science newsletter: Science News SciGuru.com

Τετάρτη 22 Μαΐου 2013

Science News SciGuru.com

“Plastic” sensors for diagnosis of genetic and infectious diseases
Changing cancer's environment to halt its spread
Possibility of drugs that can prevent and treat Alzheimer’s disease
Resistance to last-line antibiotic makes bacteria resistant to immune system
Practice makes perfect? Not so much
Insight into the dazzling impact of insulin in cells
Nano-messenger opens way for new cancer treatment

“Plastic” sensors for diagnosis of genetic and infectious diseases

Posted: 21 May 2013 08:43 PM PDT

In recent years, molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) have attracted much attention due to their multifarious potential applications including in sensors, separations, catalysis, drug delivery and waste management. To prepare MIPs, functional monomers are initially self-assembled around the template molecule via interaction between functional groups on both the template and the monomers. The self-assembled functional monomers are subsequently cross-linked.

Changing cancer's environment to halt its spread

Posted: 21 May 2013 01:24 PM PDT

By studying the roles two proteins, thrombospondin-1 and prosaposin, play in discouraging cancer metastasis, a trans-Atlantic research team has identified a five-amino acid fragment of prosaposin that significantly reduces metastatic spread in mouse models of prostate, breast and lung cancer. The findings suggest that a prosaposin-based drug could potentially block metastasis in a variety of cancers.

Possibility of drugs that can prevent and treat Alzheimer’s disease

Posted: 21 May 2013 12:32 PM PDT

Imagine a pharmaceutical prevention, treatment or even cure for Alzheimer’s disease.

It is almost impossible to overstate how monumental a development that would be and how it would answer the prayers of millions.

Though science isn’t there yet, a new study published in The Journal of Neuroscience spearheaded by USC Davis School of Gerontology researchers offers a tantalizing glimpse of potential solutions.

Resistance to last-line antibiotic makes bacteria resistant to immune system

Posted: 21 May 2013 07:49 AM PDT

Bacteria resistant to the antibiotic colistin are also commonly resistant to antimicrobial substances made by the human body, according to a study in mBio®, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology. Cross-resistance to colistin and host antimicrobials LL-37 and lysozyme, which help defend the body against bacterial attack, could mean that patients with life-threatening multi-drug resistant infections are also saddled with a crippled immune response.

Practice makes perfect? Not so much

Posted: 21 May 2013 07:43 AM PDT

Turns out, that old “practice makes perfect” adage may be overblown.

New research led by Michigan State University’s Zach Hambrick finds that a copious amount of practice is not enough to explain why people differ in level of skill in two widely studied activities, chess and music.

In other words, it takes more than hard work to become an expert. Hambrick, writing in the research journal Intelligence, said natural talent and other factors likely play a role in mastering a complicated activity.

Insight into the dazzling impact of insulin in cells

Posted: 21 May 2013 07:37 AM PDT

Australian scientists have charted the path of insulin action in cells in precise detail like never before. This provides a comprehensive blueprint for understanding what goes wrong in diabetes.

The breakthrough study, conducted by Sean Humphrey and Professor David James from Sydney’s Garvan Institute of Medical Research, is now published in the early online edition of the prestigious journal Cell Metabolism.

Nano-messenger opens way for new cancer treatment

Posted: 21 May 2013 07:25 AM PDT

A new study from Karolinska Institutet shows that exosomes, nanoparticles that transmit information between cells, constitute a potential new treatment strategy for several cancers. The study, which was conducted on mice, was published recently online in the scientific journal Cancer Research.