Category Health/Medical

Mathematical ‘Gingko trees’ reveal Mutations in single cells that characterize diseases Credit http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nmeth.3578

A new interactive analysis program called Gingko has been released that reduces the uncertainty of single-cell analysis and provides a simple way to visualize patterns in copy number mutations across populations of cells. Detailed knowledge of CNVs can point to specific treatment regimens.

The free software will improve scientists’ ability to study this important type of genetic anomaly and could help clinicians better target medications based on cells’ specific mutation profiles.

In copy number variations (CNV), large chunks of DNA are either deleted from or added to the genome...

An artist’s rendition of the DOTS qPCR device. Credit: Dustin Harshman

Dr’s ability to act quickly and correctly not only makes a difference to the patient’s outcome, it determines whether the infection spreads to other patients in the clinic, and can even contribute to the development of drug-resistant bacteria.

The device’s novel approach to molecular diagnostics, called DOTS qPCR, is faster, more efficient and less expensive than alternatives currently being used in clinics.

Pathogens and infectious diseases are typically detected using a technique called polymerase chain reaction,ie PCR. The method involves rapidly heating and cooling DNA molecules from a biological sample in a process called thermal cycling...

Sertraline. Credit: http://www.neurosoup.com/sertraline-zoloft/

The study – conducted in nonhuman primates with brain structures and functions similar to those of humans – found that the antidepressant sertraline, a SSRI, Zoloft, significantly increased the volume of one brain region in depressed subjects but decreased the volume of two brain areas in non-depressed subjects.

“These observations are important for human health because Zoloft is widely prescribed for a number of disorders other than depression,” said Carol A. Shively, Ph.D., professor of pathology-comparative medicine at Wake Forest Baptist.

METHOD: 41 middle-aged female monkeys were fed a diet formulated to replicate that consumed by many Americans for 18 months, during which time depressive behavior in the animals was recor...