http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. From the chimera in Greek mythology to the sphinx in ancient Egypt, humans have imagined making creatures from pieces of different organisms for millennia. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-tissue-rebuild-bones.html Medical research Wed, 15 May 2013 09:10:04 EST news287827083 (Medical Xpress)—Organovo Holdings, Inc., a company that designs and creates functional human tissue has announced at this year's Experimental Biology Conference that it has developed a 3D printing technique that is able to produce small samples of human liver tissue. They claim their new process allows for printing 500 micron thick liver tissue, amounting to 20 cell layers, which is able to produce cholesterol and some of the enzymes produced by the natural liver. The liver samples produced, the company said, can be used by researchers looking to test the efficacy of new drugs designed to treat liver diseases or to test side effects on the liver of drugs created for other purposes. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-organovo-ability-3d-human-liver.html Medical research Wed, 24 Apr 2013 05:55:17 EST news286001689 Researchers at Micro Orthopaedics, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, led by Dr. Ai-xi Yu, have suggested that articular cartilage defects can be repaired by a novel thermo-sensitive injectable hydrogel engineered with gene modified bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells (BMSCs). The chitosan and polyvinyl alcohol composite hydrogel containing hTGFβ-1 gene modified BMSCs was injected into rabbits with defective articular cartilage. Sixteen weeks later the defected cartilage regenerated and was proven to be hyaline cartilage. This work can be found in the January 2013 issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-articular-cartilage-defects-gel-gene.html Arthritis & Rheumatism Tue, 23 Apr 2013 14:44:40 EST news285947076 More than one million people in the Netherlands suffer from painful joints. This is due to the wear and tear of cartilage caused by trauma, aging or diseases such as osteoarthritis. Cartilage is the tissue that protects bones when the body is in motion. Wear and tear makes joints feel stiff and painful during movement. In the course of his PhD research, Jos Wennink of the University of Twente studied ways of restoring worn cartilage, through the use of new injectable materials. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-cartilage-imitation-human-tissue-expensive.html Medical research Tue, 09 Apr 2013 07:20:40 EST news284710825 Researchers at UC Davis and the University of British Columbia have shed new light on methylation, a critical process that helps control how genes are expressed. Working with placentas, the team discovered that 37 percent of the placental genome has regions of lower methylation, called partially methylated domains (PMDs), in which gene expression is turned off. This differs from most human tissues, in which 70 percent of the genome is highly methylated. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-insights-genes.html Genetics Wed, 27 Mar 2013 13:57:13 EST news283611427 Researchers will be able to access samples from more than 7,000 donated human brains to help study major brain diseases, thanks to a new on-line database, launched by the Medical Research Council (MRC) today. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-human-brain-easier-database.html Neuroscience Thu, 21 Mar 2013 07:40:35 EST news283070424 HeLa cells are the world's most commonly used human cell lines, and have served as a standard for understanding many fundamental biological processes. In a study published today in G3: Genes, Genomes and Genetics online, scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, announce they have successfully sequenced the genome of a HeLa cell line. It provides a high-resolution genomic reference that reveals the striking differences between the HeLa genome and that of normal human cells. The study could improve the way HeLa cells are used to model human biology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-havoc-biology-most-used-human-cell.html Genetics Tue, 12 Mar 2013 10:01:04 EST news282301256 A European consortium of medical, research and higher education institutions is developing a network for banks containing digitalised images of human tissue—"biobanks"— which will help doctors to diagnose different types of possible cancerous tissues taken from patients' biopsies in a shorter time. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-pooling-biobanks-biopool.html Other Wed, 20 Feb 2013 02:09:21 EST news280548547 getting over damage to tendons can be a long and painful process. By combining the nuclear tests of the 1950s with tissue samples and modern technology, a research collaboration between the Aarhus University and University of Copenhagen now reveals why the healing process is so slow. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-tendon-injuries.html Other Fri, 15 Feb 2013 13:20:01 EST news280156780 Notorious among athletes and trainers as career killers, Achilles tendon injuries are among the most devastating. Now, by carbon testing tissues exposed to nuclear fallout in post WWII tests, scientists have learned why: Like our teeth and the lenses in our eyes, the Achilles tendon is a tissue that does not repair itself. This discovery was published online in The FASEB Journal. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-fallout-nuclear-achilles-tendon.html Medical research Tue, 12 Feb 2013 10:18:22 EST news279886682 (Medical Xpress)—A cure for congenital sight impairment caused by lens damage is closer following research by scientists at Monash University. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-petri-dish-lens-eye-treatments.html Ophthalmology Thu, 31 Jan 2013 07:33:09 EST news278839953 (Medical Xpress)—Researchers from the US and Japan have shown that an aggressive type of brain tumor can arise from normal cells in the central nervous system such as neurons. The cells revert to an earlier, undifferentiated stem cell stage, which can then reproduce prolifically. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-brain-tumors-neurons.html Cancer Fri, 19 Oct 2012 05:50:01 EST news269842779 (Medical Xpress)—Research carried out at the University of Dundee has raised hopes of developing a quicker and more reliable new method of detecting urinary bladder cancer at an earlier stage. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-possibility-effective-quick-reliable-bladder.html Cancer Wed, 03 Oct 2012 08:11:12 EST news268470662 There is no scientific evidence that low-level electromagnetic field exposure from mobile phones and other transmitting devices causes adverse health effects, according to a report presented by a Norwegian /Swedish Expert Committee. In addition, the Committee provides advice to authorities about risk management and regulatory practice. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-mobile-wireless-networks-evidence-health.html Health Thu, 13 Sep 2012 10:31:52 EST news266751100 UCLA researchers have discovered a type of cell that is the "missing link" between bone marrow stem cells and all the cells of the human immune system, a finding that will lead to a greater understanding of how a healthy immune system is produced and how disease can lead to poor immune function. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-scientists-link-stem-cells-immune.html Immunology Sun, 02 Sep 2012 13:00:23 EST news265786489 One of the challenges to HIV vaccine development has been the lack of an animal model that accurately reflects the human immune response to the virus and how the virus evolves to evade that response. In the July 18 issue of Science Translational Medicine, researchers from the Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), MIT and Harvard report that a model created by transplanting elements of the human immune system into an immunodeficient mouse addresses these key issues and has the potential to reduce significantly the time and costs required to test candidate vaccines. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-animal-replicates-human-immune-response.html HIV & AIDS Wed, 18 Jul 2012 14:00:01 EST news261824850 What happens in our cells after one hundred years? What is the difference at the molecular level between a newborn and a centenary? Is it a gradual or a sudden change? Is it possible to reverse the aging process? What are the molecular keys to longevity? These central questions in biology, physiology and human medicine have been the focus of study by researchers for decades. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-epigenome-newborns-centenarians.html Genetics Mon, 11 Jun 2012 15:00:15 EST news258645449 Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have identified an agent that in lab tests protected the skin and lungs from fibrosis, a process that can ultimately end in organ failure and even death because the damaged tissue becomes scarred and can no longer function properly. The findings were published today in Science Translational Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-scientists-agent-block-fibrosis-skin.html Medical research Wed, 30 May 2012 14:00:01 EST news257590756 An international team of researchers led by Georgia State University scientists have found a key component in the pathological process of pulmonary fibrosis, a fatal disease for which there is currently no cure. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-critical-tightly-deadly-pulmonary-fibrosis.html Immunology Tue, 10 Apr 2012 11:20:28 EST news253275595 Researchers from Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah report they have discovered a method to identify cancer-causing rearrangements of genetic material called chromosomal translocations quickly, accurately, and inexpensively. A description of the method and the research results appear online in this month's issue of the EMBO Molecular Medicine journal. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-microscope-specific-cancers-molecular-analysis.html Cancer Mon, 19 Mar 2012 17:05:08 EST news251395492 Researchers from Queen Mary, University of London and the University of Surrey have found a protein inside blood vessels with an ability to protect the body from substances which cause cardiovascular disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-protein-discovery-cardiovascular-disease.html Cardiology Sun, 11 Mar 2012 19:00:01 EST news250687373 Researchers at Northwestern University have developed a new method for creating scaffolds for tissue engineering applications, providing an alternative that is more flexible and less time-intensive than current technology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-method-tissue-scaffolds.html Medical research Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:05:59 EST news248101555 Researchers from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center have identified a specific molecule that alters how breast cancer cells move. This affects the cells' ability to spread or metastasize to distant parts of the body, the hallmark of deadly, aggressive cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-cell-movement-clues-aggressive-breast.html Cancer Mon, 03 Oct 2011 11:47:08 EST news236861210 With millions of newborns' blood samples stored in a Michigan bio-bank, researchers are working to determine public attitudes toward the practice of using the blood spots for medical research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-msu-engages-newborn-blood.html Other Wed, 21 Sep 2011 14:04:38 EST news235832289 (Medical Xpress) -- Researchers are a step closer towards creating a new class of medicines and vaccines to combat drug-resistant and deadly strains of fungal infections, following a new study published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-killer-hospital-bug-achilles-heel.html Medical research Mon, 05 Sep 2011 17:14:59 EST news234461648 Medicine could very soon have a new ally in the fight against cancer: Terbium-161. Its most important weapon: Conversion and Auger electrons. Researchers at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen have developed a new treatment method based on terbium-161 to treat smaller tumors and metastases in a more targeted way. The nuclide was produced at the TUM's research neutron source. In cooperation with the Paul Scherrer Institute it has been tested on cancer cells successfully. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-radionuclide-treatment-small-tumors-metastases.html Cancer Thu, 16 Jun 2011 11:03:16 EST news227440975 If pending clinical trials prove successful, a new discovery published in The FASEB Journal could represent a major scientific leap toward human tissue regeneration and engineering. In a research report appearing online, Yale scientists provide evidence to support a major paradigm shift in this specialty area from the idea that cells added to a graft before implantation are the building blocks of tissue, to a new belief that engineered tissue constructs can actually induce or augment the body's own reparative mechanisms, including complex tissue regeneration. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-scientists-method-human-tissue-regeneration.html Medical research Thu, 12 May 2011 16:32:51 EST news224436750