Life Sciences
Light-carved nanovolcanoes hold promise for drug delivery
June 13, 2013 8:16 am | News | Comments
Researchers from North Carolina State Univ. have developed a method for creating nanovolcanoes by shining various colors of light through a nanoscale “crystal ball” made of a synthetic polymer. These nanovolcanoes can store precise amounts of other materials and hold promise for new drug-delivery technologies.
Broad Institute an early adopter of Agilent’s new liquid-handling system
June 18, 2013 7:15 am | News | Comments
Agilent Technologies Inc. this week announced that the Broad Institute in Cambridge,...
Underwater springs show how coral reefs respond to ocean acidification
June 17, 2013 7:06 pm | News | Comments
A recent study is the first to show that corals are not able to fully acclimate to low...
To ease shortage of organs, grow them in a lab?
June 17, 2013 9:13 am | by Malcolm Ritter, AP Science Writer | News | Comments
Growing lungs and other organs for transplant is still in the future, but scientists...
Expressly unfit for the laboratory
June 19, 2013 4:39 pm | News | CommentsA new Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory study challenges the orthodoxy of microbiology, which holds that in response to environmental changes, bacterial genes will boost production of needed proteins and decrease production of those that aren’t. The study found that for bacteria in the laboratory there was little evidence of adaptive genetic response.
DNA constructs antenna for solar energy
June 19, 2013 8:11 am | News | CommentsResearchers at Chalmers Univ. of Technology have found an effective solution for collecting sunlight for artificial photosynthesis. By combining self-assembling DNA molecules with simple dye molecules, the researchers have created a system that resembles nature's own antenna system.
Researchers design variant of main painkiller receptor
June 18, 2013 1:04 pm | News | CommentsOpioids are still the most effective class of painkillers, but they come with unwanted side effects. Designing new drugs of this type involves testing them on their corresponding receptors, but access to meaningful quantities of these receptors that work in experimental conditions has been a limiting factor. Now, researchers have developed a variant of the mu opioid receptor that has several advantages when it comes to experimentation.
Court: 'Pay-to-delay' generic drugs can be illegal
June 17, 2013 4:31 pm | by JESSE J. HOLLAND - Associated Press - Associated Press | News | CommentsDeals between pharmaceutical corporations and their generic drug competitors, which government officials say keep cheaper forms of medicine off the market, can sometimes be illegal and therefore can be challenged in court, the Supreme Court said Monday. The justices voted 5-3 to allow the government to inspect and challenge what it calls "pay-for-delay" deals or "reverse payment settlements."
A way to detect new viruses
June 17, 2013 2:14 pm | News | CommentsIn recently published research, St. Louis Univ. researchers describe a technology that can detect new, previously unknown viruses. The technique offers the potential to screen patients for viruses even when doctors have not identified a particular virus as the likely source of an infection. In the new approach, scientists use blood serum as a biological source to categorize and discover viruses.
Is artificial sweetener a potential treatment for Parkinson’s disease?
June 17, 2013 11:42 am | News | CommentsMannitol, a sugar alcohol produced by fungi, bacteria and algae, is a common component of sugar-free gum and candy. The sweetener is also used in the medical field. Now a team from Tel Aviv Univ. have found that mannitol also prevents clumps of a protein from forming in the brain—a process that is characteristic of Parkinson's disease.
Lilly to take over development of diabetes drug
June 17, 2013 9:16 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsEli Lilly and Co. will pay Canadian drug developer Transition Therapeutics Inc. $7 million and take over the development of a potential diabetes treatment heading into mid-stage clinical testing. Transition said Monday it also could receive up to $240 million in additional payments, plus royalties if the treatment is eventually approved and sold.
Modified wheat appears to be isolated
June 14, 2013 5:50 pm | by MARY CLARE JALONICK - Associated Press - Associated Press | News | CommentsThe Agriculture Dept. says it has no indications that genetically modified wheat found in the western state of Oregon last month has spread beyond the field in which it was found. No genetically engineered wheat has been approved for U.S. farming, and the department is investigating how the engineered wheat got in the field.
Testing method promising for spinal cord injuries, multiple sclerosis
June 14, 2013 7:49 am | News | CommentsA medical test previously developed to measure a toxin found in tobacco smokers has been adapted to measure the same toxin in people suffering from spinal cord injuries and multiple sclerosis, offering a potential tool to reduce symptoms. The toxin, called acrolein, is produced in the body after nerve cells are injured, triggering a cascade of biochemical events thought to worsen the injury's severity.
U.S. court says human genes cannot be patented
June 13, 2013 11:53 am | by JESSE J. HOLLAND - Associated Press Writer - Associated Press | News | CommentsThe U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that companies cannot patent parts of naturally-occurring human genes, a decision with the potential to profoundly affect the emerging and lucrative medical and biotechnology industries. The high court's unanimous judgment reverses three decades of patent awards by government officials.
Imaging technique captures ever-changing world of metabolites
June 13, 2013 7:38 am | News | CommentsWhat would you do with a camera that can take a picture of something and tell you how new it is? If you’re a Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory scientist, you use it to gain a better understanding of the ever-changing world of metabolites. A team of researchers has developed a mass spectrometry imaging technique that not only maps the whereabouts of individual metabolites in a biological sample, but how new the metabolites are too.
Genetic switches play big role in human evolution
June 12, 2013 8:45 am | by Krishna Ramanujan, Cornell Univ. | News | CommentsA Cornell Univ. study offers further proof that the divergence of humans from chimpanzees some 4 to 6 million years ago was profoundly influenced by mutations to DNA sequences that play roles in turning genes on and off. The study provides evidence for a 40-year-old hypothesis that regulation of genes must play an important role in evolution since there is little difference between humans and chimps in the proteins produced by genes.
Mass spectrometry solutions improve identification, quantitation for biological research
June 11, 2013 4:40 pm | News | CommentsAB SCIEX has unveiled three new solutions for biological researchers to improve identification and quantitation of proteins, peptides, metabolites and lipids. The company extended the applicability of SelexION technology, SWATH Acquisition and ProteinPilot software for academic research in the field of systems biology.
Agilent introduces advanced mass spec software
June 11, 2013 4:15 pm | News | CommentsAgilent Technologies Inc. has introduced two applications that further enhance its MassHunter Workstation software and LC-MS, GC-MS and ICP-MS instruments. These new applications empower users to rapidly create targeted screening methods for food safety and forensic analysis, and to characterize intact proteins and biosimilars for biopharmaceutical research.
Micro-RNA plays role in wood formation
June 11, 2013 8:10 am | News | CommentsFor more than a decade, scientists have suspected that hairpin-shaped chains of micro-RNA regulate wood formation inside plant cells. Now, scientists at North Carolina State Univ. have found the first example and mapped out key relationships that control the process. The research describes how one strand of micro-RNA reduced by more than 20% the formation of lignin, which gives wood its strength.
A potential target to thwart antibiotic resistance
June 11, 2013 7:41 am | News | CommentsBacteria in the gut that are under attack by antibiotics have allies no one had anticipated, a team of Harvard Univ. Wyss Institute scientists has found. Gut viruses that usually commandeer the bacteria, it turns out, enable them to survive the antibiotic onslaught, most likely by handing them genes that help them withstand the drug.
Sanofi says FDA approves 4-strain flu vaccine
June 10, 2013 2:04 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsFrench drugmaker Sanofi said Monday the Food and Drug Administration approved a new version of its flu vaccine Fluzone that is designed to prevent four types of the virus. Sanofi said Fluzone Quadrivalent is designed to protect against two types of influenza A and two types of influenza B. Fluzone is the only flu shot recommended in the U.S. for infants and very young children.
Researchers move closer to low-cost, implantable electronics
June 10, 2013 1:37 pm | News | CommentsNew technology under development at Ohio State Univ. is paving the way for low-cost electronic devices that work in direct contact with living tissue inside the body. The first planned use of the technology is a sensor that will detect the very early stages of organ transplant rejection.
Making new cartilage from stem cells
June 10, 2013 11:20 am | by Evan Lerner, Univ. of Pennsylvania | News | CommentsCartilage injuries have ended many athletes’ career, and the general wear-and-tear of the joint-cushioning tissue is something that almost everyone will endure as they age. Unfortunately, repairing cartilage remains difficult. Bioengineers are interested in finding innovative ways to grow new cartilage from a patient’s own stem cells. A new study from the Univ. of Pennsylvania brings such a treatment one step closer to reality.
Weapons testing data determines brain makes new neurons into adulthood
June 10, 2013 8:36 am | News | CommentsUsing data derived from nuclear weapons testing of the 1950s and '60s, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists have found that a small portion of the human brain involved in memory makes new neurons well into adulthood. The research may have profound impacts on human behavior and mental health.
$18 million to study deadly secrets of viruses
June 7, 2013 4:01 pm | News | CommentsIn an effort to sort out why some viruses such as influenza, Ebola and West Nile are so lethal, a team of U.S. researchers plans a comprehensive effort to model how humans respond to these viral pathogens. The study will be led by a Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison professor. Teams from Washington Univ. in St. Louis and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, also will play key roles in the study.
Study shows possible expanded use of cancer drug
June 6, 2013 3:21 pm | News | CommentsA cancer drug developed at the Advanced Photon Source may be following a local tradition and going for a Chicago Bulls-like three-peat. The drug Votrient, or Pazopanib, was approved in 2009 to fight advanced kidney cancer and in 2012 to fight advanced soft tissue sarcoma. Now, according to a New York Times article, a new study shows the drug may delay ovarian cancer relapses.
Compulsive no more
June 6, 2013 3:00 pm | by Anne Trafton, MIT News Office | News | CommentsBy activating a brain circuit that controls compulsive behavior, Massachusetts Institute of Technology neuroscientists have shown that they can block a compulsive behavior in mice—a result that could help researchers develop new treatments for diseases such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and Tourette’s syndrome.
Recent Advancements in Polymer Characterization
June 6, 2013 12:17 pm | by Ed Bouvier, Manager, Advanced Materials Research Group, Mia Summers, Principal Applications Chemist, and Michael O’Leary, Principal Scientist, Chemical Materials Business Operations, Waters Corp., Milford, Mass. | Articles | CommentsInnovation in liquid chromatography instrument design and column technology over the last decade has led to substantial improvements in chromatographic throughput and resolution. This has been achieved by enabling the system to achieve pressures up to 15,000 psi, reducing the system contributions to peak broadening, and utilizing well-packed columns containing sub-2-micron particles.
From Legos to Medical Devices
June 6, 2013 11:38 am | by Lindsay Hock | Articles | CommentsIn seventh grade, now 25-year-old Nikolai Begg, 2013 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize winner, was assigned a general project for English class where he had to pick a topic and write a report. That year, in life science class he took a great interest in this field, choosing to write his report on surgical robots. Able to interview surgeons using surgical robots and engineers designing them, Begg discovered an incredible field.
