General

Should rapamycin be prescribed ubiquitously as an anti-aging supplement? That is the question the authors of this commentary ask after a short overview of what is known of the beneficial effects of rapamycin on mechanisms relevant to aging. Research into inhibition of the two mTOR complexes, mTORC1 and mTORC2, via […]

New insight into a gene that controls energy production in cancer stem cells could help in the search for a more effective treatment for glioblastoma. A McGill-led study published in Nature Communications reveals that suppressing the OSMR gene can improve the effectiveness of radiation therapy. This approach, led by the laboratory of […]

New research reveals a subtype of autism associated with lipid abnormalities. Researchers at Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Northwestern University have identified a subtype of autism arising from a cluster of genes that regulate cholesterol metabolism and brain development. The researchers say their findings, published in Nature […]

Children suffering from restless sleep disorder would report trouble focusing during the day, and emotional and behavioral problems at home and school. A UW Medicine researcher, along with colleagues from Italy, Spain and Chile, have defined a new pediatric sleep disorder, which once diagnosed and treated, may help children and […]

Telomeres are repeated DNA sequences at the ends of chromosomes. With each cell division a little telomere length is lost, and this is an important part of the countdown mechanism that limits replication of somatic cells. Somatic cells with short telomeres become senescent or self-destruct. Stem cells, on the other […]

A study from Emory Vaccine Center provides insights into why the boost in immunity from seasonal flu vaccination lasts for months but not years, unlike some childhood vaccinations. The home base for immune cells that produce antibodies is the bone marrow. Seasonal flu vaccination does increase the number of antibody-producing […]

Experts estimate up to one third of people attending specialist memory clinics could have a condition that is commonly mistaken for early dementia. In a paper published in the journal, Brain, UK academics and clinicians have collaborated to develop a diagnostic definition of the widely recognized but poorly understood condition, Functional Cognitive Disorder (FCD).  Dr Harriet Ball from the University of Bristol, first author of the […]

The disease multiple sclerosis (MS) attacks the central nervous system and, with time, can give rise to muscle tremors and loss of balance. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have now identified a gene, Gsta4, that protects a certain kind of cell in the brain from being destroyed. It is hoped that […]

New research supported by the National Institutes of Health delineates how two relatively common variations in a gene called KIF3A are responsible for an impaired skin barrier that allows increased water loss from the skin, promoting the development of atopic dermatitis, commonly known as eczema. This finding could lead to genetic tests […]

Today's open access research is a good companion piece to a recent paper that investigates biochemical differences between long-lived and short-lived bats. Bats are renowned for, firstly, an exceptional resistance to classes of virus that are fatal to other mammals, allowing bat populations to act as reservoirs for potentially dangerous […]

In a proof-of-principle study, researchers at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research revealed a potential therapeutic approach for targeting estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancers resistant to current therapies. By combining current gold-standard treatments with a drug that restores the activity of p53, a cancer suppressor protein, the researchers found they […]

Researchers from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research have uncovered four new subtypes of cells within triple negative breast cancer, which contain promising new therapeutic targets for the aggressive disease. Using cellular genomics, the team revealed one of the new cell types produces molecules that suppress immune cells, which may […]

Researchers at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia have developed an algorithm through machine learning that helps predict sites of DNA methylation — a process that can change the activity of DNA without changing its overall structure. The algorithm can identify disease-causing mechanisms that would otherwise […]

Progress against DIPG, a fatal childhood brain tumor, is usually a game of inches. Studies that hint at even small gains are cause for celebration. That’s why researchers at the University of Michigan and their collaborators are excited about discoveries that point toward a new potential treatment approach — one […]

The results of a recent clinical trial indicate that, for older adults with advanced cancer, initiating aspirin therapy may increase their risk of disease progression and early death. Notably, the vast majority of the study participants did not previously take aspirin before age 70. The study, conducted by Harvard Medical […]

Loss of a specific enzyme increases fat metabolism and exercise endurance in mice. Sugars and fats are the primary fuels that power every cell, tissue, and organ. For most cells, sugar is the energy source of choice, but when nutrients are scarce, such as during starvation or extreme exertion, cells […]

Using state-of-the-art 3D microscopy and mathematics, Dr. Hermes Gadêlha from the University of Bristol, Dr. Gabriel Corkidi, and Dr. Alberto Darszon from the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico have reconstructed the movement of the sperm tail in 3D with high-precision. Using a high-speed camera capable of recording over 8,000 frames […]

A new insight into cell signals that control cancer growth and migration could help in the search for effective anti-cancer drugs. A McGill-led study reveals key biochemical processes that advance our understanding of colorectal cancer, the third most common cancer among Canadians. Using the CMCF beamline at the Canadian Light Source (CLS) […]

Some people get really sick from COVID-19, and others don’t. Nobody knows why. Now, a study by investigators at the Stanford University School of Medicine and other institutions has turned up immunological deviations and lapses that appear to spell the difference between severe and mild cases of COVID-19. That difference may stem […]

One of the hallmarks of severe COVID-19 is shortness of breath and significantly reduced levels of oxygen in the blood, called hypoxemia. Upon hospitalization, these patients are administered oxygen in an attempt to bring their levels back up to normal. However, a new study hints that this universal therapy may […]

Anti-androgens are known to increase the effectiveness of radiation therapy for prostate cancer patients, helping to slow the rate at which cancer can repair DNA damage caused by the treatment. Could the same strategy work against glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer that quickly grows resistant to radiation? Research led by […]

Toshiba Corporation (TOKYO: 6502), Tohoku University Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization (ToMMo) and Tohoku University Hospital have demonstrated that quantum cryptographic communications technology can provide genomic medicine with a safe, completely secure data management environment. This was achieved by (1) developing a system which applies quantum cryptographic communications technology to clinical […]

Many adults seek genetic counseling or opt to send samples of their saliva to different companies, to find out if the specific patterns in their DNA may put them at higher risk for developing the disease. But many doctors and scientists — including National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins […]

Penn Study Reveals A Molecular Mechanism That Helps The Body Mount Perfectly Balanced Responses to Deadly Infections. Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have now identified a protein called histone deacetylase 3 (HDAC3) as the orchestrator of the immune system’s inflammation response to infection. […]

A research group from Tel Aviv University (TAU) successfully reduced metastatic spread following tumor removal surgery in colorectal cancer patients. Using a short medication treatment around the time of the surgery, the researchers were able to reduce body stress responses and physiological inflammation during this critical period, preventing the development of metastases […]

Immunotherapy has revolutionized cancer treatment by stimulating the patient’s own immune system to attack cancer cells, yielding remarkably quick and complete remission in some cases. But such drugs work for less than a quarter of patients because tumors are notoriously adept at evading an immune assault. A new study in […]

From birth, the normal human brain rewires itself in response to sensory stimulation from the outside world. To put it simply, it does this by strengthening the connections between certain brain cells through a junction called a synapse. The brain’s ability to change in this way is known as synaptic […]

A diet that includes an average of two servings of plant-based meat alternatives lowers some cardiovascular risk factors compared with a diet that instead includes the same amount of animal meat, Stanford Medicine scientists found. Swapping out red meat for plant-based meat alternatives can lower some cardiovascular risk factors, according […]

Gum disease, especially the kind that is irreversible and causes tooth loss, may be associated with mild cognitive impairment and dementia 20 years later, according to a study published in the July 29, 2020, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. “We looked at […]

Bifocal contact lenses aren’t just for aging eyes anymore. In nearsighted kids as young as 7 years old, multifocal contact lenses with a heavy dose of added reading power can dramatically slow further progression of myopia, new research has found. In the three-year clinical trial of almost 300 children, a […]