First-of-its-kind microbial nursery to open on May 8th

The world’s first microbial nursery is Ferran Garcia-Pichel’s brainchild, a mobile lab designed restore arid lands in the Southwest. Garcia-Pichel is director of the Biodesign Center for Fundamental and Applied Microbiomics and professor in ASU’s School of Life Sciences. His plans to grow microbes and prevent dust pollution earned him recognition last fall as a finalist in the Governor’s Celebration of Innovation.Continue reading

Roche launches new VENTANA HER2 Dual ISH companion diagnostic test for breast and gastric cancer patients eligible for targeted therapy

  • Nearly 2.1 million new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed worldwide each year, and more than 620,000 people will die from the disease.1 About 15 to 20 percent of women diagnosed with breast cancer are HER2 positive.2
  • The VENTANA HER2 Dual ISH DNA Probe Cocktail assay3 aids in identifying breast and gastric cancer patients eligible for the targeted Roche drug Herceptin (trastuzumab), providing fast results with widely available laboratory instruments.
  • This approval supports Roche’s personalized healthcare strategy to provide treatment to patients who can benefit most from a specific medicine.

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Autism symptoms reduced nearly 50% two years after fecal transplant

Recent research suggests our gut microbiomes affect brain communication and neurological health. Worldwide, interest is growing in the idea that changes in normal gut microbiota may be responsible for triggering various conditions. At ASU, a research team is exploring using the microbiome to treat autism symptoms.

The team of ASU researchers, Rosa Krajmalnik-Brown, James Adams, and Dae Wook Kang, were inspired to explore the gut-brain connection as it relates to autism symptoms and gastrointestinal issues.
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Researchers discover critical RNA processing aberrations

Research by a Barrow Neurological Center scientist on mechanisms of dysfunctional RNA processing in ALS and frontaltemporal dementia (FTD) was published in the April issue of Acta Neuropathologica. The research was conducted by Dr. Rita Sattler and her graduate student Stephen Moore in her laboratory at the Department of Neurobiology at Barrow Neurological Institute, which is dedicated to understanding the mechanisms of disease in ALS, FTD and related neurodegenerative diseases.Continue reading

HonorHealth Research Institute launches study to research benefit to patients at high risk of bleeding after coronary stent implantation

HonorHealth Research Institute announced that the first patients have been enrolled in the SynIVUS-DAPT Study, a clinical study designed to test outcomes of decreasing the amount of time patients, with a high risk of bleeding, take antiplatelet medications after receiving a drug-eluting coronary stent.Continue reading