A key part of a medical patient’s physical examination is performed through touch, but the doctor can only glean so much information from what he feels. That’s why Temple University researchers have made a prototype device that will not only emulate human tactile sensation, but quantify it as well.
Scientists have long held theories about the importance of proteins called B-type lamins in the process of embryonic stem cells replicating and differentiating into different varieties of cells. New research from a team led by Carnegie’s Yixian Zheng indicates that, counter to expectations, these B-type lamins are not necessary for stem cells to renew and develop, but are necessary for proper organ development. Their work is published November 24 by Science Express.
The Birthplace in England national prospective cohort study
, concludes a study published on bmj.com today. Although it shows that first-time mums who opt for a home birth are at a higher risk of adverse outcomes, the overall risk is low in all birth settings.
Peter and Melanie Munk Charitable Foundation donates $18M to UHN cardiac centreResearchers take a step toward neuronal replacement therapySub-Saharan African countries lose billions of dollars due to migration of doctorsScientists decode how Machado-Joseph disease arisesMalaria is nearly under control in SurinameRibosomes spontaneously change their form during protein productionDantrolene reduces severity of walking and balance problems linked with HDWomen with low risk pregnancies should be able to choose where they give birthB-type lamins are necessary for proper organ development
A global push to bring a vaccine against the bacterial cause of pneumonia to communities that need it most is ramping up quickly, expanding to nearly 60 countries in the next five years,” PBS NewsHour’s “The Rundown” reports. “At least three million child deaths could be prevented in the next decade through the global vaccine rollout, according to a new analysis published Thursday in the journal of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene by health experts from Children’s Hospital Boston and Johns Hopkins University, among others,” the blog states, adding, “More new research released this week by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health called the rate of the rollout and its quick expansion ‘unprecedented.’” Read more…
National Healing Corporation, a provider of wound and disease management solutions for hospitals, and Diversified Clinical Services, also a provider of specialized wound care management services to hospitals, today announced that they have signed a definitive agreement under which the two companies will merge.
Advanced biofuels can be commercialized rapidly for military use, on military timelines, with adequate support and coordination of efforts by the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Defense and Energy. The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) today submitted comments to the Air Force’s Request for Information on the commercial status and market for advanced drop-in biofuels.
Although the body is constantly replacing cells and cell constituents, hurt and imperfections accumulate over time. Cleanup efforts are saved for when it really matters. Researchers from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, are able to show how the body rids itself of hurt when it is time to reproduce and make new life.
In the second in a series of interviews with staff members of the Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator (OGAC), which is responsible for PEPFAR, the Center for Global Health Policy’s “Science Speaks” blog speaks with Winnie Roberts, director of multilateral diplomacy at OGAC. Roberts discusses negotiations surrounding the declaration adopted at the U.N. General Assembly Special Session on AIDS, her work with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and plotting for World AIDS Day and the 2012 International AIDS Conference, which is scheduled to take place in the District of Columbia (Mazzotta, 9/19).
An brilliant study among experimental mice has reported very dramatic differences between the effects of alcohol administered in moderation on a daily basis and the same total weekly amount of alcohol administered on only two days of the week: (replicating binge drinking). The mice used in the study that were given regular moderate amounts of alcohol showed no weight gain, improved lipid values, and much less development of atherosclerosis than did control animals. But, those given alcohol in a binge-drinking pattern showed worse outcomes than control animals, and much worse outcomes than those given regular moderate doses of alcohol.
