KURT YAEGER, M.D. MATERIALS, RADIOLOGY The company EXO Imaging out of Redwood City, CA recently emerged from stealth mode to announce the development of a novel technology called PiezoelectricMicromachined Ultrasonic Transducers (pMUT) for ultrasound imaging. EXO Imaging is bringing together advances in micromachined materials and artificial intelligence to enhance both the ultrasound probe as well as the receiver that a clinician uses to visualize the ultrasound images....
Post
Protein aggregation: Protein assemblies relevant not only for neurodegenerative disease
Publication in Nature Communications HEINRICH-HEINE UNIVERSITY DUESSELDORF Proteins are central components of living material. These complex molecules made up of combinations of individual amino acids in some cases comprise thousands of individual atoms and have sophisticated three dimensional shapes. The term ‘fold’ is used to describe this structure. The fold of a protein determines its biological function. ...
Post
Could targeting variants of this gene help fight Alzheimer’s disease?
By Catharine Paddock PhD Fact checked by Carolyn Robertson Scientists have identified gene variants that appear able to alter the risk of Alzheimer’s disease by changing levels of a protein that is present in cerebrospinal fluid. In a recent Science Translational Medicinepaper, the international team describes how variants in the MS4A4A gene influence the risk...
Post
Enzyme that helps protect us from stress linked to liver cancer growth
MEDICAL COLLEGE OF GEORGIA AT AUGUSTA UNIVERSITY AUGUSTA, Ga. (Aug. 22, 2019) – An enzyme induced by stress to help reduce production of damaging free radicals is also used by liver cancer to regulate two major cell proliferation pathways that enable the cancer to thrive, scientists report. They’ve also found that when they block the enzyme Nqo1, it dramatically reduces the proliferation of liver cancer cells, a hallmark of cancer’s...
Post
First-person memories stay sharper longer, research suggests
by Katie Willis, University of Alberta Our ability to edit our memories allows us to grow and change how we perceive ourselves and our experiences, says U of A psychology researcher. The perspective through we which recall our memories—seeing them through our own eyes as a participant or seeing ourselves in them as a third-party...
Post
Study finds new pathway for potential glioblastoma treatment
by Dorian Martin, Texas A&M University A team led by Texas A&M University’s College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences’ (CVM) researcher Dr. Stephen Safe has discovered a new pathway that may help suppress the development of glioblastoma tumors, one of the deadliest forms of cancer. The Texas A&M team’s research focuses on the AH...
Post
New method classifies brain cells based on electrical signals
by Massachusetts Institute of Technology For decades, neuroscientists have relied on a technique for reading out electrical “spikes” of brain activity in live, behaving subjects that tells them very little about the types of cells they are monitoring. In a new study, researchers at the University of Tuebingen and MIT’s Picower Institute for Learning and...
Post
Study links certain metabolites to stem cell function in the intestine
by Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT biologists have discovered an unexpected effect of a ketogenic, or fat-rich, diet: They showed that high levels of ketone bodies, molecules produced by the breakdown of fat, help the intestine to maintain a large pool of adult stem cells, which are crucial for keeping the intestinal lining healthy. The...
Post
Scorpion toxin that targets ‘wasabi receptor’ may help solve mystery of chronic pain
by University of California, San Francisco Researchers at UC San Francisco and the University of Queensland have discovered a scorpion toxin that targets the “wasabi receptor,” a chemical-sensing protein found in nerve cells that’s responsible for the sinus-jolting sting of wasabi and the flood of tears associated with chopping onions. Because the toxin triggers a...
Post
Eye-tracking tests may be key to predicting who will develop Alzheimer’s disease, study finds
by Loughborough University New research has found that it may be possible to predict if people with mild memory and thinking impairments will go onto develop Alzheimer’s disease using eye-tracking technology. Dr. Thom Wilcockson, of Loughborough University’s School of Sports, Exercise and Health Sciences, says he hopes the findings in the new paper he is...