الأربعاء، 19 فبراير 2014

ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

Single chip device to provide real-time 3-D images from inside the heart, blood vessels

Posted: 18 Feb 2014 07:00 AM PST

Researchers have developed the technology for a catheter-based device that would provide forward-looking, real-time, three-dimensional imaging from inside the heart, coronary arteries and peripheral blood vessels.

It’s alive! Bacteria-filled liquid crystals could improve biosensing

Posted: 17 Feb 2014 05:07 PM PST

Plop living, swimming bacteria into a novel water-based, nontoxic liquid crystal and a new physics takes over. The dynamic interaction of the bacteria with the liquid crystal creates a novel form of soft matter: living liquid crystal. This new type of active material holds promise for improving the early detection of diseases.

Deep TCR sequencing reveals extensive renewal of the T cell repertoire following autologous stem cell transplant in MS

Posted: 17 Feb 2014 09:16 AM PST

A new study describes the complexity of the new T cell repertoire following immune-depleting therapy to treat multiple sclerosis, improving our understanding of immune tolerance and clinical outcomes.

Water samples taken from the Upper Ganges River shed light on the spread of potential 'superbugs'

Posted: 17 Feb 2014 05:56 AM PST

Experts reveal the spread of antibiotic-resistance to one of the most pristine locations in Asia is linked to the annual human pilgrimages to the region.  The research team are now calling on governments around the world to recognize the importance of clean drinking water in our fight against antibiotic resistance.

Hormone released after exercise can 'predict' biological age

Posted: 17 Feb 2014 05:56 AM PST

Scientists have discovered a potential molecular link between Irisin, a recently identified hormone released from muscle after bouts of exercise, and the aging process. Irisin, which is naturally present in humans, is capable of reprograming the body's fat cells to burn energy instead of storing it. This increases the metabolic rate and is thought to have potential anti-obesity effects. The finding provides a potential molecular link between keeping active and healthy aging with those having higher Irisin levels more 'biological young' than those with lower levels of the hormone.

HIV drug used to reverse effects of virus that causes cervical cancer

Posted: 17 Feb 2014 05:52 AM PST

A commonly-used HIV drug has been shown to kill off the human papilloma virus (HPV) that leads to cervical cancer in a world-first clinical trial. Researchers examined Kenyan women diagnosed with HPV positive early stage cervical cancer who were treated with the antiviral HIV drug lopinavir in Kenya. The results showed a high proportion of women diagnosed with HPV positive high-grade disease returned to normal following a short course of the new treatment.

Chemist gets U.S. patent for solution to antibiotic resistance problem

Posted: 17 Feb 2014 05:52 AM PST

A chemist in Copenhagen has just taken out a patent for a drug that can make previously multidrug-resistant bacteria once again responsive to antibiotics.

Small non-coding RNAs could be warning signs of cancer

Posted: 17 Feb 2014 05:52 AM PST

Small non-coding RNAs can be used to predict if individuals have breast cancer conclude researchers who contribute to The Cancer Genome Atlas project. The results indicate that differences in the levels of specific types of non-coding RNAs can be used to distinguish between cancerous and non-cancerous tissues. These RNAs can also be used to classify cancer patients into subgroups of individuals that have different survival outcomes.

Bacterial superbug protein structure solved

Posted: 17 Feb 2014 05:48 AM PST

Scientists have deciphered the 3-D structure of a protein that confers antibiotic resistance from one of the most worrisome disease agents: a strain of bacteria called methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), which can cause skin and other infections. The team's findings may be an important step in combating the MRSA public health threat over the next 5 to 10 years.

Uncovering the secrets of tularemia, 'rabbit fever'

Posted: 17 Feb 2014 05:48 AM PST

Tularemia, aka "rabbit fever," is endemic in the northeastern United States, and is considered to be a significant risk to biosecurity -- much like anthrax or smallpox -- because it has already been weaponized in various regions of the world. Biologists are working to uncover the secrets of the bacterium Francisella tularensis, which causes tularemia.

Vitamin D provides relief for those with chronic hives, study shows

Posted: 17 Feb 2014 05:48 AM PST

Vitamin D as an add-on therapy could provide some relief for chronic hives, a condition with no cure and few treatment options, new research indicates. An allergic skin condition, chronic hives create red, itchy welts on the skin and sometimes swelling. They can occur daily and last longer than six weeks, even years. The two-year study looked at the role of over-the-counter vitamin D3 as a supplemental treatment for chronic hives. Over 12 weeks, 38 study participants daily took a triple-drug combination of allergy medications (one prescription and two over-the-counter drugs) and vitamin D3. Researchers found after just one week, the severity of patients' symptoms decreased by 33 percent. For patients that took a stronger dose of vitamin D3, a further 40 percent decrease in severity of their hives was noted.

Potential options for attacking stem cells in triple-negative breast cancer

Posted: 17 Feb 2014 05:48 AM PST

A protein that fuels an inflammatory pathway does not turn off in breast cancer, new research shows, resulting in an increase in cancer stem cells. This provides a potential target for treating triple negative breast cancer, the most aggressive form of the disease. The researchers identified a protein that is highly expressed in normal cells but undetectable in triple-negative breast cancer. They showed that this protein is degraded in cancers, blocking the cellular off-switch of a feedback loop involving an inflammatory protein. When the switch does not get turned off, it enables cancer stem cells to grow.

Epigenetic regulation required to ensure correct number of chromosomes

Posted: 16 Feb 2014 12:17 PM PST

Abnormal number of chromosomes is often associated with cancer development. Researchers have shown that a subtle epigenetic change plays an important role in the correct segregation of chromosomes. Normally when a cell divides, the chromosomes are segregated equally to two daughter cells. However, tumor cells frequently have either too few or too many chromosomes, leading to the incorrect expression of a number of genes. When a cell is about to divide, the cell division machinery takes hold of chromosomes by the centromere so that they may be pulled apart and one copy of each given to the daughter cells.

First large-scale study of stock market volatility, mental disorders

Posted: 13 Feb 2014 07:03 PM PST

Falling stock prices lead to increased hospitalizations for mental disorders, according to new research. Researchers assessed the relationship between stock price movements and mental disorders using data on daily hospitalizations for mental disorders in Taiwan over 4,000 days between 1998 and 2009. They found that a 1000-point fall in the Taiwan Stock Exchange Capitalisation Weighted Stock Index (TAIEX) coincided with a 4.71% daily increase in hospitalizations for mental disorders.
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