florida researchers

(University of Florida) University of Florida researchers have discovered a marine compound off the coast of Key Largo that inhibits cancer cell growth in laboratory tests.

Largazole, named for its Florida location and structural features, seeks out a family of enzymes called histone deacetylase.

Overactivity of certain HDACs has been associated with several cancers such as prostate and colon tumors, and inhibiting HDACs may activate tumor-suppressor genes that have been silenced in these cancers.

(University of Florida) Devices known as brain-machine interfaces could someday be used routinely to help paralyzed patients and amputees control prosthetic limbs with just their thoughts.

Now, University of Florida researchers have taken the concept a step further, devising a way for computerized devices not only to translate brain signals into movement but also to evolve with the brain as it learns.

(University of Florida) Pairing leptin with just a minor amount of exercise seems to revive the hormone's ability to fight fat, University of Florida researchers discovered.

(University of Florida) Using a powerful supercomputer, University of Florida researchers processed 140,000 prospective drug compounds to find one that dramatically lowers blood pressure, improves heart function, and prevents damage to the heart and kidneys in rats with persistent hypertension.

(University of Florida) By monitoring gene activity levels and changes in chromatin -- the protein spools that the genes wrap around -- University of Florida researchers were able to detect epigenetic factors that make fruit fly cells resistant to radiation.

The discovery suggests that tumor cells may have similar protection from radiotherapy or chemotherapy, an insight that may lead to more effective cancer treatments.

University of Florida researchers induced stress in 148 patients with coronary artery disease by asking them to speak in public.

Those with a particular gene variation were three times more likely to experience dangerous decreases in blood flow to the heart during stress.