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Posts Tagged ‘Life Sciences Institute’
MbusinessLink: Pathway To Discovery
At the University of Michigan Life Sciences Institute (LSI), U-M scientists are working with corporate partners from Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research and Development, a leading pharmaceutical company, to develop new therapies for diabetes, inflammation and obesity. MbusinessLink, a publication of the U-M Business Engagement Center, reports that future breakthroughs stemming from this collaboration could help to improve the health and well-being of millions of patients worldwide. [Read more...]
New antioxidant system found
The U-M's Kate Carroll, along with colleagues in Belgium, have discovered a new antioxidant system that protects single amino acids known as cysteines. The body's proteins, which are made up of amino acids and perform essential roles, can be injured by reactive species known as oxidants. Over time, the injuries can lead to cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer's disease and other serious medical conditions. To guard against such harm, our cells have special proteins that can repair or reverse oxidative damage. But until now, no such repair system had been identified for single cysteines, which are particularly susceptible to the damage. The research appears in the Nov. 20 issue of the journal Science. [Read more...]
U-M scientists move forward with plans for embryonic stem cell projects
Nov. 4, 2009 is the one-year anniversary of the vote approving Proposal 2, the state constitutional amendment that eased restrictions on human embryonic stem cell research in Michigan. The amendment permits Michigan scientists to derive new human embryonic stem cell lines. While no such projects have begun at U-M, researchers here have taken several significant steps this year to prepare for them. [Read more...]
Hybrid molecules show promise for exploring, treating Alzheimer’s
One of the many mysteries of Alzheimer's disease is how protein-like snippets called amyloid-beta peptides, which clump together to form plaques in the brain, may cause cell death, leading to the disease's devastating symptoms of memory loss and other mental difficulties. In order to answer that key question and develop new approaches to preventing the damage, scientists must first understand how amyloid-beta forms the telltale clumps. University of Michigan researchers have developed new molecular tools that can be used to investigate the process. The molecules also hold promise in Alzheimer's disease treatment. The research, led by assistant professor Mi Hee Lim, was published online this week in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. [Read more...]
Stem cell research comments on proposed state restrictions
Statement from Sean J. Morrison, regarding today's Senate Health Policy Committee hearing on bills to restrict stem cell research in Michigan: "Last November, Michigan voters voiced their support for embryonic stem cell science by approving Proposal 2, a state constitutional amendment that lifted onerous restrictions on research that holds great promise to improve the treatment of deadly diseases. The package of bills submitted by Sen. Tom George and his colleagues attempts to block most of the research contemplated by Proposal 2, in direct violation of the will of Michigan voters." [Read more...]
Scientists win $6.8M in stimulus-fund grants for stem cell research
University of Michigan researchers have been awarded 13 federal stimulus-fund grants, totaling $6.8 million, for research projects involving both adult and embryonic stem cells. The research funds were included in the $787 billion federal economic stimulus package approved in February, known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The stem-cell research grants are among more than 260 stimulus awards U-M scientists have received so far from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). [Read more...]
New LSI lab provides super-sharp 3-D views of protein complexes
At a new state-of-the art electron microscopy lab within the Life Sciences Institute, Georgios Skiniotis “quick-freezes” protein complexes inside a thin, icy shell before viewing them, to preserve their natural structure. Structural biologist Skiniotis is an expert in the field, and he designed and supervised the construction of the $8 million LSI Cryo-EM Facility. The three-microscope suite was completed this spring and allows U-M structural biologists to visualize biological specimens at the molecular scale. [Read more...]
U-M joins other leading research universities to launch futurity.org
A group of leading research universities has launched Futurity (www.futurity.org), an online research channel covering the latest discoveries in science, engineering, the environment, health and more. The University of Michigan is one of 35 partners supporting the project. Given the changes occurring in the news business, the partner universities are looking for ways to share important breakthroughs with the public in a new and direct way. [Read more...]
U-M exceeds $1 billion in annual research spending for the first time
Research spending at the University of Michigan in 2008-09 exceeded $1 billion for the first time, a milestone that highlights the university’s role as an economic resource benefitting the entire state. In the midst of the most severe recession since the Great Depression, research spending at the university rose 9.4 percent over the previous fiscal year, totaling $1.02 billion. The federal government provided 64.4 percent of the funds, and federal research spending at the U-M rose 7.1 percent over 2007-08. [Read more...]