The smell of age
31 May, 2012Apparently humans can identify the age of other humans based on differences in body odour. Much of this ability is based on the capacity to identify odours of elderly individuals and, contrary to popular supposition, the so-called ‘old-person smell’ is rated as less intense and less unpleasant than body odours of middle-aged and young individuals.
Cancer treatment discovery opens tumours to immune cells
28 May, 2012Scientists at the Western Australian Institute for Medical Research (WAIMR) have made exciting progress in their quest to help patients fight cancer using the body’s own immune system.
An antidote to ageing
26 May, 2012Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have uncovered a series of biological events that implicate the stem cells’ surroundings, known as their ‘niche’, as the culprit in loss of stem cells due to ageing. Their findings have implications for treatment of age-related diseases and for the effectiveness of regenerative medicine.
Genetic safety in numbers, platypus study finds
22 May, 2012Platypuses on the Australian mainland and in Tasmania are fighting fit but those on small islands are at high risk of being wiped out from disease, according to a University of Sydney study.
Killing two birds with one stone: one fusion protein takes out multiple autoimmune targets
17 May, 2012 by Dina Rufo, GlobalDataRecently, Compugen, an Israel-based biopharmaceutical company with over 17 years of research experience, released animal model data from the company’s proprietary Protein Family Members Discovery Platform. This in-house, in silico bioinformatics system provides a predictive view of protein characteristics leading to gene and protein discovery.
Bee research breakthrough might lead to artificial vision
14 May, 2012An international research breakthrough with bees means machines might soon be able to see almost as well as humans.
New vaccine shows promise to protect against common cause of meningitis
11 May, 2012Researchers are an important step closer to finding a vaccine that protects against a wide range of strains of meningococcal B - the most common cause of meningococcal disease in Western Australia.
Profiling proteins to treat prostate disorders
17 April, 2012Innovative new technology has been used to identify and profile a novel combination of proteins that may improve treatment for prostate disorders.
Genes identified for common childhood obesity
13 April, 2012An international collaborative study including researchers from The University of Western Australia (UWA) has identified at least two new gene variants that increase the risk of common childhood obesity.
Fatty acids fight cancer spread
12 April, 2012Tiny agents found in omega-3 could potentially be used to block the path of primary cancer tumours, preventing the advance to secondary stage cancers, according to pharmacy researchers at the University of Sydney.
Tackling type 1 diabetes with pancreatic islet transplantation
06 April, 2012A curative treatment for type 1 diabetes will come under the microscope as part of a new study by researchers from Flinders University.
Research opens way for tailoring medications to patients
27 March, 2012International research co-authored by the University of Otago, Christchurch (UOC) has unravelled a century-old scientific mystery, opening the way to significant improvements in the way drugs are delivered to the body.
Research aims to reduce side effects of cancer treatment
23 March, 2012The painful side effects of cancer treatment, including nausea and hair loss, could be a thing of the past, thanks to groundbreaking chemical research being conducted at the University of Canterbury.
Australian Synchrotron discovers how plasminogen is activated in the body
09 March, 2012Researchers at Monash University have used X-ray beams created by the Australian Synchrotron (AS) to discover how enzymes work to dissolve blood clots and clean up damaged tissue in the body - a finding that could ultimately lead to a reduction in the number of heart disease-related deaths occurring each year as a result of blood clots.
International consortium delivers data on cell changes during disease development
02 March, 2012An international consortium comprising around 100 scientists and mathematicians, including Australian researchers, has for the first time pooled shared knowledge and data to deliver a holistic understanding of the biological changes in a cell. The findings of the Bacillus Systems Biology (BaSysBio) project, published in leading journal Science, will ultimately lead to the development of new drugs to protect people against antibiotic-resistant infections, including golden staph.
