Key notes: Scientists have discovered a new way to combat HIV infection by making cells resistant to HIV. The antibodies that fight against HIV are tethered to immune cell receptors. They block the virus from gaining access to cell receptor and the spread of infection. Those cells without antibody protection dies and the protected cells...
Post
Graphene, electricity used to change stem cells for nerve regrowth
Iowa State University researchers, left to right, Metin Uz, Suprem Das, Surya Mallapragada and Jonathan Claussen are developing technologies to promote nerve regrowth. The monitor shows mesenchymal stem cells (the white) aligned along graphene circuits (the black). Researchers looking for ways to regenerate nerves can have a hard time obtaining key tools of their trade....
Post
Should you get screened for prostate cancer? We break down the latest advice
What’s new? What was emphatic before is wishy-washy now. The last time the US Preventive Services Task Force weighed in on prostate cancer screening via blood tests, in 2012, it issued unambiguous advice to physicians: discourage men of all ages from getting tested for levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA). That’s still the advice for men...
Post
Alleviating Back pain with Spinal Manipulation
The most common reason especially among middle-aged people seeking practitioners is lower back pain. It is also the most common reason for doctors prescribing controlling, addictive narcotics. The latest evidence that spinal manipulation can offer an effective alternative to pain killers is published in the Journal of the American Medical association. Researchers analysed 26 studies...
Post
From skin to brain: Stem cells without genetic modification
The top four images, from left to right, show Keratinocyte-derived neural crest stem cells turning into neurons as shown by typical neuronal morphology. The larger image, directly above, is a close-up of the far right image. A discovery, several years in the making, by a University at Buffalo research team has demonstrated that adult skin...
Post
Ability of stem cells expanded to regrow any tissue type
Human EPS cells (green) can be detected in both the embryonic part (left) and extra-embryonic parts (placenta and yolk sac, right) of a mouse embryo. When scientists talk about laboratory stem cells being totipotent or pluripotent, they mean that the cells have the potential, like an embryo, to develop into any type of tissue in...
Post
Developing adoptive T-cell therapy for ovarian cancer
Preclinical research on T-cell therapy is described in a new report, showing how engineered T cells can kill both human and mouse ovarian cancer cells in the lab and significantly extend survival in a mouse model. Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center immunotherapy researchers Drs. Kristin Anderson and Philip Greenberg and their colleagues are working on...
Post
New chemical composition of ‘poppers’ linked to retinal damage
They are colorless liquids with strong odors, inhaled for their psychoactive effects, sexual arousal and feelings of euphoria. The Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 aimed to ban the production and selling of all ‘illegals’ in UK from April 2016. However, Poppers were exempted as they don’t directly affect the CNS. The principle chemical ingredient of poppers,...
Post
Stem cells help explain varied genetics behind rare neurologic disease
Researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have successfully grown stem cells from children with a devastating neurological disease to help explain how different genetic backgrounds can cause common symptoms. The work sheds light on how certain brain disorders develop, and provides a framework for developing and testing new therapeutics. Medications that appear...
Post
From skin to brain: Stem cells without genetic modification
Summary: A discovery, several years in the making, demonstrates that adult skin cells can be converted into neural crest cells (a type of stem cell) without any genetic modification, and that these stem cells can yield other cells that are present in the spinal cord and the brain. The applications could be significant, from studying...