Low-level arsenic exposure before birth associated with early puberty and obesity

28-Aug-2015 - Female mice exposed in utero, or in the womb, to low levels of arsenic through drinking water displayed signs of early puberty and became obese as adults, according to scientists from the National Institutes of Health. The finding is significant because the exposure level of 10 parts per billion ...

New optical method promises faster, more accurate diagnosis of breast cancer

Researchers report on data-based method to replace manual inspection of tissue

28-Aug-2015 - A new optical method for more quickly and accurately determining whether breast tissue lesions are cancerous is described by University of Illinois researchers. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Chicago researchers Hassaan Majeed, Mikhail Kandel, Kevin Han, Zelun Luo, Virgilia ...

Opioid receptor gene variations associated with neonatal abstinence syndrome severity

27-Aug-2015 - A study led by researchers at Boston Medical Center (BMC) indicates that variations in opioid receptor genes are associated with more severe neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) in newborn babies. The findings, published in Drug & Alcohol Dependence, could help lead to the development of ...

Injectable cryogel-based whole-cell cancer vaccines

27-Aug-2015 - Research led by Wyss Core Faculty member David Mooney, Ph.D., in collaboration with researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute could potentially yield a new platform for cancer vaccines. Leveraging a biologically inspired sponge-like gel called "cryogel" as an injectable biomaterial, the ...

Relapse, poor survival in leukemia linked to genetic mutations that persist in remission

27-Aug-2015 - For patients with an often-deadly form of leukemia, new research suggests that lingering cancer-related mutations - detected after initial treatment with chemotherapy - are associated with an increased risk of relapse and poor survival. Using genetic profiling to study bone marrow samples from ...

These microscopic fish are 3-D-printed to do more than swim

27-Aug-2015 - Nanoengineers at the University of California, San Diego used a 3D printing technology they developed to manufacture multipurpose fish-shaped microrobots that swim around efficiently in liquids, are chemically powered by hydrogen peroxide and magnetically controlled. These proof-of-concept ...

Another milestone in hybrid artificial photosynthesis

Researchers use solar energy and renewable hydrogen to produce methane

27-Aug-2015 - A team of researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) developing a bioinorganic hybrid approach to artificial photosynthesis have achieved another milestone. Having generated quite a buzz with their hybrid system of semiconducting ...

Research team identifies structure of tumor-suppressing protein

25-Aug-2015 - An international group of researchers led by Carnegie Mellon University physicists Mathias Lösche and Frank Heinrich have established the structure of an important tumor suppressing protein, PTEN. Their findings provide new insights into how the protein regulates cell growth and how mutations in ...

Engineered hot fat implants reduce weight gain in mice

25-Aug-2015 - Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, have developed a novel way to engineer the growth and expansion of energy-burning "good" fat, and then found that this fat helped reduce weight gain and lower blood glucose levels in mice. The authors of the study in the journal Diabetes said ...

A paradigm shift in multidrug resistance

24-Aug-2015 - Bacteria are pretty wily creatures. Take for example, an organism such as Salmonella, which are killed by antibiotics in lab tests, but can become highly resistant in the body. It is an example of what UC Santa Barbara biologist Michael Mahan refers to as the Trojan horse strategy. Identified ...