Department of Biomedical Sciences

FSU research links common sweetener with anxiety

Florida State University College of Medicine researchers have linked aspartame, an artificial sweetener found in nearly 5,000 diet foods and drinks, to anxiety-like behavior in mice. Along with producing anxiety in the mice who consumed aspartame, the effects extended up to two generations from the males exposed to the sweetener. The study is published in […]

FSU College of Medicine studying effects of isolation, partner separation

Florida State University College of Medicine Professor Mohamed Kabbaj has been awarded a $3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study the effects of acute social isolation and partner separation. “In humans, social attachment with partners, relatives or friends acts as a protective buffer against many negative consequences of life stress,” Kabbaj […]

Two years of COVID-19: Experts available to comment on drug development, hospitality

The first COVID cases in the United States were confirmed in early 2020. Since then, the pandemic has raised questions about health care, education, civil rights and responsibilities and more. Florida State University experts are available to talk about the effort to develop vaccines and treatments for COVID-19 and the effects of the pandemic on […]

FSU College of Medicine research advances understanding of DNA repair

A Florida State University College of Medicine researcher has made a discovery that alters our understanding of how the body’s DNA repair process works and may lead to new chemotherapy treatments for cancer and other disorders. The fact that DNA can be repaired after it has been damaged is one of the great mysteries of […]

Key research advance could spawn new treatments for heart diseases

Scientists peering into the beating heart have solved a decades-old, fundamental mystery about how the heart works. The revelation could herald the development of new treatments for heart diseases — the leading cause of death worldwide. Researchers from Eastern Virginia Medical School, Florida State University and the University of Virginia have observed a tiny muscle […]

FSU College of Medicine researcher develops new possibilities to prevent sudden cardiac death

Nearly a half-million people a year die from sudden cardiac death (SCD) in the U.S. — the result of malfunctions in the heart’s electrical system. A leading cause of SCD in young athletes is arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM), a genetic disease in which healthy heart muscle is replaced over time by scar tissue (fibrosis) and fat. […]

FSU expert available to discuss new COVID-19 variants

New variants of the COVID-19 virus have appeared around the world, including a more contagious variant of the COVID-19 virus that was first identified in the United Kingdom. Other variants have been identified in South Africa, Nigeria and Japan. Viruses constantly change through mutation. Some variants come and go. Others stick around. Florida State University […]

FSU expert available to discuss COVID-19 vaccine development

There may be good news on the horizon regarding a COVID-19 vaccine. Pfizer and partner BioNTech reported that their trial vaccine appears to have a 90 percent efficacy rate, meaning that test subjects who received a vaccine experienced 90 percent fewer cases of symptomatic COVID-19 than those who received a placebo. Other trial vaccines are […]

College of Medicine researcher makes novel discoveries in preventing epileptic seizures

A team of researchers from the Florida State University College of Medicine has found that an amino acid produced by the brain could play a crucial role in preventing a type of epileptic seizure.  Temporal lobe epileptic seizures are debilitating and can cause lasting damage in patients, including neuronal death and loss of neuron function. […]

FSU funding helps researchers turn inventions into business ideas

A faster way to make test samples for the automotive and aerospace industries, an improved method for producing a wound-healing therapy and the development of an environmentally friendly X-ray material all earned funding from a Florida State University program that helps researchers bring their work to the marketplace. FSU’s Office of the Vice President for […]

FSU study aids fight against HIV, hepatitis B

A discovery by Florida State University College of Medicine researchers is expected to open the door for new and more potent treatment options for many of the more than 36 million people worldwide infected with the HIV virus and for others chronically ill with hepatitis B. Their work has established for the first time the […]

FSU research: Ketamine could help men suffering from alcohol use disorder

Research from Florida State University is giving physicians a better understanding of ketamine, a potentially useful tool in treating depression that still has unanswered questions. A team of researchers working in the laboratory of Mohamed Kabbaj, a professor of Biomedical Sciences and Neuroscience in the College of Medicine, showed that ketamine can decrease alcohol consumption in male rats […]