Historic gene therapy trial to treat Alzheimer’s disease underway at Georgetown – To stop the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, scientists are conducting gene therapy trial on patients with a mild form of Alzheimer’s Disease in US.
‘Liposuction leftovers’ easily converted to IPS cells, Stanford study shows – Human fat removed during liposuction conceal versatile cells that are more quickly and easily coaxed to become induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells, than are the skin cells most often used by researchers.
Feelings of hopelessness linked to stroke risk in healthy women – Healthy middle-aged women with feelings of hopelessness appear to experience thickening of the neck arteries, which can be a precursor to stroke, revealed by researchers at the University of Minnesota Medical School.
University of Maryland researchers identify gene variant linked to effectiveness of plavix — First study to use genome-wide scanning approach to locate gene that affects response to popular anti-clotting medication. – Patients with a certain genetic variation and who received the antiplatelet drug clopidogrel — Plavix — had a decreased platelet response to treatment, revealed by researchers.
Daylight could help control our weight – Exciting research into Brown adipose tissue (BAT) – brown fat, which is found in abundance in hibernating animals and newborn babies – could lead to new ways of preventing obesity.
Smokers’ tongues fail taste test — Nicotine may cause functional and morphological alterations of fungiform papillae or taste buds on the tongue. – Smokers have fewer and flatter taste buds. A study of the tongues of 62 Greek soldiers, published in the open access journal BMC Ear, Nose and Throat Disorders, has demonstrated how cigarettes deaden the ability to taste.
New method takes aim at aggressive cancer cells — Researchers use novel stem-cell method to discover chemical with potency against breast tumors in mice. – A multi-institutional team of Boston-area researchers has discovered a chemical salinomycin that works in mice to kill the rare but aggressive cells within breast cancers that have the ability to seed new tumors.
Hospital-acquired MRSA carriage was common at discharge to home health care and was frequently prolonged. Transmission occurred in nearly 20% of household contacts and was associated with older age and participation in health care of the index patient. – Infection with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) appears relatively common among patients discharged from the hospital into home health care, revealed by researchers. In addition, about one-fifth of infected patients may transmit the organism to other people in their households.
Mayo researchers find anesthesia not harmful for babies during birth process – Children exposed to anesthesia during Cesarean section are not at any higher risk for learning disabilities later in life than children not delivered by C-section, revealed by researchers.
Mathematical modeling predicts response to Herceptin in breast cancer patients. – Cancer researchers are turning to mathematical models to help answer important clinical questions, and a new paper in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, illustrates how the technique may answer questions about Herceptin resistance.
A team of scientists from the USC has developed a method to detect and quantify the 15 most common fragrance allergens included in soap, gel, cologne and other personal hygiene. – A group of chemists from the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC) has developed a method to quantify the fragrance allergens found in baby bathwater.
The fancier the cortex, the smarter the brain? – A larger brain cortex predicts greater intellectual capacity in a person, revealed by researchers. These findings would help researchers and scientists to find new ways of increasing intelligence.
