July 7, 2021

Non-invasive potential treatment for Alzheimer’s disease

Ultrasound can overcome some of the detrimental effects of ageing and dementia without the need to cross the blood-brain barrier, researchers at The University of Queensland have found. Professor Jürgen Götz from UQ’s Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) led a multidisciplinary team who showed low-intensity ultrasound effectively restored cognition without opening the barrier in mice models. The findings […]
July 7, 2021

Saturated fatty acid levels increase when making memories

Saturated fatty acid levels unexpectedly rise in the brain during memory formation, according to University of Queensland research, opening a new avenue of investigation into how memories are made. Dr Tristan Wallis, from Professor Frederic Meunier’s laboratory at UQ’s Queensland Brain Institute (QBI), said traditionally, polyunsaturated fatty acids were considered important to health and […]
July 7, 2021

New generation anti-cancer drug shows promise for children with brain tumours

A genetic map of an aggressive childhood brain tumour called medulloblastoma has helped researchers identify a new generation anti-cancer drug that can be repurposed as an effective treatment for the disease. This international collaboration, led by researchers from The University of Queensland’s Diamantina Institute and WEHI in Melbourne, could give parents hope in the fight […]
July 7, 2021

Secretin Hormone Induces Satiation by Activating Brown Fat

Researchers from the Turku PET Centre and Technical University of Munich have discovered a new mechanism controlling satiation. According to the recently published study, the hormone secretin induces satiation by activating brown adipose tissue. Brown adipose tissue is known for its ability to generate heat in response to cold exposure. […]
July 7, 2021

LSL60101 compound reduces neuroinflammation and improves cognition

The LSL60101 compound, a specific ligand of the I2-IR receptors in the brain, could shed light on the development of future strategies against Alzheimer's disease. This is stated in the recent studies by the Research Group on Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacology of Neurodegenerative Diseases of the University of Barcelona, published […]
July 7, 2021

What’s behind the common COVID-19 vaccine side effects?

After receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, many experience mild yet common symptoms, such as headache, fatigue and muscle pain – side effects reported by more than 100,000 Australians to date in a national survey. These vaccine side effects have led to hesitancy in some younger people, who may have more symptoms following a […]
July 7, 2021

Adult ADHD is linked to numerous physical conditions

Adults with ADHD are at higher risk of a wide range of physical conditions, including nervous system, respiratory, musculoskeletal, and metabolic diseases, according to a large register-based study from Karolinska Institutet published in The Lancet Psychiatry. “Identifying co-occurring physical diseases may have important implications for treating adults with ADHD and […]
July 7, 2021

The Brain's Wiring Technicians

Research ID's immune cells that sculpt inhibitory neurons, regulate brain wiring. From the bark of a puppy to the patter of rain against the window, our brains receive countless signals every second. Most of the time, we tune out inconsequential cues—the buzz of a fly, the soft rustle of leaves […]
July 7, 2021

Fecal transplant plus fibre supplements improve insulin sensitivity in severely obese patients, clinical trial shows

A transplant of healthy gut microbes followed by fibre supplements benefits patients with severe obesity and metabolic syndrome, according to University of Alberta clinical trial findings published in Nature Medicine. Patients who were given a single-dose oral faecal microbial transplant followed by a daily fibre supplement were found to have better […]
July 7, 2021

With a ‘Liquid Assembly Line,’ mRNA-Delivering-Nanoparticles Produced a Hundred Times Faster than Standard Microfluidic Technologies

The COVID vaccines currently being deployed were developed with unprecedented speed, but the mRNA technology at work in some of them is an equally impressive success story. Because any desired mRNA sequence can be synthesized in massive quantities, one of the biggest hurdles in a variety of mRNA therapies is […]
July 7, 2021

Pulling Wisdom Teeth Can Improve Long-Term Taste Function

Patients who had their wisdom teeth extracted had improved tasting abilities decades after having the surgery, a new Penn Medicine study published in the journal Chemical Senses found. The findings challenge the notion that removal of wisdom teeth, known as third molars, only has the potential for negative effects on taste, and represent one of […]
July 7, 2021

Beyond CAR-T: New Frontiers in Living Cell Therapies

Our cells have abilities that go far beyond the fastest, smartest computer. They generate mechanical forces to propel themselves around the body and sense their local surroundings through a myriad of channels, constantly recalibrating their actions. The idea of using cells as medicine emerged with bone marrow transplants, and then […]
July 7, 2021

Sex-specific immune response in COVID-19 linked to cellular metabolism

Researchers studying COVID-19 patients have found a metabolic pathway that is highly correlated with immune responses only in male patients, a group known to be more likely to suffer severe cases and die of the disease, representing a potential target for therapeutic intervention. In a study published in the journal […]
July 6, 2021

Targeted immune stimulation for more effective vaccines

In the future, it could be possible to stimulate the immune system with extremely high efficacy via the skin. Cutanos GmbH, a spin-off from the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, has developed a corresponding method for modulating immune cells in the skin. The LC-TDS technology makes it possible […]
July 6, 2021

Colorectal Cancer Risk May Increase with Lower Exposure to UVB Light

University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers have identified a possible link between inadequate exposure to ultraviolet-B (UVB) light from the sun and an increased risk of colorectal cancer, especially as people age. Reporting in the journal BMC Public Health, researchers investigated global associations between levels of UVB light […]
July 6, 2021

Russia’s first cloned calf opens door to gene-edited cattle

Researchers from Ernst Federal Science Center for Animal Husbandry, Skoltech, Moscow State University and their colleagues have produced the first viable cloned calf in Russia – and she recently turned one. In a related experiment, the team was able to knock out the genes responsible for beta-lactoglobulin, a protein causing […]
July 6, 2021

Lipidomics research provides clues for drug resistance in schizophrenia

Researchers from Skoltech and the Mental Health Research Center have found 22 lipids in the blood plasma of people with schizophrenia that were associated with lower symptom improvement over time during treatment. These can help track resistance to medication that affects over a third of patients. The paper was published in the journal Biomolecules. […]
July 6, 2021

Reported cases of myocarditis in younger men following COVID-19 vaccination are rare; vaccination remains important

Mayo Clinic researchers are taking a close look at rare cases of inflammation of the heart muscle, or myocarditis, in young men who developed symptoms shortly after receiving the second dose of the Moderna or Pfizer messenger RNA (mRNA) COVID-19 vaccines. Several recent studies suggest that health care professionals should watch for hypersensitivity […]
July 6, 2021

New cancer findings can give wider access to immunotherapy

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet publish new findings in the journal Cancer Discovery showing how pharmacological activation of the protein p53 boosts the immune response against tumours. The results can be of significance to the development of new combination therapies that will give more cancer patients access to immunotherapy. Given its […]
July 6, 2021

Epsilon variant mutations contribute to COVID immune evasion

Studies reveal unprecedented mechanism behind loss of antibody neutralization against this pandemic coronavirus variant of concern. Three mutations in the Epsilon coronavirus Spike protein dampen the neutralizing potency of antibodies induced by current vaccines or past COVID infections. The mutations give this coronavirus variant of concern a means to totally […]
July 6, 2021

More filling? Tastes great? How flies, and maybe people, choose their food

Flies have discriminating taste. Like a gourmet perusing a menu, they spend much of their time seeking sweet nutritious calories and avoiding bitter, potentially toxic food. But what happens in their brains when they make these food choices? Yale researchers discovered an interesting way to find out. They tricked them. […]
July 6, 2021

A promising pathway to new cancer treatments

Using Argonne National Laboratory’s Advanced Photon Source, researchers have determined the structure of an enzyme that plays a key role in the spread of cancer cells. Chances are, every one of us has been affected by cancer in one way or another. Unlike some other deadly diseases, cancer can take […]
July 6, 2021

Psychedelic spurs growth of neural connections lost in depression

The psychedelic drug psilocybin, a naturally occurring compound found in some mushrooms, has been studied as a potential treatment for depression for years. But exactly how it works in the brain and how long beneficial results might last is still unclear. In a new study, Yale researchers show that a […]
July 5, 2021

Fibromyalgia likely the result of autoimmune problems, study shows

A new study involving Liverpool researchers has shown that many of the symptoms in fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) are caused by antibodies that increase the activity of pain-sensing nerves throughout the body. The results show that fibromyalgia is a disease of the immune system, rather than the currently held view that […]
July 5, 2021

Scientists publish a how-to guide for creating mouse-human chimeric embryos

A year after University at Buffalo scientists demonstrated that it was possible to produce millions of mature human cells in a mouse embryo, they have published a detailed description of the method so that other laboratories can do it, too. The ability to produce millions of mature human cells in […]
July 5, 2021

Trauma Patients with COVID-19 Face Greater Risk of Complications and Death

In addition to sickening and taking the lives of millions across the globe, COVID-19 complicated patient care in a range of less direct ways, from increased incidence of heart attacks to decreased cancer screenings.  The virus also increased the risk of complications and death among trauma patients with injuries from car crashes, falls […]
July 5, 2021

A Guide to Knowing the Unknowns: Lipids Model How to Explore for Unexpected Disease Causes

It is not shocking to anyone that fat molecules are tied to heart conditions. Lipids, a term for fatty acids and their derivatives, are the subject of countless papers when it comes to cardiovascular disease. A keyword search for “lipid” on the Journal of the American Heart Association’s website alone returns more than 2,600 results. So, if […]