Press monitoring
Single gene controls jet lag
22.8.2014 | Press monitoring
Scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have identified a gene that regulates sleep and wake rhythms. The discovery of the role of this gene, called Lhx1, provides scientists with a potential therapeutic target to help night-shift workers or jet lagged travelers adjust to time differences more quickly. The results, published in...
Do gut bacteria rule our minds?
21.8.2014 | Press monitoring
It sounds like science fiction, but it seems that bacteria within us—which outnumber our own cells about 100-fold—may very well be affecting both our cravings and moods to get us to eat what they want, and often are driving us toward obesity. In an article published this week in the journal BioEssays, researchers from UC San Francisco, Arizona...
Genetically engineered fruit flies could save crops
20.8.2014 | Press monitoring
Releasing genetically engineered fruit flies into the wild could prove to be a cheap, effective and environmentally friendly way of pest control according to scientists at the University of East Anglia and Oxitec Ltd. The Mediterranean fruit fly is a serious agricultural pest which causes extensive damage to crops. It is currently controlled by a...
Trojan horse gold nanoparticles treatment could beat brain tumors
19.8.2014 | Press monitoring
A "Trojan horse" treatment for an aggressive form of brain cancer, which involves using tiny nanoparticles of gold to kill tumour cells, has been successfully tested by scientists. The ground-breaking technique could eventually be used to treat glioblastoma multiforme, which is the most common and aggressive brain tumour in adults, and...
Injected bacteria shrink tumors in rats, dogs and humans
18.8.2014 | Press monitoring
A modified version of the Clostridium novyi (C. novyi-NT) bacterium can produce a strong and precisely targeted anti-tumor response in rats, dogs and now humans, according to a new report from Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers. In its natural form, C. novyi is found in the soil and, in certain cases, can cause tissue-damaging...
Organic synthesis: The robo-chemist
15.8.2014 | Press monitoring
The race is on to build a machine that can synthesize any organic compound. It could transform chemistry. Growing band of chemists is now trying to free the field from its artisanal roots by creating a device with the ability to fabricate any organic molecule automatically. “I would consider it entirely feasible to build a synthesis machine which...
Mouth bacteria can change its diet, supercomputers reveal
14.8.2014 | Press monitoring
Bacteria inside your mouth drastically change how they act when you're diseased, according to research using supercomputers at the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC). Scientists say these surprising findings might lead to better ways to prevent or even reverse the gum disease periodontitis, diabetes, and Crohn's disease. Marvin Whiteley,...
Bioengineers create functional 3-D brain-like tissue
13.8.2014 | Press monitoring
Bioengineers have created three-dimensional brain-like tissue that functions like and has structural features similar to tissue in the rat brain and that can be kept alive in the lab for more than two months. As a first demonstration of its potential, researchers used the brain-like tissue to study chemical and electrical changes that occur...
Worm pill could ease autoimmune disease symptoms
12.8.2014 | Press monitoring
Experts believe a molecule in parasitic worms could help explain why worm infections can effectively treat a range of autoimmune diseases, including multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. The Monash University study, published in the FASEB Journal, successfully identified peptides from parasitic worms that suppress the...
Artificial retina: Physicists develop an interface to the optical nerve
11.8.2014 | Press monitoring
Physicists at Technische Universitat Munchen (TUM) are using the special properties of graphene to produce key elements of an artificial retina. With their research program the researchers were admitted to the heavily funded 'Graphene' Flagship Program of the European Union. Graphene is viewed as a kind of "miracle solution": It is thin,...
