Why the RTS,S malaria vaccine is such a tease
Continuing from Monday’s post, IMP graduate student Taryn McLaughlin explains why the most advanced malaria vaccine is actually not that great.
Why malaria vaccine development is hard
Guest post by graduate student Taryn McLaughlin about why malaria immunology is a puzzle
Manipulating motivation in mice
In humans, the medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC) is thought to be important for determining the value of a perceived reward. Through manipulation of a growth factor in the mOFC, Emory scientists were able to modulate a mouse’s tendency to persist in reward seeking. Image from O’Doherty et al, PLOS Biology (2006).
Please vote in Best Image contest
Please vote in the Office of Postdoctoral Education’s Best Image contest. Ten dazzling images from biomedical research at Emory are posted.
Football metabolomics
Doctors can see signs of muscle buildup in freshman football players’ blood, comparing samples from before and after their first season. This finding may seem obvious, but imagine what a larger, more detailed analysis could do: replace locker room myths and marketing aimed at bodybuilders with real science.
More on Alzheimer’s-blood pressure link
Momentum behind studies on the links between blood pressure regulation, inflammation and Alzheimer’s
Food deserts and cardiovascular risk
You can lead people to the supermarket (or build one close to where they live), but you can’t make them eat a healthy diet. How much blame can we assign to “food deserts” for cardiovascular risk?
When cardiac risk biomarkers will become really useful (and save money?)
When doctors have to start deciding who should take LDL-lowering drugs that cost thousands of dollars a year and who shouldn’t, a panel of biomarkers and Emory research may come in handy.
ACC 2016: Stem cell study sees improved heart failure outcomes
For the first time, a clinical trial has shown that a bone-marrow-derived cell therapy results in improved outcomes for heart failure patients. That’s a big deal. The image (courtesy of University of Utah) represents the 3D mapping of the heart performed before introduction of the cells.
ACC 2016: Elevated troponin linked to mental stress ischemia
Heart disease patients who experience mental stress-induced ischemia tend to have higher baseline levels of troponin, a marker of recent stress or damage to the heart muscle. In the Emory study, mental stress came from a public speaking task.