New diagnostic method may predict relapse risk for recovering prescription opioid addicts

For the first time, Rutgers scientists have used a diagnostic technique in the opioid addiction field that they believe has the potential to determine which opioid-addicted patients are more likely to relapse. Using an algorithm that looks for patterns in brain structure and functional connectivity, researchers were able to distinguish prescription opioid users from healthy […]

New method of gene analysis prevents early death in familial hypercholesterolemia

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have investigated how a newly developed algorithm in connection with gene analysis can be used to improve the possibilities of preventing premature vascular disease and death in individuals with the hereditary lipid disorder, familial hypercholesterolemia. The findings, published in the Journal of Internal Medicine, show how the method can lead to […]

Biologists create better method to culture cells for testing drug toxicity

When a new drug is being developed, the first question is, “Does it work?” The second question is, “Does it do harm?” No matter how effective a therapy is, if it harms the patient in the process, it has little value. Doctoral student Robert Skolik and Associate Professor Michael Menze, Ph.D., in the Department of […]

Method makes it easier to research risk factors during pregnancy

Imagine that you are going to conduct research on how different factors affect a child in the womb. Bad habits such as smoking, drinking alcohol or poor eating habits are factors that may affect the child. However, it would be completely out of the question for a researcher to ask a pregnant woman to expose […]

New study discovers possible early detection method for elusive ovarian cancer

A study led by researchers at the University of Minnesota Medical School found a way to detect the presence of ovarian cancer in patients using Pap test samples, normally used to detect cervical cancer. Currently, no early warning system exists for ovarian cancer, which in 2021, is estimated to kill more than 13,700 women, according […]

The Different Types of Immunostaining

Immunostaining encompasses numerous techniques that are suited to a variety of different applications. Image Credit: Jarun Ontakrai/Shutterstock.com However, they are all methods that rely on the use of antibodies to detect and identify proteins within biological samples. They can be used to asses and identify the topographical distribution of abnormal cells, blasts infiltrates, and megakaryocytes. […]

New method developed to help scientists understand how the brain processes color

Through the development of new technology, University of Minnesota researchers have developed a method that allows scientists to understand how a fruit fly’s brain responds to seeing color. Prior to this, being able to determine how a brain responds to color was limited to humans and animals with slower visual systems. A fruit fly, when […]

Method to derive blood vessel cells from skin cells suggests ways to slow aging

Salk scientists have used skin cells called fibroblasts from young and old patients to successfully create blood vessels cells that retain their molecular markers of age. The team’s approach, described in the journal eLife on September 8, 2020, revealed clues as to why blood vessels tend to become leaky and hardened with aging, and lets […]

Internal differences: A new method for seeing into cells

Invading cells’ private space—prying into their internal functions, decisions and communications—could be a powerful tool that may help researchers develop new immunotherapy treatment for cancer. As reported today in Cell, a research group at the Weizmann Institute of Science has developed a technology that enables them to see inside tens of thousands of individual cells […]