Swell gel could bring relief to back pain sufferers
... repair technology to replace spinal fusion as the standard surgical treatment for chronic lower back pain." He added that future work will investigate biodegradable microgels that release additives to stimulate regeneration of intervertebral disc tissue. ...Erectile dysfunction in diabetes is due to selective defect in the brain
... The rats were exposed to a light/dark cycle, with standard temperature and humidity levels. The animals were randomly selected to receive chemical injection of the streptozotocin (STZ) to induce diabetes. Those rats that did not receive STZ (vehicle injected) served as controls. The experiments began on each...News tips from the Journal of Neuroscience
...x. As expected from studies in restrained animals, standard tuning properties of motor cortex neurons were present. Neurons were tuned to multiple movement parameters. The total variance in neuronal activity reflected hand speed (1%), hand direction (8%), complex directional tuning (13%), final hand position ...Penn study finds inhaled anesthetics accelerate the appearance of brain plaque in animals
...ive abilities of the mice were then analyzed using standard behavioral tests, and their brains were examined for plaque and cell death. "Compared to controls, the anesthesia did not appear to worsen cognitive ability, which was already considerably compromised at this age, but it did accelerate amyloid beta a...MIT particles pave way for new bedside diagnostics
...m "flow cytometer" using a microfluidic device and standard microscope. In this flow-through system, the oblong, disk-like shape of the particles ensures that they are precisely aligned for accurate scanning. Each time a particle flows past a detector, its barcode is read and the corresponding target is quant...Carnegie Mellon researchers urge regulators to rethink strategies for soot emission
...e in areas that violate the federal standard. That standard was strengthened in September after scientists, ar...onmental Protection Agency (EPA) that the previous standard of 65 micrograms per cubic meter of air was too loose. A third key implication has to do with how...NIST 'micro-rack' measures cell mechanical properties
...con wafers using a NIST-developed process based on standard chip-making techniques. The geometry of any component can be altered to suit a variety of cell types and experiments. The apparatus could be used for a variety of studies, such as effects of cyclic strain on cells, the elasticity of their response to...Leukemia drug turns mini-molecules up, cancer genes down
...retinoic acid (ATRA) and it is considered the gold standard for treating the disease. The study showed that ATRA raises the levels of three particular miRNAs in leukemia cells and that this rise coincides with a fall in activity of two important cancer-causing genes. The three are identified as miRNA-15b, mi...Research suggests a significant circadian rhythm in swim performance lasting 2-4 minutes
.... All results were presented as mean plus or minus standard error; with significance set at P Results The primary findings of the study showed: swimming performance had significant circadian variation when expressed relative to the time of day (Tmin). Specifically, swim performance was impaired be...Gene therapy shows promise as treatment for diseased limbs
...e 70 suffering from some form of it. The current standard of care for critical limb ischemia includes the use of stents or balloons or bypass grafting to improve blood flow for patients who can tolerate such procedures. For many, these treatments offer only short-term benefits. HIF-1a is considered a "mas...What is wrong with intelligent design?
...Wisconsin) clearly discusses the problems with two standard criticisms of intelligent design: that it is unfalsifiable and that the many imperfect adaptations found in nature refute the hypothesis of intelligent design. Biologists from Charles Darwin to Stephen Jay Gould have advanced this second type of a......press Hmga2 would lead toward tumor creation. In a standard in vitro test of cancer-causing genes, colonies of mouse cells that expressed normal or shortened Hmga2 did not grow significantly, while cells in which Hmga2 contained disrupted let-7 sites did. In fact, the more that let-7 sites were damaged, the g...Researchers begin 'Project 3000,' a recipe for hope through genetic research
...affected individuals. Make genetic testing the standard of care for LCA. Many insurance companies are currently unfamiliar with the value of genetic testing for LCA. By encouraging thousands of individuals with LCA to seek payment for their nonprofit genetic tests, Project 3000 intends to demonstrate the ...Environment and exercise may affect research results, UA study shows
...iments, the test mice were housed four-per-cage in standard cages, measuring 26 cm long x 16 cm wide x 12 cm h... exercising in the wheel, while mice housed in the standard cages remained relatively stationary. Significantly, the mice housed in the standard cages were h...BC biologists identify alternative brain cancer treatment
... relative to mice in control groups who consumed a standard low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet. The findings were based on a study published this week in the online journal Nutrition & Metabolism. KetoCal represents a novel alternative therapy for malignant brain cancer, said Boston College Biology Professor...A chemotherapy drug packs a one-two punch
...cell death." When the researchers tested other standard treatments for multiple myeloma, such as radiation or the corticosteroid dexamethasone, the therapies failed to increase levels of hsp90 on the surface of dying cells, and so couldn't activate dendritic cells to the degree that bortezomib did. And th...Mouse stem cell line advance suggests potential for IVF-incompetent eggs
...ilization-failure" (or AFF) oocytesto succeed in a standard cloning procedure in which the oocyte's nucleus is removed and replaced by the nucleus of a somatic cell. Although this nuclear-transfer procedure showed a lower rate of success in the very first stages of cloning compared to nuclear transfer with fr...Protecting US crops from terrorist attack to be discussed at 2007 AAAS Annual Meeting
...t detectors, minimize response time, and establish standard reporting protocols," Fletcher said. "Better coordination of crop-related activities at the national level will strengthen our agricultural enterprise regardless of whether challenges to our crops arise naturally, accidentally, or intentionally," she...ALTRAN: Industry experts address technology challenges at Altran Innovation Conference
...rchers and experts benefit from the same financial standard of living in Europe than in the US. I know the planned (EIT) European Institute for Technology will be an important step in this direction. I call for specific action plan, like for example a special tax policy for talented researchers and experts."...Vet College gets grant to develop fish virus diagnostic technique
...rnational organizations, it will be adopted as the standard test," said Geoffrey Groocock, a postdoctoral associate at Cornell's Aquatic Animal Health Program. "Then, people can send samples to us or other programs to quickly and accurately diagnose the emergence of this disease." There remains no way to vacc...