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‘Darwinian’ test uncovers an antidepressant’s hidden toxicity

Because of undetected toxicity problems, about a third of prescription drugs approved in the U.S. are withdrawn from the market or require added warning labels limiting their use. An exceptionally sensitive toxicity test invented at the University of Utah could make it possible to uncover more of these dangerous side effects early in pharmaceutical development so that fewer patients are given unsafe drugs.

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Ebola Virus May Replicate in an Exotic Way

University of Utah researchers ran biochemical analysis and computer simulations of a livestock virus to discover a likely and exotic mechanism to explain the replication of related viruses such as Ebola, measles and rabies. The mechanism may be a possible target for new treatments within a decade.

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Human DNA Shows Traces of 40 Million-Year Battle For Survival Between Primate and Pathogen

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Dec. 11, 2014 – Examination of DNA from 21 primate species – from squirrel monkeys to humans – exposes an evolutionary war against infectious bacteria over iron that circulates in the bloodstream. Supported by experimental evidence, these findings, published in Science on Dec. 12, demonstrate the vital importance of an underappreciated defense mechanism, nutritional immunity.

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University of Utah students create “Coziest Pants in the World”

Don’t know what to get the person who has everything for the holidays this year? How about the “coziest pants in the world?” A pair of University of Utah students has launched a line of uniquely designed pants — dubbed Sakpants — through a university-sponsored entrepreneurship program and completing a crowdsource funding campaign to raise capital for their business endeavor.

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University of Utah study shows participants in novel drug intervention program have increased brain activation to healthy pleasures

How can people who are dependent on prescription opioids reduce their cravings? Learn to enjoy other aspects of their lives. That’s the key finding in a new study published in the Journal of Behavioral Medicine by Eric L. Garland, associate professor at the University of Utah College of Social Work. Garland and colleagues studied how an intervention program for chronic pain patients called Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) decreased patients’ desire for prescription drugs.

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