Category Health/Medical

In this illustration, nanoparticles attach to or are taken up by the bacteria cells. Pan and his students are the first group to demonstrate that early detection of dental plaque in the clinic is possible using the regular intraoral X-ray machine which can seek out harmful bacteria populations.
Credit: University of Illinois Laboratory for Materials in Medicine

When the good and bad bacteria in our mouth become imbalanced, the bad bacteria form a biofilm (aka plaque), which can cause cavities, and if left untreated over time, can lead to cardiovascular and other inflammatory diseases like diabetes and bacterial pneumonia.

A team of researchers from the University of Illinois has recently devised a practical nanotechnology-based method for detecting and treating the harmful bacteria that cau...

First author Woojin Han observes muscle tissue samples treated with the new MuSC nanohydrogel.
Credit: Georgia Tech / Christopher Moore

Muscles of the elderly and of patients with Duchene muscular dystrophy have trouble regenerating. A new nanohydrogel with muscle stem cells has boosted muscle growth in mouse models while protecting the stem cells from immune reactions that usually weaken or destroy them. A car accident leaves an aging patient with severe muscle injuries that won’t heal. Treatment with muscle stem cells from a donor might restore damaged tissue, but doctors are unable to deliver them effectively. A new method may help change this.

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology engineered a molecular matrix, a hydrogel, to deliver muscle stem cells called muscle satellit...

Figure 3U-shaped association between percentage of energy from carbohydrate and all-cause mortality in the ARIC and PURE cohort studies. The reference level is 46·4% energy from carbohydrate. ARIC results are adjusted for age, sex, education, waist-to-hip ratio, smoking, physical activity, diabetes, ARIC test centre, and energy intake. PURE results are are adjusted for age, sex, education, waist-to-hip ratio, smoking, physical activity, diabetes, urban or rural location, centre, geographical regions, and energy intake.13 The mean percentage of energy from carbohydrate in ARIC is 49%, and from PURE it is 61%. ARIC=Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities. PURE=Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology.

Eating carbohydrates in moderation seems to be optimal for health and longevity, suggests new rese...

Raúl Méndez and Eulàlia Belloc from the Translational Control of Cell Cycle and Differentiation Lab at IRB Barcelona.
Credit: IRB Barcelona

The protein CPEB4, which coordinates the expression of hundreds of genes required for neuronal activity, is altered in the brains of individuals with autism, according to new research. Recent years have brought about important breakthroughs in autism research through the genetic analysis of thousands of these individuals. Researchers have been able to find correlations between defects in the expression and/or function of about 200 genes and susceptibility to autism. However, the bases underlying the dysregulation of these genes in subjects with autism were unknown.

An international team headed by José Lucas, researcher at the Spanish National Researc...