Erodible plastic microspheres could be effective oral drug delivery system
...odegradable plastics, which become moreadhesive to body tissues as the plastics degrade in water. The spheres range insize from 0.1 to 5 micrometers. For purposes of comparison, one thousand1-micrometer spheres could fit end-to-end on a pinhead. A novel proprietaryprocess, dubbed PIN for "Phase Inversion ...Overweight Cats Risk Disease And Premature Death, Cornell Study Finds
...mal to obese, after physically examining the cats' body condition under their fur and comparing the cats t...he electrical impedance test -- one way to measure body mass -- and they really dislike the other method -- being completely immersed in water while exhalin...Herpes-Based Gene Therapy Is Key To Promising Liver Tumor Vaccine
...orceof the body's immune system on the area of the body under attackby cancer. While such research is wide...n,another cytokine now used clinically to help the body fightcancer. Then they measured the rats' resistance to cancer cells. Doctors found that insert...Purdue Study Aims To Boost MRI Capabilities
...s allow doctors to gather images from parts of the body that are currently hard to scan, such as the liver, and to view transient phenomena such as cardiac activity and blood flow in a noninvasive way," says Joe Bourland, director of bioengineering research at Purdue's Hillenbrand Biomedical Engineering R...Herpes-Based Gene Therapy Is Key To Promising Liver Tumor Vaccine
...rce of the body's immune system on the area of the body under attack by cancer. While such research is wid...e system in such patients, in an effort to aid the body in ridding itself of cancer cells. The group turned to Dr. Federoff in an effort to use gene therapy...New Vaccine Blocks Viral Entry In Cattle, May Have Implications For Human Vaccines
...system suppresses these viruses, which hide in the body and can become active again during periods of stre...says. "A few viruses, such as rabies, get into the body other ways. But most cross the mucous membranes around the eyes, or those that line breathing passag...Method Eases Making Amino Acids Critical In Medicinal Chemistry
...f enzymes and proteins. The metabolismof the human body has developed ways to break these down. By placing anunnatural amino acid in biologically active molecules, the stability ofa possible drug can be significantly enhanced." In addition to synthesizing enantiomers of aryl amino acids, Beak alsohas use...Duke researchers find existing drugs can stop fungus that attacks AIDS patients
...overs and protectsthe brain. The fungus enters the body through the lungs when a person breathesin its air...t recipients, prevent C. neoformansfrom growing at body temperature, but not at room temperature. In addition to Heitman, who is an assistant professo...Scientists Use Magnetic Field As Alternative To Space-Based Zero Gravity
... current wascut. The technique reduced both the body forces and the gravity-induced stresseson the frog embryos by a factor of 10, which simulated a near-weightlessenvironment. No other ground-based technique has produced a similar reductionin forces and stresses. "The magnetic field actually picked u...Enzymes Targeted As Key To Understanding Drug Interactions
...School of Pharmacy, lies in learning how the human body processes each drug. The school has recently est...s enzymes -- biochemical catalysts produced by the body -- metabolize drugs. Their research is producing an understanding of the potential for adverse effec...Low Iron Levels Cause Weakness In Women Who Are Not Anemic
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Young women with low body iron -- but who are not quite anemic -- must use m...ir performance was related to the amount of stored body iron. "This shows that women who are not anemic but iron-depleted are impaired in oxygen utilization...Calorie Restriction Reduces Age-Related Muscle Loss
...luding humans." The new findings add to a growing body of evidence supportingsignificant age-retarding effects of a restricted yet nutritious diet. Inaddition to extending life span in many animals, calorie restriction (CR)slows down age-related deficits in behavior and learning, immune response,gene exp...Stopping "Cellular Suicide" Could Boost Production In Biotech Labs
...irus, kill themselves to preserve the healthof the body as a whole. Other self-destruct simply because theysense that a threat to their survival or merely somethingunfamiliar is lurking nearby. This process, called apoptosis or programmed cell death, is anormalbiological occurrence that can promote proper...Resistance To Leptin Contributes To Obesity
...sensitivity to the protein leptin, which helps the body regulateits fat stores, contributes to obesity in ... (ng) per hour, lean mice lost 15 percent of their body weight,yet this dose had no effect when given to other lean mice by thesubcutaneous injection. ......ly of compounds that play a key role incontrolling body chemistry. Once the EGS molecules attach to their target in aspecific virus or bacteria, they cause an RNA enzyme called RNase P to destroythe mRNA to which they are bound. The EGS molecules are then freed to repeatthe process. The EGS tec...Evolution Re-Sculpted Animal Limbs By Genetic Switches Once Thought Too Drastic For Survival
...ed over eons as animals gradually evolved improved body parts. Today'sfinding marks the first time that ch...to underlie an evolutionary trend leading to novel body structures. Nipam Patel, assistant professor of organismal biology and anatomy in theUniversity of C...Where Fossils Fear To Tread: Scientists Follow Genes To An Ancient Ancestor
...yos, share the same genetic machinery that governs body architecture, the only recourse for understanding how animals evolved different kinds of appendages was in the realm of comparative anatomy. And appendages, said Carroll, have been used as classic examples of independent evolution. But now ......these proteins, called antigen 85, help defend the body against TB. Antigen85 activates the immune system after a person is exposed to mycobacteriumtuberculosis, the bacteria that causes the disease. But recently, microbiologists John Belisle, Varalakshmi Vissa andGurdyal Besra discovered the set ...Study: Device Prevents Epileptic Seizures, Doesn't Damage Hearts
...e brainaround where seizures start by flooding the body with drugs. Now we are tryingto change the environment by stimulating nerves upstream toward the brain. Thisis a very different philosophy of treatment." Much confusion surrounds how to give first aid safely to a personexperiencing epileptic ...Female Adolescents Need Calcium During 'Window Of Opportunity'
... up much of bone, is an essential element for many body functions. As the body ages, it gets some of the calcium it needs by slowly breaking down bone material. Excessive loss of ...