Science and Health News

TAMPA, Fla. – It is estimated that each year in the United States 2 million people become infected with bacteria that are resistant to one or more types of antibiotics, and at least 23,000 people will die because of these infections. This problem is being exacerbated by overuse of antibiotics for livestock and also in community clinical practice. This overuse, combined with the slow pace of novel drug discovery is a growing threat to public health. In response to this, Moffitt Cancer Center researchers have developed a novel mathematical method inspired by Darwinian evolution to use current antibiotics to eliminate or reduce the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Zosano Pharma Corporation (NASDAQ:ZSAN), a clinical-stage specialty pharmaceutical company, today announced positive results from the Phase 2 clinical trial of its proprietary, rapid onset, transdermal ZP-Glucagon patch for severe hypoglycemia.

Babies born with the severe form of osteogenesis imperfecta, or congenital brittle-bone disease, are often seriously ill. Repeated fractures in all parts of the skeleton give rise to physical disabilities, postural abnormalities, and stunted growth. The child’s breathing and pulmonary function can also be affected with the narrowing of the rib cage. There is currently no cure.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMRD) could be treated by transplanting photoreceptors produced by the directed differentiation of stem cells, thanks to findings published today by Professor Gilbert Bernier of the University of Montreal and its affiliated Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital. ARMD is a common eye problem caused by the loss of cones.

A new test detects virtually any virus that infects people and animals, according to research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, where the technology was developed. Many thousands of viruses are known to cause illness in people and animals, and making a diagnosis can be an exhaustive exercise, at times requiring a battery of different tests. That’s because current tests aren’t sensitive enough to detect low levels of viral bugs or are limited to detecting only those viruses suspected of being responsible for a patient’s illness.

Scientists at the nanooptics and plasmonics lab of MIPT, one of Russia’s most renowned tech universities, have used graphene oxide to make a supersensitive biosensor. The sensor may help develop new drugs and vaccines, the MIPT website announced.

One of the holy grails of bio-imaging is to visualize the inner workings of a cell while it is still alive. But this also means that living cells put under the microscope risk being killed by the light and the fluorescent dyes used to highlight their structures. Much like being sunburnt, live cells are sensitive to intense light – and the most dangerous are the ultraviolet and blue lights used in live-cell imaging. EPFL scientists have now developed a new DNA stain that can be used to safely image live mammalian cells for days, even under demanding imaging conditions. The work is published in Nature Communications, and it is incorporated into the new EPFL start-up Spirochrome.

Rice, Baylor College of Medicine team reveals mechanism of actin-binding protein HOUSTON – (Sept. 28, 2015) – Researchers at Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine have unlocked the structural details of a protein seen as key to treating a neuromuscular disease. Their success at obtaining a structural map of a protein known as leiomodin 2 (Lmod2) attached to two actin subunits offers a path forward for the study of nemaline myopathy, a hereditary disorder that weakens the muscles and can sometimes be fatal.