HUMODS.com ~ what's new in mind, body & lifespan upgrade mods
8/12/2009
Modded protein completely reverses multiple sclerosis in animals
A new experimental treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS) completely reverses the devastating autoimmune disorder in mice, and might work exactly the same way in humans, say researchers at the Jewish General Hospital Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research and McGill University in Montreal. MS is an autoimmune disease in which the body's own immune response attacks the central nervous system, almost as if the body had become allergic to itself, leading to progressive physical and cognitive disability. The new treatment, appropriately named GIFT15, puts MS into remission by suppressing the immune response. GIFT15 is composed of two proteins, GSM-CSF and interleukin-15, fused together artificially in the lab.

Labels:

8/11/2009
One molecule that can block the spread of ALL viruses
"If you look at the viruses that are the biggest threats of modern times, most of them were unknown through human history: HIV, SARS, Ebola. You don't know where the next one is coming from. How do you develop therapeutics for the unknown and unknowable, given that you won't have time to develop a vaccine for a new agent after it appears?" asks Michael Goldblatt, who once led the bio-defense program for the Pentagon's research arm, DARPA, and now heads Functional Genetics. He and a few other researchers think they have the answer. They are working on an entirely new class of antiviral drugs that should do something seemingly impossible: work against a wide range of existing viruses and also be effective against viruses that have not even evolved yet. What's more, it should be extremely difficult for any virus to become resistant to these drugs. The molecule they have engineered, called FGI-104, is designed to bind to a cellular protein called FGI-101, which viruses use to infect more cells, killing infected cells and preventing the virus from spreading.

Labels:

8/11/2009
Making cells immortal makes them easier to reprogram
Specialized adult cells made 'immortal' through the blockade of an anti-tumor pathway can be turned into stem-like cells quickly and efficiently. The findings, which should make it easier to generate patient-specific cells from any tissue type, including certain diseased cells that have proved difficult to transform, suggest that cellular reprogramming and cancer formation are inextricably linked.

Labels:

8/11/2009
First implant with WiFi connection to doctor approved
St. Jude Medical's Accent and Anthem pacemakers now feature RF telemetry that enables secure, wireless communication between the implanted device and the programmer used by the clinician or a home monitor. Many implants must be monitored regularly to insure they are working properly, especially pacemakers. Now that monitoring can be done by a wireless system via remote monitoring from the patient's home. The implant can even call a physician at home if an emergency situation arises. So how long before a bot-net has someone's pacemaker sending out spam?

Labels: ,

8/10/2009
Drinking beetroot juice boosts your stamina by 16%

Drinking beetroot juice boosts your stamina and could help you exercise for up to 16 percent longer. A University of Exeter led-study, published Aug. 6, shows for the first time how the nitrate contained in beetroot juice leads to a reduction in oxygen uptake, making exercise less tiring.The study reveals that drinking beetroot juice reduces oxygen uptake to an extent that cannot be achieved by any other known means, including training.

Labels:

8/10/2009
A step towards the ultimate vision enhancement system

TruFocals are glasses that let you choose the exact correction that works best for you at any distance and under any lighting conditions for undistorted vision over a wide field of view without the zones and lines of progressive or bifocal glasses. Each "lens" is actually a set of two lenses, one flexible and one firm. The flexible lens (near the eye) has a transparent distensible membrane attached to a clear rigid surface. The pocket between them holds a small quantity of crystal clear fluid. As you move the slider on the bridge of the glasses, it pushes the fluid and alters the shape of the flexible lens. Changing the shape changes the correction. This mimics the way the lenses in your eyes used to perform when you were younger. Now all that is needed is a cognobot capable of reading the direction of your gaze and adjusting the lenses automatically.

Labels:

8/10/2009
Can lasers be used to removed wastes that cause aging from inside your cells?
Abstract: Lipofuscin is membrane-bound cellular waste that can be neither degraded nor ejected from the cell but can only be diluted through cell division and subsequent growth. The fate of postmitotic cells is to accumulate lipofuscin, which as an "aging pigment" has been considered a reliable biomarker for the age of cells such as neurons and, by extension, their hosts.

The goal of this research is to tune the use of laser pulses in order to remove lipofuscin from aged cells, to hopefully cure or reduce aging.

Labels:

8/09/2009
Lack of money, no problem, but lack of spouse can accelerate cognitive decline
New UCLA research suggests that for seniors age 70 and older, socioeconomic status does not play a major role in the brain's continued ability to function. However, seniors who have never been married and widowers seem to perform more poorly as they age.

Labels:

8/09/2009
Long term research shows physical inactivity doubles disease risk, drastically shortens lifespan
About 50 million Americans have sedentary jobs, no regular physical activity program and are generally inactive at home. "These individuals are doubling their risk of developing numerous health conditions compared with those who are even moderately active and fit," said Steven Blair, who has extensively analyzed the results of the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study, an ongoing study began in 1970 that includes more than 80,000 patients.

Labels:

8/08/2009
A bioengineered tooth germ mod regenerates lost teeth in 49 days

A Japanese group, led by cell biologist Takashi Tsuji of Tokyo University of Science in Noda, Chiba Prefecture, focused on tooth germs, the embryonic tissues that develop into teeth. After obtaining such germs from mouse embryos, they separated out two types of cells--epithelial cells and mesenchymal cells--and then recombined them into a new bioengineered tooth germ. The team then grew the bioengineered germs in a special culture for 5 to 7 days and transplanted them into the upper jaws of adult mice in the place of an extracted molar. New teeth poked through the gums after about 36 days and reached the proper size and alignment with opposing teeth for proper chewing after 49 days.

Labels:

8/07/2009
Noninsulin-producing alpha cells in pancreas modded into insulin-producing beta cells
In findings that add to the prospects of regenerating insulin-producing cells in people with type 1 diabetes, researchers have shown that insulin-producing beta cells can be derived from non-insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. The researchers, led by Patrick Collombat of the Max-Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Germany and Ahmed Mansouri of the University of Gottingen in Germany, discovered in mice that new insulin-producing beta cells can be generated from alpha cells in the islets of the pancreas by modifying the expression of a specific gene (Pax4) in alpha cells.

Labels:

8/07/2009
Breakthrough method for detecting genetic causes of complex diseases
Computational biologists at Carnegie Mellon University have developed an analytical technique to detect the multiple genetic variations that contribute to complex disease syndromes of many types. Rather than searching one at a time for genetic alterations that cause a particular symptom or trait, as in most conventional approaches, the Carnegie Mellon scientists use a statistical method that enables them to uncover genome variations underlying an entire regulatory network of genes or traits that are responsible for complex diseases.

Labels:

8/06/2009
Monoclonal antibody mod that neutralizes the hepatitis C virus installed in first human
The University of Massachusetts Medical School has begun a Phase 1 clinical trial of a human monoclonal antibody it developed that neutralizes the hepatitis C virus (HCV). The trial, which follows successful preclinical studies, will include 30 healthy volunteers and will test the safety and activity of the monoclonal antibody. More than 3.2 million Americans are chronically infected with HCV, which attacks the liver and can lead to liver failure, killing 10,000 annually.

Labels:

8/06/2009
Tough design problem - ask nature how to solve it

Nature's elegant solutions to design challenges include the Scots pine's adaptive growth, the thorny devil's passive water collection, and a leaf's on-site energy production. AskNature.org is an open science collaboration site for compiling data that can help you solve your design challenges using nature's methods. Here scientists are compiling a database about the methods nature uses to solve all sorts of thorny design problems in order to make bio-mimic design solutions more readily available.

Labels:

8/06/2009
Premature aging is caused by point mutations in your mtDNA
The normal aging process has long been linked to problems with cell respiration, the process through which the cells extract energy from nutrients. Researchers at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet have now shown how certain proteins that are synthesized in the cellular mitochondria - popularly known as the cells' power plants - become unstable and disintegrate, which in turn can impair cell respiration and cause premature ageing. "Our results show that premature aging is caused by point mutations in the mtDNA, which cause the mitochondrial proteins to become unstable and disintegrate," says Aleksandra Trifunovic, one of the scientists involved in the study.

Labels:

8/05/2009
Hungary arrests four for offering stem cell treatments
In all but a few nation states worldwide, bureaucrats are busy causing millions of unnecessary deaths, by holding back the most revolutionary advance in medicine in the last hundred years, stem cell therapies. The latest innovators to fall victim to a nation's medical gestapo are in Hungary. America's FDA probably kills at least 50 people by delaying promising medical innovations for every person they save from a dangerous form of treatment. They kill more American's every week than Osama Bin Laden could manage in a lifetime.

The Bureaucrat's Code: If it moves, tax it. If it doesn't move, subsidize it. If it moves more quickly than average, regulate it down to a crawl.

Labels:

8/05/2009
Chip microfluidics fab mimics ability of cells to mod proteins

Researchers at RPI have developing the first working artificial prototype of an "organ" of a human cell that modifies biomolecules and packages them for delivery around the cell. The organelle, akin to a miniature organ in a cell, made up of a network of sacs piled together like a stack of pancakes they have replicated is called a Golgi apparatus. The role it plays in chemically modifying proteins is crucial for their stability and function, and it also helps manufacture complex sugars.

Labels:

8/05/2009
Promising candidate protein for cancer prevention vaccines
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have learned that some healthy people naturally developed an immune response against a protein that is made in excess levels in many cancers, including breast, lung, and head and neck cancers. The finding suggests that a vaccine against the protein might prevent malignancies.

Labels:

8/03/2009
Mounting evidence of fish oil's heart health benefits
"This isn't just hype; we now have tremendous and compelling evidence from very large studies, some dating back 20 and 30 years, that demonstrate the protective benefits of omega-3 fish oil in multiple aspects of preventive cardiology," said Carl Lavie, M.D., medical director of Cardiac Rehabilitation and Prevention, Ochsner Medical Center, New Orleans. "The strongest evidence of a cardioprotective effect of omega-3s appears in patients with established cardiovascular disease and following a heart attack with up to a 30 percent reduction in CV-related death."

Dietary intake of fish oil can also decrease the risk of atherosclerosis, arrhythmias, heart attack, sudden cardiac death and even health failure. Most of the evidence for the cardioprotective benefits supports the use of DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid), the long-chain fatty acids in the omega-3 family.

Labels:

8/03/2009
Viral mimic causes cancer cells to self-destruct
Melanoma cells responded to administration of the dsRNA mimic polyinosine-polycytidylic acid (pIC) by inducing an immune response that led to autophagy. The method of delivering the pIC to the melanoma cells was critical and required a carrier called polyethyleneimine (PEI) to ensure delivery of pIC to the cell cytoplasm. The researchers went on to show that pIC links autophagy to apoptosis, a well studied cell death pathway. Significantly, the cell autonomous anti-tumor activity of pIC was observed even in animals with a suppressed immune system, a condition common to melanoma patients. "Altogether, our results provide the proof of principle for dsRNA sensors as therapeutic targets to overcome the inherent resistance of melanoma cells to current anticancer treatments," says Dr. Maria S. Soengas from the Melanoma Laboratory at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre in Madrid, Spain.

Labels:

8/02/2009
How can you image fragile proteins and viruses without destroying their structure?

Ultrafast, ultrabright x-rays can image proteins or viruses, but explains John Spence, a physicist at Arizona State University, "so as not to scatter, the x-ray beam has to be in a high vacuum, but a protein or virus in its natural state is usually wet. As in T. S. Eliot's Wasteland, water is life. How do we maintain the protein or virus in an aqueous environment inside the vacuum?" The solution is a particle gun, like an ink-jet printer, designed to inject a beam of water droplets across the tightly focused x-ray beam in single file, each droplet so small it contains only a single protein or virus, can solve the problem of imaging complex organic structures.

Labels:

7/31/2009
Scientists program blood stem cells to become vision cells
University of Florida researchers were able to program bone marrow stem cells to repair damaged retinas in mice, offering a potential treatment for age-related vision loss. The success implies that blood stem cells taken from bone marrow can be programmed to restore a variety of the body's cells and tissues including heart and arteries. "Although we used genes, we also suggest you can do the same thing with drugs," said Dr. Maria B. Grant, a professor of pharmacology and therapeutics at UF's College of Medicine. "Ultimately you would not give the drugs to the patient, you would give the drugs to their cells. Take the cells out, activate certain chemical pathways, and put the cells back into the patient."

Labels:

7/31/2009
Disrupting bacteria's communication prevents infection
Bacteria use a process called "quorum sensing" to synchronize their efforts to infect your cells. "Quorum sensing allows bacteria to collectively carry out tasks that would be unsuccessful if carried out by an individual bacterium acting alone," explains senior study author Dr. Bonnie L. Bassler from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Princeton University. During the process of quorum sensing, bacteria communicate via chemical signals called autoinducers which bind to receptors, but researchers have now found a molecule that can prevent this binding, blocking bacteria's ability to coordinate attacks.

Labels:

7/31/2009
Researchers uncover genetic link to age-related cataracts
Bing-Cheng Wang, Ph.D., Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine professor of pharmacology and senior staff scientist at MetroHealth Medical Center, and Sudha K. Iyengar, Ph.D. professor of genetic and molecular epidemiology at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, have discovered the first gene associated with the formation of age-related cataracts, a leading causes of blindness.

Labels:

7/30/2009
Turning against pathogens the internal seeds of their own destruction
Numerous pathogens contain a deadly 'internal time bomb' mechanism that can be used against them. Researchers at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) have now been able to determine the structure and operating mechanism of the proteins involved. This clears the road for finding ways to set the clock on this internal time bomb potentially developing a new class of antibiotics.

Labels:

7/30/2009
Scientists uncork secrets of how red wine's resveratrol extends lifespans
Scientists from Scotland and Singapore have unraveled a mystery that has perplexed scientists since red wine was first discovered to have health benefits. How does resveratrol produce those life extending benefits?. Their research showed how resveratrol produces a one-two punch to knock out inflammation, a major cause of the damage associated with aging, by preventing the body from creating two different molecules known to trigger inflammation, sphingosine kinase and phospholipase D. This finding also suggests that new resveratrol-based drugs might be developed that offer an effective treatment for inflammatory diseases like appendicitis, peritonitis, and systemic sepsis.

Labels:

7/29/2009
Re-engineering your cells to keep your body forever thin

Researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have engineered mouse and human cells to produce brown fat cells (image shows engineered cells). Brown fat cells are a natural energy-burning type of fat that counteracts obesity and the ability to produce them offers a new way to treat obesity and diabetes. To perform the feat, a team led by Bruce Spiegelman, PhD, identified both parts of a molecular switch that normally causes some immature muscle cells in the embryo to become brown fat cells. The scientists then manipulate the switch to force other types of cells in the laboratory to produce brown fat, known as Brown Adipose Tissue (BAT). Next, they transplanted these synthetic brown fat precursors, known as eBAT (engineered BAT), into adult mice to augment their innate stores of brown fat. Tests showed that the brown fat transplants were burning caloric energy at a high rate -- energy that otherwise would have been stored as fat in white adipose tissue. "Since brown fat cells have very high capacity to dissipate excess energy and counteract obesity, eBAT has a very high potential for treating obesity," said Shingo Kajimura, PhD, lead author of the paper. "We are currently working on this."

Labels:

7/29/2009
Reprogramming human cells without inserting genes
A research team at Worcester Polytechnic Institute has discovered a way to turn on stem cell genes in human fibroblasts (skin cells) without the risks associated with inserting extra genes or using viruses. This discovery opens a new avenue for reprogramming cells that could eventually lead to treatments for a range of human diseases and traumatic injuries by coaxing a patient's own cells to repair and regenerate the damaged tissues. "We show that by manipulating culture conditions alone, we can achieve changes in fibroblasts that would be beneficial in development of patient-specific cell therapy approaches," the authors wrote in the paper.

Genes OCT4, SOX2 and NANOG are accepted as markers of pluripotency because they are active in stem cells, but become dormant once the stem cells begin to differentiate. The team turned on these existing, yet dormant, stem cell genes by lowering the amount of atmospheric oxygen the cells were exposed to, and by adding a protein called fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) to the culture medium. FGF2 is a naturally occurring protein that is known to be vital for maintaining the pluripotency of embryonic stem cells.

Labels:

7/29/2009
Freshly crushed garlic better for the heart than processed

A new study reports the first scientific evidence that freshly crushed garlic has more potent heart-healthy effects than dried garlic. It also challenges the widespread belief that most of garlic's benefits are due to its rich array of antioxidants. Instead, garlic's heart-healthy effects seem to result mainly from hydrogen sulfide, a chemical signaling substance that forms after garlic is cut or crushed and relaxes blood vessels when eaten.

Labels:

7/28/2009
New enzyme mod brings 'corrective gene' mods closer
Scientists from the Universite de Montreal and McGill University have successfully re-engineered a human enzyme protein that accelerates chemical reactions within the human body. "We can now harness this insight to further advance therapies for genetic diseases," said a member of he research team.

Labels:

7/28/2009
How your body's frontline immune cells decide which cells to attack
Understanding how the body's natural defenses works is the first step towards designing mods to boost these defenses against disease. Natural Killer (NK) cells, a type of white blood cell, are a major component of the human body's innate immune system. Over 1,000 NK cells are found in every drop of blood. They provide a fast front-line defense against tumors, viruses and bacterial infections, by latching onto and killing cells in the human body that are cancerous or are infected with a virus or a bacterial pathogen. On their journey round the human body NK cells regularly latch onto normal non-diseased cells too, before moving off, leaving them unharmed. Now, a team of researchers from Imperial College London have used high speed microscopy imaging techniques to observe the NK cell decision making process in action. The outcome of the decision making process is determined by how receptors on the surface of the NK cell interact with proteins on the surface of the captured cell. Every NK cell has two types of surface receptors - activators, which turn the killing mechanism 'on' and inhibitors which turn the killing mechanism 'off'.

Labels:

7/28/2009
Blood-derived macrophages vital to repair of spinal cord injuries
Using a mouse model of spinal injury, Michal Schwartz and colleagues from the Weizmann institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel tested the effect of macrophages on the recovery process after injury and demonstrate an important anti-inflammatory role for a subset of infiltrating monocyte-derived macrophages that is dependent upon their expression of the anti-inflammatory molecule interleukin-10. These results suggest that this subset of macrophages may have a beneficial effect on spinal cord injuries.

Labels:

7/27/2009
Researchers make movies of bacterial infecting living cells

Researchers have developed a new technique that allows them to make a movie of bacteria infecting a living host cell. The scientists plan to use their system to observe how human pathogens such as Listeria and Trypanosomes interact with the immune system, to gain a better understanding of how bacteria infect cells so that ways of blocking the infection process can be found.

Labels:

7/27/2009
Modding your immune system to seek and destroy emerging tumors
A new vaccine is able to prime the immune system to monitor the gut for emerging cancers by teaching it to recognize abnormal versions of the protein MUC1. If an adenoma develops and begins to produce the faulty version of MUC1, the immune system will raise antibodies to attack and destroy the precancerous tissue. "You would be using your immune system as a surveillance mechanism to prevent the development of malignancy," says principal investigator Robert E. Schoen.

Labels:

7/27/2009
Scientists close to growing replacement bones with stem cells
Scientists achieve breakthrough in understanding how to grow replacement bones with stem cell technology. Researchers have discovered that the 'bone-like' materials that were grown from bone cells from mouse skull and mouse bone marrow stem cells successfully mimicked the hallmarks of real bone, which include stiffness. However, they found that the 'bone-like' material grown from mouse embryonic stem cells was much less stiff and less complex in its mineral composition when compared to the other materials. "Our study provides an important insight into how different cell sources can really influence the quality of bone that we can produce," said Professor Molly Stevens of Imperial College London. "It brings us one step closer to developing materials that will have the highest chance of success when implanted into patients."

Labels:

7/27/2009
Gene hacking breakthrough - what took years before, now can be done in a few days
High-throughput sequencing lets biologists scan genomes at the rate of millions of DNA letters, or bases, per hour. By comparison, hacking genes has moved at a snail's pace, until now. In the lab of Harvard Medical School Professor of Genetics George Church two young researchers have developed Multiplex Automated Genome Engineering (MAGE), a process that allows the editing of multiple genes in parallel instead of targeting one gene at a time. Using MAGE they were able to transform E. coli cells into efficient factories producing a desired compound in just three days -- a feat that would formerly have taken months or even years to accomplish. "We initiated the project to close the gap between DNA sequencing technology and cell programming technology," explains graduate student Harris Wang. Adds postdoctoral researcher Farren Isaacs, "We wanted to develop a new tool and demonstrate how to apply it; we were determined to hand labs a hammer and a nail."

Labels:

7/24/2009
Why is it that your dog can still get better medical care than your children?
FDA regulators more concerned with keeping their careers on the fast track. Than making sure life saving medical breakthroughs are fast tracked are to blame. They would rather let 50 people die from lack of effective new treatments, rather than let one person get ill from taking any newly approved drug. The problem is that no one blames them for the 50 deaths due to their dragging their feet, but Congressional politicos will jump all over them should a constituent get sick from taking a new drug, potentially putting their careers at risk. Speaking about the amazing cures stem cells have made possible in dogs and horses, Hubert Kim, who directs the Cartilage Repair & Regeneration Center at the University of California, San Francisco said, "The results in animals provide an exciting look forward into what human therapies might look like." That is if the FDA (For Dead Americans) ever approves them. It isn't like they can't move much more quickly. Indeed, when the Gay community started following them around and picketing them at their homes. Then they quickly found a way to fast track all new HIV drugs. This bureaucratic holocaust that brings pain, misery and an early death to tens of thousands of people annually, will only end when Americans start blaming FDA regulators for the misery and deaths their ridiculously long approval process causes.

Labels:

7/24/2009
Caspase-8 cause cancer cells to proliferate and invade surrounding tissues
Scientists at Burnham Institute for Medical Research have found that the Caspase-8 protein, long known to play a major role in promoting programmed cell death (apoptosis), helps relay signals that cause cancer cells to proliferate, migrate and invade surrounding tissues.

Labels:

7/24/2009
Ordinary mouse cells can be reprogrammed to grow an entire mouse
Dr. Shaorong Gao and colleagues from the National Institute of Biological Sciences in Beijing, China, report a breakthrough in the reprogrammed of induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPSCs. They have demonstration that mouse iPSCs can pass the most stringent test of true pluripotency, termed "tetraploid complementation," which uses a hybrid embryo method to generate mice entirely comprised of reprogrammed cells. "Although these findings are an important proof of principle," said Dr. Gao. "It would be premature to make claims about whether iPSCs in general are functionally equivalent to normal embryonic stem cells (ESCs)."

Labels:

7/23/2009
Bcl6 gene implicated as cause of auto-immune diseases
Expression of a single gene programs an immune system helper T cell that fuels rapid growth and diversification of antibodies in a cellular structure implicated in autoimmune diseases and development of B cell lymphoma, scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reported. The gene is Bcl6, which the team found plays the crucial role in differentiating a naive T cell into a T follicular helper cell (Tfh). "Tfh cells were first noticed in structures called germinal centers found in the lymphoid system - in lymph nodes and the spleen," said senior author Chen Dong, Ph.D., professor in M. D. Anderson's Department of Immunology. Germinal centers are powerful machines that churn out lots of antibodies.

Labels:

7/23/2009
Leukemia cells evade immune system by mimicking normal cells
Human leukemia stem cells escape detection by co-opting a protective molecular badge used by normal blood stem cells to migrate safely within the body, according to a pair of studies by researchers at Stanford University Medical School. "We call it the 'Don't eat me signal,'" said Ravindra Majeti, MD, PhD, assistant professor of hematology at the medical school.

Labels:

7/23/2009
Some blood pressure drugs appear to help protect against dementia
A particular class of medication used to treat high blood pressure could protect older adults against memory decline and other impairments in cognitive function, according to a newly published study from Wake Forest University School of Medicine. Their research suggests that some angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, known as "centrally-acting" because they can cross the blood-brain barrier (a specialized system of tiny blood vessels that protects the brain from harmful substances in the blood stream) appear to protect against dementia by reducing inflammation in the brain.

Labels:

7/23/2009
The 'see food' diet -- Omega-3 found to maintain vision as you age
A diet high in omega-3 fatty acids has been found to protect against a variety of diseases including atherosclerosis and Alzheimer's disease. Retrospective studies have suggested that diets high in fish oil or omega-3 fatty acids may also contribute to protection against Age-related macular degeneration (AMD). A group led by Dr. Chi-Chao Chan at the National Eye Institute in Bethesda, MD examined the direct effect of omega-3 fatty acids on a mouse model of AMD. A diet with high levels of omega-3 fatty acids resulted in slower lesion progression, with improvement in some lesions. These mice had lower levels of inflammatory molecules and higher levels of anti-inflammatory molecules, which may explain this protective effect.

Labels:

7/22/2009
Could the popular theory that reactive oxygen causes aging be wrong?
Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are ions or very small molecules that include oxygen ions, free radicals, and peroxide. A popular theory of aging maintains that ROS damage cells in ways that cause aging and disease. So a defective mitochondrial protein called MCLK1 that produce elevated amounts of reactive oxygen in mice when young should spell disaster for longevity. Yet, according to a new study, these mice actually age at a slower rate and live longer than normal mice.

Labels:

7/22/2009
XIAP is critical link in cell death pathway

Programmed cell death (also called apoptosis) removes unwanted and dangerous cells from our bodies, protecting us against cancer development and diseases where the immune system attacks the body's own tissues, such as in insulin-dependent diabetes. Now a team led by Professor Andreas Strasser from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute has found that XIAP (X-chromosome-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein) is a critical factor in programmed cell death that determines which of two pathways will be followed to culminate in a cell's death.

Labels:

7/22/2009
Modding mice to remove cell receptor that virus uses to infect, prevents infection
New research from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia sheds light on the role of cell receptors in acting as gatekeepers for infectious viruses. By using mice genetically engineered to lack a particular receptor in heart and pancreas cells, the study team prevented infection by a common virus that causes potentially serious diseases in humans.

Labels:

7/22/2009
Your genes effect what you want to eat and your susceptibility to obesity
An international team of researchers has found a connection between a variation in a gene active in the central nervous system (CNS) and an increased risk for obesity. People who have inherited the gene variant neurexin 3 (NRXN3) have a 10% to 15% increased chance of being obese versus people who do not have the variant.

Labels:

7/22/2009
Brain develops motor memory for prosthetics or bot remotes as easily as it learns to ride a bicycle

"Practice makes perfect" is the maxim drummed into students struggling to learn to ride a bike or develop a killer backhand in tennis. Research now reveals that the brain can just as easily achieve motor memory over a prosthetic or robotic device. Mastering control of artificial limbs or remote devices with the same ease as a kid on a bicycle. "When your own body performs motor tasks repeatedly, the movements become almost automatic," said study principal investigator Jose Carmena, a UC Berkeley assistant professor. "We have demonstrated that the brain is able to form a motor memory to control a disembodied device in a way that mirrors how it controls its own body."

Labels: ,

7/22/2009
Using the common cold virus to deliver corrected genes to lung cells
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine scientists have found a new, far more efficient way to deliver a corrected gene to lung cells. Using parainfluenza virus, one of the viruses that causes common colds, the UNC scientists found that delivery of a corrected version of the CFTR gene to 25 percent of cells grown in a tissue culture model that resembles the lining of the human airways was sufficient to restore normal function back to the tissue. "This is the first demonstration in which we've been able to execute delivery in an efficient manner," said Professor Ray Pickles. "When you consider that in past gene therapy studies, the targeting efficiency has been somewhere around 0.1 percent of cells, you can see this is a giant leap forward."

Labels:

7/22/2009
Stopping to smell the flowers really does alter gene activity to soothe stress
Feeling stressed? Then try savoring the scent of lemon, mango, lavender, or other fragrant plants. Scientists in Japan are reporting the first scientific evidence that inhaling certain fragrances alter gene activity and blood chemistry in ways that can reduce stress levels.

Labels:

7/22/2009
More evidence both humans and animals easily map neurally-controlled bots as body extensions
A new study of neural prostheses in monkeys suggests that learning to control a robotic arm with the power of thought may happen more naturally than scientists had expected. Jose Carmena and Karunesh Ganguly at the University of California, Berkeley (UCB), found that the animals create a mental map of the device, much as we do when learning to swim or swing a tennis racket.

Labels: ,

7/22/2009
Watching motor molecules using random walks to make deliveries inside a living cell
Cells rely on tiny molecular motors to deliver cargo, such as mRNA and organelles, within the cell. The critical nature of this transport system is evidenced by the fact that disruption of motors by genetic defects leads to fatal diseases in humans. Investigators have previously isolated these motor to study their function in a controlled environment outside the cell, but now making use of incredibly tiny, glowing quantum dots researchers can track the miniscule motions of myosin V in living cells. Myosin V is a motor molecule that walks in a fashion similar to humans by stepping along actin filament tracks that are assembled in a dense, criss-crossing network inside the cell. A critical feature of these motors is their ability to walk long distances without falling off their tracks. Sophisticated microscopes and sensitive cameras were used to track the 72 nanometer strides (equivalent to 1 millionth of an inch) taken by these motors inside the cells.

Labels: ,

7/22/2009
Peptide linked to dementia prevention and life extension

A cellular protein that may prevent nerve cells from dying also helps to improve insulin action and lower blood glucose levels. The infused of humanin into the brains of diabetic rats significantly improved overall insulin sensitivity, both in the liver and in skeletal muscle. A single treatment with a highly-potent form of humanin significantly lowered blood-sugar levels in diabetic rats. "The improvement in insulin sensitivity caused by centrally administered humanin may be one of the main mechanisms through which humanin regulates cell survival," says Dr. Nir Barzilai. "This may provide another potential mechanism by which humanin protects against Alzheimer's disease. We conclude that the decline in humanin with age could help explain why Alzheimer's disease and type 2 diabetes are more common in older people."

Labels:

7/22/2009
Skin-like tissue developed from human embryonic stem cells
Dental and tissue engineering researchers at Tufts University have harnessed the pluripotency of human embryonic stem cells (hESC) to generate complex, multilayer tissues that mimic human skin and the oral mucosa (the moist tissue that lines the inside of the mouth). The proof-of-concept study is published online in advance of print in Tissue Engineering Part A. "For the first time, we have established that a single source of hESC can provide the multiple cell types needed to interact within a three-dimensional tissue model to generate complex, multilayer tissues. We are a step closer to a practical therapy to help with diseases of the skin and mouth," said Professor Jonathan Garlick.

Labels:

7/22/2009
Six lifestyle factors can reduce risk of high blood pressure by 80%
Both men and women who exercised regularly, drank moderately, did not smoke, who were not overweight and had a diet that included cereal and fruits and vegetables had a lower lifetime risk of heart failure. The researchers found that normal body weight, never smoking, regular exercise, moderate alcohol intake, and consumption of breakfast cereal and fruits and vegetables were individually associated with a lower lifetime risk of heart failure compared to a corresponding undesirable behavior. There was an inverse and graded association between the number of healthy lifestyle factors and lifetime risk of heart failure. "For example, the lifetime risk for heart failure was approximately 1 in 5 (21.2 percent) in men adhering to none of the desirable lifestyle factors, compared to 1 in 10 (10.1 percent) in those adhering to 4 or more healthy lifestyle factors," the authors write. For women who had all 6 low-risk factors (0.3 percent of the population), they had about an 80 percent lower risk of developing high blood pressure.

Labels:

7/22/2009
New prenatal screening could eradicate genetic disease and even replace natural conception
Genetic birth defect screening is about to get faster, cheaper, and more comprehensive - all at once. A new technique could soon make genetic defects a thing of the past and replace natural conception altogether. For years, preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) has allowed couples to ensure the health of their child. But a new screening technique called karyomapping will allow doctors to detect both chromosomal abnormalities and single gene defects with a single test, making it a near-universal embryo screening. The technique should go into regular use by the end of the year.

Labels:

7/22/2009
Studying the masters of regeneration - able to form an entire new animal from any small part

Flatworms are masters of regeneration and an ideal model organism for researchers to investigate stem cells and their regulation. Research suggests that the regeneration of the flatworm involves hundreds of genes. But how are these genes regulated? With the latest technologies researchers search for molecules which regulate genes, such as the small RNAs and especially microRNAs (miRNAs).

Labels:

7/21/2009
Why are revolutionary no-painful-recovery focused ultrasound brain, pancreas and liver operations still so unavailable in America?

A new ultrasound device, used in conjunction with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), allows neurosurgeons to precisely burn out small pieces of malfunctioning brain tissue without cutting the skin or opening the skull. Watch an animation of how it works. A preliminary study from Switzerland involving nine patients with chronic pain shows that the technology can be used safely in humans. The researchers now aim to test it in patients with other disorders, such as Parkinson's disease. "The groundbreaking finding here is that you can make lesions deep in the brain--through the intact skull and skin--with extreme precision and accuracy and safety," says Neal Kassell, a neurosurgeon at the University of Virginia. Kassell, who was not directly involved in the study, is chairman of the Focused Ultrasound Surgery Foundation, a nonprofit based in Charlottesville, VA, that was founded to develop new applications for focused ultrasound.

We have been watching ultrasound surgery successful used abroad for years now. It was invented in China, where it has now been used thousands of times to destroy cancers in solid tissue organs like the pancreas and liver that are still considered inoperable in America. Any tumor that can be imaged with ultrasound - those in solid organs, not those with voids like the lung - can typically be destroyed with China's breakthrough ultrasound surgery. It works by heating up the tumor with focused ultrasound energy, just enough to kill it without effecting surrounding healthy tissues. The dead tumors are simply absorbed by the body, so that no incision is required and all the traumas of these formerly very painful and difficult surgeries are completely avoided. The patient can go right home after surgery, experience no painful recovery period at all.

This is a surgical breakthrough of revolutionary proportions, but even after many years of successful tumor cures abroad, its use remains almost non-existent in America. Luddite regulatory approval bureaucracies, which routinely kill 50 patients by delaying breakthroughs like this one for every life saved by keeping a bad drug off the market, keep it unavailable here.

The problem is that bureaucrats know they won't get blamed for the tens of thousands of needless pancreatic, liver and brain cancer deaths caused by their malfeasance, but they will get blamed if they let through even one new medical procedure or drug that kills someone. Sadly, the type of people attracted to government regulatory jobs, appear to care much less about fast tracking approvals that can obviously save the lives of thousands of dying patients, than they do about keeping their own bureaucratic careers on the fast track.

The only way to speed up these bureaucratic murders is to organize and attack them directly, as the Gay Community successfully did to get HIV drugs fast tracked, saving millions that would have died needlessly otherwise.

Until something like this happens, the only hope a patient has is seeking treatment in a more humane country like China. While China's bureaucracy is just as draconian as any in the west in areas like spying on their own citizens, at least they have the humanity necessary to prevent their bureaucrats from denying cures to their dying citizens.

Labels:

7/21/2009
Biomedical engineering students embed stem cells in sutures to enhance healing

Johns Hopkins biomedical engineering students have demonstrated a practical way to embed a patient's own adult stem cells in the surgical thread that doctors use to repair serious orthopedic injuries such as ruptured tendons. The goal, the students said, is to enhance healing and reduce the likelihood of re-injury without changing the surgical procedure itself.

Labels:

7/21/2009
Scientists present first genetic evidence for why placebos work
For some individuals, a sugar pill or placebo works nearly as well as actual medication. Why that is so, and why they work at all, has been a mystery. Because the chemical signaling done by monoamines is under strong genetic control, UCLA scientists believe that common genetic variations between individuals called genetic polymorphisms are what is responsible for the differences in the strength of the placebo response.

Labels:

7/21/2009
Suppressing the "suicide mechanism" of cells hit by radiation and enabling their recovery
Our species will go extinct with millions of generations still unborn, unless we develop the capabilities to spread our kind to other star systems. To achieve this migration we must learn how to survive radiation exposure. Dr. Andrei Gudkov has now developed medication that suppresses the "suicide mechanism" of cells hit by radiation, while enabling them to recover from the radiation-induced damages that prompted them to activate the suicide mechanism in the first place.

Labels: ,

7/20/2009
Mayo Clinic study shows induced pluripotent stem cells repair heart
In a proof-of-concept study, Mayo Clinic investigators have demonstrated that induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells can be used to treat heart disease. iPS cells are stem cells converted from adult cells. In this study, the researchers reprogrammed ordinary fibroblasts, cells that contribute to scars such as those resulting from a heart attack, converting them into stem cells that fix heart damage caused by infarction. "This study establishes the real potential for using iPS cells in cardiac treatment," says Timothy Nelson, M.D., Ph.D., first author on the Mayo Clinic study. "Bioengineered fibroblasts acquired the capacity to repair and regenerate infarcted hearts." This is the first application of iPS-based technology for heart disease therapy.

Labels:

7/20/2009
Blue zones - the places in the world where people live longer and stay healthier
They are called blue zones - places in the world where people live longer and healthier than anywhere else on earth. Several of these blue zones exist, and in each of these places people living to 90 or even 100 years is common. And they aren't just living long either - these people are living healthy - without medication or disability.

Labels:

7/20/2009
Genetic toggle switch discovery brings diabetes cure closer

Scientists have identified a master regulator gene for early embryonic development of the pancreas and other organs, putting researchers closer to coaxing stem cells into pancreatic cells as a possible cure for type1 diabetes. We show that Sox17 acts like a toggle or binary switch that sets off a cascade of genetic events, said Dr. Wells. In normal embryonic development, when you have an undecided cell, if Sox17 goes one way the cell becomes part of the biliary system. If it goes the other way, the cell becomes part of the pancreas. In the image, James Wells, Ph.D., of Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center is shown with a microscopic image of fluoresced cells separating during normal embryonic development into a pancreas (green cells above) and the biliary system below.

Labels:

7/20/2009
Turning off a signaling pathway that causing numerous diseases including cancer
A UCLA study has identified a way to turn off a key signaling pathway involved in physiological processes that can also stimulate the development of cancer and other diseases. By activating a receptor in cells called the liver X receptor (LXR), scientists were able to inhibit the hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway, which is involved in the maintenance of tissue integrity and stem cell generation. When stimulated in an unregulated manner, however, the Hh pathway can also cause numerous diseases including cancers of the brain, lung, blood, prostate, skin and other tissues.

Labels:

7/20/2009
Breakthrough genetic alteration technique found by plant geneticists
Research led by scientists at Iowa State University's Plant Sciences Institute has resulted in a process that will make genetic changes in plant genes much more efficient, practical and safe. The breakthrough developed by David Wright and Jeffery Townsend harnesses a natural process called homologous recombination to precisely introduce DNA at a predetermined location in the plant genome through targeted DNA breaks generated by zinc finger nucleases. Until now, scientists would randomly inject DNA into the plant cell, with no way of knowing if it was in the right place or if it would work until many resulting plants were tested.

Labels:

7/20/2009
Large human study of diet's effect on dementia risk: fish = positive effect, red meat = no effect
Recently, there has been growing interest in whether consumption of oily fish might influence the onset and/or severity of dementia. Oily fish are rich in omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, which some studies suggest are positively related to cognitive function in later life. Data from 14,960 participants showed that increased fish consumption is associated with lower dementia prevalence in later life. Some studies have suggested that red meat consumption may negatively impacted onset of dementia, so researchers also looked for this effect, but found no evidence of it.

Labels:

7/20/2009
Two copies of APOE e4 gene may cause early onset of dementia
A new Mayo Clinic-led study published in the July 16 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that the carriers of a common genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease begin to have memory declines in their mid-50s, far earlier than previously thought. The study, which followed participants for up to 14 years, used sensitive memory and thinking tests to detect, track and compare cognitive performance in 815 healthy people, 21 to 97 years of age, with two copies, one copy and no copies of the APOE e4 gene, the major genetic risk factor for developing Alzheimer's disease at older ages. Each additional copy of this gene is associated with a higher risk of Alzheimer's disease and a slightly younger age at the onset of clinically significant memory and thinking problems.

Labels:

7/20/2009
Faster, better control of bot grippers and human prostheses
A team at Columbia University has achieved a breakthrough in bot gripper control that will also improve human prostheses. Prof. Peter Allen director of Columbia's Robotics Group, and colleague Matei Ciocarlie realized that while human hands have about 20 degrees of freedom (20 joints that can each bend), each joint is not capable of moving completely independently; instead, its movements are linked to those of other joints by muscles or nerves. Traditionally, the software used to control a complex robot hand has tried to account for all the degrees of freedom in the robotic hand's joints, but this is computationally cumbersome and slows the robot down. So, Allen and Ciocarlie decided to limit the movement of a robot hand in the same way a human hand is limited and achieved much faster, more efficient algorithms without no loss of functionality.

Labels: ,

7/19/2009
Wearware that monitor heart, breathing and body temp is about to revolutionize health care
Comfortable smart clothes that monitor the wearer's health are about to revolutionize health care by reducing hospital visits and allowing patients to lead more active lives. "By embedding the sensors in a vest that patients feel comfortable wearing, and requiring only a mobile phone-sized device to gather and transmit the information, the system empowers patients to be more active and independent while letting caregivers check on them at anytime or in any place as necessary," said Theodore Vontetsianos, the head of the e-Health Unit at Sotiria General Chest Diseases Hospital in Athens, Greece.

Labels:

7/19/2009
Implantable miniature eye-lens telescope enhances vision 3X

VisionCare's Implantable Miniature Telescope, currently in Phase II/III clinical trials, is designed to improve vision and quality of life for individuals with moderate to profound vision loss caused by dysfunction of the macula. The macula is a small specialized area at the center of the retina that is responsible for detailed central vision. The implant permanently restores the ability to perform everyday activities, like recognizing people, reading mail, and watching television.

Labels:

7/17/2009
Genetic trigger for disease-fighting antibodies discovered
A research team led by the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology has identified the specific gene which triggers the body to produce disease-fighting antibodies -- a seminal finding that clarifies the exact molecular steps taken by the body to mount an antibody defense against viruses and other pathogens.

Labels:

7/17/2009
Researchers find that eating the fructose found in junk foods impairs your memory
Researchers at Georgia State University have found that diets high in fructose, a type of sugar found in most processed foods and beverages, impaired the spatial memory of adult rats. Researchers at Georgia State's Neuroscience Institute, fed a group of Sprague-Dawley rats a diet where fructose represented 60 percent of calories ingested during the day. Then placed the rats in a pool of water to test their ability to learn to find a submerged platform, which allowed them to get out of the water. "What we discovered is that the fructose diet doesn't affect their ability to learn," said Prof. Marise Parent. "But they can't seem to remember as well where the platform was when you take it away. They swam more randomly than rats fed a control diet."

Labels:

7/17/2009
Dietary supplement may help prevent, treat cataracts

Researchers are reporting new evidence that the popular dietary supplement carnosine, may help prevent and treat cataracts. The image shows a magnified image of a cataract.

Labels:

7/17/2009
Gene regulates immune cells' ability to cause immune diseases like arthritis
A recently identified gene, called Batf, allows immune cells to start the self-destructive processes thought to underlie autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS) and rheumatoid arthritis, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found. Mice without the gene lacked a type of inflammatory immune cell and were resistant to a procedure that normally induces an autoimmune condition similar to human MS. Lead author Barbara Schraml, Ph.D., found that the loss of Batf affected immune cells known as T cells. Normally T cells take on specialized roles, becoming cells that promote various defensive responses or that recruit inflammatory cells to sites of infection. In mice without Batf, though, one of those roles was blocked: the mice had no inflammatory Th17 cells.

Labels:

7/16/2009
Study reveals major genetic differences between blood and tissue cells

Research by a group of Montreal scientists calls into question one of the most basic assumptions of human genetics -- that when it comes to DNA, every cell in the body is essentially identical to every other cell. This discovery may undercut the rationale behind numerous large-scale genetic studies conducted over the last 15 years, studies which were supposed to isolate the causes of scores of human diseases. Except for cancer, samples of diseased tissue are difficult or even impossible to take from living patients. Thus, the vast majority of genetic samples used in large-scale studies come in the form of blood. However, if it turns out that blood and tissue cells do not match genetically, these ambitious and expensive genome-wide association studies may prove to have been essentially flawed from the outset.

Labels:

7/16/2009
New personal genetic testing start-up offering lowest price yet

A fourth major online genetic testing start-up, Pathway Genomics, has joined the three previous entrants: 23andme, deCodeme, and Navigenics. And the newcomer, Pathway, is offering the lowest prices yet, with ancestry testing for $199 and health markers for $249. Ordering both packages costs a discounted $348. The next cheapest product is from 23andme, which charges $399 for its Full Edition service.

But do you really want to know? What would it do to your outlook on life to know that you are predisposed to something truly awful, like Alzheimer's disease? Fortunately, a new study shows that any depression or anxiety associated with getting your bad predisposition news is not long lasting and by having that information you know to keep your eye open for gene therapies that can undo your particular disease predisposition.

Labels:

7/15/2009
An osteoporosis drug called zoledronic acid appears to strengthen the body's immune system
An osteoporosis drug called zoledronic acid (Reclast) that has been proven to save lives after hip fractures may do so by strengthening the body's immune system, according to geriatrics researchers at Duke University Medical Center.

Labels:

7/15/2009
A breakthrough towards antivirals that no flu virus can resist

Amid reports that swine flu viruses are developing the ability to shrug off existing antiviral drugs, scientists in Japan are reporting a breakthrough discovery that could bring a new genre of antivirals that sidestep the ability of the flu virus to develop resistance to antivirals. Specifically, esearchers demonstrated that pentadecapeptides that bind to a sialylgalactose structure (Neu5Ac−Gal) inhibited the infection of cells by influenza virus.

Labels:

7/15/2009
So what's it like to get your own stem cells harvested

Watch Daniel Kraft demo his Marrow Miner, a new device that quickly harvests life-saving bone marrow with minimal pain to the donor. Adult stem cells found in bone marrow can be used to treat many terminal conditions, from Parkinson's to heart disease.

Labels:

7/14/2009
A major new insight into the damaged cell suicide mechanism that keeps your body healthy as you age
Learning how to regulate the process that cells go through when they die, called 'apoptosis' or programmed cell death, is essential to achieving significant human lifespan extension. Your body naturally removes perhaps a million cells a second in this way to keep you healthy. Too little or too much apoptosis plays a role in a great many diseases. When programmed cell death does not work right, cells that should be eliminated may linger around and become immortal - for example, in cancer and leukemia. When apoptosis works overly well, it kills too many cells and inflicts grave tissue damage. This is the case in strokes and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer, Huntington and Parkinson diseases.

Now a Nanyang Technological University study by Li Hoi Yeung and Koh Cheng Gee has shown that the protein RanGTP is reduced greatly during the early stages of apoptosis. Under normal circumstances, there is a high distribution of RanGTP in the nucleus and a low concentration of RanGTP in the cytoplasm (the body enveloping the cell's nucleus). It is this gradient of RanGTP that exist across the nuclear-cytoplasmic boundaries that serves as a track and directs the transport of proteins and other molecules into and out of the nucleus. Hence, when the concentration of RanGTP is reduced in the nucleus, the RanGTP gradient collapses and the cell's nuclear transport machinery subsequently shuts down.

Labels:

7/14/2009
Study suggests H1N1 virus more dangerous than suspected
A new, highly detailed study of the H1N1 flu virus shows that the pathogen is more virulent than previously thought. In contrast with run-of-the-mill seasonal flu viruses, the H1N1 virus exhibits an ability to infect cells deep in the lungs, where it can cause pneumonia and, in severe cases, death. Seasonal viruses typically infect only cells in the upper respiratory system.

Labels:

7/14/2009
Understanding how viruses evolve can help predict the next outbreak
A close examination of the genetic evolution of the three major influenza epidemics of the 20th century concludes that all of the viruses involved evolved slowly, through interspecies genetic exchange, and that genes from the catastrophic 1918 pandemic may have been circulating as many as seven years earlier. If true, this means that widespread genetic surveillance methods should have ample time to detect the next pandemic strain, and possibly even vaccinate against it before it gets out of control.

Labels:

7/14/2009
FDA forces humans to suffer through primitive, tortuous surgery while dogs & horses get fast, painless stem cell cures
A runner with a torn tendon has reason to envy a racehorse or dog with the same affliction, which can be curred quickly with injections of adult stem cells that appear to spur healing in these animals with shorter recovery time than surgical treatments. Humans meanwhile, thanks to the Luddites at the FDA are forced to suffer through painful, debilitating and tortuously primitive surgery, while dogs & horses get quick stem cell cures. Thanks to the FDA's ridiculously inefficient approval system, Americans will have to endure many more years of suffering before the same stem-cell therapies used routinely in competitive horses and increasingly in dogs are made available to you.

Labels:

7/14/2009
Study raises doubts about fasting leading to longer lives
Many studies indicate that caloric restriction extends life spans in fruit flies, mice and, most recently, rhesus monkeys, apparently by slowing the aging process. But virtually all these studies have been performed in sterile environments, on animals raised under relatively pathogen-free conditions. So Stanford University School of Medicine researchers decided to see if reduced caloric intake also helps creatures cope with infection. Flies that had restricted caloric intake prior to infection with the pathogen, Enterococcus faecalis, ate no less than uninfected flies did. The "low-calorie flies" also survived for the same length of time as normal eaters.

Labels:

7/13/2009
DNA-damaged cells let neighbors know they are in trouble
When cells experiencing DNA damage fail to repair themselves, they send a signal to their neighbors letting them know they're in trouble. The discovery, which shows that a process dubbed the DDR (DNA Damage Response) also controls communication from cell to cell, has implications for both cancer and aging. When a cell experiences DNA damage, its first response is to try to repair the damage. If that doesn't work the cell, hopefully, either commits suicide or stops dividing, two intrinsic mechanisms for preventing cancer according to Judith Campisi, PhD, lead author of the study and a faculty member at the Buck Institute for Age Research. The discovery of the extracellular signaling mechanism, which sets off an inflammatory response, explains how unsuccessful DNA repair at the cellular level impacts tissues, which are the vital units of function in complex organisms like humans, she said. "With regard to cancer, we found that if there is a mutant and potentially cancerous cell in the vicinity of the damaged cell, the signals from the damaged cell can encourage that mutant cell to behave more aggressively cancerous," said Campisi. "With regard to aging, we think the inflammatory signals from damaged cells propagate an aging 'field' whereby damage builds up over time, impacting not only the individual damaged cells, but the function of the tissue itself." When Buck scientists disabled particular proteins involved in the DDR, the cell-to-cell communication was cut off.

Labels:

7/13/2009
Why it is easy to encode new memories but hard to hold onto them

Memories aren't made of actin filaments, but their assembly is crucial for long-term potentiation (LTP), an increase in synapse sensitivity that researchers think helps to lay down memories. In the image shown, PAK (red) gathers at synapses (green), and might help consolidate fresh memories.

Labels:

7/13/2009
Fluorescent probes for real-time monitoring of therapy effectiveness
If physicians could watch tumor cells committing a form of programmed suicide called apoptosis, a desired effect of workhorse cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, they could more quickly pick the most effective treatment. Now scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine have found a way to do just that, by lighting up cells as they die.

Labels:

7/11/2009
An enzyme with the ability to keep your immune system robust into old age
The secret to longevity may lie in an enzyme with the ability to promote a robust immune system into old age by maintaining the function of the thymus throughout life, according to researchers studying an "anti-aging" mouse model that lives longer than a typical mouse. When researchers deleted an enzyme known as pregnancy-associated plasma protein A (PAPPA) in mice, they lived at least 30 percent longer and had significantly lower occurrence of spontaneous tumors than typical mice. PAPPA controls the availability in tissues of a hormone known as insulin-like growth factor (IGF) that is a promoter of cell division. Hence, IGF is required for normal embryonic and postnatal growth. But IGF also is associated with tumor growth, inflammation and cardiovascular disease in adults. By deleting PAPPA, the researchers were able to control the availability of IGF in tissues and dampen its many ill effects. In the thymus, deletion of PAPPA maintained just enough IGF to sustain production of T cells without consuming precursor cells, thereby preventing the degeneration of the thymus.

"Controlling the availability of IGF in the thymus by targeted manipulation of PAPPA could be a way to maintain immune protection throughout life," said Abbe de Vallejo, Ph.D., associate professor at University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. "This study has profound implications for the future study of healthy aging and longevity."

Labels:

7/10/2009
Telomeres stabilizing TRF1 protein necessary to keep your genes replicating correctly

Telomeres, the repetitive sequences of DNA at the ends of linear chromosomes protect vulnerable chromosome ends from molecular attack. A protein called TRF1 ensures the smooth progression of DNA replication over the telomeres to the end of a chromosome. The images show chromosomes with fragile telomeres (green). Without the protein TRF1, telomeres resemble common fragile sites, unstable regions on chromosomes that break into segments or stretch due to faulty DNA replication. "Telomeric DNA has a repetitive sequence that can form unusual DNA structures when the DNA is unwound during DNA replication," says Titia de Lange. "Our data suggest that TRF1 brings in two proteins that can take out these structures in the telomeric DNA. In other words, TRF1 and its helpers remove the bumps in the road so that the replication fork can drive through."

Labels:

7/09/2009
20 year study confirms - consuming fewer calories gives you a longer, healthier life
The bottom-line message from a decades-long study of monkeys on a restricted diet is simple: Consuming fewer calories give you a longer, healthier life. "We have been able to show that caloric restriction can slow the aging process in a primate species," says Richard Weindruch, a professor of medicine in the UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health who leads the National Institute on Aging-funded study. "We observed that caloric restriction reduced the risk of developing an age-related disease by a factor of three and increased survival." During the 20-year course of the study, half of the animals permitted to eat freely have survived, while 80 percent of the monkeys given the same diet, but with 30 percent fewer calories, are still alive.

The incidence of cancerous tumors and cardiovascular disease in animals on a restricted diet was less than half that seen in animals permitted to eat freely. Remarkably, while diabetes or impaired glucose regulation is common in monkeys that can eat all they want, it has yet to be observed in any animal on a restricted diet. "So far, we've seen the complete prevention of diabetes," says Weindruch.

Labels:

7/09/2009
Mod can cure infections of even the most deadly drug-resistant bacteria

Nobel-winning chemist Kary Mullis, who watched a friend die when powerful antibiotics failed, unveils in a TED talk a radical new mod that can cure infections cause by even the most deadly drug-resistant bacteria.

Labels:

7/09/2009
Scientists track the chemical survival response in cells as they endure extreme conditions

Using infrared spectromicroscopy analyses, scientists have been able to track the complex chemical survival responses of bacteria placed in extreme environmental conditions. "We can now follow chemical changes in living bacteria as they respond to extreme environments. This opens up a new window into how bacteria adapt and carry out some of life's most important processes," says Hoi-Ying Holman, a staff scientist in Berkeley Lab's Earth Sciences Division.

Labels:

7/09/2009
Mutation of just one gene causes catastrophic epilepsy
Researchers have found that a gene known as Aristaless-related homeobox or ARX has a specific mutation called a triplet repeat, which when duplicated in specially bred mice, caused the animals to exhibit motor spasms and brain scans similar to those seen in human infants suffering from epilepsy.

Labels:

7/08/2009
Mechanism that vitamin D3 uses to prevent cancer discovered
A number of studies have indicated that the active form of vitamin D3 may have significant anti-cancer properties. Earlier studies on human colon cancer cell lines have shown that activity levels of a gene called CST5 may be affected by the active form of vitamin D3. CST5 is responsible for making a protein called cystatin D. In this latest study, investigations reveal that cystatin D has important tumor-suppressing properties, and that it is the mechanism through which vitamin D3 affects cancer cells.

Labels:

7/08/2009
Scientists put DNA to work inspecting and sorting carbon nanotubes
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are long, narrow cylinders of graphite with properties that vary according to the tubes' shape and structure. They have many potential uses, but current methods of producing CNTs yield mixtures of tubes with different in diameters and symmetry, which must be disentangled and sorted before they are of any use. Now a team of researchers from DuPont and Lehigh University has reported a carbon nanotube production breakthrough, developing a DNA-based method for sorting and separating specific types of CNTs from a mixture. The team has identified more than 20 DNA short sequences that can recognize individual types, or species, of carbon nanotubes and pluck them from a mixture.

Labels: ,

7/08/2009
Study finds gene that can 'switch off' the storage of fat that triggers diabetes
Scientists have identified a gene associated with a higher risk of diabetes, as well as a 'jumping gene' that disrupts its activity and helps to reduce the risk of diabetes. German scientists identified a gene called Zfp69 as being a risk factor for diabetes in mice. The corresponding human gene (ZNF642) was found to be particularly active in overweight people with diabetes. According to the researchers, Zfp69 codes for a protein that appears to interfere with the storage of fat in fatty tissues. 'Our data suggest that the protein product of the risk gene in obese individuals enhances the storage of fat in fat cells,' explained the lead author of the paper, Stephan Scherneck of the Department of Pharmacology at the German Institute of Human Nutrition (DIfE). 'As a result, excessive fat accumulates in the liver and this in turn contributes to the development of diabetes.'

Labels:

7/08/2009
Pluripotent stem cells created without use of genes, viruses or reprogramming proteins

Kinarm Ko and Hans Scholer's team at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine in Munster have succeeded in culturing a clearly defined cell type from the testis of adult mice and converting these cells into pluripotent stem cells without introduced genes, viruses or reprogramming proteins. These stem cells have the capacity to generate all types of body tissue. The culture conditions alone were the crucial factor behind the success of the reprogramming process, eliminating the risks of using viruses for reprogramming. Shown in the image are unipotent germline stem cells (fluorescent green) in the sperm duct of a mouse testis.

Labels:

7/08/2009
New technique allows imaging of protein self-organizing in cells

PALM is an an ultrahigh-precision visible light microscopy technique that enables scientists to photo-actively fluoresce and image individual proteins. This PALM composite of an E.coli bacterial cell shows the organization of proteins in the chemotaxis signaling network. Berkeley Lab scientists have been able to use PALM to show how thousands of bacterial membrane proteins are able to assemble into clusters that direct cell movement to select chemicals in their environment.

Labels:

7/08/2009
For the first time, a drug has been shown to extend lifespan in mammals

The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and two collaborating centers reported that the Easter Island compound - called rapamycin after the island's Polynesian name, Rapa Nui - extended the expected lifespan of middle-aged mice by 28 percent to 38 percent. In human terms, this would be greater than the predicted increase in extra years of life if cancer and heart disease were both cured and prevented. The rapamycin was given to the mice at an age equivalent to 60 years old in humans. "I've been in aging research for 35 years and there have been many so-called anti-aging interventions over those years that were never successful," said Arlan G. Richardson, Ph.D., director of the Barshop Institute. "I never thought we would find an anti-aging pill for people in my lifetime; however, rapamycin shows a great deal of promise to do just that."

Labels:



Home + What are Humods? + Subscribe + Twitter + Bots + Memes + Mesh + Mods + Nano + Neuro + Next + Pods + RES + Watts
Send comments to: humods [at] gmail [dot] com