ScienceDaily: Top News

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• Fat fuels the road to cancer cell spread
• Nanodiscs deliver personalized cancer therapy to immune system
• Engineers create programmable silk-based materials with embedded, pre-designed functions
• Synthetic stem cells could offer therapeutic benefits, reduced risks
• Is there such a thing as an emotional hangover? Researchers find that there is
• Scientists discover new mechanism of how brain networks form
• Research reveals the importance of long non-coding RNA regulating cellular processes
• Experimental therapy for Prader-Willi syndrome shows promise in mice
• World's smallest diamonds made into wires three atoms wide
• Biology’s 'breadboard': Learning about human nervous system with understanding of worm brain
• Naturally occurring mechanism of cancer drug-resistance may itself be a treatment target
• Dental implants with antibacterial activity and designed to facilitate integration into the bone
• Novel drug may help repair failing hearts
• Ash tree genome aids fight against disease
• A wolverine-inspired material

Fat fuels the road to cancer cell spread Posted: 26 Dec 2016 06:13 PM PST Cancer cells spread to other sites in the body through promoting the growth of new 'roads' to travel on. Scientists have discovered how a shift to increased fat utilization is required for the development and growth of these 'roads,' termed lymphatic vessels -- a special kind of blood vessels.

Nanodiscs deliver personalized cancer therapy to immune system Posted: 26 Dec 2016 06:12 PM PST Researchers have had initial success in mice using nanodiscs to deliver a customized therapeutic vaccine for the treatment of colon and melanoma cancer tumors.

Engineers create programmable silk-based materials with embedded, pre-designed functions Posted: 26 Dec 2016 06:12 PM PST Engineers have created a new format of solids made from silk protein that can be preprogrammed with biological, chemical, or optical functions, such as mechanical components that change color with strain, deliver drugs, or respond to light.

Synthetic stem cells could offer therapeutic benefits, reduced risks Posted: 26 Dec 2016 06:12 PM PST Researchers have developed a synthetic version of a cardiac stem cell. These synthetic stem cells offer therapeutic benefits comparable to those from natural stem cells and could reduce some of the risks associated with stem cell therapies. Additionally, these cells have better preservation stability and the technology is generalizable to other types of stem cells.

Is there such a thing as an emotional hangover? Researchers find that there is Posted: 26 Dec 2016 06:12 PM PST Emotional experiences can induce physiological and internal brain states that persist for long periods of time after the emotional events have ended, a team of scientists has found.

Scientists discover new mechanism of how brain networks form Posted: 26 Dec 2016 06:12 PM PST Scientists have discovered that networks of inhibitory brain cells or neurons develop through a mechanism opposite to the one followed by excitatory networks. Excitatory neurons sculpt and refine maps of the external world throughout development and experience, while inhibitory neurons form maps that become broader with maturation.

Research reveals the importance of long non-coding RNA regulating cellular processes Posted: 26 Dec 2016 06:12 PM PST Scientific research over the past decade has concentrated almost exclusively on the 2 percent of the genome's protein coding regions, virtually ignoring the other 98 percent. Investigators now reveal that long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) may be critically important for controlling cellular components in a tissue-specific manner, with new research pointing to an lncRNA's key role in helping control processes related to muscle regeneration and cancer.

Experimental therapy for Prader-Willi syndrome shows promise in mice Posted: 26 Dec 2016 06:12 PM PST Drugs capable of activating silenced genes improve survival and growth outcomes in a mouse model of Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), a rare and incurable childhood disease.

World's smallest diamonds made into wires three atoms wide Posted: 26 Dec 2016 06:09 PM PST Scientists have discovered a way to use diamondoids – the smallest possible bits of diamond – to assemble atoms into the thinnest possible electrical wires, just three atoms wide.

Biology’s 'breadboard': Learning about human nervous system with understanding of worm brain Posted: 26 Dec 2016 06:09 PM PST Understanding how the nervous system of the roundworm C elegans works will give insights into how our vastly more complex brains function.

Naturally occurring mechanism of cancer drug-resistance may itself be a treatment target Posted: 26 Dec 2016 06:09 PM PST The use of proteasome inhibitors to treat cancer has been greatly limited by the ability of cancer cells to develop resistance to these drugs. But researchers have found a mechanism underlying this resistance -- a mechanism that naturally occurs in many diverse cancer types and that may expose vulnerabilities to drugs that spur the natural cell-death process.

Dental implants with antibacterial activity and designed to facilitate integration into the bone Posted: 26 Dec 2016 02:53 PM PST Scientists are developing coatings for dental implants to help ensure successful implantation.

Novel drug may help repair failing hearts Posted: 26 Dec 2016 02:53 PM PST Cimaglermin, a new experimental drug, may help restore cardiac function after heart failure, according to a first-in-man study.

Ash tree genome aids fight against disease Posted: 26 Dec 2016 02:53 PM PST Researchers have successfully decoded the genetic sequence of the ash tree, to help the fight against the fungal disease, ash dieback. Tens of millions of ash trees across Europe are dying from the Hymenoscyphus fraxinea fungus - the most visible signs that a tree is infected with ash dieback fungus are cankers on the bark and dying leaves.

A wolverine-inspired material Posted: 25 Dec 2016 08:19 PM PST Scientists have developed a transparent, self-healing, highly stretchable conductive material that can be electrically activated to power artificial muscles and could be used to improve batteries, electronic devices,