science newsletter: Science News SciGuru.com

Παρασκευή 8 Νοεμβρίου 2013

Science News SciGuru.com

Fountain-of-Youth Gene Repairs Tissue Damage in Adults
Nanoparticles can overcome drug resistance in breast cancer cells
Breakthrough discoveries on cellular regeneration seek to turn back the body’s clock
Researchers discover a new driver of breast cancer
Hearing through sight
Calcium and Vitamin D Improve Bone Density in Patients Taking Antiepileptic Drugs

Fountain-of-Youth Gene Repairs Tissue Damage in Adults

Posted: 07 Nov 2013 12:49 PM PST

Young animals recover from tissue damage better than adults, and from Charles Darwin's time until now, scientists have puzzled over why this is the case. A study published by Cell Press November 7th in the journal Cell has revealed that an evolutionarily conserved gene called Lin28a, which is very active in embryos but not in adults, enhances tissue repair after injury when reactivated in adult mice. The findings open up new avenues for the treatment of injuries and degenerative diseases in adult humans.

Nanoparticles can overcome drug resistance in breast cancer cells

Posted: 07 Nov 2013 12:38 PM PST

Nanoparticles filled with chemotherapeutic drugs can kill drug-resistant breast cancer cells, according to a study published in the scientific journal Biomaterials.

Nanoparticles are just as small, or even smaller, than many blood proteins. They can therefore pass through the walls of healthy and sick cells, which make them interesting carriers of drugs against cancer and other diseases.

Breakthrough discoveries on cellular regeneration seek to turn back the body’s clock

Posted: 07 Nov 2013 12:30 PM PST

Two groups of scientists at the Children’s Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern (CRI) have made complementary discoveries that break new ground on efforts to turn back the body’s clock on cellular activity, paving the way for a better understanding of stem cells, tissue growth, and regeneration.

Researchers discover a new driver of breast cancer

Posted: 07 Nov 2013 12:21 PM PST

A team of researchers at UT Southwestern has found that as cholesterol is metabolized, a potent stimulant of breast cancer is created – one that fuels estrogen-receptor positive breast cancers, and that may also defeat a common treatment strategy for those cancers.

Hearing through sight

Posted: 07 Nov 2013 09:48 AM PST

Cochlear implants allow adults who have become profoundly deaf to recover the ability to understand speech. However, recovery differs between individuals. Activating the visual regions of the brain has proved essential to the satisfactory recovery of hearing, according to a new study by the Centre de Recherche Cerveau et Cognition (CERCO,CNRS/Université Toulouse III – Paul Sabatier), carried out in close collaboration with the ENT department at Hôpital Purpan in Toulouse.

Calcium and Vitamin D Improve Bone Density in Patients Taking Antiepileptic Drugs

Posted: 07 Nov 2013 09:29 AM PST

A recent prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial reports that calcium and vitamin D supplementation improves bone density in a group of male veterans with epilepsy who were treated chronically with antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). The results published in Epilepsia, a journal of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE), suggest that risedronate, a bisphosphonate, may help to prevent new vertebral fractures when taken with calcium and vitamin D supplementation.