monicascicom

Your mother was right

Scientists have long sought to better understand the workings of the immune system. New research from Lynn B. Martin II and colleagues (Ohio State University, Columbus) specifically addresses the link between reduced food intake and immune ‘memory’. The results suggest that mothers everywhere were on to something: eating enough food is essential to proper immuneContinueContinue reading “Your mother was right”

Edible tools to fight Alzheimer’s

Two separate groups of researchers are now pursuing edible options for the treatment or prevention of Alzheimer’s disease. One study carried out by HyunSoon Kim (Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology) and colleagues showed that tomatoes may serve as effective carriers for an oral vaccine against beta-amyloid in mice. Accumulation of beta-amyloid protein in the brainContinueContinue reading “Edible tools to fight Alzheimer’s”

A primate model for Huntington’s disease?

Huntington’s disease is an incurable neurodegenerative disorder. Rodent models of Huntington’s exist, but they do not reproduce the disease course and symptoms of affected humans very closely. This limits their applicability in evaluating the pathology and potential treatments for the disorder. Now, a group of scientists from the Yerkes National Primate Research Center at EmoryContinueContinue reading “A primate model for Huntington’s disease?”

Engineered cartilage does better under pressure

Arthritis affects millions of people worldwide, causing pain and stiffness in joints. In some cases, arthritis develops after the cartilage in a joint is damaged. Cartilage acts to cushion the joints, allowing for smooth movement. Because cartilage cannot repair itself after injury, tissue engineers have attempted to generate new cartilage that could be transplanted intoContinueContinue reading “Engineered cartilage does better under pressure”

Sugars click with zebrafish

New advances in molecular tagging may one day offer deeper insights into the development of diseases such as cancer and heart disease. Now in its infancy, the technique has been applied to tracking the development of the zebrafish embryo in vivo using noninvasive imaging of sugar molecules. Lab Anim. (NY) 37, 236 (2008). view full text (loginContinueContinue reading “Sugars click with zebrafish”

Training cells to control AIDS

A new treatment for AIDS has shown promise in controlling the infection in macaques. The new technique is a form of immune therapy that uses the subject’s own blood cells. Cells are exposed to proteins extracted from the simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV, which is similar to the human version, HIV) in vitro and then infusedContinueContinue reading “Training cells to control AIDS”

Alzheimer’s vaccine tested in dogs

Alzheimer’s disease is a form of dementia that affects more than 5 million people in the US. It is progressive and fatal and has no known cure. It is characterized by neuronal death, which may be linked to the formation of plaques of beta-amyloid in the brain. Immunotherapy against beta-amyloid has shown promise in reducing the formationContinueContinue reading “Alzheimer’s vaccine tested in dogs”

Rodents rake in rewards

In new research aimed at identifying brain changes that underlie the development of tool-use ability, scientists have taught captive rodents to use tools. This is the first report of such training in rodents. Atsushi Iriki and colleagues at the Brain Science Institute (RIKEN, Saitama, Japan) trained a group of five degus (Octodon degus), small rodentsContinueContinue reading “Rodents rake in rewards”

Killing two parasites with one drug

Toxoplasmosis may be the most common parasitic infection worldwide, affecting more than two billion people. Existing treatments have serious side effects, can cause hypersensitivity in some patients and are ineffective during some of the parasite’s life stages. There is no preventative vaccine. New treatments for toxoplasmosis are desperately needed. Now it seems that need mayContinueContinue reading “Killing two parasites with one drug”

New vaccine against filoviruses

Filoviruses (Ebola and Marburg viruses) are highly infectious pathogens that cause hemorrhagic fever in humans and nonhuman primates. Their mortality rates approach 90% in humans. There are currently no approved vaccines against filoviruses. New research presented at the 2008 American Society for Microbiology’s Biodefense and Emerging Diseases Research Meeting in Baltimore, MD, shows that aContinueContinue reading “New vaccine against filoviruses”