Category Biology/Biotechnology

Their study focuses on a type of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) that involves a gene called TAL-1. Dr. Marjorie Brand and her team discovered that GSK-J4 can kill this form of cancer. By transplanting cancer cells from human patients into normal mice, the authors showed that the compound can kill the leukemia quickly, efficiently, and with no short-term side effects. GSK-J4 was created by the pharmaceutical industry for research purposes, and has never been used as a cancer therapy.

“It’s very exciting because this is the first time anyone has found a potential personalized treatment for this aggressive disease,” said Dr. Brand, a senior scientist at The Ottawa Hospital and professor at the University of Ottawa...

This image shows modulation of wound healing and scar formation by MG53-mediated cell membrane repair and TGF-? signaling regulation. Credit: Li.et.al., 2015

The protein, MG53, travels throughout the bloodstream and helps the body fix injuries to the skin, heart, and other organs without causing scars. It’s a discovery that could help heal open wounds, decrease recovery time after surgery and reduce the spread of infections. “A massive scar on your skin may look bad, but imagine you have a heart attack and get a scar on your heart – that could be lethal,” says Jianjie Ma.

All animals carry this gene, he said, and it’s almost identical no matter which species. MG53 fixes the cell and tissue damage that occurs during everyday living...

A sample of the new fabric in reflected light. Credit: The picture is courtesy of the researchers

Scientists have synthesized the material that is perfect for protection of respiratory organs, analytical research and other practical purposes. An almost weightless fabric made of nylon nanofibers with a diameter <15 nm beats any other similar materials in terms of filtering and optical properties. The material is lightweight (10-20 mg/m2), almost invisible (95% light transmission: more than that of a window glass), showing low resistance to airflow and efficient interception of <1 micrometer fine particulate matter.

Previously, the same team showed reducing fiber diameter from 200 nanometers down to 20 decreased filter resistance to airflow by 2/3s, and this effect could no longer be explain...

Dopamine innervation into the hippocampus. Green denotes general catecholamine — a general name for dopamine — innervation of the CA1 region of the hippocampus. Yellows denotes dopamine nerve endings in the same region. Scale bar is 50 microns. Credit: John Dani, Ph.D., Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania

Dopamine regulates how mice learn to avoid a disagreeable encounter, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. “We know that dopamine reinforces ‘rewarding’ behaviors, but to our surprise, we have now shown that situations that animals learn to avoid are also regulated by dopamine,” said John Dani, PhD, chair of the department of Neuroscience.

Special neurons in the brain send out a burst of dopamine in both negat...