General

From an evolutionary perspective, human pregnancy is quite strange, says University at Buffalo biologist Vincent Lynch. “For example, we don’t know why human women go into labor,” Lynch says. “Human pregnancy tends to last longer than pregnancy in other mammals if you adjust for factors like body size. The actual […]

Experts at the University of Tokyo have identified a new protein in the pathway that leads to Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers used the “molecular scissors” of CRISPR/Cas9 to search for new genes related to neurodegenerative disease. The exact causes of Alzheimer’s disease remain unknown, but one of the most well- supported […]

Viruses are nature's Trojan horses: They gain entrance to cells, smuggle in their genetic material, and use the cell's own machinery to replicate. For decades, scientists have studied how to minimize their deleterious effects and even repurpose these invaders to deliver not their own viral genome, but therapeutics for treating […]

A team of scientists led by the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center and Case Comprehensive Cancer Center has identified the binding site where drug compounds could activate a key braking mechanism against the runaway growth of many types of cancer. The discovery marks a critical step toward developing a potential new class of anti-cancer drugs […]

The insides of living cells can be seen in their natural state in greater detail than ever before using a new technique developed by researchers in Japan. This advance should help reveal the complex and fragile biological interactions of medical mysteries, like how stem cells develop or how to deliver […]

A blood test may be able to detect the most common form of pancreatic cancer while it is still in its early stages while also helping doctors accurately stage a patient’s disease and guide them to the appropriate treatment. A multidisciplinary study from the University of Pennsylvania found the test – known […]

Even after they quit smoking, some people can’t breathe easy. The chronic bronchitis and emphysema that can afflict long-term smokers, called chronic obstructive pulmonary disease COPD, never goes away and may even progress despite the smoker quitting. Now, researchers from UConn Health and the University of Houston report the journal […]

A team of researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center used CRISPR technology to identify key regulators of aggressive chronic myeloid leukemia, a type of cancer that remains difficult to treat and is marked by frequent relapse. “We used CRISPR technology to carry […]

Researchers from Karolinska Institutet in collaboration with a lab in San Antonio USA, have uncovered how a specific population of lymphocytes promotes autoimmune disease by giving up their regulatory role in the immune system. The newly discovered mechanism is published in PNAS from research led by Dr. Saikiran Sedimbi and […]

Researchers have harnessed the power of electronic health records to gain insight in the potential of inflammation-controlling medications to reduce a patient’s Alzheimer’s disease risk. Rong Xu, professor of Biomedical Informatics and director of the Center for Artificial Intelligence in Drug Discovery at Case Western Reserve University; Mark Gurney, chairman […]

Before CRISPR became a household name as a tool for gene editing, researchers had been studying this unique family of DNA sequences and its role in the bacterial immune response to viruses. The region of the bacterial genome known as the CRISPR cassette contains pieces of viral genomes, a genomic […]

Despite centuries-long efforts to develop cures for cancer, various forms of the disease will kill about 630,000 people in the U.S. in 2020. But hopes are rising for cell therapies – sometimes called “living medicines” – that can boost and adapt the natural cancer-fighting potential of the immune system in ways […]

The conclusion to today's open access paper opens with the following declaration: “There is still no agreement among gerontologists as to the main aging-related issue: whether it is an accidental accumulation of damage in the organism or a result of the operation of a specially evolved program.” This is true in the […]

The CellAge database was announced last year, a repository of information on genes linked to cellular senescence. Cells become senescent in response to a variety of stresses, or upon reaching the Hayflick limit. A senescent cell ceases replication and secretes inflammatory and pro-growth signals. The process serves a useful function when such cells are present for […]

The size of the contribution of stochastic nuclear DNA damage to aging is debated. It causes cancer, when rare combinations of cancerous mutations occur and suppression of those early cancerous cells fails, but can it give rise to a meaningful degree of tissue dysfunction otherwise? The present consensus is that most such […]

When adult brain cells are injured, they revert to an embryonic state, according to new findings published in the journal Nature by researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, with colleagues elsewhere. The scientists report that in their newly adopted immature state, the cells become capable of re-growing […]

Object recognition and facial recognition may seem like similar abilities, but new research finds that these behaviors are on the opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to physical signatures in the brain. According to a new study, published by a team of scientists at Vanderbilt, both recognition abilities […]

Researchers have discovered a technique for directly reprogramming skin cells into light-sensing rod photoreceptors used for vision. The lab-made rods enabled blind mice to detect light after the cells were transplanted into the animals’ eyes. The work, funded by the National Eye Institute (NEI), published in Nature. The NEI is […]

With nearly $290M of new funding for seven years to research institutions around the country, the National Institutes of Health renewed its commitment to the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study(link is external), the largest long-term study of brain development and child health ever conducted in the United States. Launched in […]

A class of experimental cancer drugs called BET inhibitors have shown promise for treating cancers of the blood but can induce toxic side effects. Now Yale researchers have found a new inhibitor that in animal studies demonstrates greater potency against a wider variety of cancers, as well as against solid […]

Cardiovascular disease is often the result of blood vessels becoming clogged by plaques—buildups of fat, calcium, and other substances that may restrict blood flow. Not every plaque is created equal, however; some are more likely to induce a heart attack or stroke than others. Now a new three-dimensional imaging technique […]

According to a recent analysis of data from two major eye disease studies, adherence to the Mediterranean diet – high in vegetables, whole grains, fish, and olive oil – correlates with higher cognitive function. Dietary factors also seem to play a role in slowing cognitive decline. Researchers at the National […]

A study by Vanderbilt researchers has identified genomic alterations in early-stage adenocarcinomas of the lung that may indicate whether the lesions develop into aggressive tumors. The study published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine is the largest analysis of in situ and early adenocarcinomas lesions using targeted sequencing. […]

In the largest study to date of proteins related to Alzheimer’s disease, a team of researchers has identified disease-specific proteins and biological processes that could be developed into both new treatment targets and fluid biomarkers. The findings suggest that sets of proteins that regulate glucose metabolism, together with proteins related to […]

Immunotherapies have revolutionized treatment for people with a variety of cancers. But when given to those with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), a particularly aggressive form of the disease, less than 20% respond. “A big question in the field has been, Why are the rest not responding?” says Rumela Chakrabarti, an assistant […]

A new study identifies some of the most critical genes that may drive a rare but deadly liver cancer, providing a road map for developing drugs that target those genes. The cancer, fibrolamellar carcinoma, accounts for 1-5% of all liver cancers, and disproportionately affects children and young adults. By the […]

A pioneering study has shed new light on how a group of novel organelle-based disorders affect cells. The study led by Professor Michael Schrader from the University of Exeter, and featuring an international, multi-disciplinary team of scientists, has explored on peroxisome alterations and their contribution to the disease. Organelles are the functional units […]

A multidisciplinary team of researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has developed tiny sensors that measure oxygen transport in bovine lung tissue. The study – which establishes a new framework for observing the elusive connection between lung membranes, oxygen flow and related disease – was published in the […]

Researchers trying to turn off a gene that allows cancers to spread have made a surprising U-turn. By making the gene overactive and functional in the hearts of mice, they have triggered heart cell regeneration. Since adult hearts cannot usually repair themselves once damaged, harnessing the power of this gene […]

Timing is everything. A fresh example supporting the old saying has been found in connection with the systems regulated by biological clocks. Research on circadian rhythms, our internal 24-hour patterns that affect sleep-wake and metabolic cycles, has shown that timing is key for human health. When our activities and internal […]