Blood in Biological News

NIST issues human milk and blood serum SRMs for contaminant measurements

Responding to scientists' need to measure organic contaminants in human body fluids, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has recently made four new Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) available for purchase. Developed in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and ...

A thirst for blood sparks toxic algal blooms

The blooming of toxic algae that occurs during the summer conceal a fight for life and death. Scientists at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, propose in an article published in the journal PNAS that algal blooms are created when aggressive algae kill and injure their competitors in order to ...

Trans fats hinder multiple steps in blood flow regulation pathways

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. Partially hydrogenated vegetable oils in processed foods contain trans fatty acids that interfere with the regulation of blood flow. A new report reveals a new way in which these "trans fats" gum up the cellular machinery that keeps blood moving through arteries and veins. In t...

Chemical in blood may explain susceptibility to bladder pain

COLUMBUS, Ohio A marker in the blood of both cats and humans that was identified in a recent study might signal both species' susceptibility for a painful bladder disorder called interstitial cystitis, a condition that is often difficult to diagnose. Follow-up studies of the chemicals that app...

Genetically corrected blood cells obtained from skin cells from Fanconi anemia patients

A collaboration research carried out by the teams of Jordi Surralls, Universitat Autnoma de Barcelona (UAB); Juan Carlos Izpisa-Belmonte and ngel Raya, Centre for Regenerative Medicine of Barcelona (CMRB); and Juan Antonio Bueren, Centre for Energetic, Environmental and Technological Research (CIE...

American College of Medical Genetics affirms importance of newborn screening dried blood spots

The American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG) has issued a new Position Statement on the Importance of Residual Newborn Screening Dried Blood Spots. In May 2006, ACMG recommended that all newborns in the United States be uniformly screened for 29 conditions. Tremendous progress has been made in ...

New evidence of how high glucose damages blood vessels could lead to new treatments

AUGUSTA, Ga. New evidence of how the elevated glucose levels that occur in diabetes damage blood vessels may lead to novel strategies for blocking the destruction, Medical College of Georgia researchers say. They found a decreased ability of blood vessels to relax resulted from increased acti...

Heart protein regulates blood vessel maintenance

BOSTON (May 11, 2009) In a study led by Akiko Hata, PhD, of Tufts University School of Medicine, researchers have shown that a protein expressed in the heart, FHL2, inhibits the genes necessary for the quiescence of vascular smooth muscle cells (vSMCs), which line blood vessels. Vascular smooth ...

System that regulates blood pressure is amiss in some healthy, young blacks

AUGUSTA, Ga. When stress increases blood pressure, a natural mechanism designed to bring it down by excreting more salt in the urine doesn't work well in about one-third of healthy, black adolescents, researchers report. They hope the finding, which is being presented May 8 at the American Soc...

Translating the conversation between the brain and blood vessels

BETHESDA, Md. (April 21, 2009) When Francois Abboud began his work at the University of Iowa in 1960, little was known about the constant physiological chatter between the brain and the blood vessels. His research since has helped unravel how this chatter adjusts blood pressure and blood flow to ...

Study finds blood cells can be reprogrammed to act as embryonic stem cells

(WASHINGTON, April 20, 2009) - In a recent study, U.S. researchers have reprogrammed cells found in circulating blood into cells that are molecularly and functionally indistinguishable from embryonic stem cells, a revolutionary achievement that provides a readily accessible source of stem cells an...

Unlikely life thriving at Antarctica's Blood Falls

An unmapped reservoir of briny liquid chemically similar to sea water, but hidden under an inland Antarctic glacier, appears to support microbial life in a cold, dark, oxygen-poor environment a most unexpected setting to be teeming with life. The McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica are devoid o...

Lancet study supports new, highly effective treatment for blood disorder

NEW YORK (March 20, 2009) -- Patients suffering from a blood disorder that prevents proper clotting have the option of a new medication that may dramatically improve their health. There are estimated to be between 50,000 and 100,000 individuals in the U.S. diagnosed with chronic immune thrombocyto...

Genetic abnormality may increase risk of blood disorders

NEW YORK, March 15, 2009 Researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) have shown for the first time that a tendency to develop some blood disorders may be inherited. Their research, published online today in Nature Genetics , identifies a common genetic sequence abnormality that...

Is it really only our kidneys that control blood pressure?

The problem of high blood pressure has reached pandemic proportions, causing premature death through heart attacks, strokes and kidney disease in a third of the UK population. For decades, scientists have battled at length over its cause yet still cannot agree; is the kidney or the brain to blame?...

Researchers identify new way the malaria parasite and red blood cells interact

RICHMOND, Va. (March 10, 2009) -- Virginia Commonwealth University Life Sciences researchers have discovered a new mechanism the malaria parasite uses to enter human red blood cells, which could lead to the development of a vaccine cocktail to fight the mosquito-borne disease. Malaria is transm...

Penn research team tests bedside monitoring of brain blood flow and metabolism in stroke victims

PHILADELPHIA A University of Pennsylvania team has completed the first successful demonstration of a noninvasive optical device to monitor cerebral blood flow in patients with acute stroke, a leading cause of disability and death. The ultimate goal of this research is to improve the management...

Tiny tool to control growing blood vessels opens new potential in tumor research

Researchers at Uppsala University have developed a new tool that makes it possible to study the signals in the body that control the generation of blood vessels. The researchers' findings, published in the new issue of Lab on a Chip , enable scientists to determine what signals in the body attra...

Researcher seeks to turn stem cells into blood vessels

A Johns Hopkins engineer is trying to coax human stem cells to turn into networks of new blood vessels that could someday be used to replace damaged tissue in people with heart disease, diabetes and other illnesses. Sharon Gerecht, an assistant professor of chemical and molecular engineering in...

High-fat diets inflame fat tissue around blood vessels, contribute to heart disease

CINCINNATIA study by researchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC) shows that high-fat diets, even if consumed for a short amount of time, can inflame fat tissue surrounding blood vessels, possibly contributing to cardiovascular disease. These findings will be published in the Feb. 20 editio...

Cutting salt isn't the only way to reduce blood pressure

MAYWOOD, Ill. -- Most people know that too much sodium from foods can increase blood pressure. A new study suggests that people trying to lower their blood pressure should also boost their intake of potassium, which has the opposite effect to sodium. Researchers found that the ratio of sodiu...

Statins may treat blood vessel disorder that can lead to fatal strokes

SALT LAKE CITY In a finding that could save thousands of lives a year, University of Utah School of Medicine researchers have shown that a blood vessel disorder leading to unpredictable, sometimes fatal, hemorrhagic strokes, seizures, paralysis or other problems is treatable with the same statin ...

Genetic testing not cost-effective in guiding initial dosing of common blood thinner

CINCINNATINew analyses led by the University of Cincinnati (UC) show that genetic testing used to guide initial dosing of the blood-thinner warfarin may not be cost-effective for typical patients with atrial fibrillation but may be for patients at higher risk for major bleeding. This study is b...

Control of blood vessels a possible weapon against obesity

[PRESS RELEASE, 7 January 2009] Mice exposed to low temperatures develop more blood vessels in their adipose tissue and metabolise body fat more quickly, according to a new study from Karolinska Institutet. Scientists now hope to learn how to control blood vessel development in humans in order to ...

High blood sugar's impact on immune system holds clues to improving islet cell transplants

AUGUSTA, Ga. A biological tit for tat may hold clues to improving the success of islet cell transplants intended to cure type 1 diabetes, according to a Medical College of Georgia scientist. In type 1, the immune system attacks insulin-producing cells causing high blood glucose levels that ma...

Master gene plays key role in blood sugar levels

When mice that lack steroid receptor-2 (SRC-2) a master regulator gene called a coactivator fast for a day, their blood sugar levels plummet. If they go another day without food, they will die. The severity of the hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) was unexpected, said Dr. Bert W. O'Malley, chai...

Caltech scientists develop 'barcode chip' for cheap, fast blood tests

PASADENA, Calif.-- A new "barcode chip" developed by researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) promises to revolutionize diagnostic medical testing. In less than 10 minutes, and using just a pinprick's worth of blood, the chip can measure the concentrations of dozens of prote...

Scripps research scientists identify blood component that turns bacteria virulent

LA JOLLA, CA, November 20, 2008Scientists from the Scripps Research Institute have discovered the key chemical that signals Bacillus anthracis , the bacterium that causes anthrax, to become lethal. This finding opens up new avenues of exploration for the development of treatments for bacterial in...

Drops in blood oxygen levels may be key to sudden death in some epilepsy patients

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) A new study by researchers at UC Davis Medical Center suggests that the sudden unexplained deaths of some epilepsy patients may be a result of their brains not telling their bodies to breathe during seizures. "Significant drops in blood oxygen levels are more common than w...

'Femtomolar optical tweezers' may enable sensitive blood tests

Cutting-edge "tweezers" are so sensitive that they can feel the tell-tale tug of tiny concentrations of pathogens in blood samples, yet don't ever need to be sterilizedor even heldas they are ephemeral and weightless. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has licensed a patente...

Apelin hormone injections powerfully lower blood sugar

By injecting a hormone produced by fat and other tissues into mice, researchers report in the November Cell Metabolism that they significantly lowered blood sugar levels in normal and obese mice. The findings suggest that the hormone known as apelin might be a promising target for managing insul...

Lower your blood pressure, hydrate your skin and reduce dental plaque -- with chocolate?

From Halloween through Valentine's Day, chocolate helps celebrate the season. While overindulging leads to calorie concerns, the right amounts of the right kinds of chocolate can actually make one feel and even look better. Registered dietitians Shara Aaron and Monica Bearden, authors of CHOCOLATE...

On the trail of a targeted therapy for blood cancers

INDIANAPOLIS Investigators from the Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Research at the Indiana University School of Medicine are focusing on a family of blood proteins that they hope holds a key to decreasing the toxic effects of chemotherapy in children and adults. Their findings may one d...

New blood test for Down syndrome

Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers have developed a new prenatal blood test that accurately detected Down syndrome and two other serious chromosomal defects in a small study of 18 pregnant women. If confirmed in larger trials, they say, the test would offer a safer and faster alternative ...

Discovery of natural compounds that could slow blood vessel growth

Using computer models and live cell experiments, biomedical engineers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have discovered more than 100 human protein fragments that can slow or stop the growth of cells that make up new blood vessels. Reporting online last week in the Proceeding...

Scientist plans to test for blood pressure genes affected by age

A geneticist at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston plans to scan the genomes of about 4,000 people in the hopes of finding out why blood pressure often increases as young adults age. The two-year study by principal investigator Myriam Fornage, Ph.D., is funded with a new $...

High blood pressure takes big toll on small filtering units of the kidney

Take a kidney out of the body and it still knows how to filter toxins from the blood. But all bets are off in the face of high blood pressure. "How does the kidney know how to do it and why does it break in hypertension?" says Dr. Edward W. Inscho, physiologist in the Medical College of Geor...

Better understanding of blood vessel constrictor needed to harness its power for patients

To harness endothelin-1's power to constrict blood vessels and help patients manage high blood pressure or heart failure, scientists must learn more about how endothelin functions naturally and in disease states, says a Medical College of Georgia researcher. Despite strong laboratory evidence t...

Protein identified that plays role in blood flow

COLUMBIA, Mo. For years, researchers have known that high blood pressure causes blood vessels to contract and low blood pressure causes blood vessels to relax. Until recently, however, researchers did not have the tools to determine the exact proteins responsible for this phenomenon. Now, using a...

Prosthetic vein valve designed to direct blood flow shows promising pre-clinical results

Engineers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a prosthetic vein valve to help improve the lives of those suffering from a condition known as chronic venous insufficiency. The condition, which affects more than seven million people in the United States alone, occurs when valves in...