July 2, 2021

Acid Ceramidase as a Potential Target for Future Senolytics

The accumulation of senescent cells is an important contributing cause of degenerative aging. This is not a recent discovery, enough was known 20 years ago for the first SENS rejuvenation research proposals to prominently feature removal of senescent cells as an approach to treating aging as a medical condition, but […]
July 1, 2021

Cell-based immunotherapy shows promise against melanoma

Immunotherapy based on supercharging the immune system’s natural killer cells has been effective in treating patients with recurrent leukemia and other difficult to treat blood cancers. Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown in preclinical studies conducted in mice and human cells that this […]
July 1, 2021

Study maps effect of dietary fiber

The effect and selectivity of dietary fibers on intestinal bacteria is now demonstrated. In a series of controlled trials, researchers from DTU and Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis (USA), show that plant-based fibers affect the microbiome of mice that host a human microbiota and as well as that […]
July 1, 2021

Eating disorder behaviors alter reward response in the brain

Researchers have found that eating disorder behaviors, such as binge-eating, alter the brain’s reward response process and food intake control circuitry, which can reinforce these behaviors. Understanding how eating disorder behaviors and neurobiology interact can shed light on why these disorders often become chronic and could aid in the future […]
July 1, 2021

Vaping increases susceptibility to coronavirus in mice

A new study finds that exposure to e-cigarette vapor leads to higher levels of the coronavirus receptor ACE-2 in lungs of mice, with nicotine enhancing that increase in male mice. The use of e-cigarettes, or vaping, causes serious damage to the lungs. After the novel coronavirus responsible for the respiratory […]
July 1, 2021

The Role of Aging Macrophages in Skin Inflammation

The immune system is complex and ages in complex ways, pressed by the lifetime burden of infection and rising levels of molecular damage that trigger many of the same innate immune responses as are produced by invading pathogens. The common innate immune cells known as macrophages play many roles in […]
June 30, 2021

COVID-19 vaccines show safety, immunity in infant model

A group of scientists led by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian reported that the Moderna mRNA vaccine and a protein-based vaccine candidate elicited durable neutralizing antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 in preclinical research. There were no adverse effects. The research, published […]
June 30, 2021

Using light to treat drug-resistant tumors

A chemist at The University of Texas at Arlington is developing a cancer medication that uses light to target and destroy tumor cells in a process known as photodynamic therapy (PDT). Sherri McFarland, professor of chemistry, and her team of researchers have developed a chemical compound containing the transition metal […]
June 30, 2021

How do sugary beverages affect the liver?

When people overconsume sugar-sweetened beverages, or SSBs, like soda, certain fruit juices, and some coffee and tea drinks, it can lead to many different health conditions, including obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, or NAFLD, is the leading cause of liver disease in the United States, and […]
June 30, 2021

COVID-19 vaccine generates immune structures critical for lasting immunity

The first two COVID-19 vaccines authorized for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) employed a technology that had never before been used in FDA-approved vaccines. Both vaccines performed well in clinical trials, and both have been widely credited with reducing disease, but concerns remain over how long […]
June 30, 2021

New TAU method delivers therapeutic RNAs exclusively to cancer cells

Researchers at Tel Aviv University have created a new method of transporting RNA-based drugs to a subpopulation of immune cells involved in the inflammation process, and target disease-inflamed cells without causing damage to healthy cells that surround them. The new technology may revolutionize the treatment of cancer and a wide range of […]
June 30, 2021

In a dish, a mouse, crafted from stem cells, begins to form

The tiny mouse embryo has a heart that beats. Its muscles, blood vessels, gut and nervous system are beginning to develop. But this embryo is unusual: It was made in a lab, out of mouse embryonic stem cells, and represents the most sophisticated in vitro (in a dish) model of […]
June 30, 2021

Researcher seeks molecular causes for deadly lung, heart diseases

Yassine Sassi decided as a boy growing up in Tunisia that he wanted to be a scientist. He isn’t sure why. There were no scientists among his family, no friends with the same ambition. But at 18 he left home for France to study biochemistry. Two decades later, he’s on […]
June 30, 2021

Studying how microbiome affects immunity could improve vaccine effectiveness

So many microbes live in and on your body that it might be helpful to think of them functioning collectively as separate organs. That’s because these tiny organisms that live primarily in our gut, collectively known as the microbiome, often perform helpful functions that keep the body running smoothly. Scientists […]
June 30, 2021

New Treatment Stops Progression of Alzheimer’s Disease in Monkey Brains

Therapy Manipulates the Immune System to Slow Neurodegeneration Without Triggering Dangerous Inflammation in the Process. A new therapy prompts immune defense cells to swallow misshapen proteins, amyloid beta plaques and tau tangles, whose buildup is known to kill nearby brain cells as part of Alzheimer’s disease, a new study shows. […]
June 29, 2021

Carotenoid-Rich Diet Reduces Risk of Developing AMD

A Mediterranean diet – high in fruit, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, olive oil and oily fish – may prevent the development of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which is the leading cause of visual impairment in people over the age of 50. A new study published by researchers from Inserm and […]
June 29, 2021

Do Bacteria in the Mouth Affect Risk of Developing Rheumatoid Arthritis?

Investigators found similarities in the bacterial composition of the mouth among patients with early rheumatoid arthritis and those at risk of developing the disease, compared with healthy individuals who were not at risk. The findings come from a study published in Arthritis & Rheumatology. Patients and at-risk individuals had an […]
June 28, 2021

Reliable Assessment of Cognitive Function

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic autoimmune disease of the central nervous system. Cognitive impairment is a sometimes neglected, yet common, sign and symptom with a profound effect on instrumental activities of daily living. Even before diagnosis, patients may experience cognitive dysfunction that manifests through symptoms such as memory lapses or […]
June 28, 2021

Arctic rotifers still alive after 24,000 years in a frozen state

Bdelloid rotifers are multicellular animals, so small a microscope is needed to see them. Despite their size, they're known for being tough — capable of surviving drying, freezing, starvation and low oxygen. Now, U.S. National Science Foundation-funded researchers have found that not only can they withstand being frozen, but they can […]
June 28, 2021

Reducing Pain in the NICU

Babies in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) experience a lot of testing in the early days of their life, and research shows the associated pain and trauma can contribute to long term neurological deficits. Matthew Bizzarro, MD and Steven Peterec, MD were at a conference on the effects of pain on the […]
June 28, 2021

New approach to treat inflammatory disorders while preserving protection against opportunistic infections

Researchers at Case Western Reserve University have discovered a new technique to control inflammatory disorders that also maintains a patient’s ability to fight off infections. Principal investigator Carlos Subauste, professor of medicine and pathology at the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, and his team have identified the interaction of […]
June 28, 2021

Switching to 80% ULTRA-processed food diet for 30 days: What would happen?

Eating healthy is not easy. This is especially true today, when all the supermarkets are full of ready-made, ready-to-eat kinds of food. It is no wonder why many people choose such products on a daily basis: these ultra-processed meals are produced to taste good, are relatively inexpensive, and do not […]
June 27, 2021

Study identifies heart block cause in athletes

An international team of scientists from Manchester, Montpellier and Copenhagen have identified why some endurance athletes experience a heart rhythm disturbance called ‘heart block’. The University of Manchester-led study found that long-term exercise in retired racehorses – the best available model of the athlete’s heart – and in mice, triggered […]
June 27, 2021

As novel sights become familiar, different brain rhythms and neurons take over

As “visual recognition memory” emerges in the visual cortex, one circuit of inhibitory neurons supplants another, and slower neural oscillations prevail. To focus on what’s new, we disregard what’s not. A new study by researchers at MIT’s Picower Institute for Learning and Memory substantially advances understanding of how a mammalian […]
June 27, 2021

AI breakthrough in premature baby care

James Cook University scientists believe they have made a breakthrough in the science of keeping premature babies alive. As part of her PhD work, JCU engineering lecturer Stephanie Baker led a pilot study that used a hybrid neural network to accurately predict how much risk individual premature babies face. She […]
June 27, 2021

Soil microbes metabolize the same polyphenols found in chocolate, wine

Fruits, vegetables, red wine and chocolate are all rich in polyphenols, plant compounds that double as cancer-fighting antioxidants. Humans can access these foods' health benefits because the microbes in our guts happily feast on them, breaking them down into smaller chemical components. Microbiome scientists at Colorado State University wanted to know if […]