Breaking Sci-Tech News | Scicasts

Promising New Treatment For S. aureus Skin Infection

t.hamilton@desciner.com (Teacha Hamilton) — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:54:58 +0000

Bethesda, MD (Scicasts) - Scientists from the National Institutes of Health and University of Chicago have reported finding a promising treatment method that in laboratory mice reduces the severity of skin and soft-tissue damage caused by USA300, the leading cause of community-associated Staphylococcus aureus infections in the United States. According to the report, by neutralizing a key toxin associated with the bacteria, they found they could greatly reduce the damaging effects of the infection on skin and soft tissue. Community strains of S. aureus cause infection in otherwise healthy people and are considered extremely virulent, as opposed to hospital strains that infect people who already are weakened by illness or surgery.

Scientists Unwrap DNA Packaging to Gain Insight into Cells

t.hamilton@desciner.com (Teacha Hamilton) — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:28:02 +0000

Edinburgh, UK (Scicasts) – According to a report from the University of Edinburgh, Scientists at the Institute have built a clearer picture of how lengthy strands of DNA are concertinaed when our cells grow and divide, in a discovery could help explain how cell renewal can go wrong.

Research Links New Parkinson's Gene to Immune System

t.hamilton@desciner.com (Teacha Hamilton) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Baltimore, MD (Scicasts) - A hunt throughout the human genome for variants associated with common, late-onset Parkinson's disease has revealed a new genetic link that implicates the immune system and offers new targets for drug development.

Novel Developments in Nanobiotechnology that Could Fight Cancer

t.elsheikh@desciner.com (Tim El-Sheikh) — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 19:14:42 +0000

Santa Barbara, CA (Scicasts) - Researchers at UC Santa Barbara demonstrate the synthesis of nanosize biological particles with the potential to fight cancer and other illnesses. The studies introduce new approaches that are considered "green" nanobiotechnology because they use no artificial compounds.

Artificial Enzyme Successfully Used as Antidote

t.elsheikh@desciner.com (Tim El-Sheikh) — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 21:45:32 +0000

Copenhagen, Denmark (Scicasts) - While studying for her PhD in chemistry at the University of Copenhagen, Dr. Jeannette Bjerre demonstrated a novel concept involving a completely man-made chemical enzyme used as an antidote against natural toxins found in fruits and vegetables. The so-called chemzyme was able to decompose glycoside esculin, a toxin found in horse-chestnuts.

Transinsight Releases New Version of Its Enterprise Semantic Intelligence Solution

t.elsheikh@desciner.com (Tim El-Sheikh) — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 21:14:42 +0000

Dresden, Germany (Scicasts) - Transinsight, provider of semantic search technologies, releases the next version of its Enterprise Semantic Intelligence Knowledge Suite at the I-SEMANTICS Conference in Graz, Austria.

Vitamin D Linked to Autoimmune and Cancer Disease Genes

t.hamilton@desciner.com (Teacha Hamilton) — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 18:11:26 +0000

Cold Spring Harbor, NY (Scicasts) – Vitamin D insufficiency is a risk factor for a number of diseases and thus, is a growing concern worldwide, as approximately one billion people may be vitamin D deficient. However, the biological basis for vitamin D deficiency predisposing to disease is poorly understood. In a report published online this week in Genome Research (www.genome.org), scientists have mapped the molecular interactions of the vitamin D receptor genome-wide, finding novel connections of vitamin D with genes related to autoimmune disease and cancer.

Scientists Uncover Anti-Freeze Proteins in Arctic Ocean Fish

t.elsheikh@desciner.com (Tim El-Sheikh) — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Bochum, Germany (Scicasts) - Researchers at the Ruhr-University Bochum (RUB) uncovered the mystery behind why fish do not freeze in the Arctic Ocean. The so-called anti-freeze proteins are special frost protection proteins that are found in the blood of these fish, which work much more efficiently than any household antifreeze sold today.

Researchers Devise New Way to Grow Stem Cells

t.hamilton@desciner.com (Teacha Hamilton) — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 18:14:23 +0000

Cambridge, MA (Scicasts) - Human pluripotent stem cells, which can become any other kind of body cell, hold great potential to treat a wide range of ailments, including Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injuries. However, scientists who work with such cells have had trouble growing large enough quantities to perform experiments — in particular, to be used in human studies. Furthermore, most materials now used to grow human stem cells include cells or proteins that come from mice embryos, which help stimulate stem-cell growth but would likely cause an immune reaction if injected into a human patient.

Researchers Uncover Genetic Architecture of Body's Back-up Bypass Vessels

t.elsheikh@desciner.com (Tim El-Sheikh) — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 09:47:53 +0000

Chapel Hill, NC (Scicasts) – Researchers at the University of North Carolina (UNC) have uncovered the genetic architecture which controls the growth of the "back-up" blood vessels that can provide oxygen to starved tissues in the event of a heart attack or stroke – also known as collateral circulation.