Latest University of Pittsburgh Stories
PITTSBURGH, Feb. 2, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Forensic DNA profiling has become a standard tool in the search for missing people in the aftermath of mass violence and disaster, but until now there has been very little effort to identify and analyze the major ethical and policy challenges associated with this new use of genetic technology. (LOGO: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20020422/CMULOGO ) The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded Carnegie Mellon University a...
Researchers have identified a cell in zebrafish that can be transplanted from one fish to another to regenerate nephrons, providing the potential to improve kidney functionIt is estimated that up to 10 percent of the U.S. population may have some form of renal disease, with 450,000 patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD) requiring hemodialysis. Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital and the University of Pittsburgh have identified a cell in zebrafish...
Arteries cultivated from baboon smooth muscle cells contain 20 percent of the protein elastin found in natural arteries, the most reported in vessels grown outside the body, team reports in the Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesUniversity of Pittsburgh researchers have grown arteries that exhibit the elasticity of natural blood vessels at the highest levels reported, a development that could overcome a major barrier to creating living-tissue replacements for damaged arteries, the...
The first recordings of individual neurons in adolescent brains during a reward-driven task show that teen brains react with erratic excitement well above adult levels, according to a Journal of Neuroscience report University of Pittsburgh researchers have recorded neuron activity in adolescent rat brains that could reveal the biological root of the teenage propensity to consider rewards over consequences and explain why adolescents are more vulnerable to drug addiction, behavioral disorders,...
ANN ARBOR, Mich., Jan. 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center and the University of Pittsburgh have been awarded $13.3 million to explore the potential benefits of heart devices for the large and growing group of Americans with heart failure. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and HeartWare (Nasdaq: HTWR), a maker of left ventricular assist devices, are sponsoring the study of earlier access to these devices that support the circulation of...
Trips to the emergency room from food allergies may be more common than previously thought. Researchers report that Americans made just over a million visits to the ER for allergic reactions to food between 2001 and 2005. That averages out to about 200,000 ER visits each year, including about 90,000 visits for serious, sometimes life-threatening, allergic reactions known as anaphylaxis. These findings suggest that the numbers are now significantly higher than previously thought. "While...
PITTSBURGH, Dec. 27, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- UPMC Health Plan is introducing UPMC MyHealth Connect, its first web-browser mobile application and the first in the region to provide access to all members and non-members regardless of the brand of smartphone they use. MyHealth Connect will provide most users with immediate access to UPMC Health Plan's network of doctors, hospitals, facilities and urgent care centers. UPMC MyHealth Connect is the latest step in UPMC Health Plan's ongoing expanded...
PITTSBURGH, Dec. 16, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Cohen & Grigsby, a business law firm with headquarters in Pittsburgh, PA and an office in Bonita Springs, FL, is paying tribute to one of Pittsburgh's treasured painters with "Remembering Charlie Pitcher 1927-2009," the newest art exhibit featured in C&G Gallery in the firm's headquarters in Pittsburgh (EQT Plaza, 625 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA). The exhibit presents a memorial retrospective of the late Charlie Pitcher's work. It is...
PITTSBURGH, Dec. 6, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Uncertainty is a part of life. But a new center at Carnegie Mellon University will help consumers and industry better handle those doubts when it comes to issues involving global climate change and energy. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20020422/CMULOGO ) The Center for Climate and Energy Decision Making (http://cedm.epp.cmu.edu/index.php), funded by a five-year, $6 million grant from the National Science Foundation, will develop and...
PITTSBURGH, Dec. 2, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- The Board of Directors of the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse (PLSG), the organization providing capital investments and customized company formation and business growth services to the region's life sciences enterprises, today announced the approval of the nomination of Peter M. DeComo as the new Chairman of the Board of the PLSG, effective immediately. Mr. DeComo will replace Dr. D. Lansing Taylor who is stepping down after serving 3 years as...
