http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Researchers at the University of Twente's MIRA research institute have developed a system which may drastically reduce the use of laboratory animals in science. The system, which is designed to be implanted in laboratory animals, contains a series of tiny "compartments". A single specific condition can be investigated in each separate compartment, so the system can significantly reduce the number of laboratory animals needed for a study. Details of the study in which these scientists first demonstrated the use of this system are being published today in the scientific journal Integrative Biology. The system is being marketed by Screvo, a University of Twente spin-off company. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-case-laboratory-animals.html Other Thu, 16 May 2013 08:25:57 EST news287911548 How can progenitor cells turn into tissues? At the Vienna University of technology, chemical substances have been developed which control the differentiation of progenitor cells into heart cells. The heart cells start beating in the petri dish—a discovery which could open the door to a new kind of regenerative medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-tissue-transplanting-hearts.html Medical research Mon, 04 Mar 2013 11:58:18 EST news281620691 A controversial treatment for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is not only ineffective but may be harmful, according to a study conducted by Baylor University researchers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-controversial-treatment-autism-good.html Autism spectrum disorders Thu, 29 Nov 2012 16:56:38 EST news273430580 Finding a way to restore hair growth after substantial hair loss is something of an obsession worldwide. Investigators at the Society of Nuclear Medicine's 2012 Annual Meeting presented how stem cell research for the development of new hair follicles can be monitored with an optical imaging technique that uses bioluminescence, the same process that allows fireflies to light up. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-bioluminescence-imaging-stem-cell-therapy.html Medical research Mon, 11 Jun 2012 14:10:01 EST news258639369 A new study on living animals has shown for the first time that eating cocoa (the raw material in chocolate) can help to prevent intestinal complaints linked to oxidative stress, including colon carcinogenesis onset caused by chemical substances. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-cocoa-intestinal-pathologies-colon-cancer.html Cancer Tue, 24 Jan 2012 11:04:01 EST news246625430 Scientists from the universities of Zurich and Duisburg-Essen have discovered a specific function of the protein p97/VCP. They demonstrate that the protein repairs DNA breaks like a corkscrew, a repair mechanism that could also prove significant for cancer therapy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-molecular-corkscrew.html Medical research Tue, 08 Nov 2011 15:56:31 EST news239990179