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11-Mar-2018 12:00 PM EDT
Riding the (Quantum Magnetic) Wave
University of Utah

Working together, Miller, Boehme, Vardeny and their colleagues have shown that an organic-based magnet can carry waves of quantum mechanical magnetization, called magnons, and convert those waves to electrical signals. It’s a breakthrough for the field of magnonics (electronic systems that use magnons instead of electrons) because magnons had previously been sent through inorganic materials that are more difficult to handle.

Released: 12-Mar-2018 10:05 AM EDT
GW Researcher Awarded $2.4M to Study the Role of the Brain in Obesity-Induced Hypertension
George Washington University

The National Institutes of Health recently awarded more than $2.4 million to a research team at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences, to study how cell stress in the brain could impact the risk of obesity-induced hypertension.

11-Mar-2018 10:45 AM EDT
Study: Two Drugs Prevent Heart Problems in Breast Cancer Patients
University of Kentucky

Data presented from a Late-Breaking Clinical Trial has the potential to change the standard of care for HER2-positive breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.

Released: 9-Mar-2018 3:00 PM EST
Researchers Rescue Embryos From Brain Defects by Re-Engineering Cellular Voltage Patterns
Tufts University

Tufts biologists have demonstrated for the first time that electrical patterns in developing embryos can be predicted, mapped and manipulated to prevent defects caused by harmful substances such as nicotine. The study suggests that targeting bioelectric states may be a new treatment modality for regenerative repair in brain development and disease.

   
Released: 9-Mar-2018 2:00 PM EST
Researchers Develop Label-Free, Non-Destructive Tools to Detect Metabolic Changes Linked to Disease
Tufts University

A team led by engineers at Tufts University has opened a window into the cell by developing an optical tool that can read metabolism at subcellular resolution. The researchers were able to use the method to identify specific metabolic signatures that could arise in diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases.

Released: 9-Mar-2018 12:05 PM EST
Newfound Clock in Blood Brain Barrier of Fruit Flies Regulates Daily Permeability
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

Researchers found that the fruit fly blood brain barrier has a molecular clock that makes it more penetrable during certain hours of the day. Giving mutant flies a drug for treating seizures at night was more effective.

Released: 9-Mar-2018 11:00 AM EST
Intravenous Arginine Benefits Children after Acute Metabolic Stroke
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Children with mitochondrial diseases who suffered acute metabolic strokes benefited from rapid intravenous treatment with the amino acid arginine, experiencing no side effects from the treatment. In half of the stroke episodes, patients showed clinical improvements in symptoms such as seizures and partial paralysis.

Released: 9-Mar-2018 8:15 AM EST
An Itch You Can’t Scratch: Researchers Find “Itch Receptors” in the Throats of Mice
Johns Hopkins Medicine

Working with mice, Johns Hopkins researchers report they have found previously known skin itch receptors in the airways that appear to contribute to bronchoconstriction and airway hypersensitivity, hallmarks of asthma and other respiratory disorders. The investigators’ experiments in mice suggest that the receptors’ activation directly aggravates airway constriction and—if the same process is active in people—may be a promising new target for the development of drug therapies.

Released: 8-Mar-2018 12:05 PM EST
Exosomal MicroRNA Predicts and Protects Against Severe Lung Disease in Extremely Premature Infants
University of Alabama at Birmingham

Researchers report discovery of a strong predictive biomarker for bronchopulmonary dysplasia, and they show a role for the biomarker in the pathogenesis of this neonatal lung disease. These results open the path to possible future therapies to prevent or lessen BPD.

Released: 8-Mar-2018 11:05 AM EST
TSRI Scientists Zero in on Treatment for Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease
Scripps Research Institute

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have now shown a path to developing treatments for disease subtype CMT2D.

   
Released: 8-Mar-2018 11:05 AM EST
Decoy Molecules Target E. Coli to Treat UTI in Mice
Washington University in St. Louis

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have designed sugar molecules that block E. coli bacteria from binding to urinary tract tissues, allowing the bacteria to be washed out of the urinary tract. The compounds represent a step toward treating UTIs without antibiotics.

Released: 8-Mar-2018 10:00 AM EST
No Progress Seen in Reducing Antibiotics Among Outpatients
Washington University in St. Louis

Despite public health campaigns aimed at reducing unnecessary prescriptions for antibiotics, the drugs continue to be prescribed at startlingly high rates in outpatient settings such as clinics and physician offices, according to a new study at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The researchers analyzed de-identified data from Express Scripts Holding Co., which manages drug benefits for employers, and found that 98 million outpatient antibiotic prescriptions were filled by 39 million people during a three-year period from 2013 to 2015. Moreover, the researchers found no decline in the overall antibiotic prescription rate during that time.

Released: 7-Mar-2018 5:05 PM EST
JHU Performs First Laboratory Simulation of Exoplanet Atmospheric Chemistry
 Johns Hopkins University

Scientists have conducted the first lab experiments on haze formation in simulated exoplanet atmospheres, an important step for understanding upcoming observations of planets outside the solar system with the James Webb Space Telescope.

5-Mar-2018 4:00 PM EST
The Brain’s Immune System May Be Key to New Alzheimer’s Treatments
Sanford Burnham Prebys

SBP researchers have revealed how TREM2, a receptor found on immune cells in the brain, interacts with toxic amyloid beta proteins to restore neurological function. The research suggests boosting TREM2 levels in the brain may prevent or reduce the severity of neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer’s disease.

Released: 7-Mar-2018 10:00 AM EST
A New Signaling Pathway Involving the Golgi Apparatus Identified in Cells With Huntington’s Disease
Johns Hopkins Medicine

Working with cells grown in the lab, Johns Hopkins researchers have identified a biochemical pathway that allows a structure within cells, called the Golgi apparatus, to combat stress caused by free radicals and oxidants. The research team showed that this pathway can be activated by a drug called monensin, which is commonly used as an antibiotic in animal feed.

28-Feb-2018 10:05 AM EST
Researchers Identify New Drugs That Could Help Prevent Hearing Loss
The Rockefeller University Press

Researchers from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital have discovered that inhibiting an enzyme called cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2) protects mice and rats from noise- or drug-induced hearing loss. The study, which will be published March 7 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, suggests that CDK2 inhibitors prevent the death of inner ear cells, which has the potential to save the hearing of millions of people around the world.

Released: 6-Mar-2018 2:05 PM EST
Mouse Healing May Reveal Targets to Delay or Prevent Human Heart Failure
University of Alabama at Birmingham

A study of mouse healing after severe heart attacks focused on the heart and spleen, measuring types and numbers of immune cells; types and amounts of lipid signaling compounds; expression of enzymes that produce those signaling compounds; and which enzymes are key to resolution of inflammation.

1-Mar-2018 1:00 PM EST
Mapping the Genome Jungle: Unique Animal Traits Could Offer Insight into Human Disease
University of Utah Health

An interdisciplinary team of scientists at University of Utah Health are using animals' unique traits to pinpoint regions of the human genome that might affect health. The results of this project are available in the March 6 issue of the journal Cell Reports.

5-Mar-2018 11:00 AM EST
Controlling Ceramides Could Help Treat Heart Disease
Sanford Burnham Prebys

SBP researchers have discovered that accumulation of ceramides—a type of lipid (fat)— plays a crucial role in lipotoxic cardiomyopathy (LCM)—a heart condition that often occurs in patients with diabetes and obesity. The study, published today in Cell Reports, also identified several potential therapeutic targets that could prevent or reverse the effects of LCM.

Released: 6-Mar-2018 11:05 AM EST
Center for Drug Use and HIV/HCV Research at NYU Meyers Receives $7.5 Million in NIH Funding, Marking Center’s 20th Anniversary
New York University

The National Institute for Drug Abuse has awarded NYU Meyers’ Center for Drug Use and HIV/HCV Research (CDUHR) a five-year, nearly $7.5 million grant to continue the center’s research.

Released: 6-Mar-2018 9:00 AM EST
Study Advances Research in Pelvic Organ Prolapse Among Women
Johns Hopkins Medicine

By measuring the sagging of the vaginal walls in more than a thousand volunteers for up to nine years annually, a team of Baltimore physicians reports the creation of a long-awaited baseline measure of the rate of progression of so-called pelvic organ prolapse. The baseline, they say, should provide a foundation for reliable studies and a more rational search for factors that prevent or ease the condition.

28-Feb-2018 9:05 AM EST
How Tattoos Are Maintained by Macrophages Could Be Key to Improving Their Removal
The Rockefeller University Press

Researchers in France have discovered that, though a tattoo may be forever, the skin cells that carry the tattoo pigment are not. Instead, the researchers say, the cells can pass on the pigment to new cells when they die. The study, which will be published March 6 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, suggests ways to improve the ability of laser surgery to remove unwanted tattoos.

2-Mar-2018 12:40 PM EST
Preventing Exhaustion in Immune Cells Boosts Immunotherapy in Mice
Health Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh

Immunotherapy does not work for a majority of cancer patients. Preventing or reversing metabolic exhaustion in cancer-killing T-cells could boost its effectiveness.

Released: 6-Mar-2018 8:55 AM EST
Repurposed Parasite Drug New Weapon Against Mesothelioma
Sbarro Health Research Organization (SHRO)

Anthelmintic drug already approved to treat infections of pinworm parasite was shown to effectively impair both mesothelioma cell growth and migration.

Released: 6-Mar-2018 8:00 AM EST
Link Found Between Pediatric Osteoporosis and Anti-Inflammatory Drugs
Johns Hopkins Medicine

By studying mice in late adolescence, Johns Hopkins University researchers have discovered that the rapid bone growth associated with puberty is slowed not only by fewer cartilage cell divisions but also by the “aging” of bone cell precursor cells. After investigating the signaling molecules that promote this transition, the scientists conclude that some weak and brittle bone conditions in both children and adults may be due to the cells’ premature “retirement” caused by glucocorticoid treatments given during puberty to treat chronic inflammation resulting from rheumatoid disorders and other diseases.

Released: 5-Mar-2018 6:05 PM EST
SDSC Simulations Reveal How a Heart Drug Molecular Switch Is Turned On and Off
University of California San Diego

A study published in the March 5 online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) describes how the supercomputers at the San Diego Supercomputer Center at UC San Diego were used to simulate the merger of a G-protein “mimetic nanobody” to a G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR), the largest and most diverse group of membrane receptors in animals, plants, fungi, and protozoa.

Released: 5-Mar-2018 4:05 PM EST
“Epigenetic Landscape” is Protective in Normal Aging, Impaired in Alzheimer’s Disease
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

Researchers profiled the epigenomic landscape of Alzheimer’s brains, specifically in one of the regions affected early in AD, the lateral temporal lobe. They compared these to both younger and elderly cognitively normal control subjects. The team described the genome-wide enrichment of a chemical modification of histone proteins that regulates the compaction of chromosomes in the nucleus. Changes along the genome in disease versus normal aging brains may signify places for future drug development.

Released: 5-Mar-2018 2:30 PM EST
Arms Races and Cooperation Among Amoebae in the Wild
Washington University in St. Louis

Social amoebae evolve to fight with others but also to die for their kin.

Released: 5-Mar-2018 2:05 PM EST
Researchers Uncover Culprit in Parkinson's Brain Cell Die-Off
Scripps Research Institute

‘This study identifies the missing link between Lewy bodies and the type of damage that’s been observed in neurons affected by Parkinson’s."

   
Released: 5-Mar-2018 9:00 AM EST
‘Filter’ Hones Gwas Results to Help Researchers Avoid Dead Ends
Johns Hopkins Medicine

A genetics research team at Johns Hopkins Medicine has solved a dilemma facing researchers who use genomewide association studies (GWAS) by developing a new approach that strategically “filters” which genes are worth further study. The researchers hope this strategy will accelerate the study of diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia and even addiction by helping researchers avoid “dead-end paths.” They are optimistic that this strategy will gain widespread use and will save researchers time and money.

Released: 2-Mar-2018 10:05 AM EST
JHU Scientists Discover How Extremophiles Flourish in Stressful Environments
 Johns Hopkins University

RNA makes salt-loving microbes known as “extremophiles” highly resistant to the phenomenon oxidative stress – the uncontrollable production of unstable forms of oxygen called “free radicals,” which can negatively affect DNA, proteins, and lipids in cells.

Released: 2-Mar-2018 8:05 AM EST
Here's How Viruses Inactivate the Immune System, Causing Cancer
University of Colorado Cancer Center

"The same mechanisms that viruses use to cause cancer may be key in combating tumors with immune-based therapies or in keeping cancer from developing in the first place," says Sharon Kuss-Duerkop, PhD.

Released: 1-Mar-2018 12:05 PM EST
New Research Points to Better Way to Treat Depression
Scripps Research Institute

Scientists on the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have discovered a new target for treating major depressive disorder, a disease that affects more than 16 million American adults.

   
Released: 1-Mar-2018 12:00 PM EST
Johns Hopkins Researchers Invent New Technology for Cancer Immunotherapy
Johns Hopkins Medicine

Johns Hopkins researchers have invented a new class of cancer immunotherapy drugs that are more effective at harnessing the power of the immune system to fight cancer. This new approach, which was reported in Nature Communications, results in a significant decrease of tumor growth, even against cancers that do not respond to existing immunotherapy.

Released: 28-Feb-2018 5:05 PM EST
Researchers Develop Methods To Clean Polluted Groundwater
Texas A&M University

Researchers have studied the use of bacteria to break down organic contaminants in groundwater; however, this bioremediation process has been met with limited success under some conditions.

27-Feb-2018 2:40 PM EST
New-Found Stem Cell Helps Regenerate Lung Tissue After Acute Injury
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

Researchers have identified a lung stem cell that repairs the organ’s gas exchange compartment. They isolated and characterized these progenitor cells from mouse and human lungs and demonstrated they are essential to repairing lung tissue damaged by severe influenza and other respiratory ailments.

27-Feb-2018 3:05 PM EST
New Stem Cell Found in Lung, May Offer Target for Regenerative Medicine
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Newly identified stem cells in the lung that multiply rapidly after a pulmonary injury may offer an opportunity for innovative future treatments that harness the body’s ability to regenerate. Scientists describe cells that could become a new tool to treat lung diseases across the lifespan, from premature infants to the elderly.

Released: 28-Feb-2018 12:05 PM EST
Researchers Receive $10M Grant to Create Computational and Informatics Tools for Glycoscience
George Washington University

Researchers at the George Washington University and the University of Georgia are partners in a project that will soon be able to provide a way for questions asked by those studying glycoscience to be answered by big data.

27-Feb-2018 2:00 PM EST
Sandwich Battery with ‘Melty’ Layer is Safe, Robust
Maryland NanoCenter

Engineers from the University of Maryland created a non-flammable battery from ceramic materials by using a 'melty' layer that, when cool, unites a solid-state battery.

Released: 28-Feb-2018 11:05 AM EST
New Method Accelerates Studies on Carbohydrate Biology
Scripps Research Institute

The breakthrough may expand research on the roles of glycans in human diseases, including cancers.

   
Released: 28-Feb-2018 11:00 AM EST
Common Knee Operation in Elderly Constitutes Low Value Care, New Study Concludes
Johns Hopkins Medicine

A new Medicare records study by Johns Hopkins researchers has added to mounting evidence that a common surgery designed to remove damaged, worn ends of the thin rubbery cartilage in the knee joint brings little or no benefit to people over the age of 65.

Released: 27-Feb-2018 6:05 PM EST
Immune System Activation in Pregnant Women Can Shape Brain Development in Their Babies
Children's Hospital Los Angeles Saban Research Institute

A study in the Journal of Neuroscience reveals that activation of a pregnant mother’s immune system can affect her baby’s brain development. Researchers at CHLA, found that short- and long-term brain functioning can be influenced by immune system activity during the third trimester of gestation.

Released: 27-Feb-2018 4:05 PM EST
How Do Teachers Integrate STEM into K-12 Classrooms?
Michigan Technological University

New teaching standards like the Next Generation Science Standards call for weaving science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) into classrooms better. What makes this integration effective?

Released: 27-Feb-2018 12:05 PM EST
Fewer Americans Think Smoking A Pack A Day Poses A Great Health Risk
Duke Health

About 3 out of 4 Americans agree that smoking cigarettes causes health problems, but public perception of the risks posed by smoking may be declining, according to a Duke Health study published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

22-Feb-2018 8:00 AM EST
Novel Genome Platform Reveals New HIV Targets
Sanford Burnham Prebys

SBP researchers have developed the first ever high-throughput, genome-scale imaging-based approach to investigate protein stability. The method has been used to identify several previously unknown human proteins that HIV degrades to enhance its infection process.

Released: 27-Feb-2018 11:05 AM EST
IU Research Suggests Failed Osteoarthritis Drug Could Get New Life as Opioid-Addiction Treatment
Indiana University

A new study from Indiana University suggests that a compound previously tested to treat osteoarthritis pain appears to block neuropathic pain and decrease signs of opioid dependence.

Released: 27-Feb-2018 9:05 AM EST
Gene-editing Reduces Triglycerides, Cholesterol by Up to 50 Percent, Finds Penn Animal Study
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

Blood plasma samples from a mouse that received the Angptl3 CRISPR treatment (right) and a mouse that was untreated (left). The cloudiness of the sample on the left is from the high content of cholesterol and triglycerides.

21-Feb-2018 9:05 AM EST
States with Strong Tobacco Control Measures Have Fewer E-Cigarette Users
New York University

States with robust tobacco control policies and regulations, such as smoke free air laws and taxes on cigarettes, not only have fewer cigarette users but also fewer e-cigarette users, according to research from NYU School of Medicine and the NYU College of Global Public Health.

Released: 26-Feb-2018 7:05 PM EST
New Online Tool Gives 3D View of Human Metabolic Processes
University of California San Diego

A new computational resource called Recon3D provides a 3D view of genes, proteins and metabolites involved in human metabolism. Researchers used the tool to map disease-related mutations on proteins and also probed how genes and proteins change in response to certain drugs. The work provides a better understanding of disease-causing mutations and could enable researchers to discover new uses for existing drug treatments.

23-Feb-2018 9:00 AM EST
Multiple Types of Delirium in the ICU Indicate High Risk for Long-Term Cognitive Decline, Study Finds
Health Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh

Critically ill patients who experience long periods of hypoxic, septic or sedative-associated delirium, or a combination of the three, during an intensive care unit (ICU) stay are more likely to have long-term cognitive impairment one year after discharge from the hospital, according to a new study.



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