For the first time, scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology in Martinsried near Munich have been able to show how two nerve cells communicate with each other from different hemispheres in the visual center. This astoundingly simple circuit diagram could at a later date provide a model for algorithms to be deployed in technical systems (Nature Neuroscience, Oct. 10, 2006).
Researchers have announced a breakthrough on a non-hormonal compound known as Adjudin. When injected as an attachment to a modified hormone that seeks out the testes, a low dose is a safe and effective contraceptive in rats. However, another promising drug, miglustat, has failed to make the leap from mice to men.
Researchers at the Jackson Laboratory, in collaboration with scientists at Bristol-Myers Squibb Oncology, discovered is that imatinib does not inactivate all BCR-ABL signaling pathways in the cascade. Proteins called SRC kinases are still activated by BCR-ABL in imatinib-treated mouse leukemic cells. Treatment with dasatinib, which inhibits the SRC proteins as well as BCR-ABL, was not only more effective for CML, but also led to complete B-ALL remission.
A research team at the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cient?ficas (CSIC) has discovered a new route for the transport of proteins in plant cells, a discovery that will enable the biotechnological design of plant factories. Amongst other applications, these can be used to produce oral vaccines which, upon being ingested, will be able to immunise against diseases. Moreover, this discovery opens the door to the design of protein-manufacturing plants of great interest therapeutically and in the development of vaccine antigens.
UT Southwestern Medical Center, UT Dallas’ Center for BrainHealth and Shelton School of Dallas will join forces to conduct an innovative three-year research study aimed at helping children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and their families.
New research suggests that offering methamphetamine abusers an incentive-based behavioral therapy program called contingency management (CM ? also known as Motivational Incentives), along with psychosocial therapy is more effective than psychosocial therapy alone. The study was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Institutes of Health, and is published in the November 2006 issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry.
Atmospheric scientists have reported a new and potentially important mechanism by which chemical emissions from ocean phytoplankton may influence the formation of clouds that reflect sunlight away from our planet.
Significant errors in insulin dose can result when blood glucose meters are miscoded according to new clinical study. When persons with diabetes use miscoded blood glucose meters to determine how much insulin to take, significant errors in insulin dose can result that may potentially lead to short- and long-term health complications, according to findings of a new study presented at the Sixth Annual Diabetes Technology Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia.
Scientists at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC have identified a protein that is critical to the development of inflammation during lung infection in patients with cystic fibrosis. The identification of this protein, called interleukin-23, is an important finding that gives researchers a specific target for developing new therapies.
Deakin University scientists have identified a protein that could hold the key to new leukaemia treatments.