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Orienteering for robots
Team Identifies Novel Biomarker for Head and Neck Cancer, Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
Coffee drinking is protective against liver cirrhosis
World’s First Noninvasive Brain Tumor Treatment with Focused Ultrasound Thermal Ablation
Prion disease transmission and neurodegeneration: lessons from bank voles
New Penn-Designed Gel Allows for Targeted Therapy After Heart Attack
Researchers discover too much or too little of a single enzyme may promote cancer
Transplant Drug Sirolimus May Help Wipe Out Persistent HIV Infections
Origin of Mercury questioned in new study supported by pyroclastic deposits
Cyberknife technology to treat vocal cord cancer
Analysis probes reactions in porous battery electrodes for the first time
Hummingbirds 22-Million-Year-Old History of Remarkable Change Is Far from Complete
New Study Casts Doubt on Heart Regeneration in Mammals

Posted: 04 Apr 2014 06:53 AM PDT

Suppose you’re trying to navigate an unfamiliar section of a big city, and you’re using a particular cluster of skyscrapers as a reference point. Traffic and one-way streets force you to take some odd turns, and for a while you lose sight of your landmarks. When they reappear, in order to use them for navigation, you have to be able to identify them as the same buildings you were tracking before — as well as your orientation relative to them.

Team Identifies Novel Biomarker for Head and Neck Cancer, Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Posted: 04 Apr 2014 06:48 AM PDT

A team led by a scientist from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) has identified a new biomarker linked to better outcomes of patients with head and neck cancers and non-small cell lung cancer. The work could help scientists develop new diagnostics and therapies and help physicians determine the best long-term treatments for patients with these cancers.

Coffee drinking is protective against liver cirrhosis

Posted: 04 Apr 2014 06:31 AM PDT

Drinking two cups of coffee per day substantially reduces risk of death from non-viral hepatitis related liver cirrhosis. This is the main finding of a study from researchers in the USA and Singapore as part of The Singapore Chinese Health Study. The study is published in the journal Hepatology.

World’s First Noninvasive Brain Tumor Treatment with Focused Ultrasound Thermal Ablation

Posted: 04 Apr 2014 06:26 AM PDT

For the first time, focused ultrasound was successfully used in the treatment of a brain tumor. The adult patient had a recurrent glioma, a portion of which was thermally ablated through the intact skull using InSightec's Exablate Neuro system. The procedure was performed to assess the feasibility and safety of focused ultrasound in treating brain tumors; it was not intended to demonstrate efficacy.

Prion disease transmission and neurodegeneration: lessons from bank voles

Posted: 03 Apr 2014 02:00 PM PDT

Inter-species transmission of prions is fortunately a generally inefficient process, although devastating when it occurs. An exception to this is the case of a rodent called the bank vole which is universally susceptible to prion transmission from multiple other species. This tendency was exploited in a paper from researchers in the University of California to help gain information on prevention of prion transmission. The paper is published on 3rd April in the journal PLoS Pathogens.

New Penn-Designed Gel Allows for Targeted Therapy After Heart Attack

Posted: 03 Apr 2014 12:40 PM PDT

Combating the tissue degrading enzymes that cause lasting damage following a heart attack is tricky. Each patient responds to a heart attack differently and damage can vary from one part of the heart muscle to another, but existing treatments can’t be fine-tuned to deal with this variation.

Researchers discover too much or too little of a single enzyme may promote cancer

Posted: 03 Apr 2014 10:35 AM PDT

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have found that too little or too much of an enzyme called SRPK1 promotes cancer by disrupting a regulatory event critical for many fundamental cellular processes, including proliferation.

The findings are published in the current online issue of Molecular Cell.

Transplant Drug Sirolimus May Help Wipe Out Persistent HIV Infections

Posted: 03 Apr 2014 10:28 AM PDT

New research suggests that drugs commonly used to prevent organ rejection after transplantation may also be helpful for combating HIV. The findings, which are published in the American Journal of Transplantation, suggest a new strategy in the fight against HIV and AIDS.

Origin of Mercury questioned in new study supported by pyroclastic deposits

Posted: 03 Apr 2014 10:19 AM PDT

Mercury was long thought to be lacking volatile compounds that cause explosive volcanism. That view started to change when the MESSENGER spacecraft returned pictures of pyroclastic deposits — the telltale signature of volcanic explosions. Now more detailed data from MESSENGER shows that volcanoes exploded on Mercury for a substantial portion of the planet’s history. The findings suggest Mercury not only had volatiles but held on to them for longer than scientists had expected.

Cyberknife technology to treat vocal cord cancer

Posted: 03 Apr 2014 10:02 AM PDT

Stephen Wiley, a lifelong cowboy from Terrell, has helped UT Southwestern Medical Center pioneer a new treatment for vocal cord cancer. Mr. Wiley volunteered to be the world’s first known patient to be treated for vocal cord cancer with Cyberknife, a surgeon-controlled robotic device that destroys tumors with highly precise doses of radiation.

Analysis probes reactions in porous battery electrodes for the first time

Posted: 03 Apr 2014 09:58 AM PDT

The electrochemical reactions inside the porous electrodes of batteries and fuel cells have been described by theorists, but never measured directly. Now, a team at MIT has figured out a way to measure the fundamental charge transfer rate — finding some significant surprises.

Hummingbirds 22-Million-Year-Old History of Remarkable Change Is Far from Complete

Posted: 02 Apr 2014 07:54 PM PDT

The first comprehensive map of hummingbirds' 22-million-year-old family tree—reconstructed based on careful analysis of 284 of the world's 338 known species—tells a story of rapid and ongoing diversification. The decade-long study reported in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on April 3 also helps to explain how today's hummingbirds came to live where they do.

New Study Casts Doubt on Heart Regeneration in Mammals

Posted: 02 Apr 2014 07:48 PM PDT

The mammalian heart has generally been considered to lack the ability to repair itself after injury, but a 2011 study in newborn mice challenged this view, providing evidence for complete regeneration after resection of 10% of the apex, the lowest part of the heart. In a study published by Cell Press in Stem Cell Reports on April 3, 2014, researchers attempted to replicate these recent findings but failed to uncover any evidence of complete heart regeneration in newborn mice that underwent apex resection.