News from the University of Michigan Health System en-us http://www.med.umich.edu/news Copyright 2009, The University of Michigan jesssoul@med.umich.edu (Jessica Soulliere) wkolcz@med.umich.edu (Wally Kolcz) Thu, 15 Oct 2009 9:29:38 EST http://www.med.umich.edu/1images/2logo.gif http://www.med.umich.edu Gene therapy may be used to improve an ailing heart's ability to contract properly, a new study suggests. In experiments with animal and human heart muscle cells, U-M and University of Minnesota scientists succeeded in introducing a gene that produced a protein whose function is to make heart cells to contract normally. http://www2.med.umich.edu/prmc/media/newsroom/details.cfm?ID=1324 http://www2.med.umich.edu/prmc/media/newsroom/details.cfm?ID=1324 Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:00:00 EST All University of Michigan nanotechnology scientists have developed a combination drug that promises a safer, more precise way for medics and fellow soldiers in battle to give a fallen soldier both morphine and a drug that limits morphine'rsquo;s dangerous side effects. The scientists will devise ultra-small polymer particles capable of carrying the drugs into the body. http://www2.med.umich.edu/prmc/media/newsroom/details.cfm?ID=1311 http://www2.med.umich.edu/prmc/media/newsroom/details.cfm?ID=1311 Thu, 24 Sep 2009 10:40:00 EST All Research spending at the University of Michigan in 2008-09 exceeded $1 billion for the first time, a milestone that highlights the university'rsquo;s role as an economic resource benefitting the entire state. http://www.ns.umich.edu/htdocs/releases/story.php?id=7306 http://www.ns.umich.edu/htdocs/releases/story.php?id=7306 Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EST All Treating second-degree burns with a nanoemulsion lotion sharply curbs bacterial growth and reduces inflammation that otherwise can jeopardize recovery, University of Michigan scientists have shown in initial laboratory studies. The results were reported at the Interscience Conference for Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. http://www2.med.umich.edu/prmc/media/newsroom/details.cfm?ID=1293 http://www2.med.umich.edu/prmc/media/newsroom/details.cfm?ID=1293 Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:15:00 EST Medical School University of Michigan scientists have uncovered an important way that aggressive immune cells normally are held in check so they don'rsquo;t attack the body'rsquo;s own cells. The findings open a new avenue of research for future therapies for autoimmune diseases, organ transplants and cancer. http://www2.med.umich.edu/prmc/media/newsroom/details.cfm?ID=1272 http://www2.med.umich.edu/prmc/media/newsroom/details.cfm?ID=1272 Mon, 31 Aug 2009 16:30:00 EST All University of Michigan scientists and engineers have been awarded 159 federal stimulus-package research grants to date, totaling $61.1 million. The funding includes 113 National Institutes of Health stimulus awards, more than any other U.S. university or college. http://www.ns.umich.edu/htdocs/releases/story.php?id=7267 http://www.ns.umich.edu/htdocs/releases/story.php?id=7267 Mon, 10 Aug 2009 00:00:00 EST Medical School As the body creates antibodies to fight invaders, a three-protein DNA repair complex, MRN, is crucial for a normal gene-shuffling process to proceed properly, University of Michigan scientists have found. The discoveries in mice shed light on how B cell lymphoma and some other cancers may begin. http://www2.med.umich.edu/prmc/media/newsroom/details.cfm?ID=1242 http://www2.med.umich.edu/prmc/media/newsroom/details.cfm?ID=1242 Fri, 31 Jul 2009 15:03:00 EST Cancer Research and Treatment For the first time, U-M medical school has topped $300 million in awards from the National Institutes of Health, and reached the national top 10 among medical schools for NIH funding. The performance impacts not only'nbsp;medical care'nbsp;and what we know about human disease, but also the struggling regional economy. http://www2.med.umich.edu/prmc/media/newsroom/details.cfm?ID=1021 http://www2.med.umich.edu/prmc/media/newsroom/details.cfm?ID=1021 Tue, 13 Jan 2009 13:15:00 EST PIBs U-M scientists have provided the most detailed picture yet of a key HIV accessory protein that foils the body's normal immune response. Based on the findings, the team is searching for new drugs that may someday allow infected people to be cured and no longer need today'rsquo;s AIDS drugs for a lifetime. http://www2.med.umich.edu/prmc/media/newsroom/details.cfm?ID=659 http://www2.med.umich.edu/prmc/media/newsroom/details.cfm?ID=659 Fri, 26 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Basic Science From the department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology A glitch in the ability to move iron around in cells may underlie a disease known as Type IV mucolipidosis (ML4) and the suite of symptoms'mdash;mental retardation, poor vision and diminished motor abilities'mdash;that accompany it, new research at the University of Michigan shows. http://www.ns.umich.edu/htdocs/releases/story.php?id=6732 http://www.ns.umich.edu/htdocs/releases/story.php?id=6732 Tue, 16 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Stem Cell Research