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Codeine could increase users' sensitivity to pain
Biologists Uncover Mechanisms for Cholera Toxin’s Deadly Effects
Scientists Solve Century-Old Chemistry Problem
International Study Provides New Genetic Clue to Anorexia
Inner-Ear Disorders May Cause Hyperactivity
Low dose antibiotic treatment of C-difficile as effective as high dose in hospital setting
Study documents the Schizophrenia's effect on brain tissue
The protein Merlin “arranges” other protein interactions to control growth and prevent cancer
Airbrushing Could Facilitate Large-Scale Manufacture of Carbon Nanofibers

Codeine could increase users' sensitivity to pain

Posted: 12 Sep 2013 07:18 AM PDT

Using large and frequent doses of the pain-killer codeine may actually produce heightened sensitivity to pain, without the same level of relief offered by morphine, according to new research from the University of Adelaide.

Researchers in the Discipline of Pharmacology have conducted what is believed to be the world's first experimental study comparing the pain relieving and pain worsening effects of both codeine and morphine.

Biologists Uncover Mechanisms for Cholera Toxin’s Deadly Effects

Posted: 11 Sep 2013 10:53 AM PDT

Biologists at the University of California, San Diego have identified an underlying biochemical mechanism that helps make cholera toxin so deadly, often resulting in life-threating diarrhea that causes people to lose as much as half of their body fluids in a single day.

Scientists Solve Century-Old Chemistry Problem

Posted: 11 Sep 2013 10:45 AM PDT

Chemists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have found a way to apply a “foundational reaction” of organic chemistry to a stubborn class of chemicals, in a transformation that has been thought impossible for a century.

The classic SN2 reaction has enabled chemists to build and modify many pharmaceuticals as well as other useful organic molecules. While the reaction had been thought to exclude certain compounds, a paper in the September 12, 2013 issue of the journal Nature describes a new SN2-like reaction that overcomes this limitation.

International Study Provides New Genetic Clue to Anorexia

Posted: 11 Sep 2013 10:40 AM PDT

The largest DNA-sequencing study of anorexia nervosa has linked the eating disorder to variants in a gene coding for an enzyme that regulates cholesterol metabolism. The finding suggests that anorexia could be caused in part by a disruption in the normal processing of cholesterol, which may disrupt mood and eating behavior.

Inner-Ear Disorders May Cause Hyperactivity

Posted: 11 Sep 2013 10:29 AM PDT

Behavioral abnormalities are traditionally thought to originate in the brain. But a new study by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University has found that inner-ear dysfunction can directly cause neurological changes that increase hyperactivity. The study, conducted in mice, also implicated two brain proteins in this process, providing potential targets for intervention. The findings were published today in the online edition of Science.

Low dose antibiotic treatment of C-difficile as effective as high dose in hospital setting

Posted: 11 Sep 2013 10:08 AM PDT

Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) treatment in a hospital setting using low dose oral vancomycin showed similar effectiveness compared to high dose, according to a new study by researchers at Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. These data were presented yesterday at the 53rd Annual Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy meeting in Denver.

Study documents the Schizophrenia's effect on brain tissue

Posted: 11 Sep 2013 10:04 AM PDT

It’s hard to fully understand a mental disease like schizophrenia without peering into the human brain. Now, a study by University of Iowa psychiatry professor Nancy Andreasen uses brain scans to document how schizophrenia impacts brain tissue as well as the effects of anti-psychotic drugs on those who have relapses.

The protein Merlin “arranges” other protein interactions to control growth and prevent cancer

Posted: 11 Sep 2013 08:27 AM PDT

Johns Hopkins researchers have figured out the specific job of a protein long implicated in tumors of the nervous system. Reporting on a new study described in the Sept. 12 issue of the journal Cell, they detail what they call the “matchmaking” activities of a fruit fly protein called Merlin, whose human counterpart, NF2, is a tumor suppressor protein known to cause neurofibromatosis type II when mutated.

Airbrushing Could Facilitate Large-Scale Manufacture of Carbon Nanofibers

Posted: 11 Sep 2013 08:06 AM PDT

Researchers from North Carolina State University used airbrushing techniques to grow vertically aligned carbon nanofibers on several different metal substrates, opening the door for incorporating these nanofibers into gene delivery devices, sensors, batteries and other technologies.