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Tiny piece of RNA keeps 'clock' running in earliest stages of life
New research shows that a tiny piece of RNA has an essential role in ensuring that embryonic tissue segments form properly.
Development
Source: Ohio State University
Posted on: Tuesday, Mar 12, 2013, 11:00am
Rating: | Views: 1239 | Comments: 0
Coffee and tea during pregnancy affect fetal growth
Drinking just two cups of coffee a day is associated with the risk of low birth weight. Researchers at Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have conducted a study on 59,000 women in collaboration with the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.
Development
Source: University of Gothenburg
Posted on: Monday, Mar 11, 2013, 2:30pm
Rating: | Views: 5611 | Comments: 0
Mom's placenta reflects her exposure to stress and impacts offsprings' brains
The mammalian placenta is more than just a filter through which nutrition and oxygen are passed from a mother to her unborn child. According to a new study by a research group from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, if a mother is exposed to stress during pregnancy, her placenta translates that experience to her fetus by altering levels of a protein that a
Development
Source: University of Pennsylvania
Posted on: Tuesday, Mar 05, 2013, 12:45pm
Rating: | Views: 1311 | Comments: 0
Environmental combination favors schizophrenia
The interplay between an infection during pregnancy and stress in puberty plays a key role in the development of schizophrenia, as behaviourists from ETH Zurich demonstrate in a mouse model. However, there is no need to panic.
Genetics
Source: ETH Zurich
Posted on: Monday, Mar 04, 2013, 11:00am
Rating: | Views: 1323 | Comments: 0
DNA's twisted communication
During embryo development, genes are dynamically, and very precisely, switched on and off to confer different properties to different cells and build a well-proportioned and healthy animal. Fgf8 is one of the key genes in this process, controlling in particular the growth of the limbs and the formation of the different regions of the brain. Researchers at EMBL have elucidated how Fgf8 in mammal em
Molecular Biology
Source: European Molecular Biology Laboratory
Posted on: Friday, Mar 01, 2013, 2:00pm
Rating: | Views: 1289 | Comments: 0
Action video games boost reading skills
Much to the chagrin of parents who think their kids should spend less time playing video games and more time studying, time spent playing action video games can actually make dyslexic children read better. In fact, 12 hours of video game play did more for reading skills than is normally achieved with a year of spontaneous reading development or demanding traditional reading treatments.
Animal Behavior
Source: Cell Press
Posted on: Friday, Mar 01, 2013, 12:45pm
Rating: | Views: 1618 | Comments: 0
Eating junk food while pregnant may make your child a junk food addict
Here's another reason why a healthy diet during pregnancy is critical to the future health of your children: New research published in the March 2013 issue of The FASEB Journal, suggests that pregnant mothers who consume junk food actually cause changes in the development of the opioid signaling pathway in the brains of their unborn children. This change results in the babies b
Development
Source: Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology
Posted on: Friday, Mar 01, 2013, 10:15am
Rating: | Views: 1349 | Comments: 0
New cancer 'vaccine' shows future promise in treating and preventing metastatic cancers
Preclinical, laboratory studies suggest a novel immunotherapy could potentially work like a vaccine against metastatic cancers, according to scientists at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center. Results from a recent study show the therapy could treat metastatic cancers and be used in combination with current cancer therapies while helping to prevent the development of new metastati
Cancer
Source: Virginia Commonwealth University
Posted on: Thursday, Feb 28, 2013, 10:30am
Rating: | Views: 1365 | Comments: 0
BPA may affect the developing brain by disrupting gene regulation
Environmental exposure to bisphenol A (BPA), a widespread chemical found in plastics and resins, may suppress a gene vital to nerve cell function and to the development of the central nervous system, according to a study led by researchers at Duke Medicine.
Neuroscience
Source: Duke University Medical Center
Posted on: Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013, 11:45am
Rating: | Views: 1206 | Comments: 0
Prenatal DHA reduces early preterm birth, low birth weight
University of Kansas researchers have found that the infants of mothers who were given 600 milligrams of the omega-3 fatty acid DHA during pregnancy weighed more at birth and were less likely to be very low birth weight and born before 34 weeks gestation than infants of mothers who were given a placebo. This result greatly strengthens the case for using the dietary supplement during pre
Development
Source: University of Kansas
Posted on: Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013, 11:00am
Rating: | Views: 1305 | Comments: 0
Tweaking gene expression to repair lungs
Lung diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are on the rise, according to the American Lung Association and the National Institutes of Health.
Development
Source: University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Posted on: Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013, 10:45am
Rating: | Views: 1215 | Comments: 0
Putting malaria on the SHELPH
Experts have disabled a unique member of the signalling proteins which are essential for the development of the malaria parasite. They have produced a mutant lacking the ancient bacterial Shewanella-like protein phosphatase known as SHLP1 (pronounced shelph). This mutant is unable to complete its complex life cycle and is arrested in its development in the mosquito. The discovery could help in the
Molecular Biology
Source: University of Nottingham
Posted on: Monday, Feb 25, 2013, 5:00pm
Rating: | Views: 1376 | Comments: 0
Ultrasound reveals autism risk at birth
Low-birth-weight babies with a particular brain abnormality are at greater risk for autism, according to a new study that could provide doctors a signpost for early detection of the still poorly understood disorder.
Development
Source: Michigan State University
Posted on: Monday, Feb 25, 2013, 4:30pm
Rating: | Views: 1454 | Comments: 0
Distinct niches in bone marrow nurture blood stem cells
In research that could one day improve the success of stem cell transplants and chemotherapy, scientists have found that distinct niches exist in bone marrow to nurture different types of blood stem cells.
Development
Source: Washington University School of Medicine
Posted on: Monday, Feb 25, 2013, 2:30pm
Rating: | Views: 1289 | Comments: 0
New type of gene that regulates tumor suppressor PTEN identified
Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have identified a new so-called pseudogene that regulates the tumour-suppressing PTEN gene. They hope that this pseudogene will be able to control PTEN to reverse the tumour process, make the cancer tumour more sensitive to chemotherapy and to prevent the development of resistance. The findings, which are published in the scientific journal Nature
Cancer
Source: Karolinska Institutet
Posted on: Monday, Feb 25, 2013, 1:15pm
Rating: | Views: 5670 | Comments: 0
Human heart tissue development slower than other mammals
The walls of the human heart are a disorganised jumble of tissue until relatively late in pregnancy despite having the shape of a fully functioning heart, according to a pioneering study. A University of Leeds-led team developing the first comprehensive model of human heart development using observations of living foetal hearts found surprising differences from existing animal models. Alth
Health
Source: University of Leeds
Posted on: Thursday, Feb 21, 2013, 2:45pm
Rating: | Views: 1359 | Comments: 0
Signaling pathway linked to fetal alcohol risk
Fetal alcohol syndrome is the leading preventable cause of developmental disorders in developed countries. And fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), a range of alcohol-related birth defects that includes fetal alcohol syndrome, is thought to affect as many as 1 in 100 children born in the United States.
Development
Source: Harvard Medical School
Posted on: Thursday, Feb 21, 2013, 1:30pm
Rating: | Views: 1146 | Comments: 0
Ancient 'Egyptian blue' pigment points to new telecommunications, security ink technology
A bright blue pigment used 5,000 years ago is giving modern scientists clues toward the development of new nanomaterials with potential uses in state-of-the-art medical imaging devices, remote controls for televisions, security inks and other technology. That's the conclusion of an article on the pigment, Egyptian blue, in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
Chemistry
Source: American Chemical Society
Posted on: Thursday, Feb 21, 2013, 10:45am
Rating: | Views: 2046 | Comments: 0
It's not just amyloid: White matter hyperintensities and Alzheimer's disease
New findings by Columbia researchers suggest that along with amyloid deposits, white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) may be a second necessary factor for the development of Alzheimer's disease.
Neuroscience
Source: Columbia University Medical Center
Posted on: Wednesday, Feb 20, 2013, 4:30pm
Rating: | Views: 1197 | Comments: 0
How the whale got its teeth
Whales are mammals, but they don't look like the mammals living around us, as they have a triangular fluke for tail, no hind legs and no body hair. And inside their mouths, their teeth are unfamiliar too – being much simpler and 'peg like'. A multidisciplinary team of researchers have now married together the fossil record and the embryonic development process to investigate how the whale got its
Evolution
Source: PeerJ
Posted on: Tuesday, Feb 19, 2013, 11:45am
Rating: | Views: 1331 | Comments: 0
New study on Hepatitis C drug treatment in vivo and in vitro
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection affects about 4 million in the United States and is the primary cause of liver cirrhosis and liver cancer. Current therapy against HCV is suboptimal. Daclatasvir, a direct acting antiviral (DAA) agent in development for the treatment of HCV, targets one of the HCV proteins (i.e., NS5A) and causes the fastest viral decline (within 12 hours of treatment) ever seen w
Molecular Biology
Source: Loyola University Health System
Posted on: Tuesday, Feb 19, 2013, 11:00am
Rating: | Views: 1414 | Comments: 0
Shedding new light on infant brain development
A new study by Columbia Engineering researchers finds that the infant brain does not control its blood flow in the same way as the adult brain. The paper, which the scientists say could change the way researchers study brain development in infants and children, is published in the February 18 Early Online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Neuroscience
Source: Columbia University
Posted on: Tuesday, Feb 19, 2013, 10:15am
Rating: | Views: 1196 | Comments: 0
'Activating' RNA takes DNA on a loop through time and space
Long segments of RNA— encoded in our DNA but not translated into protein—are key to physically manipulating DNA in order to activate certain genes, say researchers at The Wistar Institute. These non-coding RNA-activators (ncRNA-a) have a crucial role in turning genes on and off during early embryonic development, researchers say, and have also been connected with diseases, including some cancers,
Genetics
Source: The Wistar Institute
Posted on: Monday, Feb 18, 2013, 11:30am
Rating: | Views: 1686 | Comments: 0
Love of musical harmony is not nature but nurture
Our love of music and appreciation of musical harmony is learnt and not based on natural ability – a new study by University of Melbourne researchers has found.
Development
Source: University of Melbourne
Posted on: Friday, Feb 15, 2013, 10:15am
Rating: | Views: 1171 | Comments: 0
Cellular renewal process may underlie benefits of omega fatty acids
A search for genes that change their levels of expression in response to nutrient deprivation has uncovered potential clues to the mechanism underlying the health benefits of omega fatty acids. In the Feb. 15 issue of Genes & Development, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers describe finding that feeding omega-6 fatty acids to C. elegans roundworms or adding them to cult
Health
Source: Massachusetts General Hospital
Posted on: Thursday, Feb 14, 2013, 5:00pm
Rating: | Views: 1528 | Comments: 0
Protein central to cancer stem cell formation provides new potential target
Researchers have identified a pivotal protein in a cellular transformation that makes a cancer cell more resistant to treatment and more capable of growing and spreading, making it an inviting new target for drug development.
Cancer
Source: University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
Posted on: Thursday, Feb 14, 2013, 12:45pm
Rating: | Views: 1194 | Comments: 0
Long noncoding RNAs control development of fat cells
Whitehead Institute researchers have identified a previously unrecognized layer of genetic regulation that is necessary for the generation of undesirable white fat cells. When this regulation is disrupted, white fat cells are unable to accumulate lipid droplets or mature from their precursors.
Molecular Biology
Source: Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research
Posted on: Thursday, Feb 14, 2013, 12:15pm
Rating: | Views: 1237 | Comments: 0
Molecular master switch for pancreatic cancer identified, potential predictor of treatment outcome
A recently described master regulator protein may explain the development of aberrant cell growth in the pancreas spurred by inflammation A team from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania profiled gene expression of mouse pancreatic ductal and duct-like cells from different states - embryonic development, acute pancreatitis and K-ras mutation-driven
Molecular Biology
Source: University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Posted on: Wednesday, Feb 13, 2013, 12:15pm
Rating: | Views: 9311 | Comments: 1
New world record efficiency for thin film silicon solar cells
The Photovoltaics-Laboratory (PV-Lab) of EPFL's Insitute of Microengineering (IMT), founded in 1984 by Prof. Arvind Shah and now headed by Prof. Christophe Ballif, is well known as a pioneer in the development of thin-film silicon solar cells, and as a precursor in the use of microcrystalline silicon as a photoactive material in thin-film silicon photovoltaic (TF-Si PV) devices. A remarkable step
Energy
Source: Ecole Polytechnique F�d�rale de Lausanne
Posted on: Wednesday, Feb 13, 2013, 11:00am
Rating: | Views: 1219 | Comments: 0
Early music lessons boost brain development
If you started piano lessons in grade one, or played the recorder in kindergarten, thank your parents and teachers. Those lessons you dreaded – or loved – helped develop your brain. The younger you started music lessons, the stronger the connections in your brain.
Neuroscience
Source: Concordia University
Posted on: Wednesday, Feb 13, 2013, 10:45am
Rating: | Views: 1313 | Comments: 0
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