General

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 […]

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 […]

A number of papers in recent years have suggested there to be a link between gum disease (periodontitis) and neurodegeneration. Similarly to the correlation with heart disease, it is thought that the underlying mechanism is raised chronic inflammation deriving from toxins released into the bloodstream by the bacteria that cause […]

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 […]

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 […]

Plenty of probiotic yoghurts, pickles, and kombuchas claim to boost our digestive health with armies of microbes, but some scientists have more ambitious therapeutic plans for the “bugs” that colonize us. They hope to leverage these microbes as living therapeutics for a range of health conditions, including ulcerative colitis, multiple […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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. […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Human heart muscle cells are constantly at work – contracting roughly a million times a week in adults. Jessica Pfleger, a new assistant professor joining the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC’s Center for Vascular and Heart Research, studies how the heart’s genes are regulated in response to stimulation and stress. Her […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Researchers from Karolinska Institutet have discovered how platinum-chemotherapy can enhance the treatment resistance of ovarian cancer cells, by progressively changing the cancer cell-intrinsic adhesion signalling and cell-surrounding microenvironment. Platinum chemotherapy is a standard treatment in ovarian cancers, but treatment resistance commonly develops. The extracellular matrix (ECM)-derived biochemical and mechanical cues […]

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have analysed and described in detail the immune cells residing in the human bile duct. The findings may pave the way for new treatment strategies against disorders of the bile duct, which are often linked to immunological processes. The study is published in the journal Science […]

Thanks to many years of translational research, some children with the rare childhood cancer neuroblastoma may now be cured. In a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, researchers at among others Karolinska Institutet and the University of Gothenburg write that a so-called ALK inhibitor should be tried to […]

For patients who have inflammatory bowel syndrome (IBS), the condition is literally a pain in the gut. Chronic — or long-term — abdominal pain is common, and there are currently no effective treatment options for this debilitating symptom. In a new study in ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science, researchers identify a […]

A sensitive blood test being developed by a team of researchers at the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center shows promise for predicting whether patients with metastatic HPV-positive throat cancer will respond to treatment months earlier than standard imaging scans. That’s according to a study, published in Oncotarget, validating the test in a small group of patients […]