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New tool takes images of live cells for the first time |
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Monday, 26 September 2011 |
High-speed structured illumination microscope could lead to breakthroughs in disease research
September 20, 2011
(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) —
As exclusive beta testers of the world's most powerful wide-field
fluorescence imaging platform, researchers at the UC Davis-based Center for Biophotonics Science and Technology (CBST)
have for the first time successfully imaged the movement of
fluorescently labeled nanoscale compartments inside live tumor cells.
The
achievement holds promise for future breakthroughs in understanding the
molecular causes and biomechanics of cancer and a wide range of other
diseases while also advancing neuroscience and stem cell research,
among other disciplines.
"Biomedical research is the final frontier in looking at biology at the cellular and molecular levels," explains Frank Chuang,
CBST associate director of research. "This tool helps us see living
biology as it's occurring. Its potential research applications are very
exciting, including monitoring how cells respond to chemotherapy,
looking at the mechanisms of radiation resistance, and investigating how
viruses transfer from cell to cell."
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Foldit starts trend and Gamers now resolving long-standing scientific problems. |
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Tuesday, 20 September 2011 |
Online gamers crack Aids enzyme puzzle
Online gamers have achieved a feat beyond the realm of Second Life or
Dungeons and Dragons: they have deciphered the structure of an enzyme of
an AIDS-like virus that had thwarted scientists for a decade.
The exploit is published on Sunday in the journal Nature Structural
& Molecular Biology, where -- exceptionally in scientific publishing
-- both gamers and researchers are honoured as co-authors.
Their target was a monomeric protease enzyme, a cutting agent in the
complex molecular tailoring of retroviruses, a family that includes HIV.
Figuring out the structure of proteins is vital for understanding the
causes of many diseases and developing drugs to block them.
But a microscope gives only a flat image of what to the outsider looks
like a plate of one-dimensional scrunched-up spaghetti. Pharmacologists,
though, need a 3-D picture that "unfolds" the molecule and rotates it
in order to reveal potential targets for drugs.
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Platelet Function Studies show that mornings aren't for everyone. |
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Tuesday, 13 September 2011 |
Sleep-Wake Pattern Affects Platelet Function
by Art Writ, September 12th, 2011
A group of researchers from the Brigham and Women’s Hospital have
found out that the body’s circadian system, commonly known as the body
or internal clock, regulates the platelet function and is the cause of
adverse cardiovascular events in the morning.
“Cardiovascular disease is still the number one cause of death in
developed countries, and we know major adverse cardiovascular events do
not occur at random, but are more frequent in the morning. Understanding
the underlying factors for this morning peak in adverse events has the
potential to address this pattern and decrease the risk,” says lead
author of the study, Frank Scheer.
The researchers were able to demonstrate that adverse cardiovascular
events that usually occur in the morning like myocardial infarction and
stroke, are due to the peak effect of the platelet function at that
certain time of the day. A sudden increase in the platelet activation
can cause adverse and fatal cardiovascular events by the influence of
blood clots. As we all know, the platelet is the blood component
responsible for clotting mechanisms and an increase in the platelet
count can lead to formation of clots which may eventually lodge into
coronary arteries of brain arteries leading to heart attack or stroke,
respectively.
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New Flow Cytometry Discoveries on Pre-Leukemia cells |
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Wednesday, 07 September 2011 |
Researchers Identify Surface Markers On MDS Cells That May Be Indicators For Disease Prognosis
Italian researchers recently determined that the cellular surface
markers CD34, CD117, and CD11b/CD66b may indicate the prognosis of
patients with myelodysplastic syndromes.
In myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), the bone marrow produces stem
cells that are unable to properly mature. Stem cells display markers on
their cellular surfaces to indicate how mature the cells are. As a
result, immature stem cells, called blasts, produced by patients with
MDS display different cellular surface markers than mature stem cells in
healthy individuals.
Researchers have recently applied a technique called flow cytometry
to diagnose and classify MDS. Flow cytometry can be used to recognize
differences on the surfaces of cells by directing a laser beam at a
stream of liquid containing the cells. Cells with specific properties
are separated and isolated.
MDS blasts frequently produce the surface marker CD34. Increased CD34
production is associated with poor prognosis and an increased risk of
progression to acute myeloid leukemia. However, not all blasts produce
CD34. The researchers pointed out that in those cases, CD117 may be used
as an alternative surface marker. MDS blasts may also be identified by
the absence of surface markers CD11b and CD66b.
In the current study, a group of Italian researchers analyzed flow
cytometry data in order to determine the prognostic value of cellular
surface markers found on MDS cells.
The researchers collected bone marrow samples from 424 MDS patients
and performed flow cytometry on the samples. The median patient age was
73 years. The majority of patients (78 percent) had lower-risk MDS.
At a median patient follow-up time of 26.1 months, the two-year
leukemia-free survival and overall survival rates were 86 percent and 75
percent, respectively.
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