Researchers working under the auspices of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) have reported the isolation of 17 novel antibodies capable of neutralizing a broad spectrum of variants of HIV. Founded in 1996, The IAVI is a global not-for-profit organization whose mission is to ensure the development of safe, effective, accessible, preventive HIV vaccines for […]
Researchers are increasingly linking gut function to a variety of neuropsychiatric disorders. Now, a new study suggests that a biochemical pathway long associated with diarrhea may provide a new therapeutic target for treating Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The researchers, from China and the United States, report on their findings in Science. The intestinal membrane […]
UC Berkeley molecular biologists propose that carcinogenesis – the generation of cancer – is just another form of speciation, the evolution of new species. “Cancer is comparable to a bacterial level of complexity, but still autonomous, that is, it doesn’t depend on other cells for survival; it doesn’t follow orders like other cells in the […]
An international team of researchers have called for the smoking cessation drug varenicline (marketed as Champix in Europe and Chantix in the US) to be withdrawn from the market after alarming findings linking the drug to heart attack and stroke. The researchers, from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and […]
Implantable medical devices are big business, from pacemakers and defibrillators to brain stimulators and drug pumps; worldwide, around 300,000 people receive them every year. Most of these devices have wireless connections, so that doctors can monitor patients’ vital signs or revise treatment regimes. But recent research has shown that this leaves the devices vulnerable to […]
Dairy products may be high in saturated fats but high levels of dairy intake do not statistically increase the risk of heart attack, suggest the results of a new study that hypothesizes that other nutrients in dairy products are protective against heart disease. “Things like milk and cheese are very complex substances,” said Brown University’s […]
Medical involvement with torture is prohibited by law and the fundamental tenets of the medical professional, and yet sometimes it is the right thing for doctors to do, argue two bioethicists in a controversial new paper published in the Hastings Center Report. The new paper is timely, in light of strong evidence – appearing last […]
In a rebuff to surgical penile augmentation, a meta-review of studies into penile lengthening recommends that men use non-invasive mechanical penile extenders before contemplating lengthening surgery. The review, by Italian urologists, was published in the British Journal of Urology International. It follows on from earlier research into mechanical lengthening devices conducted at the same institute […]
University of Michigan scientists running a human trial of the first ever gene therapy treatment for pain relief say that the virus-based vector which triggers the expression of a naturally occurring opioid appears to provide substantial pain relief. Their study, published in the Annals of Neurology, used a novel human-grade vector agent known as NP2. […]
The processes involved in the formation of complex tissues and organs involving multiple cell types are still mostly a mystery to scientists, but Japanese researchers have made a major breakthrough in the creation of retinal optic tissue using embryonic mouse stem cells. The new work, published in Nature, answers important questions as to whether signaling […]
