New finding could accelerate research to regenerate damaged tissue New finding could accelerate research to regenerate damaged tissue NEW YORK, September 18, 2014 - Scientists at NYU Langone Medical Center have found a way to boost dramatically the efficiency of the process for turning adult cells into so-called pluripotent stem cells by combining three well-known compounds, including vitamin C.
The precision with which people make decisions can be predicted by measuring pupil size before they are presented with any information about the decision, according to a new study published in PLOS Computational Biology this week.
Investigators from the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer (IRIC) at the Université de Montréal have just published, in the prestigious magazine Science, the announcement of the discovery of a new molecule, the first of its kind, which allows for the multiplication of stem cells in a unit of cord blood. Umbilical cord stem cells are used for transplants aimed at curing a number of blood-related diseases, including leukemia, myeloma and lymphoma. For many patients this therapy comprises a treatment of last resort.
Research could help eventual treatment of degenerative muscle and brain diseases Research could help eventual treatment of degenerative muscle and brain diseases Our genetic information is stored in DNA, tiny strands of nucleic acid that contain instructions for the functioning of our bodies.
Inadequate distribution along axons, spinal cord appears to have a part in illnesses Inadequate distribution along axons, spinal cord appears to have a part in illnesses A new study by researchers at the University of Utah School of Medicine sheds light on a longstanding question about the role of mitochondria in debilitating and fatal motor neuron diseases and resulted in a new mouse model to study such illnesses.
While talk of the United Nation’s Climate Change Summit, being held this Tuesday Sept. 23 in New York City, is spreading across social media, the skeptics appear in large numbers. Though Southern Californians may have changed their minds with the recent heat waves in the 100’s, many individuals are on the fence regarding conflicting reports of the greenhouse gas effect and climate change due to fossil fuel emissions. Looking to the unusual heat and searching for evidence of a changing global climate, researchers and politicians have turned to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for answers.
In a chilling third year of unprecedented polar conditions, Antarctica’s sea ice levels are expected to reach new records this month as cold airs and unabating winds have frozen ocean water into more than 7.6 million square miles of Antarctic sea ice this southern winter, according to a new report from the Antarctic National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC). But while sea ice levels rise in the south, the northern summer has proven a warm one, with record-breaking sea ice loss in the Arctic at the other end of the spectrum.
As more than 120 world leaders and thousands of environmentalists descend on the Big Apple next week, New York will become the epicenter for the discussion on climate change, which will be spearheaded by the United Nations (UN). In collaboration with several environmental groups, international leaders and celebrities from the world over, the United Nations will be hosts to several events that will surround the annual ministerial meeting of the U.N. General Assembly. Here’s what you need to know!
Cellular therapeutics – using intact cells to treat and cure disease – is a hugely promising new approach in medicine but it is hindered by the inability of doctors and scientists to effectively track the movements, destination and persistence of these cells in patients without resorting to invasive procedures, like tissue sampling.
Study represents first comprehensive look at adult-only family meal patterns Study represents first comprehensive look at adult-only family meal patterns COLUMBUS, Ohio - Couples and other adult family members living without minors in the house are just as likely as adults living with young children or adolescents to eat family meals at home on most days of the week, new research suggests.
Japanese researchers showed monkeys a number of images representing various glosses and then they measured the responses of 39 neurons by using microelectrodes. They found that a specific population of neurons changed the intensities of the responses linearly according to either the contrast-of-highlight, sharpness-of-highlight, or brightness of the object. This shows that these 3 perceptual parameters are used as parameters when the brain recognizes a variety of glosses. They also found that different parameters are represented by different populations of neurons. This was published in the Journal of Neuroscience (September 4, 2014 issue).
An ultrasensitive biosensor made from the wonder material graphene has been used to detect molecules that indicate an increased risk of developing cancer.
Membrane proteins and large protein complexes are notoriously difficult to study with X-ray crystallography, not least because they are often very difficult, if not impossible, to crystallize, but also because their very nature means they are highly flexible. The result is that when a structure can be obtained it is often of low resolution, ambiguous and reveals a mosaic-like spread of protein domains that sometimes create more puzzles than they solve. [Schröder, Levitt & Brunger. (2014), Acta Cryst. D70, 2241-2255; doi: 10.1107/S1399004714016496 ]
PHILADELPHIA — More than half of human cancers have abnormally upregulated chemical signals related to lipid metabolism, yet how these signals are controlled during tumor formation is not fully understood.
Well politicians and the rest of the masses may be surprised, because it appears the largely infallible statisticians have revealed a chink in their armor: the world population estimates. With the possibilities of famine and disease, aside from the random acts of mankind, human population estimates are values calculated with a menagerie of variables. But with the ever-changing landscape of the planet Earth, and the growing populations of nearly every nation, it turns out that the Earth can expect a few billion more guests before humanity comes to its peak.
With the annual ministerial meeting of the United Nations General Assembly merely days away, eyes and ears around the world are looking for answers about issues related to the global climate crisis and the sustainability of our existence. And while we typically find a separation between the ministerial powers of faith and those of government, it appears the environmental movement may have allies in high places; perhaps as high as the heavens.
It’s been well-documented that massive galaxies often turn to extremes when star production ceases in their bounds of space. Turning their sights on consumption versus production, these super galaxies begin chowing down on nearby galaxies instead, pulling their growing solar systems into their own gravitational pull for themselves.
Study after study has proven it true: exercise is good for you. But new research from University of Pennsylvania scientists suggests that exercise may have an added benefit for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.
New research into the Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV), a tick-borne virus which causes a severe hemorrhagic disease in humans similar to that caused by Ebolavirus, has identified new cellular factors essential for CCHFV infection. This discovery has the potential to lead to novel targets for therapeutic interventions against the pathogen.
For years, neuroscientists have been trying to develop tools that would allow them to clearly view the brain's circuitry in action—from the first moment a neuron fires to the resulting behavior in a whole organism. To get this complete picture, neuroscientists are working to develop a range of new tools to study the brain. Researchers at Caltech have developed one such tool that provides a new way of mapping neural networks in a living organism. - See more at: http://www.caltech.edu/content/sensing-neuronal-activity-light#sthash.VE4xLVwO.dpuf
DURHAM, N.C. – Dangerous new pathogens such as the Ebola virus invoke scary scenarios of deadly epidemics, but even ancient scourges such as the bubonic plague are still providing researchers with new insights on how the body responds to infections.
For decades, researchers have tried to develop broadly effective vaccines to prevent the spread of illnesses such as HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis. While limited progress has been made along these lines, there are still no licensed vaccinations available that can protect most people from these devastating diseases. - See more at: http://www.caltech.edu/content/new-way-prevent-spread-devastating-diseases#sthash.VsDN2DWt.dpuf
New Rochelle, NY, September 18, 2014–An Emergency Room Decision-Support (ERDS) program can significantly reduce ER visits and hospital admissions among older adults on Medicare. This could have important economic implications, helping to reduce the nearly 33% of avoidable ER visits that contribute to about $18 billion in unnecessary healthcare costs each year. Details of a successful ERDS program that had a positive return on investment are published in an article in Population Health Management, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Population Health Management website until October 18, 2014.
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Individuals living in disadvantaged neighborhoods have worse musculoskeletal pain outcomes over time after stressful events such as motor vehicle collision than individuals from higher socioeconomic status neighborhoods, even after accounting for individual characteristics such as age, sex, income, education, and employment status.
Gestational age is not the only factor that influences survival Gestational age is not the only factor that influences survival A new study analyses the survival rates in Spain of newborns with a gestational age under 26 weeks.
Breast cancer experts around the world have issued a plea to researchers, academics, drug companies, funders and advocates to carry out high quality research and clinical trials for advanced breast cancer, a disease which is almost always fatal and for which there are many unanswered questions.
Taking daily supplements of selenium and/or vitamin E appears to have no significant effect on the development of age-related cataracts in men, writes Author William G. Christen, Sc.D., of Brigham & Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, and colleagues.
A key step in understanding the nature of the fight for superiority between mutated genes and normal genes could lead to new therapies to combat leukaemia, say researchers from the University of Birmingham and Newcastle University.
