http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Researchers at then Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have uncovered a mechanism that governs how cells become specialized during development. Their findings could have implications for human health and disease and appear in the November 10 online edition of the journal Cell. http://phys.org/news240167675.html Biology Thu, 10 Nov 2011 17:20:49 EST news240167675 (PhysOrg.com) -- A research team at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has come up with a potential solution to a two-pronged problem in medical research: How to capture cells on a particular spot on a surface using electric fields and keep them alive long enough to run experiments on them. http://phys.org/news232796570.html Chemistry Wed, 17 Aug 2011 10:43:10 EST news232796570 Using an innovative gene therapy technique called genome editing that hones in on the precise location of mutated DNA, scientists have treated the blood clotting disorder hemophilia in mice. This is the first time that genome editing, which precisely targets and repairs a genetic defect, has been done in a living animal and achieved clinically meaningful results. http://phys.org/news228323710.html Biology Sun, 26 Jun 2011 16:15:38 EST news228323710 During the development of an embryo, a large number of different, specialised cell-types arise from the fertilised egg. The genetic information is identical in all cells of an organism. Different properties of cells arise because the activity of genes is controlled and regulated by so called transcription factors. By switching genes on or off, the body makes muscle cells, bone cells, liver cells and many more. http://phys.org/news223553126.html Biology Mon, 02 May 2011 11:05:44 EST news223553126 Because of the prevalence of obesity in our country, many Americans are expected to develop a serious condition called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which can lead to cirrhosis, fibrosis, and in some cases liver failure. It is also one of the best predictors for coronary artery disease. http://phys.org/news222419309.html Medicine & Health Tue, 19 Apr 2011 08:09:19 EST news222419309 Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have devised a totally new and far more efficient way of generating induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), immature cells that are able to develop into several different types of cells or tissues in the body. The researchers used fibroblast cells, which are easily obtained from skin biopsies, and could be used to generate patient-specific iPSCs for drug screening and tissue regeneration. http://phys.org/news221398708.html Biology Thu, 07 Apr 2011 12:38:41 EST news221398708 According to new data presented today at the International Liver Congress, the United States (U.S.) could soon be faced with an epidemic of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)1, one of the major contributing factors of chronic liver disease (CLD), considered as one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The study highlights that if the current rates of obesity and diabetes continue for another two decades, the prevalence of NAFLD in the US is expected to increase by 50% in 2030. http://phys.org/news220938201.html Medicine & Health Sat, 02 Apr 2011 04:44:42 EST news220938201 High-density lipoprotein's hauls excess cholesterol to the liver for disposal, but new research suggests "good cholesterol" can also act as a special delivery vehicle of destruction for cancer. http://phys.org/news220897609.html Nanotechnology Fri, 01 Apr 2011 17:27:13 EST news220897609 Results from an international study presented today at the International Liver Congress have shown Obeticholic Acid (OCA) is a safe and effective treatment in patients suffering from Primary Biliary Cirrhosis (PBC) as demonstrated by substantial decreases in the levels of alkaline phosphatase (AP) enzyme in the blood, a key marker for PBC. http://phys.org/news220796649.html Medicine & Health Thu, 31 Mar 2011 13:24:56 EST news220796649 The liver normally makes and stores fat, which is required in moderation for normal body function. However, if the process goes awry, excess fat in the liver can cause major liver damage. In fact, fatty liver is a leading cause of liver failure in the United States, and is often brought on by obesity and diabetes. In turn, the increasing prevalence of these diseases has brought with it an epidemic of liver disease. http://phys.org/news218988082.html Medicine & Health Thu, 10 Mar 2011 14:01:47 EST news218988082 A research team from South Korea investigated the expression profile of E2F5 in primary hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) and explored the biological implications of E2F5 overexpression. They found that E2F5 is commonly overexpressed in primary HCC and that E2F5 knockdown significantly repressed the growth of HCC cells. http://phys.org/news215694155.html Medicine & Health Mon, 31 Jan 2011 13:10:01 EST news215694155 By determining how corticosteroids act to promote red blood cell progenitor formation, Whitehead Institute researchers have identified a class of drugs that may be beneficial in anemias, including those resulting from trauma, sepsis, malaria, kidney dialysis, and chemotherapy. http://phys.org/news212249643.html Medicine & Health Wed, 22 Dec 2010 14:40:01 EST news212249643 The liver's unique ability among organs to regenerate itself has been little understood. Now Weill Cornell Medical College scientists have shed light on how the liver restores itself by demonstrating that endothelial cells -- the cells that form the lining of blood vessels -- play a key role. http://phys.org/news208777596.html Medicine & Health Fri, 12 Nov 2010 09:46:58 EST news208777596 Researchers at the Institute for Regenerative Medicine at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center have reached an early, but important, milestone in the quest to grow replacement livers in the lab. They are the first to use human liver cells to successfully engineer miniature livers that function – at least in a laboratory setting – like human livers. The next step is to see if the livers will continue to function after transplantation in an animal model. http://phys.org/news207656802.html Medicine & Health Sat, 30 Oct 2010 11:27:05 EST news207656802 Scientists at the Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology (GIVI) have found that an enzyme associated with the storage of fat in the liver is required for the infectious activity of the hepatitis C virus (HCV). This discovery may offer a new strategy for treating the infection. http://phys.org/news205935871.html Medicine & Health Sun, 10 Oct 2010 13:25:00 EST news205935871 In the realm of human suffering, few diseases afflict more widespread misery than malaria, which strikes hundreds of millions of people every year and claims about a million lives -- mostly children living in sub-Saharan Africa. http://phys.org/news203329572.html Biology Fri, 10 Sep 2010 09:26:54 EST news203329572 (PhysOrg.com) -- Most organisms need iron to survive, but too much iron is toxic, and can cause fatal organ failure. The same is true inside cells, where iron balance must also be maintained. In a study published today in Cell Metabolism, scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, have discovered that a group of proteins named IRPs ensure that this iron balance is kept and as such are essential for cell survival. More specifically, they found that IRPs are required for the functioning of mitochondria, the cell’s energy factories. http://phys.org/news200069823.html Chemistry Tue, 03 Aug 2010 16:30:01 EST news200069823 The hepatitis C virus is highly specialised. We humans are its natural hosts. The only other living organisms that could be infected with the hepatitis C virus in the lab are chimpanzees. Nevertheless it is - from the viewpoint of the virus - highly successful: around 170 million people are chronically infected with the virus. And with the chronic infection the risk of developing liver cancer also increases. http://phys.org/news197629092.html Medicine & Health Tue, 06 Jul 2010 10:20:01 EST news197629092 A team led by researchers from the Center for Engineering in Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) has developed a technique that someday may allow growth of transplantable replacement livers. In their report that will be published in Nature Medicine and is receiving early online release, the investigators describe using the structural tissue of rat livers as scaffolding for the growth of tissue regenerated from liver cells introduced through a novel reseeding process. http://phys.org/news195645553.html Medicine & Health Sun, 13 Jun 2010 13:00:08 EST news195645553 Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is a cancer of the bile duct in the liver. The clear cell subtype of ICC is a rare cancer; until now, only 8 cases have been reported. The number of reports is so small that a detail description of clear cell ICC is valuable. http://phys.org/news194696950.html Medicine & Health Wed, 02 Jun 2010 12:20:03 EST news194696950 Results from a multinational phase II study presented today at the International Liver Congress 2010 have shown that treatment with the caspase inhibitor GS-9450 can reduce markers of liver damage in patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH - the most serious form of non-alcoholic liver disease) as demonstrated by reduced levels of alanine (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferases (AST), hepatic enzymes that indicate cell damage. http://phys.org/news190634229.html Medicine & Health Fri, 16 Apr 2010 11:20:01 EST news190634229 Scientists have shed light on a key control process within cells that helps ensure our bodies function efficiently. http://phys.org/news188568552.html Biology Tue, 23 Mar 2010 13:09:24 EST news188568552 How do you study-and try to cure in the laboratory-an infection that only humans can get? A team led by Salk Institute researchers does it by generating a mouse with an almost completely human liver. This "humanized" mouse is susceptible to human liver infections and responds to human drug treatments, providing a new way to test novel therapies for debilitating human liver diseases and other diseases with liver involvement such as malaria. http://phys.org/news186083100.html Medicine & Health Mon, 22 Feb 2010 17:45:27 EST news186083100 A key protein that causes the blood to clot is produced by blood vessels in the lungs and not just the liver, according to new research published today in the journal PLoS One, led by scientists at Imperial College London. http://phys.org/news185056790.html Medicine & Health Wed, 10 Feb 2010 21:10:01 EST news185056790 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at MIT and Rockefeller University have successfully grown hepatitis C virus in otherwise healthy liver cells in the laboratory, an advance that could allow scientists to develop and test new treatments for the disease. http://phys.org/news183654733.html Medicine & Health Mon, 25 Jan 2010 15:50:02 EST news183654733 Several studies have shown that lipid peroxidation stimulates collagen production in fibroblasts and hepatic stellate cells (HSC), and plays an important role in the development of liver fibrosis. Hepatoprotective effects of green tea against carbon tetrachloride, cholestasis and alcohol induced liver fibrosis were reported in many studies. However, the hepatoprotective effect of green tea in dimethylnitrosamine (DMN)-induced models has not been studied. http://phys.org/news177760503.html Medicine & Health Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:20:18 EST news177760503 (PhysOrg.com) -- Mike Gibson, chair of the Department of Biological Sciences at Michigan Technological University, has spent most of his professional life trying to better understand genetic metabolic disorders that arise in children. With that knowledge, he is working to develop treatments in mice--including liver-cell transplants--that could one day be used to treat a variety of liver-based illnesses in people. http://phys.org/news174291354.html Medicine & Health Fri, 09 Oct 2009 07:40:01 EST news174291354 A team led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers has developed an innovative way to culture liver cells for drug toxicity screening. In a report to be published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that has been released online, the investigators describe how liver cells grown in a high-oxygen environment and in a culture medium free of animal-derived serum quickly begin to function as they do within the liver. http://phys.org/news171127242.html Medicine & Health Wed, 02 Sep 2009 17:10:04 EST news171127242 Viruses need living cells for replication and production of virus progeny. Thus far, antiviral therapy primarily targets viral factors but often induces therapy resistance. New improved therapies attempt to targets cellular factors that are essential for viral replication. http://phys.org/news169473882.html Medicine & Health Fri, 14 Aug 2009 13:20:01 EST news169473882 (PhysOrg.com) -- Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have substantially improved the odds of successfully reprogramming differentiated cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) by blocking the activity of the gene that instructs the cells to stop dividing. http://phys.org/news169136061.html Biology Mon, 10 Aug 2009 16:00:01 EST news169136061