Scientists from the Hubrecht Institute and the University Medical Center Utrecht (UMC Utrecht) have developed a cell culture model of human colon cancer progression. This model mimics the situation in patients more closely than any other colon cancer model so far. It enables researchers to study processes involved in colon cancer development and find new cancer drugs.
A multi-year study led by researchers from the Simons Center for Data Analysis (SCDA) and major universities and medical schools has broken substantial new ground, establishing how genes work together within 144 different human tissues and cell types in carrying out those tissues' functions.
High-tech textiles must fulfill a number of functions and meet many requirements. That is why the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research ISC dedicated some major developing work to this most intriguing research area. The result can now be seen at Techtextil trade show in Frankfurt from 4 to 7 May. On display will be novel textile-integrated sensors, a unique multifunctional coating system for…
In certain types of cancer, nerves and cancer cells enter an often lethal and intricate waltz where cancer cells and nerves move toward one another and eventually engage in such a way that the cancer cells enter the nerves.
Researchers from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) and the UAB Institute of Biotechnology and Biomedicine discovered that the signalling route triggered by the ATM protein regulates DNA repair during the production of spermatocytes by meiosis, the cell division process which yields spermatozoa.
Nowadays the concept of personalised medicine is usually applied to oncology. However, there are other clinical disciplines in which therapies tailored to the individual patient are within reach, viz. ophthalmology. In the researchers’ limelight is intravitreal drug delivery since the outcomes of injections into the vitreous differ from patient to patient. Ophthalmologists in Vienna, Austria,…
Women may have a more difficult time than men in recovering from concussion, according to a new study published online in the journal Radiology.
Each year, approximately 1.6 million women in the USA have breast biopsies to diagnose or rule out cancer. Pathological diagnosis is considered the gold standard – how accurate are these diagnoses? Report: Cynthia E. Keen
Johns Hopkins scientists have discovered that neurons are risk takers: They use minor ‘DNA surgeries’ to toggle their activity levels all day, every day. Since these activity levels are important in learning, memory and brain disorders, the researchers think their finding will shed light on a range of important questions.
Scientists in the UK have designed a new self-assembling nanoparticle that targets tumours and could lead to quicker diagnosis of cancer. Researchers at Imperial College London report that a new self-assembling nanoparticle can adhere to cancer cells, thus making them visible in MRI scans and possibly eliminate the need for invasive tissue biopsies. Report: Mark Nicholls
Expecting 10,000 participants, prior to the 25th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) in Copenhagen, Denmark (25-28 April) its Programme Director, Professor Winfried V Kern MD, was keen to point out: ‘The findings and recommendations that emerge from this vibrant platform each year have, in the past, had a tremendous impact not only on guidelines and best…
Dr Stefan Becker, a trained medical doctor with an M.B.A. degree, works as a senior nephrologist and transplant officer at Essen University Hospital and manages its Institute for Drug Safety. In an interview he spoke about his involvement in e-health projects in the field of connected care that he carries out with interdisciplinary teams, including the Fraunhofer Institute for Software and…
A group of leading scientists has warned that Britain and Europe collectively could face more than a million deaths in an impending "Antibiotic Armageddon” unless more is spent on developing new cures, rapid diagnostics and preventative measures to combat the spread of drug resistant diseases.
Black Blood Imaging may not sound helpful – but it is. The MRI specialist can work with clearer contrasts and gain greater certainty in tumour diagnosis as well as the detection of inflammatory changes in tissue.
Given the increasing focus on telehealth and telecare services aimed at improving long-term patients’ living conditions and save costs, numerous pilots in various countries have been conducted for proof of concept purposes. Among these, the United Kingdom’s ‘Whole System Demonstrator’ (WSD) programme is the largest randomised controlled trial. Set up by the English National Health Service…
30 years after HIV was discovered to be the cause of the acquired immune deficiency syndrome AIDS, and despite intensive research, no vaccine or cure has yet been found. An international team of scientists, in collaboration with the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) and the University Hospital of Cologne, has now tested a new generation of antibodies in humans for the first time. They…
Regenerative medicine uses cells harvested from the patient’s own body to heal damaged tissue. Fraunhofer researchers have developed a cell-free substrate containing proteins to which autologous cells bind and grow only after implantation.
As part of an effort to understand how an experimental drug for atherosclerosis causes the build-up of fat in the liver, scientists have developed a computer model that can predict how the rate at which liver stores fat in response to various situations.
Low-frequency alternating magnetic fields such as those generated by overhead power lines are considered a potential health risk because epidemiological studies indicate that they may aggravate, among other things, neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). However, a recent study by researchers at the Institute of Pathobiochemistry at the…
The decades worth of data that has been collected about the billions of neurons in the brain is astounding. To help scientists make sense of this "brain big data," researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have used data mining to create a publicly available website that acts like Wikipedia, indexing physiological information about neurons.
PET scanners are not the only way to image radiotracers. Recent work developed around a phenomenon called Cerenkov luminescence aims to bring a new modality out of preclinical development and into clinical practice.
Unpowered exoskeleton developed by Carnegie Mellon and North Carolina State researchers helps individuals walk using less energy.
Bioplastics made from protein sources such as albumin and whey have shown significant antibacterial properties, findings that could eventually lead to their use in plastics used in medical applications such as wound healing dressings, sutures, catheter tubes and drug delivery, according to a recent study.
Australian researchers have found that so-called 'triple-negative breast cancers' are two distinct diseases that likely originate from different cell types. This helps explain why survival prospects for women with the diagnosis tend to be either very good or very bad.
Researchers discovered that NSF unravels a single SNARE complex using one round ATP turnover by tearing the complex with a single burst, contradicting a previous theory that it unwinds in a processive manner.