UCLA scientists transform HIV into cancer-seeking missile
Camouflaging an impotent AIDS virus in new clothes enables it to hunt down metastasized melanoma cells in living mice, reports a UCLA AIDS Institute study in the Feb. 13 online edition of Nature Medicine. The scientists added the protein that makes fireflies glow to the virus in order to track its journey from the bloodstream to new tumors in the animals' lungs. "For the past 20 years, ge...UCLA launches $20 million stem cell institute to investigate HIV, cancer and neurological disorders
Experts in bioengineering, imaging, molecular genetics, immunology, ethics, hematology/oncology and cellular biology to collaborate on Proposition 71 research Drawing together experts from fields as diverse as engineering to molecular biology, UCLA officials announced March 16 the formation of the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Medicine to conduct embryonic and adult stem cell resear...UCLA scientists store materials in cells natural vaults
In the realm of nanotechnology, or study of the tiny, scientists often aim to safely deliver and leave material in the human body without causing harm. A big challenge is how to design a package for this biomaterial that will be compatible with living cells and will not provoke an immune reaction. Previous efforts have relied upon viruses or artificial chemicals to house and deliver drugs or othe...UCLA study assesses cost-effectiveness of Hepatitis B drugs
Researchers at UCLA and the Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System conducted the largest and most comprehensive study in comparing the cost-effectiveness of current modern drugs for treating hepatitis B -- a disease affecting 350 million worldwide. Published in the May 17 Annals of Internal Medicine, the study may help physicians worldwide in making treatment decisions. Re...UCLA Researchers Transform Stem cells From Fat tissues Into Smooth Muscle
Researchers from the David Geffen School of Medicine and the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science at UCLA have announced today to have successfully// transformed adult stem cells taken from human adipose, or fat tissue into smooth muscle cells, which help the normal function of a large number of organs like the intestine, bladder and arteries. The researchers announ...UCLA Find Yields Further Insight into Causes of Parkinson’s Diseas
In humans, a dearth of the neurotransmitter dopamine has long been known to play a role in Parkinson's disease. It is also known that mutations in a protein called parkin// cause a form of Parkinson's that is inherited. Now, UCLA scientists, reporting in the Jan. 31 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience, have put the two together. Using a new model of Parkinson's disease they developed i...UCLA Imaging Study Reveals How Pure Oxygen Harms the Brain
Recent research suggests that inhaling straight oxygen can harm the brain. A new UCLA brain-imaging study reveals how actually it affects. Published in the edition of Public Library of Science (PLoS) Medicine, the findings fly in the face of national guidelines for medical practice and recommend a new approach adding carbon dioxide to the gas mix to preserve brain function in pat...UCLA Researchers Discover Link Between Parkinsons and Narcolepsy
Parkinson's disease is well-known for its progression of motor disorders: stiffness, slowness, tremors, difficulties walking and talking. Less well known is that Parkinson's shares other symptoms with narcolepsy, a sleep disorder characterized by sudden and uncontrollable episodes of deep sleep, severe fatigue and general sleep disorder. Now a team of UCLA and Veterans Affairs rese...UCLA: Lithium Builds Gray Matter in Bipolar Brains, UCLA Study Shows
Novel brain imaging technique suggests how lithium works as atherapeutic LOS ANGELES, April 12, 2007--Neuroscientists at UCLA have shownthat lithium, long the standard treatment for bipolar disorder,increases the amount of gray matter in the brains of patients withthe illness. The research is featured in the July issue of the journalBiological Psychiatry and is curren...