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    Category Health/Medical

    Insulin-Producing Pancreatic Cells created from Human Skin Cells

    January 6, 2016, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    Functioning human pancreatic cells after they've been transplanted into a mouse are shown. Credit: Saiyong Zhu

    Functioning human pancreatic cells after they’ve been transplanted into a mouse are shown. Credit: Saiyong Zhu

    When transplanted into mice, the cells protected them from developing diabetes in a mouse model of the disease by producing insulin in response to changes in glucose levels. The new study also presents significant advancements in cellular reprogramming technology, which will allow scientists to efficiently scale up pancreatic cell production and manufacture trillions of the target cells in a step-wise, controlled manner. This accomplishment opens the door for disease modeling and drug screening and brings personalized cell therapy a step closer.

    “Our results demonstrate for the first time that human adult skin cells can be used to efficiently and rapidly generate functional pancr...

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    Using Nanoparticles to Combat Arteriosclerosis

    January 6, 2016, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    On the left are fluorescence-labeled cells with nanoparticles: The cellular nuclei are shown in blue, the fluorescence labeling is shown in green and the nanoparticles in the cells are identified by arrows. The middle photo shows a blood vessel populated with these cells (green). On the right is a detailed image of a vascular wall with the eNOS protein identified (red). Credit: Dr. Sarah Rieck/Dr. Sarah Vosen/University of Bonn

    On the left are fluorescence-labeled cells with nanoparticles: The cellular nuclei are shown in blue, the fluorescence labeling is shown in green and the nanoparticles in the cells are identified by arrows. The middle photo shows a blood vessel populated with these cells (green). On the right is a detailed image of a vascular wall with the eNOS protein identified (red). Credit: Dr. Sarah Rieck/Dr. Sarah Vosen/University of Bonn

    A method for guiding replacement cells to diseased vascular segments using nanoparticles has been developed. Arteriosclerosis is common with fatal consequences. Deposits in the arteries lead to strokes and heart attacks. They demonstrated in mice that fresh cells actually exert their curative effect in these segments...

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    Novel RNA Delivery System may Treat Incurable Blood Cancers

    January 5, 2016, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    Mantle Cell Lymphoma - 4.

    Mantle cell lymphoma in the bone marrow may appear similar to other lymphoproliferative disorders. Immunohistochemical staining for cyclin D1 is helpful in diagnosing this entity.

    With a median survival rate of 5-7 yrs, Mantle Cell Lymphoma (MCL) is considered the most aggressive known blood cancer – and available therapies are scarce. 3000 Americans are diagnosed with MCL every year. Tel Aviv University researchers offer tangible hope of curing the currently incurable blood cancer – and others like it. The revolutionary system was found to successfully halt the proliferation of a cancer-related protein in WBCs in both animal models and samples taken from MCL patients.

    “MCL has a genetic hallmark,” said Dr. Peer...

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    Changes in Brain Connectivity Protect against Developing Bipolar Disorder

    January 5, 2016, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    Brain composition and bipolar disorder. MRI studies indicate many compositional differences between brains of individuals with bipolar disorder and individuals without. This supports the idea that bipolar disorder is a confluence of both environmental and biological factors. Credit: Bipolar Lives.

    Brain composition and bipolar disorder. MRI studies . Credit: Bipolar Lives.

    Naturally occurring changes in brain wiring can help patients at high genetic risk of developing bipolar disorder avert the onset of the illness, according to a new study led by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. The study’s findings open up new avenues for researchers to explore ways the brain can prevent disease expression, also known as resilience, with the hope of developing better treatments.

    Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness, is a brain disorder that causes fluctuations in patients’ mood, energy, activity levels and the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks. Bipolar disorder is highly heritable.

    Researchers used MRI to map the connectivity patterns in the brain...

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