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Web site links organ donors, recipients
A Web site that matches people needing organ transplants with prospective donors may be unpopular with medical ethicists but not the people it serves.
Antarctic fossils paint a picture of a much warmer continent
National Science Foundation-funded scientists working in an ice-free region of Antarctica have discovered the last traces of tundra--in the form of fossilized plants and insects--on the interior of the southernmost continent before temperatures began a relentless drop millions of years ago.
No longer splitting hairs over splitting atoms?
As public opinion shifts and many more governments around the world consider nuclear energy as a solution to climate concerns and energy security, it is time to ask why it has become a more attractive option. The Institute of Physics (IOP) ran two sessions at this year’s Euroscience Open Forum (ESOF 2008) to hold a public discussion about the future for both nuclear fission and fusion as sources of electricity.
U of M sets course for cure of fatal childhood skin disease
Physicians at the University of Minnesota and University of Minnesota Children's Hospital, Fairview have set the path to a cure for a young boy's fatal genetic skin disease, recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB), by using a cord blood and bone marrow transplant. Nate Liao, a 25-month-old from Clarksburg, N.J., underwent the experimental therapy in October 2007.
Newly refined antibody therapy may be potent treatment for autoimmune diseases
An old, fickle therapy for a variety of autoimmune diseases is getting a makeover, thanks to a decade-long investigation by Rockefeller University researchers. The original treatment, called intravenous immunoglobulin or IVIG, is an amalgam of specific antibodies made from the pooled blood plasma of thousands of healthy donors.
New OLED encapsulation method reduces water intrusion, increases lifetime
Researchers have developed an improved organic light emitting diode (OLED) sealing process to reduce moisture intrusion and improve device lifetime.
Stopping unwanted cell death: Implications for drug discovery
Research published in
Nature Chemical Biology reveals that three specific inhibitors of a cell death pathway, termed necroptosis, all target and inhibit RIP1 kinase, a protein that can direct cells into necrosis. Induced by trauma such as a heart attack or stroke, this form of necrotic death can result in tissue damage contributing to death or long-term disability. The findings present a novel avenue for drug development.
Study identifies mechanism underlying multidrug resistance in fungi
A team of researchers led by Anders Näär, PhD, of the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Cancer Center has identified a mechanism controlling multidrug resistance in fungi. This discovery could help advance treatments for opportunistic fungal infections that frequently plague individuals with compromised immunity, such as patients receiving chemotherapy, transplant recipients treated with immunosuppressive drugs, and AIDS patients. The findings appear in the April 3 issue of
Nature.
