Researchers have found specific nerve cells responsible for itchiness, a discovery that could lead to better treatments for skin conditions.
 

Exposing tumors to oxygen can make radiotherapy significantly more effective in destroying cancer, research has indicated.  Experiments on mice have shown that cancer cells can be “softened up” before treatment by boosting the supply of oxygen.

Fungal infections can be deadly as fungus germs have developed resistance to drug treatment. But now researchers have found a way to make drugs more effective in clearing all fungal infections.

Its like a pregnancy test for guys
A urine test can diagnose the sexually transmitted infection chlamydia in men within an hour, enabling on-the-spot treatment.

X-ray image shows a barium enema in a patient with cancer of the bowel
A cancer vaccine with a twist is making headway in clinical trials at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Rather than targeting a cancer-related virus–the way Gardasil targets human papillomavirus to prevent some cervical cancers–the new vaccine triggers the immune system [...]

More creepy stem cell goodness
Two groups of Chinese researchers have performed an unprecedented feat, it was announced today, by inducing cells from connective tissue in mice to revert back to their embryonic state and producing living mice from them.

Impantable device monitors cancer
Surgical removal of a tissue sample is now the standard for diagnosing cancer. Such procedures, known as biopsies, are accurate but offer only a snapshot of the tumor at a single moment in time.
 

DNA is DNA is DNA, Right?

At one point in time in my graduate studies, I stopped being surprised at weird biological discoveries because, as one of my college professors said, when it comes to science, “there’s an exception to every rule, including this one” (think about it for a minute).
But this discovery by Morris Schweitzer [...]

Wii CPR: Researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham test a Wii CPR program.

Heartening or horrifying news, depending on your outlook — the American Heart Association has pledged $50,000 in funding for a student project to develop a CPR teaching program for Nintendo’s motion-controlled Wii.
A biomedical engineering professor at the University of Alabama at [...]

The skeleton of the robotic bat uses shape-memory metal alloy that is super-elastic for the joints, and smart materials that respond to electric current for the muscular system.
Tiny flying machines can be used for everything from indoor surveillance to exploring collapsed buildings, but simply making smaller versions of planes and helicopters doesn’t work very well. [...]

bats use their nose to create a highly focused sonar beam.
A research paper co-written by a Virginia Tech faculty member explains a 60-year mystery behind a rare bat’s nose that is unusually large for its species.

A new monkey — dubbed Mura’s saddleback tamarin — has been discovered in a remote region of the Amazon in Brazil.
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) announced on July 7 the discovery of a new monkey in a remote region of the Amazon in Brazil.

Sperm created in a lab
Human sperm have been created using embryonic stem cells for the first time in a scientific development which will lead researchers to a better understanding of the causes of infertility.
 

Stopping the dreaded self  hair tear

A simple supplement could help treat people with an impulse disorder that manifests in hair-tearing, say experts.
Trichotillomania suffers are blighted by uncontrollable urges to pluck the hair of the scalp and even eyebrows and lashes, often to the point of baldness.

Found in many salad dressings, pickles, and other foods, vinegar could help prevent accumulation of body fat and weight gain, scientists report.
Researchers in Japan are reporting new evidence that the ordinary vinegar — a staple in oil-and-vinegar salad dressings, pickles, and other foods — may live up to its age-old reputation in folk medicine as [...]

The pulse technique could be used to enhance intellectual capacity and help those with learning difficulties
Researchers discovered that the ability of the brain to learn a task and remember it was greatly enhanced when a magnetic pulse was applied to the premotor cortex – the area of the brain just behind the forehead.

as zebra finches fine-tune their songs, the brain initially stores improvements in one brain pathway before transferring this learned information to the motor pathway for long-term storage
Learning complex skills like playing an instrument requires a sequence of movements that can take years to master. Last year, MIT neuroscientists reported that by studying the chirps of [...]

Coffee drinkers may have another reason to pour that extra cup. When aged mice bred to develop symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease were given caffeine — the equivalent of five cups of coffee a day — their memory impairment was reversed.
Coffee drinkers may have another reason to pour that extra cup. When aged mice bred [...]

This artist’s impression shows the focal plane unit of the Planck telescope.
On July 2 the detectors of Planck’s High Frequency Instrument reached their amazingly low operational temperature of -273°C, making them the coldest known objects in space. The spacecraft has also just entered its final orbit around the second Lagrange point of the Sun-Earth system, [...]

Printable batteries.
For a long time, batteries were bulky and heavy. Now, a new cutting-edge battery is revolutionizing the field. It is thinner than a millimeter, lighter than a gram, and can be produced cost-effectively through a printing process.

New hope for blindness
A surgeon who pioneered laser eye surgery to cure short-sightedness has announced a new technique which could prevent millions of older people from going blind.
 

Mice fed on a diet high in polyunsaturated fatty acids can sprint faster
Between the 1932 and 2008 Olympic Games, world record times of the men’s 100m sprint improved by 0.6 seconds due to improved training techniques and technological advances. Imagine if this improvement could be achieved by a simple change in diet. Scientists at the [...]

The two-qubit processor is the first solid-state quantum processor that resembles a conventional computer chip and is able to run simple algorithms
A team led by Yale University researchers has created the first rudimentary solid-state quantum processor, taking another step toward the ultimate dream of building a quantum computer.

New research sheds light on how alcohol alters the way brain cells work.
Alcohol’s inebriating effects are familiar to everyone. But the molecular details of alcohol’s impact on brain activity remain a mystery. A new study by researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies brings us closer to understanding how alcohol alters the way brain [...]

 
The enzyme WWP-1, shown in green, is a key player in the signaling cascade that links dietary restriction to longevity in roundworms.
Experiment after experiment confirms that a diet on the brink of starvation expands lifespan in mice and many other species. But the molecular mechanism that links nutrition and survival is still poorly understood. [...]