at Australia's University of New South Wales (UNSW) have come up with a new way of tackling harmful biofilms. The non-toxic method, which combines targeted nanoparticles with heat, could have a wide range of applications.




*New hydrogel aids skin regeneration to improve wound healing*

 Chris Wood 
December 18, 2015






> Healing chronic skin wounds can be difficult, particularly when they span large areas, or when healing is complicated by health problems such as a lack of mobility. A team of researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has worked to improve the process, creating a more effective method of regeneration through use of a new material that creates a porous scaffold, allowing wounds to heal more effectively.




*Engineered fat cells slip through blood-brain barrier to illuminate early-stage tumors*

 Nick Lavars 
December 17, 2015






> Cancerous growths that arise from the supportive tissue of the brain, known as gliomas, account for around 30 percent of all brain tumors and carry an average survival rate of just 14 months. These aggressive tumors are difficult to detect through MRI, largely due to the the protective blood-brain barrier that stops contrast agents from entering and lighting them up. But a new type of engineered fat cell could make them more treatable, by penetrating the barrier and revealing their presence at a much earlier stage of development.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New compound triggers immune response to range of RNA viruses, including Ebola and hep C*

 Nick Lavars 
December 21, 2015
 2 PICTURES 





> Though important advances have been made in treating RNA virus infections such as hepatitis C and influenza, a broad spectrum antiviral drug that throws a blanket over all of them, including more deadly variants like Ebola, has remained out of reach. Scientists are now reporting the discovery of a drug-like molecule that could be used to combat all RNA viruses, by triggering an innate immune response that suppresses and controls the infections.



====
*intelligence 'networks' discovered in brain for the first time*
Scientists from Imperial College London have identified for the first time two clusters of genes linked to human intelligence.
====
​
*Ending chronic pain with new drug therapy*
A brain region controlling whether we feel happy or sad, as well as addiction, is remodeled by chronic pain, reports a new Northwestern Medicine study.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Today, @HillaryClinton unveiled her plan to combat #Alzheimer's. Read it here: 
An End to Alzheimer’s Disease … 






*Factsheets 
An End to Alzheimer’s Disease *

Hillary Clinton’s Plan to Prevent, Effectively Treat and Make a Cure Possible by 2025 

The signature piece of Hillary Clinton’s commitment to target and defeat the diseases of our day is a groundbreaking investment in research to prevent, effectively treat and make possible a cure to Alzheimer’s disease by 2025. She also outlined new measures to support family caregivers and improve caregiving for individuals living with Alzheimer’s, building on the robust caregiving agenda she announced last month. Her proposals, informed by experts in the scientific and caregiving communities, will enable our country to make a cure possible and provide needed relief to millions of Alzheimer’s patients and their families. 

*Background on Alzheimer’s in the United States* 

Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia, primarily impacting older Americans, but also taking a toll on younger Americans who suffer from early-onset Alzheimer’s. As brain cells degenerate, memories and mental function are lost and lives are cut short. 

More than five million Americans suffer from Alzheimer’s. With the median age of the American population rising, the overall number of people suffering from Alzheimer’s is expected to grow nearly threefold to nearly 15 million Americans by 2050. 

Alzheimer’s is the 6th leading cause of death in the United States and is the only cause in the top ten for which we lack the ability to prevent, cure or even slow it. The FDA has not approved a new compound to treat the disease in more than a decade. 

In addition, the disease takes a toll on the millions of family members who care for them, too many of whom have to choose between their work and their caregiving and too many suffer an impact on their emotional and physical health as a result of their responsibilities.............more........

==================

Now this is what I want to see in a candidate!!! If we could cure or prevent such a disease of the mind = tens of billions per year saved. It would be well worth it in the mid to long term.


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## waltky

Predisposition to hernias may be genetic...

*Study reveals genes make people susceptible to hernias*
_Dec. 21, 2015 -- Researchers identified four genes they say predispose some people to abdominal hernias, which may lead to better prevention and treatment methods for the common condition._


> Hernias -- tissue that bulges through an abdominal opening -- occur in 2 percent of men, and can be chronic. About 75,000 surgeries per year are performed to correct the condition.  "Surgical repair of inguinal hernias is one of the most commonly performed operations in the world, yet little is known about the genetic mechanisms that predispose individuals to develop them," said Dr. Eric Jorgenson, a researcher at the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research, in a press release. "These findings provide insight into the origins of hernia development and highlight genetic pathways for studies of its treatment."
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Abdominal hernias are among the most diagnosed conditions and performed surgeries each year in the United States.​
> Researchers at the University of California San Francisco and Kaiser Permanente analyzed genomic data on 72,805 of the managed care company's members in the study, published in Nature Communications. Of the members, 5,295 had hernias and 67,510 did not. These were compared with the genomes of 9,701 people who self-reported hernias, and 82,743 people who did not report them, collected by the company 23AndMe.
> 
> The researchers identified four genes that were expressed by hernia patients, but not in people without hernias. Expression of the genes was then confirmed by the researchers in mouse connective tissue, two of which they report are important for connective tissue maintenance and homeostasis.  "Further research into the precise mechanisms through which these regions act may improve our understanding of hernia formation and point the way to more effective preventative, operative and non-surgical treatments of this common disorder," Jorgenson said.
> 
> Study reveals genes make people susceptible to hernias


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Newly discovered windows of brain plasticity may help stress-related disorders*
Chronic stress can lead to changes in neural circuitry that leave the brain trapped in states of anxiety and depression. But even under repeated stress, brief opportunities for recovery can open up, according to new research ...
---------------------------
​
*Unusual drug generates exciting results in mouse models of metastatic breast cancer*
A doctor treating a patient with a potentially fatal metastatic breast tumor would be very pleased to find, after administering a round of treatment, that the primary tumor had undergone a change in character - from aggressive 
---------------------------

*Simple shell of plant virus sparks immune response against cancer*
The shells of a common plant virus, inhaled into a lung tumor or injected into ovarian, colon or breast tumors, not only triggered the immune system in mice to wipe out the tumors, but provided systemic protection against ...

-------------------------
*Old drugs, new tricks: Medications approved for other uses also have antibiotic action*
A number of drugs already approved to treat parasitic infections, cancers, infertility and other conditions also show promise as antibiotic agents against staph and tuberculosis infections, according to a new study by University ...

---------------------------
*Researchers successfully transplant human stem cells into monkey models with eye disease*
(Medical Xpress)—A team of researchers affiliated with several institutions in Japan is reporting that they have successfully transplanted tissue derived from human embryonic stem cells into monkey models of the eye disease, .


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New calcium phosphate foam could help repair damage due to osteoporoses*


> (Phys.org)—A team of researchers affiliated with several institutions in France has developed a type of injectable foam that may serve as a means for treating osteoporoses and other bone degenerative diseases. The team .



*Genetic ‘intelligence networks’ discovered in the brain*
Could lead to future genetic engineering of superintelligence?
*December 22, 2015*





> Scientists from Imperial College London have identified two clusters (“gene networks”) of genes that are linked to human intelligence. Called M1 and M3, these gene networks appear to influence cognitive function, which includes memory, attention, processing speed and reasoning.
> 
> Importantly, the scientists have discovered that these two networks are likely to be under the control of master regulator switches. The researcher want to identify those switches and… read more



*
 Drug that boosts the brain's 'garbage disposal' slows Alzheimer's in mice *
This molecule helps our brains take out the trash.

PETER DOCKRILL
22 DEC 2015
Drug that boosts the brain's 'garbage disposal' slows Alzheimer's in mice


> The natural removal of toxic proteins that clump together in the brain to cause Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders can be boosted by a drug that increases activity in the brain's 'garbage disposal', according to a new study.
> 
> Neuroscientists at Columbia University Medical Centre (CUMC) say that rolipram, a discontinued medication that was developed for its potential use in treating depression, can boost activity in the brain's proteasome system, which grinds up old proteins so they can be recycled into new ones.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*HIV antibody infusion safely suppresses virus in infected people*


> A single infusion of a powerful antibody called VRC01 can suppress the level of HIV in the blood of infected people who are not taking antiretroviral therapy (ART), scientists at the National Institutes of Health report in ...



*Targeting fat-tissue hormone may lead to type 2 diabetes treatment*


> A new study by researchers from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and colleagues describes the pre-clinical development of a therapeutic that could potentially be used to treat type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, ...



*Positive results for new oral drug for pulmonary hypertension*


> Living with pulmonary arterial hypertension is challenging, but the chore of treating the rare heart disease may change following promising clinical trial data to be published in the Dec. 24 issue of the New England Journal ...




*Bioactive glass may find use in longer-lasting dental fillings*

 Ben Coxworth 
December 23, 2015






> You might think that with today's composite dental fillings, once you get a tooth filled, it's good for life. According to the University of Oregon's Prof. Jamie Kruzic, however, "almost all fillings will eventually fail" – some within as little as six years. That's why he's part of a team that's looking into a longer-lasting filling material: bioactive glass.


----------



## longknife

*Study finds mechanism that causes normal cells to become cancerous*

*





This could be a huge advance in finding a cure for cancer.

“The implications are likely to be much broader than just brain tumors,” said Bradley Bernstein, an institute member at the Broad Institute, Cambridge. Mass., and senior author of the study. He said the finding “changes our fundamental basic science view” of how disruption of the genome can cause cancer.

Read the full article @ Study finds mechanism that causes normal cells to become cancerous | Fox News*


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists prevent, reverse diabetes-related kidney destruction in animal model*


> Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure, and scientists have found that infusing just a small dose of a cytokine, thought to help cause that failure, can instead prevent or reverse it.



*New study opens new door for ALS drug discovery*


> To create treatments for a disease without any, scientists need to study and understand the driving forces behind the faulty biology. Today, researchers at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine announced the ..


----------



## ScienceRocks

* Intelligence 'networks' discovered in brain for the first time *







> Scientists from Imperial College London have identified for the first time two clusters of genes linked to human intelligence. (H/T Futurepundit) Called M1 and M3, these so-called gene networks appear to influence cognitive function – which includes memory, attention, processing speed and reasoning. Crucially, the scientists have discovered...




* New delivery method for microRNA cancer treatment *







> Short strands of RNA known as microRNA help cells to fine-tune their gene expression. Disruption or loss of some microRNAs has been linked to cancer, raising the possibility of treating tumors by adjusting microRNA levels. Developing such treatments requires delivering microRNA to tumors, which has proven difficult. However, researchers...


----------



## ScienceRocks

* Researchers see promising results in treating age-related decline in muscle mass and power *







> A proof-of-concept, phase 2 trial by an international research team has found promising results for a myostatin antibody in treating the decline in muscle mass and power associated with aging. "Myostatin is a natural protein produced within the body that inhibits muscle growth," said Stuart Warden, a member of the research team who is also...




* An alternative TALEN/CRISPR-mediated gene insertion technique*






> A streamlined protocol for an alternative gene insertion method using genome editing technologies, the PITCh (Precise Integration into Target Chromosome) system, has been reported in Nature Protocols by Specially Appointed Lecturer Tetsushi Sakuma, Professor Takashi Yamamoto, Specially Appointed Associate Professor Ken-Ichi T Suzuki, and...


Read more »


​
*ORNL cell-free protein synthesis is potential lifesaver*


> Lives of soldiers and others injured in remote locations could be saved with a cell-free protein synthesis system developed at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*CRISPR treats genetic disorder in adult mammal*


> Researchers have used CRISPR to treat an adult mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. This marks the first time that CRISPR has successfully treated a genetic disease inside a fully developed living mammal with a strategy ..



*Seeing DROSHA for the first time: Lab team gets the first glimpse of elusive protein structure*


> Our bodies are made up of many different types of cells, with each of their identities determined by different gene expression. Cancer and genetic diseases occur when this gene expression goes wrong. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are ...




*Creating safer polio vaccine strains for the post-eradication era*


> While the goal of polio virus eradication is in sight, there are concerns about post-eradication manufacturing and stockpiling vaccine stores containing live virus that could escape and repopulate the environment. A study ...



*Gene-editing technique successfully stops progression of Duchenne muscular dystrophy*


> Using a new gene-editing technique, a team of scientists from UT Southwestern Medical Center stopped progression of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) in young mice.


----------



## longknife

*Science Daily* @ http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/ provides us with:



New acoustic technique reveals structural information in nanoscale materials

Breast cancer detection rate using ultrasound is shown to be comparable to mammography

Two Alzheimer's risk genes linked to brain atrophy, promise future blood markers

Efficacy of major chlamydia drug confirmed

Undiagnosed Diseases Program gives answers where there were none


----------



## Muhammed

longknife said:


> *Science Daily* @ http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/ provides us with:
> 
> 
> 
> New acoustic technique reveals structural information in nanoscale materials
> 
> Breast cancer detection rate using ultrasound is shown to be comparable to mammography
> 
> Two Alzheimer's risk genes linked to brain atrophy, promise future blood markers
> 
> Efficacy of major chlamydia drug confirmed
> 
> Undiagnosed Diseases Program gives answers where there were none


And, meanwhile... medical science has been delayed by a decade or several million or so by global warming alarmists.

Global warming alarmists are assholes.


----------



## longknife

*Methane-guzzling bacteria could feed fish, pets, even people*

Digesting waste gas from garbage dumps could help save the planet, too







_These microbes can feed not just fish but livestock, pets, and even people. Bressler's lab is turning yeast and bacteria into food products like Omega-3s and sweeteners._

Full story @ Mmm ... methane! These microbes love to munch on it


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Powerful protein promotes post-injury regeneration and growth of injured peripheral nerves*


> The peripheral nervous system is a vast network of nerves that exists primarily outside of brain and spinal cord and connects to the far reaches of the body. The very expanse of peripheral nerves makes them highly vulnerable ..



*The brain can be trained to regulate negative emotions, study reports*


> A simple, computer-training task can change the brain's wiring to regulate emotional reactions, according to a recent study published in NeuroImage by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researchers.



*Changes in brain connectivity protect against developing bipolar disorder*


> Naturally occurring changes in brain wiring can help patients at high genetic risk of developing bipolar disorder avert the onset of the illness, according to a new study led by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine ..


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Enzyme that governs sugar metabolism may uncover treatments for obesity and diabetes*

 Nick Lavars 
January 12, 2016



Scientists have uncovered a new enzyme that works to block the adverse effects of sugar on the body. Present in all mammals, the enzyme plays the role of disposing of the unwanted byproducts of heightened glucose levels. In discovering this key step in the metabolism of sugar, the scientists say they have uncovered a new therapeutic target for conditions like type 2 diabetes and obesity, and are now working to develop drugs that boosts its activity.

Read More

====
*Untapped region in brain cell offers goldmine of drug targets for new autism treatments*
UCLA scientists have discovered that an overlooked region in brain cells houses a motherlode of mutated genes previously tied to autism. Recently published in Neuron, the finding could provide fresh drug targets and lead ...

====
*Hitting the 'cellular sweet spot'—new delivery system for regenerative therapies*
One of the main stumbling blocks in regenerative medicine has been the inefficient delivery of targeted treatments to control how cells behave—one way is to regulate the genes inside damaged cells by efficiently delivering ...

=============
*New type of antidepressant found to act quickly in mice*
The compound CGP3466B, already proven nontoxic for people, may effectively and rapidly treat depression, according to results of a study in mice.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Researchers find a small protein that plays a big role in heart muscle contraction*



> Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have identified a previously unrecognized small protein in cells of the human heart that plays a key role in heart muscle contraction. The protein is made from an RNA that was



*Chemists devise powerful new method for modifying drug molecules*



> Chemists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have developed a versatile new technique for making modifications—especially one type of extremely difficult, but much-sought-after modification—to complex drug molecules.



*Flexible film may lead to phone-sized cancer detector*



> A thin, stretchable film that coils light waves like a Slinky could one day lead to more precise, less expensive monitoring for cancer survivors.




*Brain waves could help predict how we respond to general anesthetics*



> The complex pattern of 'chatter' between different areas of an individual's brain while they are awake could help doctors better track and even predict their response to general anaesthesia - and better identify the amount ...




*Scientists use polymer nano-shell treatment to order bones to repair themselves*


 Chris Wood 
January 14, 2016
 2 PICTURES 





> A team of researchers from the University of Michigan has developed a new technique to aid bone repair, using polymer nano-shells to deliver microRNA molecules. The method could one day have a big impact on regenerative medicine, directing cells already present at injury sites to aid healing.




*Gene editing tool proves effective at tackling blindness in rats*


 Chris Wood 
January 14, 2016





> A team of researchers from the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in California has for the first time tested a gene-editing tool on mice with a hereditary degenerative disorder of the retina that routinely leads to blindness. The results of the animal study were positive, paving the way for potential use in humans.




*First genetically-modified human embryos in Britain within weeks which follows 2015 GM embryos in China*







> The first genetically-modified human embryos could be created in Britain within weeks according to the scientists who are about to learn whether their research proposal has been approved by the fertility watchdog. It was believed that scientists in China had already created genetically modified human embryos in early 2015. Although it will...


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Cloaking chemo drugs in cellular bubbles destroys cancer with one fiftieth of a regular dose*


 Nick Lavars 
January 14, 2016





> The chemotherapy drug paclitaxel is commonly used to treat breast, lung and pancreatic cancers, slowing their growth by preventing cancerous cells from replicating. But once administered the drug is attacked by the body's defenses, necessitating larger doses that result in complications such as joint pain, diarrhea and an impaired ability to fend off other infections. Researchers have now discovered a way to sneak the drug through to the tumor with its entire payload intact, a technique that could make for more effective cancer treatments with fewer side effects.



*New particle can track chemo*



> Tracking the path of chemotherapy drugs in real time and at a cellular level could revolutionize cancer care and help doctors sort out why two patients might respond differently to the same treatment.




*Researchers find a small protein that plays a big role in heart muscle contraction*



> Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have identified a previously unrecognized small protein in cells of the human heart that plays a key role in heart muscle contraction. The protein is made from an RNA that was ...


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Researchers kill drug-resistant lung cancer with 50 times less chemo*







> The cancer drug paclitaxel just got more effective. For the first time, researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have packaged it in containers derived from a patient’s own immune system, protecting the drug from being destroyed by the body’s own defenses and bringing the entire payload to the tumor. “That means we...




*Painless electrical zaps may replace dental anesthesia needles *


 Ben Coxworth 
January 18, 2016






> As much as some people fear getting dental fillings or root canals, what many of them are really afraid of is the needle that delivers the anesthetic into the mouth tissue. Even though the skin in the "jabbing area" is usually pretreated with a topical anesthetic, it can still hurt. Before long, however, a shot of electricity could make that topical treatment deep-acting enough that the needle isn't even needed.



*Scientists take steps to make weak TB drugs strong aga*



> *in*
> 
> Biophysicists have discovered why the bacteria that cause tuberculosis (TB) are naturally somewhat resistant to antibiotics known as fluoroquinolones. Their findings, based on mapping the detailed three-dimensional structure .




*Study maps potential route to effective dengue vaccines*



> (Medical Xpress)—The mosquito-borne dengue virus infects up to 390 million people a year. Symptoms of dengue fever include a measles-like rash, fever, body aches and joint pain. In a small subset of cases, the disease develops ...


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Light-activated nanoparticles prove effective against antibiotic-resistant “superbugs”*

January 18, 2016


> In the ever-escalating evolutionary battle with drug-resistant bacteria, humans may soon have a leg up thanks to adaptive, light-activated nanotherapy developed by researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder.
> Antibiotic-resistant bacteria such as Salmonella, E. Coli and Staphylococcus infect some 2 million people and kill at least 23,000 people in the United States each year. Efforts to thwart these so-called “superbugs” have consistently fallen short due to the bacteria’s ability to rapidly adapt and develop immunity to common antibiotics such as penicillin.
> New research from CU-Boulder, however, suggests that the solution to this big global problem might be to think small—very small.


- See more at: Light-activated nanoparticles prove effective against antibiotic-resistant “superbugs”


*Scientists Invent Injectable Foam That Can Repair and Regrow Degenerating Bones*​


> Calcium phosphate cements (CPC) have long been available for repairing bone problems caused by disease or accidents; however, recently published research reveals that French scientists just dramatically enhanced CPC by developing a remarkable new injectable bone foam that not only repairs bone damage but also allows bone formation.
> Pierre Weiss, from the University of Nantes, leads the research team in developing a type of CPC that is both self-setting and macroporous. In other words, the team has created a foaming agent that creates air bubbles in the CPC mixture. This is necessary because, if injectable cements don’t have cavities larger than 50 nanometers, it makes it difficult to do things like treat bone degeneration or strengthen cancellous bone—a porous, flexible tissue that gets progressively weaker with osteoporosis.​



*Disrupting cell's supply chain freezes cancer virus*



> When the cancer-causing Epstein-Barr virus moves into a B-cell of the human immune system, it tricks the cell into rapidly making more copies of itself, each of which will carry the virus.




*Immune booster drugs meant to kill tumors found to improve Alzheimer's symptoms in mice*



> (MedicalXpress)—A team of researchers working at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel has found that a type of drug meant to help the immune system kill tumors also reduces Alzheimer's type symptoms in mouse models. ...



*Protein 'handbrake' halts leukaemia in its tracks*



> Melbourne researchers have showed that they can stop leukaemia in its tracks by targeting a protein that puts the handbrake on cancer cell growth.




----

Science is fucking awesome! 100 years ago there were diseases that killed so many people that everyone had to have 4-5 kids each in order for a few of them to survive. The more we learn and advance = the less suffering. Science and tech is well worth doing and fuck the nay sayers that want to become cave men.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Blocking key protein puts the brakes on leukaemia*


 Nick Lavars 
January 24, 2016






> Our body has controls in place to regulate how cells grow and divide, which is a particularly useful mechanism in preventing the spread of disease. But when it comes to acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), an aggressive form of blood cancer, these controls are neutralized, giving the cancer cells free rein to multiply and grow uncontrollably. Australian researchers have now discovered a protein that drives this process, and have shown that by blocking its activity they might be able to stop the deadly form of cancer in its tracks.


----------



## longknife

*Bandages made of CRAB SHELLS could help wounds heal faster: Mineral taken from crustaceans absorbs liquid and kills bacteria*

The high-tech alchite dressing is believed to be a world first
Its key ingredient is a mineral called chitosan found in crustacean shells
The mineral is known for healing properties and its ability to kill b

Read more: Bandages made from CRAB SHELLS could soon help wounds heal faster


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Epilepsy drug could protect nerves from damage in multiple sclerosis*



> An epilepsy drug could lead to a new treatment that protects nerve damage in MS patients, according to research published in the Lancet Neurology.



*New pen-sized microscope could ID cancer cells in doctor's offices and operating rooms*



> Surgeons removing a malignant brain tumor don't want to leave cancerous material behind. But they're also trying to protect healthy brain matter and minimize neurological harm.



*Scientists synthesize nanoparticles that can deliver tumor suppressors to damaged livers*



> UT Southwestern Medical Center chemists have successfully used synthetic nanoparticles to deliver tumor-suppressing therapies to diseased livers with cancer, an important hurdle scientists have been struggling to conquer.



*No more insulin injections? Encapsulated pancreatic cells offer possible new diabetes treatment*



> In patients suffering from Type 1 diabetes, the immune system attacks the pancreas, eventually leaving patients without the ability to naturally control blood sugar. These patients must carefully monitor the amount of sugar ..


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Nanoparticles used to take on late-stage liver cancer*


 Chris Wood 
January 26, 2016






> Treating late-stage liver cancer can be extremely difficult, with drugs that prove effective in healthy organs causing high levels of toxicity when introduced to cirrhotic livers. A newly-developed nanoparticle delivery system could improve the situation, with early tests showing it to be effective as a non-toxic treatment in experiments with laboratory mice.



*Flexible pressure sensor could boost breast cancer screening*


 Chris Wood 
January 26, 2016
 2 PICTURES 





> Pressure sensors in use today are fairly capable, being sufficiently flexible to adhere to uneven surfaces like human skin. However, once they're twisted more significantly, they're unable to accurately keep track of pressure changes. Now, researchers from the University of Tokyo have come up with a much more versatile option, creating a new sensor that's thinner than its rivals, and that can continue to sense pressure even when curved over a tiny radius.




*New blood pressure tech says ciao to arm cuffs*


 Ben Coxworth 
January 26, 2016






> Generally, if a doctor wants to know a patient's blood pressure, they have to place a cuff around the person's arm and inflate it. Not only can this be uncomfortable for the patient, but it also only indicates what their blood pressure is at the time that the test is performed. That's why scientists at Australia's Monash University are developing an alternative – a cuffless blood pressure estimation system that is worn for hours at a time, wirelessly transmitting real-time readings.


----------



## ScienceRocks

New algorithm points the way towards regrowing limbs and organs

http://www.scienceal...es&limitstart=1



> "Mogrify acts like a 'world atlas' for the cell and allows us to map out new territories in cell conversions in humans," said one of the team, Owen Rackham from the Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore. "One of the first clinical applications that we hope to achieve with this innovative approach would be to reprogramme 'defective' cells from patients into 'functioning' healthy cells, without the intermediate induced pluripotent stem cells step."
> 
> "These then can be re-implanted into patients, and should, in practice, effectively enable new regenerative medicine techniques," he added.
> Mogrify draws on a database of over 300 human cell and tissue types and is able to "predict the optimal set of cellular factors required for any given cell conversion", in the words of its creators. It's applying big data and computer processing to solve the manual work that Yamanaka had previously pioneered.
> 
> *In the two theoretical trials carried out so far, the algorithm was able to correctly predict the correct human cell conversion calculation at the first time of asking.*
> 
> *Our understanding of pluripotent cells is expanding quickly: the difficulty for scientists is in getting them to grow in the way they want, which is a problem Mogrify aims to solve. The code has been made available to other researchers and scientists and should become even more accurate over time as more data is fed into it, with team member Enrico Petretto from Duke-NUS describing it as a "game-changing" development.*


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New handheld, pen-sized microscope could ID cancer cells in doctor’s offices and operating rooms*

New handheld, pen-sized microscope could ID cancer cells in doctor’s offices and operating rooms  |  UW Today
Jennifer Langston
News and Information


> Surgeons removing a malignant brain tumor don’t want to leave cancerous material behind. But they’re also trying to protect healthy brain matter and minimize neurological harm.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*'Cancer cells simply melt away': Miracle drug amazes Australian researchers after lengthy trials *
'Cancer cells simply melt away': Miracle drug amazes Australian researchers after lengthy trials


> Cancer patients are finally catching a break, as Australian researchers have tested a miracle drug that leads to big improvement in a majority of cases, and total recovery in some. The drug targets a specific protein that helps cancer cells survive.
> The Melbourne-based trial took place over four years and tested 116 patients. It was shown by researchers at the Royal Melbourne Hospital and Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre that the drug Venetoclax can greatly reduce cancer blood cells.
> 
> Positive results were seen in 79 percent of cases involving patients suffering from chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Some patients who had previously undergone treatment were left as good as new after agreeing to the new pill trials.
> 
> This is indeed historic news, as it marks the first trial of a medicine that is the result of three decades of research. _"Here we are a bit under 30 years later in collaboration with WEHI and pharmaceutical companies here and in the US having proved that's achievable,"_ head of haemotology, Professor John Seymour, told the Sydney Morning Herald.




*DNA analysis may provide early warning of breast cancer*

 Chris Wood 
January 29, 2016






> It could be possible to look for molecular alternations in breast tissue to identify whether a patient is at risk of developing breast cancer, a new study has found. Scientists at University College London (UCL) looked at changes in patient DNA, finding clear evidence that epigenetic alterations play a part in the occurrence of the disease.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists Produce the Most Realistic Lab-Grown Liver Tissue Yet*
*Scientists Produce the Most Realistic Lab-Grown Liver Tissue Yet*
_ Diet Doctor _
*In Brief*


> The demand for organ replacements is high, with millions of patients in need all over the world. Now, scientists have successfully produced the most realistic liver tissues ever created - bringing new hope to many lives.
> 
> For many patients, waiting for an organ to become available for transplant is painstakingly long process, and it comes with a torrent of mixed emotions. Once an organ has become available, there is still the chance of the patient’s body rejecting the new organ. To that end, it would be a great benefit if we could grow individual’s organs using their own cells.
> 
> Over the years, scientists have dedicated an enormous amount of time and resources to growing human organs in labs. However, human organs are incredibly complex, and the developments have been incremental.
> 
> That said, scientists have made progress in duplicating organs like the liver, heart, vocal cords, and kidneys.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Proton beam cancer therapy 'effective with fewer side effects'*
By Dominic Howell BBC News
Proton beam cancer therapy 'effective with fewer side effects' - BBC News


> A cancer treatment at the centre of an NHS controversy in 2014 causes fewer side effects in children than conventional radiotherapy, according to new research.
> 
> The study, published in The Lancet Oncology, suggests proton beam therapy is as effective as other treatments.
> 
> Researchers looked at 59 patients aged between three and 21 from 2003 to 2009.
> 
> In 2014 the parents of Ashya King took him out of hospital in Hampshire to get the treatment abroad.
> 
> Their actions led to a police operation to find them.




Nice to see a lot of successful cancer cure research!!!


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Researchers extend lifespan by as much as 35 percent in mice*
* February 3, 2016 *



Credit: martha sexton/public domain
Researchers at Mayo Clinic have shown that senescent cells - cells that no longer divide and accumulate with age - negatively impact health and shorten lifespan by as much as 35 percent in normal mice. The results, which appear today in _Nature_, demonstrate that clearance of senescent cells delays tumor formation, preserves tissue and organ.

*Hepatitis virus-like particles as potential cancer treatment*
UC Davis researchers have developed a way to use the empty shell of a Hepatitis E virus to carry vaccines or drugs into the body. The technique has been tested in rodents as a way to target breast cancer, and is available ...


----------



## the_human_being

What stands out to me is the frequent usage of the words "may" and "could".


----------



## ScienceRocks

the_human_being said:


> What stands out to me is the frequent usage of the words "may" and "could".




Well, science is a ever evolving door that needs more research to figure out those mays and coulds. But I'll say that we will never know if we don't try.


----------



## the_human_being

Matthew said:


> the_human_being said:
> 
> 
> 
> What stands out to me is the frequent usage of the words "may" and "could".
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Well, science is a ever evolving door that needs more research to figure out those mays and coulds. But I'll say that we will never know if we don't try.
Click to expand...


One would think by now that they could determine whether coffee and eggs are good or bad for one's consumption though wouldn't one?


----------



## longknife

the_human_being said:


> Matthew said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> the_human_being said:
> 
> 
> 
> What stands out to me is the frequent usage of the words "may" and "could".
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Well, science is a ever evolving door that needs more research to figure out those mays and coulds. But I'll say that we will never know if we don't try.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> One would think by now that they could determine whether coffee and eggs are good or bad for one's consumption though wouldn't one?
Click to expand...


One has to understand that the vast majority of "scientific studies" are done under government subsidies. That means a constant flood of applications for $$$$$ to support another study designed to refute a previous government subsidized study of the same subject.


----------



## ScienceRocks

longknife said:


> the_human_being said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Matthew said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> the_human_being said:
> 
> 
> 
> What stands out to me is the frequent usage of the words "may" and "could".
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Well, science is a ever evolving door that needs more research to figure out those mays and coulds. But I'll say that we will never know if we don't try.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> One would think by now that they could determine whether coffee and eggs are good or bad for one's consumption though wouldn't one?
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> One has to understand that the vast majority of "scientific studies" are done under government subsidies. That means a constant flood of applications for $$$$$ to support another study designed to refute a previous government subsidized study of the same subject.
Click to expand...



Most of the science in this thread wouldn't be real or possible without it. It is far more worth it then the 15 year war we've lost.


----------



## longknife

*Scientists Connect Neurons in the Lab for the First Time*







This could be the first major step in repairing all sorts of injuries and curing a wide variety of neurological disorders.


More @ Scientists Connect Neurons in the Lab for the First Time - D-brief


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New cryopreservation procedure wins Brain Preservation Prize*
*New cryopreservation procedure wins Brain Preservation Prize | KurzweilAI*
First preservation of the connectome demonstrated in a whole brain
*February 9, 2016*




(Left): Control rabbit brain, showing neuropil near the CA1 band in the hippocampus. (Right): Vitrified rabbit brain, same location. Synapses, vesicles, and microfilaments are clear. The myelinated axon shows excellent preservation. (credit: Robert L. McIntyre and Gregory M. Fahy/Cryobiology)


> The Brain Preservation Foundation (BPF) has announced that a team at 21st Century Medicine led by Robert McIntyre, PhD., has won the Small Mammal Brain Preservation Prize, which carries an award of $26,735.
> 
> The Small Mammalian Brain Preservation Prize was awarded after the determination that the protocol developed by McIntyre, termed Aldehyde-Stabilized Cryopreservation, was able to preserve an entire rabbit brain with well-preserved ultrastructure, including cell membranes, synapses, and intracellular structures such as synaptic vesicles (full protocol here).
> 
> The judges for the prize were Kenneth Hayworth, PhD., Brain Preservation Foundation President and neuroscientist at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute; and Prof.Sebastian Seung, PhD., Princeton Neuroscience Institute and Computer Science Department.




*Scientists identify a memory suppressor that may play a role in autism*


> Discovered only in the 1990s, microRNAs are short molecules that work within virtually all cells. Typically, each one functions as a "dimmer switch" for the expression of one or more genes, regulating a wide variety of cellular .




*Odoreader accurately detects prostate cancer from urine*

 Chris Wood 
February 11, 2016





> Standard prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tests for prostate cancer are far from ideal, sometimes resulting in unnecessary biopsies, and even failing to detect some cancers altogether. With the goal of developing a more capable alternative, a team of researchers has turned to a machine it calls the Odoreader, which is designed to analyze urine samples to provide a non-invasive prostate cancer test.



Yet, some people in this thread thinks medical science is worthless? lol,,,curing cancer would save our economy hundreds of billions of dollars and would help make fixing healthcare so much more easier...But, hell, lets not spend a dime on making it reality.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Physics of Brain Folding*


*http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/2016/feb/05/physics-of-brain-folding-recreated-in-the-lab*


> The distinctive folds of the human brain are the result of mechanical compression caused by growth during development, according to an international team of scientists.  Using a 3D-printed gel model of the brain, the researchers have now shown that forces generated during expansion can create the brain's wrinkled shape. This mechanical model was first proposed in 1975, but it has been difficult to test.




M3 Biotechnology raises $10M for drugs that “can regrow brain cells”


> Seattle-based M3 Biotechnology just closed out an oversubscribed $10 million Series Afor its regenerative medicine company that has broad claims: It purports its small molecule drugs “can regrow brain cells” – reversing diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
> 
> Funding will move the company towards clinical trials for its lead compound, MM-201 – an oral drug that works as a growth factor to spur an increase in neuronal connections.



*Researchers identify 'neurostatin' that may reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease*


> Researchers have identified a drug that targets the first step in the toxic chain reaction leading to the death of brain cells, suggesting that treatments could be developed to protect against Alzheimer's disease, in a similar ..


.

*Researchers create 'mini-brains' in lab to study neurological diseases*


> Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health say they have developed tiny "mini-brains" made up of many of the neurons and cells of the human brain—and even some of its functionality—and which can ...



*New nanotechnology detects biomarkers of cancer*


> Researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center have developed a new technology to detect disease biomarkers in the form of nucleic acids, the building blocks of all living organisms.



*Scientists use laser to "weld" neurons together*

 Ben Coxworth 
February 12, 2016






> Whether it's as a research tool or a step in repairing severed nerves, the ability to join neurons together has some serious applications. If left to occur naturally, the process takes several hours, limiting its practicality. Now, however, scientists at the University of Alberta's Faculty of Engineering have developed a method of doing so within 15 milliseconds.



* Rabbit brain defrosted from cryopreservation without damage *







> A mammal brain has been defrosted from cryogenic storage in an almost perfect state for the first time. This breakthrough, accomplished using a rabbit brain, brings us one – albeit tiny – step closer to the prospect of reanimating a human brain that has been cryogenically preserved. After death, organs begin to decay, but we can delay this...


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## ScienceRocks

*Doctors 3D-print 'living' body parts*

16 February 2016




> Custom-made, living body parts have been 3D-printed in a significant advance for regenerative medicine, say scientists.
> 
> The sections of bone, muscle and cartilage all functioned normally when implanted into animals.
> 
> The breakthrough, published in Nature Biotechnology, raises the hope of using living tissues to repair the body.
> 
> Experts described the technology, developed in the US, as a "goose that really does lay golden eggs".
> 
> The idea of placing individual human cells in a precise pattern to replace a damaged jaw, missing ear or scarred heart muscle holds much promise.
> 
> But the field has been limited by the huge challenge of keeping the cells alive - they become starved of oxygen and nutrients in tissues thicker than 0.2 millimetres.





http://www.bbc.co.uk...health-35581454

*Researchers report possible therapeutic approach to fatty liver disease*


> (Medical Xpress)—Steatosis is a condition in which the body fails to properly synthesize or eliminate triglyceride fat, causing abnormal retention of lipids inside cells. Steatohepatitis, then, is liver disease characterized ..



*Scientists prove feasibility of 'printing' replacement tissue*


> Using a sophisticated, custom-designed 3D printer, regenerative medicine scientists at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center have proved that it is feasible to print living tissue structures to replace injured or diseased tissue ...



*Solved protein structure holds key to much-needed therapies for metabolic disorder*


> Phenylketonuria, also known as PKU, is the most common inherited disease affecting amino acid metabolism. Children are tested for PKU at birth, and babies diagnosed with the disease must adhere to a highly restricted diet ...



*Electrical engineers develop device to diagnose cancer rapidly at the cellular level, improve early detection*


> The key to fighting cancer in many cases is early detection, and earlier detection at the cellular level could mean survival for many cancer patients.


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## ScienceRocks

Scientists report "unprecedented" success using T-cells to treat cancer
"This is really a revolution."
Scientists report "unprecedented" success using T-cells to treat cancer
FIONA MACDONALD
15 FEB 2016


> An international team of researchers has seen "extraordinary" results using patients' own immune cells to fight cancer. In one trial, 94 percent of patients with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia saw their symptoms disappear entirely.
> 
> For patients with other types of blood cancer, response rates have been above 80 percent, and more than half have experienced complete remission, cancer researchers reported at the American Association for the Advancement for Science conference over the weekend.



*Mind-controlled prosthetic allows movement of individual fingers*

 Nick Lavars 
February 17, 2016
 2 PICTURES 





> Using the mind to control prosthetic limbs is a bold idea that is slowly becoming a reality, thanks to several important advances in neuroscience and robotics in the last couple of years. Now a team of researchers is claiming another significant breakthrough in this area, building a prosthetic arm whose individual fingers can be controlled via the mind, right down to the pinkie.



Hell, stupid fuck do you still think all these things are worthless and your worthless wars need more money. FUCK YOU@@@@


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## longknife

*Treat Osteoporosis with the Agave Plant?*






Amazing how scientists continually discover how the “old” treatments might actually have some medicinal value to them.

_A Mexican scientist has identified substances from the tequila plant that enhance absorption of calcium in the body._

Well, it turns out making tequila is not the only thing this plant is good for. Read more @ https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/04/160409091805.htm


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## longknife

*Chinese Skullcap Plant May Make anti-Cancer Compounds*






And here is yet another “traditional” cure with possibilities.

_New research led by Professor Cathie Martin of the John Innes Centre has revealed how a plant used in traditional Chinese medicine produces compounds which may help to treat cancer and liver diseases._

Read more @ https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/04/160408163722.htm


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## jon_berzerk

longknife said:


> *Treat Osteoporosis with the Agave Plant?*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Amazing how scientists continually discover how the “old” treatments might actually have some medicinal value to them.
> 
> _A Mexican scientist has identified substances from the tequila plant that enhance absorption of calcium in the body._
> 
> Well, it turns out making tequila is not the only thing this plant is good for. Read more @ https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/04/160409091805.htm




it has also been established that the plant has value 

in delivering certain medications to the  colon 

to treat such diseases as Crohns -irritable bowl syndrome and colon cancers


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