08 Jul, 2014 | by Labroots
Could Zombies Help Us During An Infectious Disease Outbreak?Zombies are enjoying a recent surge in popularity, but our interest in them spans centuries. Their origins trace back to the folklore of tribes in Western Africa. Can our current interest in zombies be used to educate about public health infrastructure and the spread of infectious disease? Melissa Nasiruddin, Monique Halabi, Alexander Dao, Kyle Chen, and Brandon Brown of the University of California,...... Read More
02 Jul, 2014 | by Labroots
Do You Worry A Lot? Good.Worrying about skin cancer appears more effective in getting people to wear sunscreen than disease statistics, a new study from the University of Buffalo finds. Research on whether people use sunscreen or not usually tends to focus on education and what information people have read about and retain. Now, it seems worrying about the potential of getting cancer is more influential than knowledge, though...... Read More
30 Jun, 2014 | by Labroots
New Research Offers Hope That Dyslectic Children Can Get Off to a Smooth Start in SchoolItâs estimated that about 10 to 15% of the U.S. has some degree of dyslexia. But, before their condition is diagnosed it can be a confusing and difficult time for children and their parents as they struggle to figure out why their children are having trouble in school. But, now thereâs hope that dyslectic children can be identified and helped before they get into a cycle of failure. Dyslexia is...... Read More
27 Jun, 2014 | by Labroots
Big Brains from Bugs?Foraging for food and the challenges that come with it has been recognized as important in shaping brain evolution in primates. New research from Washington University in St. Louis suggests that having to figure out how to survive on difficult to find bugs in the ground and forest could have helped us develop bigger brains and higher cognitive functions, mainly due to both the innovation needed to...... Read More
24 Jun, 2014 | by Labroots
Diabetes? There’s An App for That.A bionic pancreas developed by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Boston University could help normalize life for diabetics. The newly-developed pancreas automatically monitors blood sugar using a wireless glucose monitor that sends a signal to an iPhone app every five minutes. The app determines how much insulin should be injected via a pump to make blood sugar levels decrease...... Read More
20 Jun, 2014 | by Labroots
Rapid Testing Technology for Biopharma Drug Development Speeds Development, Testing and Trial Cycles for Pathogen TreatmentsPathSensors Inc., a leading biotechnology and environmental testing company, has developed new technology that provides rapid detection and identification of bacteria, viruses and toxins. The new Zephyr system for liquid-based assays further expands PathSensorsâ instrumentation for aerosol collection and identification of airborne pathogens. It can help lower cost and hasten development of treatments...... Read More
19 Jun, 2014 | by Labroots
Two-New Weapons in the War on Malaria – One Complex, One SimpleDespite constant efforts to fight it, over 200 million people still contract malaria each year and an estimated 627,000 die from it, with most of the deaths occurring among children living in Africa. A vaccine would go a long way to controlling the problem and eventually even eradicating the disease. Although progress has been made, there are major barriers to vaccine development, so other approaches...... Read More
17 Jun, 2014 | by Labroots
You think brain surgery is hard? Try it on a fruit fly.It takes a steady hand to perform microsurgery on the head of a fruitfully. But it turns out that neuroscientists may no longer have to perform this arduous task. In recent years, neuroscientists have begun to design and build robotic systems that allow them to perform high-throughput brain imaging experiments involving model organisms such as Drosophila in real time. âBrains in Action,â a recent...... Read More
16 Jun, 2014 | by Labroots
Stem Cells Stop MS in MiceIn the fall of 2010, a team of scientists in California injected human stem cells into the spinal cords of mice with a crippling condition similar to multiple sclerosis, figuring that the mice would reject the cells as they might reject an organ transplant. According to Tom Lane, a University of California, Irvine pathologist who now works at the University of Utah, the research was designed to better...... Read More
13 Jun, 2014 | by Labroots
MIT and BGU Announce Seed FundBen-GurionUniversity of the Negev (BGU) in Beersheva, Israel, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, signed an agreement on May 25 to create a new seed fund to finance joint research collaborations and student exchanges. The MIT-Israel â Ben-GurionUniversity of the Negev Seed Fund is part of MISTI Global Seed Funds. MISTI will offer funds to MIT faculty...... Read More