Curated News: Grant Funded News

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The dust that coats much of the surface of Mars originates largely from a single thousand-kilometer-long geological formation near the Red Planet’s equator,

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A group of scientists at Texas Biomedical Research Institute have zeroed in on a new defense against HIV-1, the virus that causes AIDS. Led by Ruth Ruprecht, M.D., Ph.D., the team used an animal model to show for the first time that an antibody called Immunoglobulin M (IgM) was effective in preventing infection after mucosal AIDS virus exposure.

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Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Science in Japan have discovered how antibodies secreted in the gut promote the growth of beneficial bacteria. Their study, which will be published July 24 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, shows that immunoglobulin A (IgA) antibodies can alter the expression of bacterial genes, allowing different bacterial species to cooperate with each other and form a community that can protect the body from disease.

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Lesbian, gay, bisexual and questioning youth are more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes, be obese and engage in less physical activity and more sedentary activities than heterosexual youth, a new Northwestern Medicine study has found.

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Researchers have developed magnetic elastomeric composites that move in different ways when exposed to light, raising the possibility that these materials could enable a wide range of products that perform simple to complex movements, from tiny engines and valves to solar arrays that bend toward the sunlight.

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New Scripps Research study offers guidance for more effective Ebola vaccines

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Nature freely puts together microscopic building blocks. To mimic this self-assembly would revolutionize science’s approach to synthesizing materials that could heal, contract or reconfigure. UC San Diego and NYU scientists explored this mimicry and introduced a new way to assemble specially designed microscopic blocks into small gear-like machines.

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Using advanced fabrication techniques, engineers at the University of California San Diego have built a nanosized device out of silver crystals that can generate light by efficiently “tunneling” electrons through a tiny barrier. The work brings plasmonics research a step closer to realizing ultra-compact light sources for high-speed, optical data processing and other on-chip applications.

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A new study led by researchers at the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center finds many breast cancer patients are concerned about the financial impact of their diagnosis and treatment, and that they feel their doctor’s offices are not helping with these concerns.

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When a mutation for mitochondrial dysfunction is induced in a mouse model, the mouse develops wrinkled skin and extensive hair loss in a matter of weeks. This is reversed to normal appearance when mitochondrial function is restored by turning off the gene responsible for mitochondrial dysfunction.

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A drug currently in clinical trials for treating symptoms of Parkinson’s disease may someday have value for treating heart failure, according to results of early animal studies by Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers.

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Medical researchers have identified a key signaling protein that regulates hemoglobin production in red blood cells, offering a possible target for a future innovative drug to treat sickle cell disease. Tests in human cells reveal that blocking the protein reduces the characteristic sickling that distorts the shape of red blood cells and gives the disease its name.

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Shape Memory Medical recently announced FDA clearance for U.S. marketing of their IMPEDE Embolization Plug, a technology funded by NIBIB and created to block irregular blood vessels.

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With more than $2 million from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, a team at GW led by Chiara Manzini, PhD, will study the CC2D1A gene and its role in the development of autism in males versus females.

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Postmenopausal factors may have an impact on the heart-protective qualities of high-density lipoproteins (HDL) – also known as ‘good cholesterol.’ The findings bring into question the current use of total HDL cholesterol to predict heart disease risk.

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Scientists at Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center (DF/BWCC) have identified biomarkers in melanoma that could help tailor immunotherapy treatments to maximize the benefits for patients while reducing the likelihood of severe side effects.

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Engineers at the University of California San Diego have shed new light on a scientific mystery regarding the atomic-level mechanism of the sulfur embrittlement of nickel, a classic problem that has puzzled the scientific community for nearly a century. The discovery also enriches fundamental understanding of general grain boundaries that often control the mechanical and physical properties of polycrystalline materials.

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With the help of a $1.54 million grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health, a research team from Wayne State University will establish a targeted approach to sustain cardiac function during an energetic crisis and heart failure.

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"Dynamics and Control of Long Range Micro Air Vehicles Inspired by Monarch Butterflies" receives NSF grant.

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A Johns Hopkins Medicine analysis of information gathered for an ongoing and federally sponsored study of aging and disability adds to evidence that a substantial majority of older adults with probable dementia in the United States have never been professionally diagnosed or are unaware they have been.

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A new delivery system for bacteriophages—viruses that selectively attack harmful bacteria—could help give doctors a new way to battle lung infections that threaten older patients and people with cystic fibrosis.

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New research led by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis indicates an investigational therapy for an inherited form of ALS extends survival and reverses signs of neuromuscular damage in mice and rats. The findings, published July 16 in The Journal of Clinical Investigation, have led to a phase one/two clinical trial to investigate whether the drug could benefit people with ALS whose disease is caused by mutations in a gene called SOD1.

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A team at Washington University in St. Louis has created a bacteria that uses photosynthesis to create oxygen during the day, and at night, uses nitrogen to create chlorophyll for photosynthesis. This development could lead to plants that do the same, eliminating the use of some — or possibly all — man-made fertilizer, which has a high environmental cost.

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An international consortium of labs tested nine different methods for RNA sequencing to understand and standardize the best methods for sequencing small RNAs. The goal was to create a process that could be reproduced from one lab to the next to further the field of liquid biopsies.

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Scientists have long known that RNA encodes instructions to make proteins. The building blocks that comprise RNA—A, U, C, and Gs—form a blueprint for the protein-making machinery in cells. In a new study published in Nature, scientists describe how the protein-making machinery identifies alternative initiation sites from which to start protein synthesis.

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Dr. Melinda Sheffield-Moore, professor and head of the Department of Health and Kinesiology, along with researchers at University of Texas Medical Branch, recently published research showing that the hormone testosterone is effective at combatting cachexia in cancer patients and improving quality of life.

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An international team of scientists has found the first evidence of a source of high-energy cosmic neutrinos, subatomic particles that can emerge from their sources and, like cosmological ghosts, pass through the universe unscathed, traveling for billions of light years from the most extreme environments in the universe to Earth.

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New research has uncovered a protein enabling the replication of arenaviruses, lethal pathogens spreading in West Africa. The research identified DDX3 as a key factor through its unexpected ability to dismantle normal human immune system defenses. The study may pave the way to new therapeutic treatments for arenaviruses and hemorrhagic fever.

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Supplementing a single protein found in the spinal cord could help prevent symptoms of Lou Gehrig’s disease, according to a new study out of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Researchers found high levels of the protein—called mitofusion 2 or Mfn2—prevented nerve degeneration, muscle atrophy, and paralysis in a mouse model of the disease. Since Mfn2 is often depleted during Lou Gehrig’s, the new study suggests supplementing it could be a novel therapeutic approach for the disease.

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In areas of the country disproportionately affected by the opioid crisis, treatment programs are less likely to accept patients paying through insurance of any type or accept pregnant women, a new Vanderbilt study found.

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In a “proof of concept” study, scientists at Johns Hopkins Medicine say they have successfully delivered nano-size packets of genetic code called microRNAs to treat human brain tumors implanted in mice. The contents of the super-small containers were designed to target cancer stem cells, a kind of cellular “seed” that produces countless progeny and is a relentless barrier to ridding the brain of malignant cells.

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Advanced algorithms working from large chemical databases can predict a new chemical’s toxicity better than standard animal tests, suggests a study led by scientists at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

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Researchers discovered an unexpected twist in the battle versus tumors. Researchers have found that some tumor cells display not only a weapon, but also a brake, essentially becoming a neutralizing function. The unexpected mechanism could help determine whether a cancer patient will respond to immunotherapy.

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The bacteria that cause tuberculosis are able to escape destruction and grow after they are engulfed by lung macrophages. Now researchers have described key biochemical steps between the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis and the macrophage responsible for that ability.

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Johns Hopkins researchers have found that the cellular “garbage disposal,” known to scientists as proteasomes, may not only be responsible for the removal of cellular waste, but actually work on some of the most important proteins to neuronal development.

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People with multiple sclerosis (MS) can find an abundance of conflicting advice suggesting that special diets will ease their symptoms. But the evidence is scanty. Laura Piccio, MD, an associate professor of neurology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has launched a trial to evaluate whether drastically cutting calories twice a week can change the body’s immune environment and the gut microbiome, and potentially change the course of the disease.

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A team led by the University of California San Diego has developed a chip that can detect a type of genetic mutation known as a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and wirelessly send the results in real time to an electronic device. The chip is at least 1,000 times more sensitive at detecting an SNP than current technology. The advance could lead to cheaper, faster and portable biosensors for early detection of genetic markers for diseases such as cancer.

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Researchers used brain imaging to gauge how the hand, foot and lips are represented in the brains of 2-month-olds – a much younger age than has been studied previously. It is believed to be the first to reveal the greater neurological activity associated with the lips than with other body parts represented in the infant brain. It also indicates how soon infants’ brains begin to make sense of their bodies, a first step toward other developmental milestones.

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A poorly understood mutation in the brain cancer glioblastoma (GBM) is now being implicated for the first time as the driver of rare but deadlier cases of the disease, a team of researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research reported this week in Cancer Cell.

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In a new study, published July 6 in The Lancet, a team of researchers led by Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center's Dan H. Barouch, MD, PhD, in collaboration with Janssen Vaccines & Prevention and other partners, evaluated a series of preventative HIV vaccine regimens in uninfected human volunteers in five countries. In a similarly designed study, Barouch and colleagues tested the same vaccine for its ability to protect rhesus monkeys challenged with an HIV-like virus from infection. The findings showed the vaccines induced robust and comparable immune responses in humans and monkeys and protected monkeys against acquisition of infection.

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Researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center have found that consuming a broth rich in umami—or savory taste—can cause subtle changes in the brain that promote healthy eating behaviors and food choices, especially in women at risk of obesity.

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Research reveals motivations and rewards of citizen scientists

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New research uncovers how a sticky protein called fibronectin promotes the activity of estrogen in breast cancer cells. The study, “Fibronectin rescues estrogen receptor α from lysosomal degradation in breast cancer cells,” will be published July 6 in the Journal of Cell Biology (JCB).

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A “smart” bandage is designed to monitor the condition of chronic wounds and deliver drug treatments to improve chances of healing. While the bandages remain to be assessed in a clinical context, the research is aimed at transforming bandaging from a passive to an active treatment paradigm.

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NIBIB-funded researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have created an ingestible sensor to non-invasively monitor indicators of disease in the stomach and intestines.

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Nearly all major neurodegenerative diseases are defined by the presence of one of four proteins that have gone rogue. As such, investigational drugs aimed at preventing or slowing the disease often hone in on just one of these proteins. However, targeting multiple proteins at once may be the real key, according to a recent Penn Medicine study.

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Researchers have found that cancer stem cells exist in more than one state and can change form, sliding back and forth between a dormant state and a rapidly growing state. The cell's metabolism controls this change, suggesting a possible way in to attack the stem cells.

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A new study finds surgeon attitudes about genetic testing have a big impact on whether women receive testing after a breast cancer diagnosis.

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Brain activity is driven by encounters with external stimuli and situations, simultaneously occurring with internal mental processes. A team of researchers from Stanford University, with funding from the NIH BRAIN Initiative, has discovered how the brain dynamically handles cognitive tasks while it also is engaged in internal mental processes.

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Therapist- and computer-led alcohol interventions held in the emergency department also can reduce teenage dating violence perpetration and depression symptoms, a new study finds.