Eye research targets scar tissue that forms after surgery
Today’s cataract surgery is often described as a marvel of modern medicine, a one-hour outpatient procedure that has spared millions from blindness, especially in developed countries. (more…)
Eye drops containing a derivative of turmeric reduce the loss of retinal cells in rats, finds a new study led by UCL and Imperial College London researchers. (more…)
New research findings could turn perceptions of the already despised bed bug from nuisance pest into medically important threat. A study from North Carolina State University shows that histamine levels are substantially higher in homes infested by bed bugs than in pest-free homes, and that these histamine levels persist for months – even if the bed bugs have been eliminated from the home. (more…)
ANN ARBOR—A banana a day may not keep the doctor away, but a substance originally found in bananas and carefully edited by scientists could someday fight off a wide range of viruses, new research suggests. (more…)
After chronic stress, primed immune cells in spleen lead to excessive reaction to later event
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Chronic stress that produces inflammation and anxiety in mice appears to prime their immune systems for a prolonged fight, causing the animals to have an excessive reaction to a single acute stressor weeks later, new research suggests.
After the mice recovered from the effects of chronic stress, a single stressful event 24 days later quickly returned them to a chronically stressed state in biological and behavioral terms. Mice that had not experienced the chronic stress were unaffected by the single acute stressor. (more…)
Screening more than 100 spider toxins, Yale researchers identified a protein from the venom of the Peruvian green velvet tarantula that blunts activity in pain-transmitting neurons. The findings, reported in the March 3 issue of the journal Current Biology, show the new screening method used by the scientists has the potential to search millions of different spider toxins for safe pain-killing drugs and therapies.
The researchers note that they tested the spider toxins on only one of a dozen suspected human pain channels. (more…)
In study, the more women practiced, the better their results
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Practicing yoga for as little as three months can reduce fatigue and lower inflammation in breast cancer survivors, according to new research.
The more the women in the study practiced yoga, the better their results. (more…)
UCLA researchers report that tiny amounts of a specific type of lipid in the small intestine may play a greater role than previously thought in generating the high cholesterol levels and inflammation that lead to clogged arteries.
The team also found they could reduce the negative effects of these lipids in mice by feeding the animals a new genetically engineered tomato being developed at UCLA that is designed to mimic HDL (“good”) cholesterol. (more…)
