PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Scientists develop worm EEG to test the effects of drugs

2013-05-23
(Press-News.org) Scientists from the University of Southampton have developed a device which records the brain activity of worms to help test the effects of drugs.

NeuroChip is a microfluidic electrophysiological device, which can trap the microscopic worm Caenorhadbitis elegans and record the activity of discrete neural circuits in its 'brain' - a worm equivalent of the EEG.

C. elegans have been enormously important in providing insight into fundamental signalling processes in the nervous system and this device opens the way for a new analysis. Prior to this development, electrophysiological recordings that resolve the activity of excitatory and inhibitory nerve cells in the nervous system of the worm required a high level of technical expertise – single microscopic (1mm long) worms have to be trapped on the end of a glass tube, a microelectrode, in order to make the recording. The worms are very mobile as well as being small and this can be a challenging procedure.

VIDEO: This is a video of the NeuroChip.
Click here for more information.

The microfluidic invention consists of a reservoir through which worms can be fed, one after the other, into a narrow fluid-filled channel. The channel tapers at one end and this captures the worm by the front end. The worm is then in the correct orientation for recording the activity of the nervous system in the anterior of its body. The device incorporates metal electrodes, which are connected to an amplifier to make the recording. The design of the trapping channel has been optimised by PhD student Chunxiao Hu, so that the quality of the worm 'EEG' recording is sufficient to resolve the activity of components of the neural circuit in the worm's nervous system.

This device has been used to detect the effects of drugs and is highly suitable for high throughput screens (which allow researchers to quickly conduct millions of chemical, genetic or pharmacological tests) in neurotoxicology and for generic screening for neuroactive drugs. It has more power to resolve discrete effects on excitatory, inhibitory or modulatory transmission than previously possible with behavioural screens.

Lindy Holden-Dye, Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Southampton and lead author of the paper, says: "We are particularly interested in using this as a sensitive new tool for screening compounds for neurotoxicity. It will allow us to precisely quantify sub-lethal effects on neural network activity. It can also provide an information rich platform by reporting the effects of compounds on a diverse array of neurotransmitter pathways, which are implicated in mammalian toxicology. "



INFORMATION:

The research, which is published in the latest issue of the journal PLOS One, is a joint project between the University's Centre for Biological Sciences and the Hybrid Biodevices Group.



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Detecting mirror molecules

2013-05-23
Harvard physicists have developed a novel technique that can detect molecular variants in chemical mixtures – greatly simplifying a process that is one of the most important, though time-consuming, processes in analytical chemistry. As described in a paper in Nature, post-doctoral researcher David Patterson, Professor of Physics John Doyle and Dr. Melanie Schnell of the Center for Free-Electron Laser Science (CFEL) in Hamburg, Germany developed a system that relies on finely-tuned microwave fields to identify molecular variants apart, and to determine how much variant ...

Small, speedy plant-eater extends knowledge of dinosaur ecosystems

2013-05-23
Dinosaurs are often thought of as large, fierce animals, but new research highlights a previously overlooked diversity of small dinosaurs. In the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, a team of paleontologists from the University of Toronto, Royal Ontario Museum, Cleveland Museum of Natural History and University of Calgary have described a new dinosaur, the smallest plant-eating dinosaur species known from Canada. Albertadromeus syntarsus was identified from a partial hind leg, and other skeletal elements, that indicate it was a speedy runner. Approximately 1.6 m (5 ft) ...

More emphasis needed on recycling and reuse of Li-ion batteries

2013-05-23
The discovery of potential environmental and human health effects from disposal of millions of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries each year has led scientists to recommend stronger government policies to encourage recovery, recycling and reuse of lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery materials. That's the conclusion of a new paper in the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology. Oladele A. Ogunseitan and colleagues point out that Li-ion batteries have become mainstays for powering everything from smart phones to components in new jetliners, with global sales approaching ...

Overcoming resistance to anti-cancer drugs by targeting cell 'powerhouses'

2013-05-23
Re-routing anti-cancer drugs to the "power plants" that make energy to keep cells alive is a promising but long-neglected approach to preventing emergence of the drug-resistant forms of cancer — source of a serious medical problem, scientists are reporting. That's the conclusion of a new study published in the journal ACS Chemical Biology. Shana Kelley and colleagues explain that doxorubicin and other common forms of chemotherapy work by damaging the genes inside the nucleus of cancer cells. Cancer cells divide and multiply faster than surrounding normal cells, making ...

Children of married parents less likely to be obese

2013-05-23
Children living in households where the parents are married are less likely to be obese, according to new research from Rice University and the University of Houston. "Childhood obesity is a significant public health issue in our country, with nearly one-third of all U.S. children ages 2-17 overweight or obese," said Rachel Kimbro, study co-author, associate professor of sociology at Rice and director of Rice's Kinder Institute Urban Health Program. "Despite this, very little research has been conducted to explore the impact of family structure on this epidemic." In ...

NLST: CT detects twice as many lung cancers as X-ray at initial screening exam

2013-05-23
National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) investigators also conclude that the 20 percent reduction in lung cancer mortality with low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) versus chest X-ray (CXR) screening previously reported in the NLST primary paper is achievable at experienced screening centers in the United States. Philadelphia, PA—Physicians have more information to share with their patients about the benefits and risks of LDCT lung cancer screening following today's publication in the New England Journal of Medicine of the results of the first (of three planned) annual screening ...

Mosquito behavior may be immune response, not parasite manipulation

2013-05-23
Malaria-carrying mosquitos appear to be manipulated by the parasites they carry, but this manipulation may simply be part of the mosquitos' immune response, according to Penn State entomologists. "Normally, after a female mosquito ingests a blood meal, she matures her eggs and does not take another one until the meal is digested," said Lauren J. Cator, postdoctoral fellow in entomology and a member of the Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, Penn State. "If infected, however, mosquitos will wait to eat until the parasites developing within the gut mature and migrate ...

Alleviating hunger in the US -- researcher says, it's a SNAP

2013-05-23
URBANA - A University of Illinois researcher says that the cornerstone of our efforts to alleviate food insecurity should be to encourage more people to participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) "because it works." According to Craig Gundersen, SNAP, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, is a great social safety net program and with some additional improvements could be even more successful at reducing the number of food-insecure households. Gundersen is a U of I professor of agricultural and consumer economics and executive director of the ...

Survey points out deficiencies in addictions training for medical residents

2013-05-23
A 2012 survey of internal medicine residents at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) – one of the nation's leading teaching hospitals – found that more than half rated the training they had received in addiction and other substance use disorders as fair or poor. Significant numbers felt unprepared to diagnose or treat such disorders, results similar to surveys of practicing physicians. In response to the findings, recently published online in the journal Substance Abuse, the MGH has increased residents' training in addiction medicine. "Our residents estimated that one ...

Innovation could bring flexible solar cells, transistors, displays

2013-05-23
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Researchers have created a new type of transparent electrode that might find uses in solar cells, flexible displays for computers and consumer electronics and future "optoelectronic" circuits for sensors and information processing. The electrode is made of silver nanowires covered with a material called graphene, an extremely thin layer of carbon. The hybrid material shows promise as a possible replacement for indium tin oxide, or ITO, used in transparent electrodes for touch-screen monitors, cell-phone displays and flat-screen televisions. Industry ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Atomic nucleus excited with laser: a breakthrough after decades

Losing keys and everyday items ‘not always sign of poor memory’

People with opioid use disorder less likely to receive palliative care at end of life

New Durham University study reveals mystery of decaying exoplanet orbits

The threat of polio paralysis may have disappeared, but enterovirus paralysis is just as dangerous and surveillance and testing systems are desperately needed

Study shows ChatGPT failed when challenging ESCMID guideline for treating brain abscesses

Study finds resistance to critically important antibiotics in uncooked meat sold for human and animal consumption

Global cervical cancer vaccine roll-out shows it to be very effective in reducing cervical cancer and other HPV-related disease, but huge variations between countries in coverage

Negativity about vaccines surged on Twitter after COVID-19 jabs become available

Global measles cases almost double in a year

Lower dose of mpox vaccine is safe and generates six-week antibody response equivalent to standard regimen

Personalised “cocktails” of antibiotics, probiotics and prebiotics hold great promise in treating a common form of irritable bowel syndrome, pilot study finds

Experts developing immune-enhancing therapies to target tuberculosis

Making transfusion-transmitted malaria in Europe a thing of the past

Experts developing way to harness Nobel Prize winning CRISPR technology to deal with antimicrobial resistance (AMR)

CRISPR is promising to tackle antimicrobial resistance, but remember bacteria can fight back

Ancient Maya blessed their ballcourts

Curran named Fellow of SAE, ASME

Computer scientists unveil novel attacks on cybersecurity

Florida International University graduate student selected for inaugural IDEA2 public policy fellowship

Gene linked to epilepsy, autism decoded in new study

OHSU study finds big jump in addiction treatment at community health clinics

Location, location, location

Getting dynamic information from static snapshots

Food insecurity is significant among inhabitants of the region affected by the Belo Monte dam in Brazil

The Society of Thoracic Surgeons launches new valve surgery risk calculators

Component of keto diet plus immunotherapy may reduce prostate cancer

New circuit boards can be repeatedly recycled

Blood test finds knee osteoarthritis up to eight years before it appears on x-rays

April research news from the Ecological Society of America

[Press-News.org] Scientists develop worm EEG to test the effects of drugs