]Nearly 200 Monterey County elementary, middle and high school students will participate in the Student Polar Research Symposium Friday, Feb. 24, 2017 at the CSUMB University Center Ballroom.
Researchers at SUNY Downstate recently discovered that an inhibitory brain receptor triggers synaptic pruning in adolescence. Drugs that selectively target these receptors, when administered during adolescence, can alter synapse number, with possible implications for the treatment of autism and schizophrenia.
In 2013, Mass. Eye and Ear researchers restored partial hearing to mice by regenerating hair cells — tiny, sound-sensing cells in the ear, which are lost through noise damage, age, etc., and do not regenerate on their own — by converting stem cells found in the ear into hair cells. However, the success of restoring hearing through this approach was limited by the small number of cells that could be turned into hair cells. In a new study in Cell Reports, a research team from Mass. Eye and Ear, Brigham and Women's Hospital and MIT has shown that they can augment the number of those cells, and then convert that large population into hair cells, lending hope that full hearing can be restored to those with hearing loss due to damaged hair cells.
With a new $3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute investigators are moving closer to their goal of developing a biological pacemaker that can treat patients afflicted with slow heartbeats. The novel, minimally-invasive gene therapy turns patients’ normal heart cells into pacemaker cells that regulate heart function – potentially replacing electronic pacemakers one day.
Men with prostate cancer can receive shorter courses of radiation therapy than what is currently considered standard, according to Justin Bekelman, MD, an associate professor of Radiation Oncology, Medical Ethics, and Health Policy at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine and Abramson Cancer Center.
Johns Hopkins researchers say that in early pregnancy in mice with complete immune systems, Zika virus can cross the placenta – intended to protect the developing fetus – and appears to lead to a high percentage of miscarriages and to babies born with thin brain tissue and inflammation in brain cells.
A tiny snail may offer an alternative to opioids for pain relief. Scientists at the University of Utah have found a compound that blocks pain by targeting a pathway not associated with opioids. Research in rodents indicates that the benefits continue long after the compound have cleared the body.
Some people can pass a hearing test but have trouble understanding speech in a noisy environment. New research identifies a new mechanism for this condition just years after its discovery.
Adult stem cells collected directly from human fat are more stable than other cells – such as fibroblasts from the skin – and have the potential for use in anti-aging treatments, according to researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. They made the discovery after developing a new model to study chronological aging of these cells.
A new study led by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) has found that lower levels of vitamin D in the blood increase the risk of clinical relapse in patients with Ulcerative Colitis (UC), an inflammatory bowel disease that causes long-lasting inflammation and ulcers in the colon. The study was published in the February issue of the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
A unique study recently published in the authoritative Pediatric Nephrology medical journal shows that excess lipoproteins and fatty acids may be associated with the development of painful and often chronic kidney stones in children.
For the first time, NIH-funded researchers have used stem cells to grow intestinal tissues with a functioning nervous system. The advance creates new opportunities for studying intestinal diseases, nutritional health, and diabetes. It also brings researchers one step closer to growing patient-specific human intestines for transplant.
Vizier, software under development by a University at Buffalo-led research team, aims to proactively catch big data errors. The project, backed by a $2.7 million National Science Foundation grant, launched in January. Like Excel, Vizier will allow users to explore, clean, curate and visualize data in meaningful ways, as well as spot errors and offer solutions. But unlike spreadsheet software, Vizier is intended for much larger datasets; i.e., millions or billions of data points.
A new study from researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center identifies a protein in that microenvironment that promotes the spread of breast cancer cells. It’s part of a well-known family of receptors for which promising inhibitors are being developed.
A new test using peripheral vision reaction time could lead to earlier diagnosis and more effective treatment of mild traumatic brain injury, often referred to as a concussion.
When is an internal combustion engine not an internal combustion engine? When it’s been transformed into a modular reforming reactor that could make hydrogen available to power fuel cells wherever there’s a natural gas supply available.
Babies born at just 22 to 24 weeks of pregnancy continue to have sobering outlooks -- only about 1 in 3 survive. But according to a new study led by Duke Health and appearing Feb. 16 in the New England Journal of Medicine, those rates are showing small but measurable improvement. Compared to extremely preterm babies born a decade earlier, the study found a larger percentage are developing into toddlers without signs of moderate or severe cognitive and motor delay.
Mary Elizabeth Hartnett, MD, and colleagues at the John A. Moran Center and Department of Pediatrics at the University of Utah and Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, were looking for a way to tease apart the effects of preeclampsia on the risk of developing retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), an eye disease found in premature infants. Their results, and the model they developed, were published February 14, 2017, in Scientific Reports.
Research published today in Nature from scientists at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah shows how epithelial cells naturally turn over, maintaining constant numbers between cell division and cell death.
In a study recently published online in the journal Molecular Metabolism, Chakraborty and his colleagues have shown that deleting the gene for this protein, known as IP6K1, protects animal models from both obesity and diabetes.
Biologists have known for decades that enduring a short period of mild stress makes simple organisms and human cells better able to survive additional stress later in life. Now, scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP) have found that a cellular process called autophagy is critically involved in providing the benefits of temporary stress. The study, published today in Nature Communications, creates new avenues to pursue treatments for neurological disorders such as Huntington’s disease.
FINDINGS In the transmission of HIV-1 from mother to child only a subset of a mother’s viruses infects their infants either in utero or via breastfeeding, and the viruses that are transmitted depend on whether transmission occurs during pregnancy or through breastfeeding, according to UCLA-led research. BACKGROUND Mother-to-child transmission of human immunodeficiency virus type1 poses a serious health threat in developing countries, and more effective interventions are needed.
Pinkeye isn’t a medical emergency. Neither is a puffy eyelid. But a new study finds that nearly one in four people who seek emergency care for eye problems have those mild conditions, and recommends ways to help those patients get the right level of care.
The first successful randomized trial of its kind provides preliminary evidence that telephone-based smoking cessation counseling given to smokers shortly after undergoing lung cancer screening can be effective at helping people stop smoking.
Joslin Diabetes Center will take part in two clinical trials this year to test artificial pancreas systems designed to automatically monitor and regulate blood glucose levels in people with type 1 diabetes, which would replace traditional methods of managing the disease such as testing blood glucose levels by finger stick or using continuous glucose monitoring systems with separate, non-integrated delivery of insulin by either injections or a pump.
Researchers have projected that aggressively lowering blood pressure could help prevent more than 100,000 deaths in the U.S. each year. Experts from the University of Utah and institutions across the country built upon the landmark Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial which found that decreasing blood pressure to 120 mmHg compared to 140 mmHg reduced heart attack, stroke and death in people that were at high risk. Until now, the number of lives that could be saved was unknown.
Scientists have discovered a new “mastermind fusion gene” may be associated with a rare cancer-causing tumor – pheochromocytomas (“pheo”) and paragangliomas, according to a study published Feb. 13 in Cancer Cell, by researchers at the Uniformed Services University (USU) and the National Cancer Institutes’ The Cancer Genome Atlas. This breakthrough discovery could lead to more precise treatment as well as a better understanding of cancer itself.
Researchers have developed a non-invasive imaging technique that accurately detects skin cancer without surgical biopsy. Multiphoton microscopy of mitochondria accurately identified melanomas and basal cell carcinomas by detecting abnormal clusters of mitochondria in both types of skin cancer.
Casting one of the largest genomic nets to date for the rare tumors of the autonomic nervous system known as pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma (PCC/PGL) captured several new mutations driving the disease that could serve as potential drug targets, researchers from Penn Medicine and other institutions reported this week in Cancer Cell.
Researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York have discovered that a protein called Importin-11 protects the anti-cancer protein PTEN from destruction by transporting it into the cell nucleus. The study, “The nuclear transport receptor Importin-11 is a tumor suppressor that maintains PTEN protein,” which will be published online February 13 in The Journal of Cell Biology, suggests that the loss of Importin-11 may destabilize PTEN, leading to the development of lung, prostate, and other cancers.
The loss of motor function and mental acuity associated with Huntington’s disease might be treatable by restoring a cellular quality control process, which Duke Health researchers have identified as a key factor in the degenerative illness.
New research has identified a previously unknown mechanism involved in the immune response of lupus patients that could provide an alternative therapy target for the estimated 1.5 million Americans and five million-plus people worldwide suffering from this disease.
Most of us take turning the lights on for granted. In reality, the energy we draw from the electrical grid to brighten homes, freeze food and watch TV is part of a complicated and widespread system. Understanding that system's vulnerabilities and reliability is a crucial step towards improving its security.
Michigan Medicine researchers employ novel technology to monitor vulnerabilities for cardiovascular events, aid in diagnosis and treatment
Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered a cell in the retina that may cause myopia when it dysfunctions. The dysfunction may be linked to the amount of time a child spends indoors and away from natural light.
California State University, Los Angeles and its partners the Biocom Institute and the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) have been awarded an i6 Challenge grant of nearly $500,000 to fund LABioStart, a boot camp to train emerging bioscience entrepreneurs in the region and prepare them to launch bioscience startup companies.
Rearranging the genome is a risky endeavor, and human cells reserve it for special occasions, like making egg and sperm cells.
Boston Children’s Hospital researchers have uncovered a new molecular pathway that inhibits the myelination of neurons in the brains of patients with the rare genetic disorder tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC). The study, “Neuronal CTGF/CCN2 negatively regulates myelination in a mouse model of tuberous sclerosis complex,” which will be published online February 9 in The Journal of Experimental Medicine, suggests new ways to treat some of the neurological symptoms associated with TSC, including autism and epilepsy.
Research led by scientists at UC San Francisco and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine has used brain “organoids” — tiny 3D models of human organs that scientists grow in a dish to study disease — to identify root causes of Miller-Dieker Syndrome (MDS), a rare genetic disorder that causes fatal brain malformations
The rise of MRSA infections is limiting the treatment options for physicians and surgeons. Now, an international team of researchers, led by Elizabeth Loboa, dean of the University of Missouri College of Engineering, has used silver ion-coated scaffolds, or biomaterials that are created to hold stem cells, which slow the spread of or kill MRSA while regenerating new bone. Scientists feel that the biodegradable and biocompatible scaffolds could be the first step in the fight against MRSA in patients.
The University of Chicago Medicine has been awarded a $2.4 million, five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop a system of wireless brain implants that might restore partial vision to people who have lost their sight.
Genetic variations may be one of the important factors that influence breast cancer survivors' responses to the inflammatory processes and vulnerability to lymphedema.
In what is believed to be the first study of its kind, researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center’s Institute for Reproductive Health (IRH) announced today the launch of a year-long study to measure the efficacy of a new app, Dot™, for avoiding unintended pregnancy as compared to efficacy rates of other family planning methods.
Physicians at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center report they have successfully treated 16 patients with a rare and lethal form of bone marrow failure called severe aplastic anemia using partially matched bone marrow transplants followed by two high doses of a common chemotherapy drug.
Clinical trials are now enrolling to provide the final tests for a University of Virginia-developed artificial pancreas to automatically monitor and regulate blood-sugar levels in people with Type 1 diabetes. Participants in the trials will live at home and follow their regular routines to examine how well the device works in real-life settings.
Research led by scientists at UC San Francisco and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine has used brain “organoids” — tiny 3D models of human organs that scientists grow in a dish to study disease — to identify root causes of Miller-Dieker Syndrome (MDS), a rare genetic disorder that causes fatal brain malformations.
Leading neuroscientists have clarified the role of a controversial immune system protein in Alzheimer’s disease, showing it has opposing effects in early and late stages of the disease. Their discovery unites previous studies that left researchers conflicted and showed the protein both exacerbates and ameliorates disease symptoms. The updated model of disease progression, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, also highlights the need to align certain therapies with disease stages when treating the 1 in 9 Americans over 65 living with Alzheimer’s.
Using a Bose-Einstein condensate composed of millions of sodium atoms, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have observed a sharp magnetically-induced quantum phase transition where they expect to find entangled atomic pairs. The work moves scientists closer to an elusive entangled state that would have potential sensing and computing applications beyond its basic science interests.
Of the more than 700,000 Americans who suffer a heart attack each year, about a quarter go on to develop heart failure. Scientists don’t fully understand how one condition leads to the other, but researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have now discovered a significant clue—which ultimately could lead new therapies for preventing the condition.
A federal law aimed at requiring equal insurance benefits for both physical and mental health care has increased the use of services by children with autism spectrum disorder without increasing the out-of-pocket costs to their families, new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health-led research suggests.
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