Research news

Body's own veins provide superior material for aortic grafts

Medicine & Health / Research

7 hours ago | not rated yet | 0

A vascular surgical technique pioneered at UT Southwestern Medical Center and designed to replace infected aortic grafts with the body's own veins has proved more durable and less prone to new infection than similar procedures ...

Rapid flu testing

Medicine & Health / Research

Dec 29, 2009 | 5 / 5 (1) | 0

Researchers from the Medical College of Wisconsin, the Children's Research Institute, and the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin have developed a rapid, automated system to differentiate strains of influenza. The related report ...

New RNA interference technique can silence up to five genes

Medicine & Health / Research

Dec 28, 2009 | 5 / 5 (4) | 0

Researchers at MIT and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals report this week that they have successfully used RNA interference to turn off multiple genes in the livers of mice, an advance that could lead to new treatments ...

Common mechanism underlies many diseases of excitability

Medicine & Health / Research

Dec 28, 2009 | 5 / 5 (1) | 0

Inherited mutations in voltage-gated sodium channels (Navs) are associated with many different human diseases, including genetic forms of epilepsy and chronic pain. Theodore Cummins and colleagues, at Indiana University School ...

Disinfectants may promote growth of superbugs

Medicine & Health / Research

Dec 27, 2009 | 5 / 5 (7) | 1

Using disinfectants could cause bacteria to become resistant to antibiotics as well as the disinfectant itself, according to research published in the January issue of Microbiology. The findings could have important implic ...

Splitting fluorescent protein helps image clusters in live cells

Medicine & Health / Research

Dec 26, 2009 | 4 / 5 (2) | 0

Half a protein is better than none, and in this case, it's way better than a whole one. A Rice University lab has discovered that dividing a particular fluorescent protein and using it as a tag is handy for analyzing the ...

Scientists discover how the brain encodes memories at a cellular level

Medicine & Health / Research

Dec 23, 2009 | 4.9 / 5 (36) | 17

Scientists at UC Santa Barbara have made a major discovery in how the brain encodes memories. The finding, published in the December 24 issue of the journal Neuron, could eventually lead to the development ...

Genomic differences identified in common skin diseases

Medicine & Health / Research

Dec 23, 2009 | 5 / 5 (2) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- If you have dry skin, wet it, if wet skin, dry it. This has been a general rule of dermatology for centuries, but scientists are working to develop more precise treatments for the dozen-plus inflammatory ...

Study shows a key protein helps control blood pressure

Medicine & Health / Research

Dec 23, 2009 | 4.5 / 5 (2) | 0

University of Iowa researchers have shown that a protein channel helps nerve sensors in blood vessels keep blood pressure in check. Without the protein channel, known as ASIC2, the sensors are unable to send the brain the ...

First adhere, then detach and glide forward

Medicine & Health / Research

Dec 23, 2009 | 5 / 5 (1) | 0

How do one-celled parasites move from the salivary gland of a mosquito through a person's skin into red blood cells? What molecular mechanisms form the basis for this very important movement of the protozoa? ...

Soil studies reveal rise in antibiotic resistance

Medicine & Health / Research

Dec 23, 2009 | 3 / 5 (1) | 0

Antibiotic resistance in the natural environment is rising despite tighter controls over our use of antibiotics in medicine and agriculture, Newcastle University scientists have found.

Subtle change dramatically reduces pathogenic potential of Huntington's protein

Medicine & Health / Research

Dec 23, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

Scientists have identified a key molecular switch that may drive the onset of Huntington's disease (HD), an incurable neurodegenerative disorder that leads to severe disruptions in muscle coordination and cognitive function. ...

Genetic study reveals the origins of cavity-causing bacteria

Medicine & Health / Research

Dec 23, 2009 | 5 / 5 (3) | 0

Researchers have uncovered the complete genetic make-up of the cavity-causing bacterium Bifidobacterium dentium Bd1, revealing the genetic adaptations that allow this microorganism to live and cause decay in the human oral ...

Anti-inflammatory drugs interfere with aspirin's clotting ability

Medicine & Health / Research

Dec 23, 2009 | not rated yet | 1

A new study conducted at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) reveals that Celebrex and other anti-inflammatory coxib medications may counter the positive effects of aspirin in preventing blood clots.

Preventing heart attacks by targeting the immune system

Medicine & Health / Research

Dec 23, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- More than 300 people die of a heart attack each day and research has shown there is a peak in heart attacks on Christmas Day and New Year's Day due perhaps to rich meals, alcohol and stress.

New human reproductive hormone could lead to novel contraceptives

Medicine & Health / Research

Dec 22, 2009 | 4.5 / 5 (4) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Nearly 10 years after the discovery that birds make a hormone that suppresses reproduction, University of California, Berkeley, neuroscientists have established that humans make it too, opening ...

Up a little on the left... now, over to the right... Scientists find a source of nonallergic itch

Medicine & Health / Research

Dec 22, 2009 | 4.8 / 5 (4) | 0

Scratching below the surface of a troublesome sensation that's equal parts tingle-tickle-prickle, sensory scientists from Johns Hopkins have discovered in mice a molecular basis for nonallergic itch.

Nanoscale changes in collagen are a tipoff to bone health

Medicine & Health / Research

Dec 22, 2009 | 5 / 5 (1) | 0

Using a technique that provides detailed images of nanoscale structures, researchers at the University of Michigan and Detroit's Henry Ford Hospital have discovered changes in the collagen component of bone ...