New test enables early diagnosis of liver cancer
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WASHINGTON: Scientists, including Indian-origin researchers, have developed a new test that can distinguish early liver cancer cells from nearly identical normal liver cells by giving them a distinctive red-brown hue.
The inability to definitively tell the difference between them often means the disease is detected late when treatment options are less effective, said Dr Ravindra Kolhe, pathologist and Medical Director of the Georgia Esoteric, Molecular Labs at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University.
"There is no definitive test for early diagnosis of liver cancer. Our test adds a level of comfort for making the diagnosis," said Kolhe, lead author of the study.
Early liver cancer is mostly silent. By the time it's large enough to cause classic symptoms such as abdominal pain and weight loss, the cancer cells look distinctive but the liver is failing.
The myriad of treatment options - from removing the diseased portion of the liver to liver transplants to freezing or heating cancer cells - have a high chance of failing as well, Kolhe said.
Kolhe began collaborating with BioGenex laboratories, a California company with expertise in cell and tissue testing, to develop a probe that gives cancer cells the distinctive red-brown hue.
The probe detects and stains a microRNA called mir-21, which is found in liver cancer but not healthy liver cells, Kolhe said.
Unlike RNA, microRNA doesn't make proteins rather helps control proteins that are expressed by RNA. That means it's more stable and can survive harsh chemicals normally used to prepare the biopsy for microscopic evaluation.
For the study, they used their probe on biopsies of 10 healthy livers and 10 livers with early cancers. In every case of liver cancer, the biopsy took on the red-brown hue. The probe was not detected in normal cells.
The studies were done retrospectively, so they already knew which patients ultimately were diagnosed with cancer. They are now using the test on 200 similar cases of liver cancer.
The group also is exploring this approach in other hard-to-detect-early cancers. Kolhe worked with pathology resident Dr Puneeta Vasa to identify microRNAs selectively expressed in melanoma.
Under the microscope, the potentially deadly skin cancer cells look a lot like common mole cells.
The findings will be presented at the American Society of Clinical Pathology 2013 Annual Meeting in Chicago.
The inability to definitively tell the difference between them often means the disease is detected late when treatment options are less effective, said Dr Ravindra Kolhe, pathologist and Medical Director of the Georgia Esoteric, Molecular Labs at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University.
"There is no definitive test for early diagnosis of liver cancer. Our test adds a level of comfort for making the diagnosis," said Kolhe, lead author of the study.
Early liver cancer is mostly silent. By the time it's large enough to cause classic symptoms such as abdominal pain and weight loss, the cancer cells look distinctive but the liver is failing.
The myriad of treatment options - from removing the diseased portion of the liver to liver transplants to freezing or heating cancer cells - have a high chance of failing as well, Kolhe said.
Kolhe began collaborating with BioGenex laboratories, a California company with expertise in cell and tissue testing, to develop a probe that gives cancer cells the distinctive red-brown hue.
The probe detects and stains a microRNA called mir-21, which is found in liver cancer but not healthy liver cells, Kolhe said.
Unlike RNA, microRNA doesn't make proteins rather helps control proteins that are expressed by RNA. That means it's more stable and can survive harsh chemicals normally used to prepare the biopsy for microscopic evaluation.
For the study, they used their probe on biopsies of 10 healthy livers and 10 livers with early cancers. In every case of liver cancer, the biopsy took on the red-brown hue. The probe was not detected in normal cells.
The studies were done retrospectively, so they already knew which patients ultimately were diagnosed with cancer. They are now using the test on 200 similar cases of liver cancer.
The group also is exploring this approach in other hard-to-detect-early cancers. Kolhe worked with pathology resident Dr Puneeta Vasa to identify microRNAs selectively expressed in melanoma.
Under the microscope, the potentially deadly skin cancer cells look a lot like common mole cells.
The findings will be presented at the American Society of Clinical Pathology 2013 Annual Meeting in Chicago.
3D images record tongues in action
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LONDON: Tongue-in-action! The first ever three-dimensional images of how tongues move inside the mouth during speech have been developed by researchers.
The 'Seeing Speech' website is the first resource of its kind to make
publicly available the inner workings of the human vocal tract when
speaking.
It offers the best understanding yet of the processes that take place when people speak and will aid academics, teachers, health-care professionals and actors.
Ultrasound Tongue Imaging is a comparatively new technique that uses medical ultrasound machines to record an image of the surface of the tongue during speech.
Coupled with Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) technology, which images the entire vocal tract, including the action of the larynx and the soft palate, academics have built a database of on-line recordings showing speakers' tongues moving inside their mouths during normal speech.
"This is a fantastic new web resource for anyone interested in how the tongue produces speech sounds," Claire Timmins, a lecturer in Strathclyde's School of Psychological Sciences and Health, said.
"It provides clear, detailed images of speech production from a variety of English accents," said Timmins.
Also included in the resource is a video database showing accent differences in speech production across varieties of English, which will aid the study of accents and accent change.
Currently, there are no comprehensive resources that visualise what happens inside the mouth when people speak. This means students of linguistics only have access to snapshots of this dynamic process.
'Seeing Speech' provides access to ultrasound and MRI videos, presenting the tongue's movement at full-speed and half-speed, to allow for detailed study.
"I am delighted to be able to launch this is unique collaboration between five Scottish universities that will really help advance a wide range of studies of speech production and accents," Jane Stuart-Smith, Professor of Phonetics and Sociolinguistics at the University of Glasgow - and Principal Investigator on the project - said.
"One problem encountered by phonetics teachers and students is that there is nothing out there that shows how speech sounds are actually formed. The only resources that we had to work with up to this point were static diagrams and models that break the vocal tract up into sections and provide a fragmented view of what are really synchronised, dynamic actions of the vocal organs," said Stuart-Smith.
It offers the best understanding yet of the processes that take place when people speak and will aid academics, teachers, health-care professionals and actors.
Ultrasound Tongue Imaging is a comparatively new technique that uses medical ultrasound machines to record an image of the surface of the tongue during speech.
Coupled with Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) technology, which images the entire vocal tract, including the action of the larynx and the soft palate, academics have built a database of on-line recordings showing speakers' tongues moving inside their mouths during normal speech.
"This is a fantastic new web resource for anyone interested in how the tongue produces speech sounds," Claire Timmins, a lecturer in Strathclyde's School of Psychological Sciences and Health, said.
"It provides clear, detailed images of speech production from a variety of English accents," said Timmins.
Also included in the resource is a video database showing accent differences in speech production across varieties of English, which will aid the study of accents and accent change.
Currently, there are no comprehensive resources that visualise what happens inside the mouth when people speak. This means students of linguistics only have access to snapshots of this dynamic process.
'Seeing Speech' provides access to ultrasound and MRI videos, presenting the tongue's movement at full-speed and half-speed, to allow for detailed study.
"I am delighted to be able to launch this is unique collaboration between five Scottish universities that will really help advance a wide range of studies of speech production and accents," Jane Stuart-Smith, Professor of Phonetics and Sociolinguistics at the University of Glasgow - and Principal Investigator on the project - said.
"One problem encountered by phonetics teachers and students is that there is nothing out there that shows how speech sounds are actually formed. The only resources that we had to work with up to this point were static diagrams and models that break the vocal tract up into sections and provide a fragmented view of what are really synchronised, dynamic actions of the vocal organs," said Stuart-Smith.
Study suggests brain protein as Alzheimer drug target
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Scientists have a new lead on a possible treatment to slow Alzheimer's disease by targeting a protein involved in limiting flexibility in the aging brain, said a study out Thursday.
Alzheimer's — the most common form of dementia in older adults — affects an estimated five million Americans. There currently is no cure and minimal treatment options exist.
But researchers, led by Stanford University neurobiologist Carla Shatz, hope they can improve outcomes, after discovering that eliminating a certain protein from mice brains stopped the disease's symptoms from appearing.
"People are just beginning to look at what these proteins do in the brain. While more research is needed, these proteins may be a brand new target for Alzheimer's drugs," Shatz said.
The researchers focused on a mouse protein called PirB, and its human homologue LilrB2, which can be found on the surface of nerve cells in the brain.
The protein appears to bind with beta-amyloid — a protein remnant that weakens the connections between neurons.
Experiments showed that when PirB partners with beta-amyloid, it can "trigger a cascade of harmful reactions" that breaks down those connections, the researchers said in a statement.
One of the hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease is large buildups of beta-amyloids called "plaques."
Scientists say a drug targeting this protein could help slow the progression of Alzheimer's.
The findings are based on experiments in mice bred to develop Alzheimer's disease. The symptoms — memory and learning problems — in the mice typically develop within nine months.
Not so in the mice without the PirB gene. It appears that, without the PirB protein, the mouse synapses were more resistant to the effects of beta-amyloid.
The researchers then examined brain tissue from Alzheimer's patients, finding the same connection between the human protein LilrB2 and beta-amyloid that they saw in mice.
"These are novel results, and direct interaction between beta-amyloid and PirB-related proteins opens up welcome avenues for investigating new drug targets for Alzheimer's disease," said Roderick Corriveau, program director at the National Institutes of Health's neurological disorders and stroke center, which helped fund the research.
The findings appeared in this week's edition of the US journal Science.
Alzheimer's — the most common form of dementia in older adults — affects an estimated five million Americans. There currently is no cure and minimal treatment options exist.
But researchers, led by Stanford University neurobiologist Carla Shatz, hope they can improve outcomes, after discovering that eliminating a certain protein from mice brains stopped the disease's symptoms from appearing.
"People are just beginning to look at what these proteins do in the brain. While more research is needed, these proteins may be a brand new target for Alzheimer's drugs," Shatz said.
The researchers focused on a mouse protein called PirB, and its human homologue LilrB2, which can be found on the surface of nerve cells in the brain.
The protein appears to bind with beta-amyloid — a protein remnant that weakens the connections between neurons.
Experiments showed that when PirB partners with beta-amyloid, it can "trigger a cascade of harmful reactions" that breaks down those connections, the researchers said in a statement.
One of the hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease is large buildups of beta-amyloids called "plaques."
Scientists say a drug targeting this protein could help slow the progression of Alzheimer's.
The findings are based on experiments in mice bred to develop Alzheimer's disease. The symptoms — memory and learning problems — in the mice typically develop within nine months.
Not so in the mice without the PirB gene. It appears that, without the PirB protein, the mouse synapses were more resistant to the effects of beta-amyloid.
The researchers then examined brain tissue from Alzheimer's patients, finding the same connection between the human protein LilrB2 and beta-amyloid that they saw in mice.
"These are novel results, and direct interaction between beta-amyloid and PirB-related proteins opens up welcome avenues for investigating new drug targets for Alzheimer's disease," said Roderick Corriveau, program director at the National Institutes of Health's neurological disorders and stroke center, which helped fund the research.
The findings appeared in this week's edition of the US journal Science.
New molecule design prompts HIV to kill itself
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WASHINGTON: HIV in suicide mode! In a breakthrough, researchers, including an Indian-origin scientist, have created a microbicide that can trick HIV into killing itself without disturbing any healthy cells.
Pinning down an effective way to combat the spread of the human immunodeficiency virus, the viral precursor to AIDS, has long been a challenge for scientists and physicians, because the virus is an elusive one that mutates frequently and, as a result, quickly becomes immune to medication.
A team of Drexel University researchers is trying to get one step ahead of the virus with a microbicide they've created that can trick HIV into "popping" itself into oblivion.
The microbicide DAVEI - which stands for "Dual Action Virolytic Entry Inhibitor" - is the latest in a new generation of HIV treatments that function by specifically destroying the virus without harming healthy cells, researchers said.
"While several molecules that destroy HIV have recently been announced, DAVEI is unique among them by virtue of its design, specificity and high potency," said Dr Cameron Abrams, a professor in Drexel's College of Engineering and a primary investigator of the project.
A team co-led by Abrams and Dr Irwin Chaiken in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in Drexel's College of Medicine, and including R V Kalyana Sundaram, developed the chimeric recombinantly engineered protein - that is, a molecule assembled from pieces of other molecules and engineered for a specific purpose, in this case to fight HIV.
HIV invades a healthy cell by first attaching via protein "spikes" that then collapse to pull viral and cell membranes together, fusing them and allowing the genetic contents of the virus to enter the healthy cell.
The cell is rewired by the viral genetic material into producing more viruses instead of performing its normal function, which, in the case of cells infected by HIV, involves normal immunity. AIDS is the result.
"We hypothesised that an important role of the fusion machinery is to open the viral membrane when triggered, and it follows that a trigger didn't necessarily have to be a doomed cell," Abrams said.
"So we envisioned particular ways the components of the viral fusion machinery work and designed a molecule that would trigger it prematurely," Abrams said.
The team designed DAVEI from two main ingredients. One piece, called the Membrane Proximal External Region (MPER), is itself a small piece of the fusion machinery and interacts strongly with viral membranes.
The other piece, called cyanovirin, binds to the sugar coating of the protein spike. Working together, the MPER and cyanovirin in DAVEI "tweak" the fusion machinery in a way that mimics the forces it feels when attached to a cell.
The study was published in the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy.
Pinning down an effective way to combat the spread of the human immunodeficiency virus, the viral precursor to AIDS, has long been a challenge for scientists and physicians, because the virus is an elusive one that mutates frequently and, as a result, quickly becomes immune to medication.
A team of Drexel University researchers is trying to get one step ahead of the virus with a microbicide they've created that can trick HIV into "popping" itself into oblivion.
The microbicide DAVEI - which stands for "Dual Action Virolytic Entry Inhibitor" - is the latest in a new generation of HIV treatments that function by specifically destroying the virus without harming healthy cells, researchers said.
"While several molecules that destroy HIV have recently been announced, DAVEI is unique among them by virtue of its design, specificity and high potency," said Dr Cameron Abrams, a professor in Drexel's College of Engineering and a primary investigator of the project.
A team co-led by Abrams and Dr Irwin Chaiken in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in Drexel's College of Medicine, and including R V Kalyana Sundaram, developed the chimeric recombinantly engineered protein - that is, a molecule assembled from pieces of other molecules and engineered for a specific purpose, in this case to fight HIV.
HIV invades a healthy cell by first attaching via protein "spikes" that then collapse to pull viral and cell membranes together, fusing them and allowing the genetic contents of the virus to enter the healthy cell.
The cell is rewired by the viral genetic material into producing more viruses instead of performing its normal function, which, in the case of cells infected by HIV, involves normal immunity. AIDS is the result.
"We hypothesised that an important role of the fusion machinery is to open the viral membrane when triggered, and it follows that a trigger didn't necessarily have to be a doomed cell," Abrams said.
"So we envisioned particular ways the components of the viral fusion machinery work and designed a molecule that would trigger it prematurely," Abrams said.
The team designed DAVEI from two main ingredients. One piece, called the Membrane Proximal External Region (MPER), is itself a small piece of the fusion machinery and interacts strongly with viral membranes.
The other piece, called cyanovirin, binds to the sugar coating of the protein spike. Working together, the MPER and cyanovirin in DAVEI "tweak" the fusion machinery in a way that mimics the forces it feels when attached to a cell.
The study was published in the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy.
Alien life found on balloons after meteor shower
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LONDON: British scientists announced on Thursday that they have found alien life on Earth.
A team of scientists from the University of Sheffield led by Milton Wainwright from the department of molecular biology and biotechnology found small organisms that could came from space after sending a specially designed balloon 27km into the stratosphere during the recent Perseid meteor shower.
The balloon was launched near Chester and carried microscope studs which were only exposed to the atmosphere when the balloon reached heights of between 22 and 27km. The balloon landed safely near Wakefield.
The scientists then discovered that they had captured a diatom fragment and some unusual biological entities from the stratosphere, all of which are too large to have come from Earth.
Wainwright said the results could be revolutionary. "If life does continue to arrive from space then we have to completely change our view of biology and evolution," he said. The scientists said stringent precautions had been taken against the possibility of contamination during sampling and processing, and said the group was confident that the biological organisms could only have come from the stratosphere.
Wainwright said, "Most people will assume that these biological particles must have just drifted up to the stratosphere from Earth, but it is generally accepted that a particle of the size found cannot be lifted from Earth to heights of, for example, 27km. The only known exception is by a violent volcanic eruption, none of which occurred within three years of the sampling trip."
"In the absence of a mechanism by which large particles like these can be transported to the stratosphere we can only conclude that the biological entities originated from space. Our conclusion then is that life is continually arriving to Earth from space, life is not restricted to this planet and it almost certainly did not originate here," he said. The group's findings have been published in the Journal of Cosmology.
The team is hoping to extend and confirm their results by carrying out the test again in October to coincide with the upcoming Haley's Comet-associated meteorite shower when there will be large amounts of cosmic dust. It is hoped that more new or unusual organisms will be found.
A team of scientists from the University of Sheffield led by Milton Wainwright from the department of molecular biology and biotechnology found small organisms that could came from space after sending a specially designed balloon 27km into the stratosphere during the recent Perseid meteor shower.
The balloon was launched near Chester and carried microscope studs which were only exposed to the atmosphere when the balloon reached heights of between 22 and 27km. The balloon landed safely near Wakefield.
The scientists then discovered that they had captured a diatom fragment and some unusual biological entities from the stratosphere, all of which are too large to have come from Earth.
Wainwright said the results could be revolutionary. "If life does continue to arrive from space then we have to completely change our view of biology and evolution," he said. The scientists said stringent precautions had been taken against the possibility of contamination during sampling and processing, and said the group was confident that the biological organisms could only have come from the stratosphere.
Wainwright said, "Most people will assume that these biological particles must have just drifted up to the stratosphere from Earth, but it is generally accepted that a particle of the size found cannot be lifted from Earth to heights of, for example, 27km. The only known exception is by a violent volcanic eruption, none of which occurred within three years of the sampling trip."
"In the absence of a mechanism by which large particles like these can be transported to the stratosphere we can only conclude that the biological entities originated from space. Our conclusion then is that life is continually arriving to Earth from space, life is not restricted to this planet and it almost certainly did not originate here," he said. The group's findings have been published in the Journal of Cosmology.
The team is hoping to extend and confirm their results by carrying out the test again in October to coincide with the upcoming Haley's Comet-associated meteorite shower when there will be large amounts of cosmic dust. It is hoped that more new or unusual organisms will be found.
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