World's Science Network | Scicasts

Bringing Out the Usual – and Unusual – Cancer Genomics Suspects

t.hamilton@scicasts.com (Teacha Hamilton) — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 23:46:39 +0000

Cambridge, MA (Scicasts) – Several years ago, researchers sequencing lung cancer genomes encountered a peculiar problem. After combing through thousands of genes in a large number of patients, they had come up with a list of likely genetic suspects tied to the disease.

The Rett Syndrome Protein Surrenders Some of Its Secrets

t.hamilton@scicasts.com (Teacha Hamilton) — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 23:06:24 +0000

Trumbull, CT (Scicasts) – Discovery of a mutant gene responsible for a disease is a milestone, but for most conditions, it may be only a first step towards a treatment or cure. Understanding Rett Syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder, is further complicated by the fact that the implicated gene controls a suite of other genes.

Scientists Discover New Way to Improve Antibiotic Production

t.hamilton@scicasts.com (Teacha Hamilton) — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 22:30:08 +0000

Norwich, UK (Scicasts) – An antibiotic has been found to stimulate its own production. The findings, to be published in PNAS, could make it easier to scale up antibiotic production for commercialization.

Scientists Find Promising Biomarker for Predicting HPV-Related Oropharynx Cancer

t.hamilton@scicasts.com (Teacha Hamilton) — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 22:09:22 +0000

Bethesda, MD (Scicasts) – Researchers have found that antibodies against the human papillomavirus (HPV) may help identify individuals who are at greatly increased risk of HPV-related cancer of the oropharynx, which is a portion of the throat that contains the tonsils.

New Fluorescent Protein from Eel Revolutionizes Key Clinical Assay

t.hamilton@scicasts.com (Teacha Hamilton) — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 12:40:55 +0000

Japan (Scicasts) – Many scientists dream of making a single discovery that provides fundamental insight into nature, may be used to help save human lives, and can assist in the preservation of an endangered species.

A Key Mechanism That Boosts Signalling Function of Neurons in the Brain Discovered

t.hamilton@scicasts.com (Teacha Hamilton) — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 12:15:27 +0000

Munich, Germany (Scicasts) – Locating a car that's blowing its horn in heavy traffic, channel-hopping between football and a thriller on TV without losing the plot, and not forgetting the start of a sentence by the time we have read to the end – we consider all of these to be normal everyday functions.

Scientists Find Psychiatric Disorders May Be Linked to Protein Involved in Memory Formation

t.hamilton@scicasts.com (Teacha Hamilton) — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 11:41:29 +0000

Roanoke, VA (Scicasts) – Researchers have discovered a pathway by which the brain controls a molecule critical to forming long-term memories and connected with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

Study Points to Role of Nervous System in Arthritis

t.hamilton@scicasts.com (Teacha Hamilton) — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 23:39:18 +0000

Montreal, QC, Canada (Scicasts) – Arthritis is a debilitating disorder affecting one in 10 Canadians, with pain caused by inflammation and damage to joints.

Nanoparticle Opens Door to Clean-Energy Alternatives

t.hamilton@scicasts.com (Teacha Hamilton) — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 23:20:57 +0000

University Park, PA (Scicasts) – Cheaper clean-energy technologies could be made possible thanks to a new discovery. Research team members led by Raymond Schaak, a professor of chemistry at Penn State University, have found that an important chemical reaction that generates hydrogen from water is effectively triggered -- or catalyzed -- by a nanoparticle composed of nickel and phosphorus, two inexpensive elements that are abundant on Earth.

Major Hurdle Cleared to Diabetes Transplants

t.hamilton@scicasts.com (Teacha Hamilton) — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 23:05:42 +0000

St. Louis, MO (Scicasts) – Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified a way to trigger reproduction in the laboratory of clusters of human cells that make insulin, potentially removing a significant obstacle to transplanting the cells as a treatment for patients with type 1 diabetes.

AMP Celebrates Decision on AMP v. Myriad Case

t.hamilton@scicasts.com (Teacha Hamilton) — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 22:44:26 +0000

Bethesda, MD (Scicasts) – Today, the United States Supreme Court released its landmark decision in Association for Molecular Pathology et al. v. Myriad Genetics, Inc. et al. The Court unanimously agreed that "A naturally occurring DNA segment is a product of nature and not patent eligible merely because it has been isolated, but cDNA is patentable because it is not naturally occurring."

Study Shows Gene Variants May Predict Who Will Benefit From Breast Cancer Prevention Drugs

t.hamilton@scicasts.com (Teacha Hamilton) — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 15:15:02 +0000

Bethesda, MD (Scicasts) – In women at high risk for breast cancer, a long-term drug treatment can cut the risk of developing the disease in half.

Nanotechnology Helps Track and Improve Drug Action in Pancreatic Cancer

t.hamilton@scicasts.com (Teacha Hamilton) — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 13:58:36 +0000

Sydney, Australia (Scicasts) – UK and Australian scientists have been able to show ways in which we can markedly improve drug targeting of solid tumours, using tiny ‘biosensors’ along with new advanced imaging techniques.  

Alzheimer’s Brain Change Measured in Humans

t.hamilton@scicasts.com (Teacha Hamilton) — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 13:30:24 +0000

St. Louis, MO (Scicasts) – Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have measured a significant and potentially pivotal difference between the brains of patients with an inherited form of Alzheimer’s disease and healthy family members who do not carry a mutation for the disease.

Study Suggests Jammed Molecular Motors May Play Role in Development of ALS

t.hamilton@scicasts.com (Teacha Hamilton) — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 12:30:59 +0000

Chicago, IL (Scicasts) – Slowdowns in the transport and delivery of nutrients, proteins and signalling molecules within nerve cells may contribute to the development of the neurodegenerative disorder ALS, according to researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine.

New Quantum Dot Technique Combines Best of Optical and Electron Microscopy

t.hamilton@scicasts.com (Teacha Hamilton) — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 11:53:00 +0000

Gaithersburg, MD (Scicasts) – It's not reruns of "The Jetsons", but researchers working at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a new microscopy technique that uses a process similar to how an old tube television produces a picture―cathodoluminescence―to image nanoscale features.

Saliva Proteins May Protect Older People from Influenza

t.hamilton@scicasts.com (Teacha Hamilton) — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 21:53:48 +0000

Washington, DC (Scicasts) – Spit. Drool. Dribble. Saliva is not normally a topic of polite conversation, but it may be the key to explaining the age and sex bias exhibited by influenza and other diseases, according to a new study.