Life Sciences and Chemistry

Yale researchers demonstrate the crucial role of a membrane lipid called phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate (PtdIns (4,5)P2) in the communication of information between synapses in the brain, according to a study published this week in Nature.

“This study is the first to show that lowering the levels of this lipid in nerve terminals affects the efficiency of neurotransmission,” said senior author, Pietro De Camilli, Eugene Higgins Professor of Cell Biology and a Howard Hughes Me

For the second time in two years, scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine have discovered a new type of regulatory T cell that reduces asthma and airway inflammation in mice, bolstering the theory that a deficiency of such cells is a prime cause of the breathing disorder as well as allergies.

The team’s research not only provides a detailed profile of these newfound cells but also sheds light on how such cells are related to other T cells and suggests that there

MacroPore Biosurgery, Inc. (Frankfurt: XMP) today announced that adipose tissue-derived regenerative cells improved heart function following myocardial infarction in a large-animal preclinical safety study. This study, performed in swine, confirms previous preclinical work by MacroPore Biosurgery and others suggesting that the Company’s proprietary, patented technology is safe and may be clinically useful in treating heart disease. The goal of the study was to determine the safety of adipose tissue-

Ten years ago, Valter Longo had an inkling of a theory of aging that is now challenging the dogma of one of science’s heavyweights – Charles Darwin.

From graduate school to a career as an assistant professor in the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology and the USC College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, Longo’s ideas were questioned by peers and students alike as he explored a new way to look at aging that directly opposes principles set forth by Darwin in his theory of

Stem cell research. Just the mention of the controversial study stirs up a storm of debate.

The divisive research has become a political hot potato, even emerging as a campaign issue. One presidential candidate has declared it an ethical and moral issue that must not be treated lightly; the other has pledged to lift a partial ban on the research. In California, voters will vote on a measure that would devote $3 billion to human embryonic stem cell experiments.

Even a prom

This week’s lead editorial discusses the benefits and potential risks of allowing genomic information to be freely available on the internet—and supports the recent report by the US National Research Council recommending that such information should remain freely accessible to all.

The editorial comments: ‘But while free and open access to these data is a boon to science, it carries some risk: among the genome sequences freely available on the internet are those for more than 100 pa