Latest advances in medical research thread

[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.

 

[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 ...

 

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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.

 

[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.

 

[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]

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.)

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.

 

[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

 

[Toddsterpatriot]

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

Scientists Amplify Intelligence Of Mice

If only they could do the same for liberals.........

 

[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

Scientists Amplify Intelligence Of Mice

If only they could do the same for liberals.........

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]

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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

 

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'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