Diseases
New proteins inhibit HIV infection in cell cultures
July 24, 2012 4:00 am | News | CommentsYale University Cancer Center scientists have developed a new class of proteins that inhibit HIV infection in cell cultures and may open the way to new strategies for treating and preventing infection by the virus that causes AIDS.
Microneedles help target therapeutics to the back of the eye
July 23, 2012 9:33 am | News | CommentsThanks to tiny microneedles, eye doctors may soon have a better way to treat diseases such as macular degeneration that affect tissues in the back of the eye. For the first time, researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University have demonstrated that microneedles less than a millimeter in length can deliver drug molecules and particles to the eye in an animal model.
Scientists show new compound virtually eliminates HIV in cell culture
July 20, 2012 3:45 am | News | CommentsA new study by scientists on the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute shows, in cell culture, a natural compound can virtually eliminate human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in infected cells. The compound defines a novel class of HIV anti-viral drugs endowed with the capacity to repress viral replication in acutely and chronically infected cells.
Scientists pinpoint key ingredient in fighting pneumonia
July 18, 2012 10:07 am | News | CommentsA mysterious protein produced by a wide spectrum of living things is crucial in regulating the immune response to the most common form of pneumonia, a new Yale University School of Medicine study shows.
Nanorobot can be programmed to target different diseases
July 16, 2012 4:09 pm | News | CommentsUniversity of Florida researchers have created a tiny particle that can be programmed to shut down the genetic production line that cranks out disease-related proteins. In laboratory tests, these newly created “nanorobots” all but eradicated hepatitis C virus infection.
Nutrient mixture improves memory in patients with early Alzheimer's
July 10, 2012 3:45 am | by Anne Trafton, MIT News Office | News | CommentsA clinical trial of an Alzheimer's disease treatment developed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology has found that the nutrient cocktail can improve memory in patients with early Alzheimer's. The results confirm and expand the findings of an earlier trial of the nutritional supplement, which is designed to promote new connections between brain cells.
Discovery of 'master molecule' could improve treatment for heart attacks
June 22, 2012 5:41 am | News | CommentsJohns Hopkins University researchers have discovered that a single protein molecule may hold the key to turning cardiac stem cells into blood vessels or muscle tissue, a finding that may lead to better ways to treat heart attack patients.
Spinach to the rescue
June 21, 2012 6:37 am | News | CommentsResearchers at Oregon State University have, for the first time, traced the actions of a known carcinogen in cooked meat to its complex biological effects on microRNA and cancer stem cells. The scientists also found that consumption of spinach can partially offset the damaging effects of the carcinogen.
Fishing for answers to autism puzzle
June 19, 2012 12:06 pm | by Anne Trafton, MIT News Office | News | CommentsFish cannot display symptoms of autism, schizophrenia, or other human brain disorders. However, a team of Massachusetts Institute of Technology biologists has shown that zebrafish can be a useful tool for studying the genes that contribute to such disorders.
How key enzyme involved in aging, cancer assembles
June 19, 2012 6:02 am | News | CommentsUniversity of California, Los Angeles biochemists have mapped the structure of a key protein–RNA complex that is required for the assembly of telomerase, an enzyme important in both cancer and aging. The researchers found that a region at the end of the p65 protein that includes a flexible tail is responsible for bending telomerase's RNA backbone in order to create a scaffold for the assembly of other protein building blocks.
Researchers create mosquitoes incapable of transmitting malaria
June 12, 2012 8:45 am | News | CommentsMosquitoes bred to be unable to infect people with the malaria parasite are an attractive approach to helping curb one of the world's most pressing public health issues, according to University of California, Irvine scientists. Now, researchers have produced a model of the Anopheles stephensi mosquito that impairs the development of the malaria parasite. These mosquitoes, in turn, cannot transmit the disease through their bites.
A SMART(er) way to track influenza
June 11, 2012 4:36 am | News | CommentsBrown University researchers have created a reliable and fast flu-detection test that can be carried in a first-aid kit. The novel prototype device isolates influenza RNA using a combination of magnetics and microfluidics, then amplifies and detects probes bound to the RNA. The technology could lead to real-time tracking of influenza.
Researchers develop new graphene-based MRI contrast agent
June 8, 2012 4:00 am | News | CommentsA team of researchers has developed a new, highly efficacious, potentially safer, and more cost-effective nanoparticle-based magnetic resonance imaging contrast agent for improved disease diagnosis and detection.
How infectious diseases are transmitted on aircraft
June 7, 2012 6:37 am | News | CommentsA new study is expected to provide the first detailed information on how infectious diseases may be transmitted aboard commercial airliners. Sponsored by aircraft manufacturer Boeing, the research will document patterns of passenger movement inside aircraft cabins and inventory the microbes present in cabin air and on surfaces such as tray tables and lavatory fixtures.
Cell contents may be key to controlling toxicity of Huntington's protein
June 6, 2012 10:01 am | News | CommentsNew research into the cell-damaging effects of Huntington's disease suggests a new approach for identifying possible therapeutic targets for treating the nerve-destroying disorder. The study, led by Georgia Institute of Technology researchers, suggests that the toxic effects of the huntingtin protein on cells may not be driven exclusively by the length of the protein's expansion, but also by which other proteins are present in the cell.
More advanced therapies are being aimed at cancer
June 6, 2012 6:55 am | by Marilynn Marchionne, AP Chief Medical Writer | News | CommentsAt a recent weekend conference of more than 30,000 specialists, experts reported seeing a major escalation in the arms race against cancer. Several new advances, including “smart” drugs, immune system aids, and treatments based on genetic pathways, offer new hope for battling previously intractable diseases.
Building molecular 'cages' to fight disease
June 4, 2012 6:35 am | News | CommentsUniversity of California, Los Angeles biochemists have designed specialized proteins that assemble themselves to form tiny molecular cages hundreds of times smaller than a single cell. The creation of these miniature structures may be the first step toward developing new methods of drug delivery or even designing artificial vaccines.
Nanotechnology breakthrough could improve medical tests
June 1, 2012 3:33 am | News | CommentsA laboratory test used to detect disease and perform biological research could be made more than 3 million times more sensitive, according to researchers who combined standard biological tools with a breakthrough in nanotechnology. The increased performance could improve the early detection of diseases and disorder by allowing doctors to detect far lower concentrations of telltale markers than was previously practical.
Biochip-based device for cell analysis
May 30, 2012 6:21 am | News | CommentsInexpensive, portable devices that can rapidly screen cells for leukemia or HIV may soon be possible thanks to a chip that can produce 3D focusing of a stream of cells, according to Pennsylvania State University researchers.
Nowhere to hide
May 30, 2012 4:09 am | News | CommentsDoctors can now get a peek behind the eardrum to better diagnose and treat chronic ear infections, thanks to a new medical imaging device invented by University of Illinois researchers. The device could usher in a new suite of noninvasive, 3D diagnostic imaging tools for primary-care physicians.
Fighting tuberculosis using a modified drink coolery
May 30, 2012 3:49 am | by David Chandler, MIT News Office | News | CommentsTuberculosis (TB), now largely controlled in the industrialized world, remains a stubbornly persistent killer in most of Africa, as well as parts of Asia and South America. The spread of multidrug-resistant strains of TB has slowed progress against the devastating disease, which is estimated to strike more than 10 million people annually. Now a modified soft drink cooler, developed by researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology's D-Lab, could make a dent in the disease's impact.
Study shows why swine flu virus develops drug resistance
May 29, 2012 9:38 am | News | CommentsComputer chips of a type more commonly found in games consoles have been used by scientists at the University of Bristol to reveal how the flu virus resists antiflu drugs such as Relenza and Tamiflu.
50-year cholera mystery solved
May 29, 2012 9:05 am | News | CommentsFor 50 years scientists have been unsure how the bacteria that gives humans cholera manages to resist one of our basic innate immune responses. That mystery has now been solved, thanks to research from biologists at The University of Texas at Austin. The answers may help clear the way for a new class of antibiotics that don't directly shut down pathogenic bacteria, but instead disable their defenses so that our own immune systems can do the killing.
“Killer” silk fibers eliminate anthrax and other microbes in minutes
May 24, 2012 4:48 am | News | CommentsResearchers at the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory have invented a simple, inexpensive dip-and-dry treatment can convert ordinary silk into a fabric that kills disease-causing bacteria—even the armor-coated spores of microbes like anthrax—in minutes.
Study: DNA vaccine and duck eggs protect against hantavirus disease
May 24, 2012 4:21 am | News | CommentsThe highly pathogenic hantavirus causes a condition known as hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), which has a case fatality rate of 35-40%. To help the fight against a disease that has no vaccine, U.S. Army scientists and industry collaborators have successfully protected laboratory animals from lethal hantavirus disease using a novel approach that combines DNA vaccines and duck eggs.
