General

Scientists have long searched in vain for a class of brain cells that could explain the visceral flash of recognition that we feel when we see a very familiar face, like that of our grandmothers. But the proposed “grandmother neuron”—a single cell at the crossroads of sensory perception and memory, […]

Patients with Type 2 diabetes who were prescribed SGLT2 inhibitors lost more weight than patients who received GLP-1 receptor agonists, according to a University at Buffalo-led study. The research, which sought to evaluate the difference in weight loss caused by the antidiabetic medications — both of which work to control […]

Genetic technique edits every chloroplast in a plant, but does not change nuclear DNA of offspring. Breeding better crops through genetic engineering have been possible for decades, but the use of genetically modified plants has been limited by technical challenges and popular controversies. A new approach potentially solves both of […]

A new technique called sci-Space, combined with data from other technologies could lead to four-dimensional atlases of gene expression across diverse cells during the embryonic development of mammals. Such atlases would map how the gene transcripts in individual cells reflect the passage of time, cell lineages, cell migration, and location […]

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 […]

The Forever Healthy Foundation has been building a database of materials covering presently available options for the treatment of aging, all of which have little available data in comparison to more established areas of medicine. The bias in these materials is towards a very conservative viewpoint, appropriate for physicians, so […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]