General

New ways to classify and study spinal cord neurons could inform therapies for illness or injury. Spinal cord nerve cells branching through the body resemble trees with limbs fanning out in every direction. But this image can also be used to tell the story of how these neurons, their jobs […]

Medulloblastoma is a rare but devastating childhood brain cancer. This cancer can spread through the spinal fluid and be deposited elsewhere in the brain or spine. Radiation therapy to the whole brain and spine followed by an extra radiation dose to the back of the brain prevents this spread and […]

UC San Francisco is launching a new initiative to propel the development of living therapeutics – a category of treatments broadly defined as human and microbial living cells that are selected, modified, or engineered to treat or cure disease – and bring them quickly to patients. The Living Therapeutics Initiative (LTI) will […]

In 2014, Dudley Lamming was reading a study out of Australia that looked at how mice responded to dozens of controlled diets when one thing caught his attention: The mice fed the least amount of protein were the healthiest. “That was really interesting because it goes against a lot of health information that people […]

The findings on cellular communication hold promise for early human development, disease progression and aging, as well as organ transplantation and for testing therapeutics. The ability to grow the cells of one species within an organism of a different species offers scientists a powerful tool for research and medicine. It’s […]

Tiny nano-sized robots and vehicles that can navigate through blood vessels to reach the site of a disease could be used to deliver drugs to tumours that are otherwise difficult to treat. Once injected or swallowed, most drugs rely upon the movement of body fluids to find their way around […]

Salk scientists reveal new insights into neurodegenerative disorders and potential for genetic therapies. Neurons lack the ability to replicate their DNA, so they’re constantly working to repair damage to their genome. Now, a new study by Salk scientists finds that these repairs are not random, but instead focus on protecting […]

More people survive heart attacks now than ever before. And that is great news, even though these people continue living with damaged hearts. Scientists at UCL are working on new methods to repair them. One of the more promising techniques would be a stem cell therapy to repair damaged tissues. […]

Gene editing, or purposefully changing a gene’s DNA sequence, is a powerful tool for studying how mutations cause disease, and for making changes in an individual’s DNA for therapeutic purposes. A novel method of gene editing that can be used for both purposes has now been developed by a team […]

Most people who had COVID-19 experienced a mild case of the disease. This made other people less afraid to contract COVID-19, because they started thinking that it is more of an annoyance rather than an actual health concern. However, as this new study from UCL has shown, even mild cases […]

The life-saving diabetic medication insulin, developed at the University of Toronto 100 years ago, was the first biologic therapy – a protein to treat disease. Now, a new biologic therapy developed by U of T researchers has the potential to reverse a common diabetes complication. A team led by Stéphane Angers, professor […]

A new study conducted by the researchers at the University of Liverpool reveals how the ancient photosynthetic organisms – cyanobacteria – evolve their photosynthetic machinery and organise their photosynthetic membrane architecture for the efficient capture of solar light and energy transduction. Oxygenic photosynthesis, carried out by plants, algae, and cyanobacteria, […]

Smokers needed their blocked arteries fixed nearly a decade earlier than non-smokers, and patients with obesity underwent these procedures four years earlier than non-obese patients, according to a new statewide study. The research included patients without a history of heart attack who were treated at hospitals across Michigan participating in BMC2, […]

An interdisciplinary team of researchers at the University of Alberta will develop a cannabis use decision tool for the estimated 20 per cent of Canadians who live with arthritis, thanks to a $300,000 award from Alberta Innovates. People with arthritis are more likely than others to use cannabis for pain, mood […]

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer among men, according to the American Cancer Society. It’s also one of the trickiest cancers to diagnose and treat. But new research from the University of Georgia has identified a protein that appears to prevent cancer from spreading to and colonizing the bone, […]

Heart attacks and strokes – the leading causes of death in human beings – are fundamentally blood clots of the heart and brain. Better understanding how the blood-clotting process works and how to accelerate or slow down clotting, depending on the medical need, could save lives. New research by Georgia […]

New technique models brain cells in older patients more accurately than ever before. Despite the prevalence of Alzheimer’s, there are still no treatments, in part because it has been challenging to study how the disease develops. Now, scientists at the Salk Institute have uncovered new insights into what goes awry […]

Salk scientists find brain’s immune cells form some plaques as a defense in Alzheimer’s, suggesting a new therapeutic direction. One of the characteristic hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the buildup of amyloid-beta plaques in the brain. Most therapies designed to treat AD target these plaques, but they’ve largely failed […]

Like thousands of other people you may be starting your day with a cup of coffee. Maybe you consume more caffeine as your day goes by. But did you ever think that it might be seriously bad for you? Scientists at UCL found that big doses of daily caffeine may […]

A new physiological measurement of heart function developed at UVA Health could improve survival for heart-failure patients by identifying high-risk patients who require tailored treatments, a study has found. The study is the first to show a survival benefit from wireless pressure-monitoring sensors implanted in the pulmonary arteries. Pulmonary artery […]

Accelerated cognitive decline in patients with and without existing dementia is one of the most disturbing outcomes of hospitalizations for older adults, affecting at least 2.6 million Americans every year. But the condition, known as delirium, is believed to be preventable in up to 40 percent of hospital-acquired cases, and […]

A new study from Tel Aviv University (TAU) revealed a mechanism through which “good” viruses can attack the genetic systems of “bad” bacteria, destroying them and blocking their reproduction. The researchers demonstrated that the “good” virus (bacteriophage) is able to block the replication mechanism of the bacteria’s DNA without damaging its own. […]

COVID-19 causes a big variety of different symptoms and some of them are quite difficult to explain. Now a new University of Birmingham-led study discovered that at least some of those symptoms are due to the body's immune response against its own tissues and organs. This is some important knowledge […]

Carried like stowaways in the guts of international travelers, new and potentially deadly strains of antimicrobial-resistant superbugs may be coming to a community near you, suggests new research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. “Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, we knew that international travel was contributing to […]

A new Alzheimer’s disease drug will hit the market soon, the first in nearly two decades. But some experts say the evidence for it isn’t terribly strong and worry that it may cost a lot. Still, the announcement of its approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration made headlines […]

In a study of healthy volunteers, National Institutes of Health researchers have mapped out the brain activity that flows when we learn a new skill, such as playing a new song on the piano, and discovered why taking short breaks from practice is a key to learning. The researchers found […]

One of the most powerful tools available to biologists these days is CRISPR-Cas9, a combination of specialized RNA and protein that acts as a molecular scalpel, allowing researchers to precisely slice and dice pieces of an organism's genetic code. But even though CRISPR-Cas9 technology has offered an unprecedented level of […]

Follow-up data from the landmark SPRINT study of the effect of high blood pressure on cardiovascular disease have confirmed that aggressive blood-pressure management—lowering systolic blood pressure to less than 120 mm Hg—dramatically reduces the risk of heart disease, stroke and death from these diseases, as well as death from all […]

Scientists from the University of Bristol have pioneered a new approach to help biological engineers both harness and design the evolutionary potential of new biosystems. Their concept of the ‘evotype’ lays a foundation for the next generation of stable, safe and self-improving biotechnologies. A defining characteristic of all life is […]

A new study comparing different ways of encouraging people to reduce their alcohol intake has found telling people alcohol causes cancer makes them want to drink less, and encouraging them to count their drinks helps them do it. Lead author Professor Simone Pettigrew from The George Institute for Global Health said that […]