UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MEDICAL BRANCH AT GALVESTON GALVESTON, Texas – A new therapeutic may help reverse chemical imbalances made to the brain by habitual drug use and could one day help recovering drug addicts avoid future drug use. Researchers from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston developed and tested a treatment on rats and...
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Gene discovery unlocks mysteries to our immunity
CSIRO AUSTRALIA Australia’s national science agency CSIRO has identified a new gene that plays a critical role in regulating the body’s immune response to infection and disease. The discovery could lead to the development of new treatments for influenza, arthritis and even cancer. The gene, called C6orf106 or “C6”, controls the production of proteins involved...
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Compounds found in green tea and wine may block formation of toxic metabolites
Discovery may pave the way for therapies to treat inborn congenital metabolic disorders, Tel Aviv University researchers say AMERICAN FRIENDS OF TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY A new Tel Aviv University study suggests there is hope of treating certain inborn congenital metabolic diseases — a hope found in green tea and in red wine. Most people with inherited metabolic...
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Supplemental antioxidants may reduce exacerbations in cystic fibrosis
AMERICAN THORACIC SOCIETY July 2, 2018–An antioxidant-enriched vitamin may decrease respiratory exacerbations in people with cystic fibrosis(CF), according to new research published online in April in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. In “Effects of an Antioxidant-Enriched Multivitamin in Cystic Fibrosis: Randomized, Controlled, Multicenter Trial,” Scott D. Sagel, MD, PhD, a professor of pediatrics at Children’s...
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A daredevil researcher’s latest quest: to restore sight lost to glaucoma using virtual reality
PALO ALTO, Calif. — In the name of science, Andrew Huberman has gone diving 40 feet underwater with great white sharks. He’s gone mountain climbing without ropes or harnesses, traversing some sections where one slip would have sent him plummeting 650 feet. Now, the Stanford neuroscientist is embarking on a different kind of daring quest,...
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Superfast DNA replication causes damage in cancer cells
Inhibitors of PARP proteins are used in cancer treatment. It emerges that PARP inhibitors exert their effect by accelerating DNA replication to a speed at which DNA damage occurs. The two strands of DNA’s double helix unwind to be copied, with a structure called a replication fork forming at the point of separation. The speed...
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New Cartilage Grows, Helps Repair Damaged Joints Thanks to Novel Engineering
Patients with cartilage damage were successful in regenerating new cartilage tissue, thanks to an innovative technique developed by an NIBIB grantee. The technique creates a scaffold by combining the use of a biogel that solidifies when exposed to light and a strong biological adhesive. It was recently tested in a small clinical trial in patients undergoing microfracture...
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Opioids don’t have to be addictive – the new versions will treat pain without triggering pleasure
The problem with opioids is that they kill pain – and people. In the past three years, more than 125,000 persons died from an opioid overdose – an average of 115 people per day – exceeding the number killed in car accidents and from gunshots during the same period. America desperately needs safer analgesics. To create them, biochemists...
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Magnetic Microrobots Deliver Cells Into Living Animals
The miniscule carriers successfully transported and released live cells at a particular location within living mice. Researchers used magnetically driven microrobots to carry cells to predetermined spots within living zebrafish and mice, they report in Science Robotics today (June 27). The authors propose using these hair-width gadgets as delivery vehicles in regenerative medicine and cell therapy. The...
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Nanoparticles Heat Up in Magnetic Field to Kill Cancer Tumors
A team of researchers, headed by a group from University at Buffalo, has developed a new nanoparticle that can be used to cook tumors to death. The zinc ferrite nanoparticles can be activated by a low strength magnetic field, making the technology clinically applicable. The nanoparticles will hopefully be paired with antibodies, or other targeting mechanisms, and...