Sights and sounds are sensory details that are absorbed by a child early on. How much of that becomes recognizable to the infant is still being debated. According to researchers from New York University (NYU), an infant’s ability to recognize speech is more advanced that previously understood.
While it’s known that adults have a fine-tuned perception of speech and an understanding of ambiguous sounds, less is known about the ability of infants to make these kinds of language assessments. As such, a team of investigators from the Department of Psychology conducted …

University of Washington researchers have made a discovery that sheds light on why the human body is unable to adequately fight off HIV infection.
The work, directed by Dr. Michael Gale, Jr., a professor in the Immunology Department, will be featured in the August print issue of the Journal of Virology.
The researchers discovered that the viral protein vpu, which is created by HIV during infection, directly interferes with the immune response protein IRF3 to dampen the ability of the immune system to protect against virus infection.
“By understanding exactly what HIV does …

Stem cells that come from a specific part of the developing brain help fuel the growth of brain tumors caused by an inherited condition, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report.
Scientists showed in mice that disabling a gene linked to a common pediatric tumor disorder, neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), made stem cells from one part of the brain proliferate rapidly. But the same genetic deficit had no effect on stem cells from another brain region.
The results can be explained by differences in the way stem cells …

It is possible to take stem cells from amniotic fluid and reprogram them to a more versatile “pluripotent” state similar to embryonic stem cells and do this without inserting extra genes, according to a new study published online in the journal Molecular Therapy on 3 July.
Scientists from Imperial College London, and University College London Institute of Child Health, and colleagues, said their discovery means it may be possible to store stem cells from donated amniotic fluid for clinical and research use, offering a much needed alternative to the limited supply …

A team of bioengineers has taken a step closer to the day when it will be possible to regenerate new organs from patient’s own cells. The researchers have “printed” 3D patterns of blood vessel networks out of sugar that allow tissue to grow around them and then dissolve, leaving behind a hollowed-out “vascular architecture”.
Once the sugar dissolves, the hollowed-out blood vessel pattern can rapidly be perfused with nutrient-rich fluid and oxygen to stop the tissue cells from dying.
(A common problem when trying to engineer thicker tissue like that of the …