Category Biology/Biotechnology

Saliva could be used instead of blood to monitor diabetes in a method proposed in research involving the University of Strathclyde.
The test has been developed as an alternative to the current prevalent practice of monitoring blood glucose, which can be invasive, painful and costly.

Lab tests of the saliva process had an accuracy rate of 95.2%. The research shows promising results for monitoring diabetes, which affects an estimated 425 million people worldwide — around half of them undiagnosed.

The research has been published in the journal PLOS ONE. It also involved partners at the Federal University of Uberlandia in Minas Gerais, Brazil, the University of Vale do Paraíba in Sao Paolo, Brazil and the University of Saskatchewan in Canada.

Dr Matthew Baker, a Reader in Strathc...

Gluten is enemy No. 1 for those with celiac disease, and it’s hard to avoid. Episodes of this chronic autoimmune illness can be triggered by ingesting gluten, a key protein in wheat and some other grains. Researchers have been exploring how gut bacteria, especially Bifidobacteria, could be used as a treatment. Now, scientists publishing the results of laboratory experiments in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry report how specific types of Bifidobacteria work.

Humans have many types of bacteria living in their digestive systems, but those with celiac disease have altered levels of “beneficial” and “harmful” gut bacteria...

A substantial fraction of the estimated 15% of Americans carrying the high-risk gene variant of Alzheimer’s are protected to some degree from Alzheimer’s disease by a variant of the other gene. (A gene will often come in a variety of versions, or variants, that can produce different traits.)

The findings also may help drug developers better identify clinical trial participants and treatments for what, despite billions of dollars spent in pursuit of effective therapies, remains a disease without a cure.

About 5 million Americans – including roughly 1 in 10 people age 65 or older and one-third of those age 85 or older – have sy...

Cancer cells avoid an immune system attack after radiation by commandeering a cell signaling pathway that helps dying cells avoid triggering an immune response, a new study led by UTSW scientists suggests. The findings, published in a recent issue of Nature Immunology, could eventually lead to new ways to augment existing treatments to fight this disease.

Researchers have long known that radiation – a mainstay of treatment protocols for many types of cancerous tumors – kills cancer cells in two different ways: The high-energy beams smite some cells directly, and these dead cells leak DNA that triggers a tumor-fighting immune response through proteins known as interferons (IFNs)...