April 7, 2021

For breastfeeding moms, COVID-19 vaccinations may also protect babies

Major boost in COVID-19 antibodies seen in breast milk after vaccination. Nursing mothers who receive a COVID-19 vaccine may pass protective antibodies to their babies through breast milk for at least 80 days following vaccination, suggests new research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. “Our study showed […]
April 7, 2021

Going deep: Artificial intelligence improves accuracy of breast ultrasound diagnoses

Scientists train deep learning algorithms to classify breast lesions from ultrasound images in a large multi-center study. In 2020, the International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organization stated that breast cancer accounts for most cancer morbidities and mortalities in women worldwide. This alarming statistic not only […]
April 7, 2021

Unique mini-microscope provides insight into complex brain functions

Researchers from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities College of Science and Engineering and Medical School have developed a unique head-mounted mini-microscope device that allows them to image complex brain functions of freely moving mice in real-time over a period of more than 300 days. The device, known as the […]
April 7, 2021

‘Brain glue’ helps repair circuitry in severe TBI

At a cost of $38 billion a year, an estimated 5.3 million people are living with a permanent disability related to traumatic brain injury in the United States today, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The physical, mental and financial toll of a TBI can be enormous, but […]
April 7, 2021

CRISPR-Chip advance streamlines genetic testing for medical diagnostics and research

A study led by researchers at the Keck Graduate Institute (KGI), UC Berkeley and Vilnius University demonstrated new disease-detection capabilities of a hand-held device based on CRISPR gene-editing technology, a development that could lead to faster, portable genetic testing for diagnostics and research. Scientists look to variations at a single […]
April 7, 2021

Infants already processing word combination even before their own first words

Baby’s first words are a huge milestone in a child's development. It is one of those things that parents always remember. However, when a baby says his or her first words, it is not actually the beginning of the language skills development. Scientists at the University of Edinburgh found that […]
April 6, 2021

Researcher uses breakthrough therapy to cure lymphoma patient

During a world first therapy conducted at the Princess Alexandra Hospital by Mater Researcher and Haematologist Professor Maher Gandhi a 46-year-old patient has been successfully cured of a rare type of lymphoma. The patient was diagnosed with brain lymphoma, a form of blood cancer confined to the brain, following a […]
April 6, 2021

Insulin 100: How the road to a diabetes cure is yielding better treatments

“The pancreas,” says Gary Lewis, an endocrinologist at Toronto General Hospital and director of the Banting & Best Diabetes Centre at the University of Toronto’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine, “is like an exquisitely sensitive and perfectly networked computer.” Second by second, he notes, the pancreas secretes just the right amount of […]
April 6, 2021

A Swiss Army Knife for Genomic Data

A good way to find out what a cell is doing—whether it is growing out of control as in cancers, or is under the control of an invading virus, or is simply going about the routine business of a healthy cell—is to look at its gene expression. Though a vast […]
April 6, 2021

Study predicts which kids hospitalized with RSV likely to worsen

Children hospitalized with breathing problems due to a common viral lung infection are likely to get sicker and remain hospitalized if they have high levels of defective copies of the virus, according to a new study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The findings, published […]
April 5, 2021

Women under 50 suffer from persistent COVID-19 symptoms for longer

COVID-19 stays with you even after the negative diagnosis. Some symptoms are long-lasting and can significantly alter one’s quality of life. Scientists are researching this phenomenon, called long COVID, and found that it is more common in women under 50 and people who experienced severe disease. Furthermore, this research led […]
April 5, 2021

Mice with hallucination-like behaviors reveal insight into psychotic illness

The humble lab mouse has provided invaluable clues to understanding diseases ranging from cancer to diabetes to COVID-19. But when it comes to psychiatric conditions, the lab mouse has been sidelined, its rodent mind considered too different from that of humans to provide much insight into mental illness. A new […]
April 4, 2021

What’s in a name? A hurdle for human development research, experts say

Scientists are struggling with public misconceptions on what embryoids are and what research on them entails, the confusion that leads to policy decisions restricting access to important scientific exploration, according to a new paper by experts at Rice University — who blame the use of terms like synthetic or artificial […]
April 3, 2021

U of A team identifies protein that blocks body’s ability to clear bad cholesterol

A team of researchers at the University of Alberta has uncovered a long-sought link in the battle to control cholesterol and heart disease. The protein that interferes with low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptors that clear “bad” cholesterol from the blood was identified in findings recently published in Nature Communications by Dawei Zhang, associate professor of pediatrics […]
April 3, 2021

WOX9: A gene that's a jack of all trades

Over evolutionary time scales, a single gene may acquire different roles in diverging species. However, revealing the multiple hidden roles of a gene was not possible before genome editing came along. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory scientists Zach Lippman and Anat Hendelman collaborated with Idan Efroni of Hebrew University in Israel to reveal […]
April 3, 2021

Getting COVID-19 shot before a surgery actually makes a lot of sense

COVID-19 vaccine is what will pull us out of this pandemic. However, some people are not sure about the timing. If you are waiting for an elective surgery, should you get a vaccine shot before the procedure? Or should you wait and get the jab after the surgery? Scientists at […]
April 3, 2021

Scientists are looking for the best surgery to prevent blindness

Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) increases intracranial pressure around the brain and causes blindness. Scientists are not sure what causes IIH, because the pressure builds up without the presence of tumour or disease. As the mechanism is unknown treatment for IIH is not yet developed. But now researchers at the University […]
April 2, 2021

Breast cancer cells ‘steal’ nutrients from immune cells: study

Triple-negative breast cancer cells engage in a “glutamine steal” — outcompeting T cells for the nutrient glutamine and impairing their ability to kill tumor cells, Vanderbilt researchers have discovered. The team found that an inhibitor of glutamine transport selectively targeted tumor cells and enhanced the antitumor immune response, suggesting it […]
April 2, 2021

Case Study of Rare Nervous System Tumor Reveals Hypermutation

While deadly, gliosarcomas are a rare central nervous system tumor often overshadowed in research by more common tumors. These sarcomas can occur either in the brain or the spine (the latter is much less common). A team of Yale researchers saw an opportunity to expand on the limited knowledge available […]
April 2, 2021

Stopping Tooth Pain

Tooth pain has been notoriously difficult to study. But now, researchers at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital report in a study published in Science Advances that they have uncovered a new function for odontoblasts. These cells form dentin, the shell beneath the tooth’s enamel that encases the soft dental […]
April 2, 2021

Pancreatic Cancer Cells Hijack Muscle Protein to Beef Up Their Metabolism

Cancer starts with mutations in a cell’s DNA, but new UC San Francisco research shows that the endurance of a tumour relies on its ability to rapidly evolve and adapt to challenges brought about by the environment in which it grows. “A major obstacle cancer cells must overcome is their […]
April 2, 2021

Mice naturally engage in physical distancing, study finds

When someone is sick, it’s natural to want to stay as far from them as possible. It turns out this is also true for mice, according to an MIT study that also identified the brain circuit responsible for this distancing behaviour. In a study that explores how otherwise powerful instincts […]
April 2, 2021

Disrupted biochemical pathway in the brain linked to bipolar disorder

Bipolar disorder affects millions of Americans, causing dramatic swings in mood and, in some people, additional effects such as memory problems. While bipolar disorder is linked to many genes, each one making small contributions to the disease, scientists don’t know just how those genes ultimately give rise to the disorder’s […]
April 2, 2021

How industrialized life remodels the microbiome

Thousands of different bacterial species live within the human gut. Most are beneficial, while others can be harmful. A new study from an MIT-led team has revealed that these bacterial populations can remake themselves within the lifetime of their host, bypassing genes back and forth. The researchers also showed that […]
April 1, 2021

Preventive treatment reduces diabetic retinopathy complications

In a clinical trial, early treatment with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) injections slowed diabetic retinopathy, a complication of diabetes that causes damage to the blood vessels of the light-sensitive tissue in the retina. However, two years into the four-year study, the early treatment’s effect on vision – including changes […]
April 1, 2021

Chemo for glioblastoma may work better in morning than evening

An aggressive type of brain cancer, glioblastoma has no cure. Patients survive an average of 15 months after diagnosis, with fewer than 10% of patients surviving longer than five years. While researchers are investigating potential new therapies via ongoing clinical trials, a new study from Washington University in St. Louis […]