news from the lab 2012

Controlling and modifying at will the transparency, electrical properties, and stiffness of a gel - such are the promises of a new discovery by physicists. This marks an important step for materials used in healthcare, high-tech, and the cosmetics industry. At the mention of gel, we immediately imagine extravagant hairstyles.

It may soon be possible to test a person for cancer with just a drop of their blood and a small machine. Scientists have developed a device for detecting the HSP70 protein, which is over-expressed in patients with many types of cancer. The objective: to make a diagnosis extremely early in the disease process, thereby improving outcomes for patients.

EPFL researchers have opened the door to a new strategy to fight tuberculosis, the second leading cause of death from infectious disease after HIV. In a study published in EMBO Molecular Medicine on September 17th, EPFL professor Stewart Cole takes a hard look at the natural product pyridomycin, first reported in the 1950s, and determines exactly how it kills Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

A research team has used a novel method to identify a gene involved in bone building. "Real life genetics" works. This research method involves observing physiological traits or metabolic disease in a large population of "wild-type" mice (those which have not been genetically modified), and then isolating the genes that could be responsible.

In cancer cells, normal mechanisms governing the cellular life cycle have gone haywire. Cancer cells continue to divide indefinitely, without ever dying off, thus creating rapidly growing tumors.

Scientists have proven that light intensity influences our cognitive performance and how alert we feel, and that these positive effects last until early evening. Tests conducted at EPFL have confirmed the hypothesis that light influences our subjective feeling of sleepiness. The research team, led by Mirjam Münch, also showed that the effects of light exposure last until the early evening, and that light intensity has an impact on cognitive mechanisms.

With less than a 0.5 mm margin of error, Neuroglide, the robot developed by researchers allows for the placement of screws in small vertebrae with unequaled precision.

Actelion announced today that initial analysis indicates that the pivotal, long-term, event-driven study SERAPHIN with macitentan, a novel dual endothelin receptor antagonist, in 742 patients sufferi

Researchers have developed a miniature on-chip gastrointestinal tract in order to observe the effects of various nutrients on health. The "NutriChip" project's in vitro tests have already begun, on dairy products. What happens in our bodies when we have eaten something? Are "healthy" food products actually good for us, once they have been digested and absorbed? Supported by Nano-Tera and Nestlé, the NutriChip project developed by Martin Gijs's team at the Laboratory of Microsystems at EPFL provides new insights to these questions.

The connections between neurons might play a role in neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's Disease (AD). In a pioneering approach to studying how neurodegenerative diseases like AD spread within the brain, researchers have developed a novel in vitro experimental method that allows them to connect healthy neurons with "infected" neurons and then observe the results.

Elucidating the role of C-terminal post-translational modifications using protein semisynthesis strategies: α-synuclein phosphorylation at tyrosine 125.

Scientists describe how the protein phosphatase SHP2 promotes breast cancer with poor prognosis. SHP2 is necessary for the maintenance of the few tumor initiating cells (TICs) in a breast tumor.

Children breastfed for four months or more have better lung function values at school age than children who were not breastfed. On the face of it, things are simple: breastfeeding has many benefits for newborns, for mothers and for society. But a few years ago, data from the United States was published suggesting that for children of asthmatic mothers, being breastfed increased their risk of developing asthma later in life.

A new technology could prevent most breast implant rejections. So far, more than a quarter of all breast implants must be removed within four years, because neighboring tissues develop a rigid envelope of fibrous tissue to protect themselves from the foreign body. A company has developed a protective covering made up of a nanostructured surface and a layer of collagen that will prevent the body from rejecting the implant.