General

Changes in a specific type of sugarlike molecule, or glycan, on the surface of cancer cells help them to spread into other tissues, according to researchers at the University of California, Davis. Published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the work could lead to diagnostic tests and new […]

Whether it is a drug-resistant strain of bacteria, or cancer cells that no longer react to the drugs intended to kill them, diverse mutations make cells resistant to chemicals, and “second generation” approaches are needed. Now, a team of Penn State engineers may have a way to predict which mutations […]

Researchers from King’s & Homerton University Hospital have found babies born before 32 weeks’ gestation can rapidly acquire some adult immune functions after birth, equivalent to that achieved by infants born at term. In research published in Nature Communications, the team followed babies born before 32 weeks gestation to identify […]

Researchers at the University of California, Irvine have shown that they can give cells a short-term boost of energy through mitochondrial transplantation. The team’s study, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, suggests that mitochondrial transplantation could one day be employed to cure various cardiovascular, metabolic and neurodegenerative […]

Study shows ripples across a newly fertilized egg are similar to other systems, from ocean and atmospheric circulations to quantum fluids. When an egg cell of almost any sexually reproducing species is fertilized, it sets off a series of waves that ripple across the egg’s surface. These waves are produced […]

Nafamostat mesylate (brand name: Fusan), which is the drug used to treat acute pancreatitis, may effectively block the requisite viral entry process the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) uses to spread and cause disease (COVID-19). The University of Tokyo announced these new findings on March 18, 2020. According to the new research, […]

Researchers at the University of East Anglia have discovered why some prostate cancers are more aggressive, spread to different parts of the body, and ultimately cause death. It is hoped that the discovery could transform patient treatment. The findings come after the same team developed a test that distinguishes between […]

The signaling molecule interleukin-2 (IL-2) has long been known to have powerful effects on the immune system, but efforts to harness it for therapeutic purposes have been hampered by serious side effects. Now researchers have worked out the details of IL-2’s complex interactions with receptor molecules on immune cells, providing […]

Scientists have discovered a possible link between Parkinson’s disease and a gene impacted by a neurotoxin found in blue-green algae. University of Queensland scientist Dr Jacob Gratten said the findings increased the understanding of the environmental risk factors of Parkinson’s disease. “We looked for a link between Parkinson’s and changes in the human […]

Greater physical activity correlates well with lower mortality in later life. Given the way that human data is collected, and the way in which epidemiological studies are carried out, it is hard to determine causation, however. Is it that exercise is protective, or is it that more robust people both live longer and exercise […]

Researchers at the University of Zurich show that different stem cell populations are innervated in distinct ways. Innervation may therefore be crucial for proper tissue regeneration. They also demonstrate that cancer stem cells likewise establish contacts with nerves. Targeting tumour innervation could thus lead to new cancer therapies. Stem cells […]

By focusing on the biology of healthy nerve cells, new research finds repeats in a gene, which causes Fragile X Syndrome, regulates how and when proteins are made in neurons. Over half of our genomes are made of repeating elements within DNA. In rare cases, these repeats can become unstable […]

Cells become senescent in response to a variety of circumstances. The vast majority are cases of replicative senescence, somatic cells reaching the Hayflick limit. Cell damage and toxic environments also produce senescence, and senescent cells are also created as a part of the wound healing process. A senescent cell ceases replication and begins to secrete inflammatory and pro-growth […]

Bacteria may be involved in the development of Type 2 diabetes, according to a study published in Nature Metabolism by researchers from McMaster University, Université Laval and the Québec Heart and Lung Institute. The authors found that the blood, liver, and certain abdominal fat deposits in diabetics have a different […]

Stanford researchers have developed a technique that reprograms cells to use synthetic materials, provided by the scientists, to build artificial structures able to carry out functions inside the body. “We turned cells into chemical engineers of a sort, that use materials we provide to construct functional polymers that change their […]

A study by researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, offers new insight into genetic alterations associated with osteosarcoma, the most common cancerous bone tumor of children and adolescents. The researchers found that more people with osteosarcoma carry harmful, or likely harmful, variants […]

A simple urine test can diagnose and predict acute rejection in kidney transplants, leading to an opportunity for earlier detection and treatment, according to a new study by researchers at UC San Francisco. A test of 601 urine samples showed greater than 95 percent accuracy in determining the risk of […]

Working memory, the ability to hold a thought in mind even through distraction, is the foundation of abstract reasoning and a defining characteristic of the human brain. It is also impaired in disorders such as schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease. Now Yale researchers have found a key molecule that helps neurons […]

Being diagnosed with cancer, one of the world’s most enduring and undiscriminating killers, is distressing enough. But making it a doubly cruel blow is the fact that undergoing one of its most effective treatments, chemotherapy, can itself be utterly debilitating, and even life-threatening. Worldwide, anywhere from 60-80% of patients treated, […]

Researchers here make the point that calorie restriction studies in animals are also introducing a strong component of time restricted feeding, as animals tend to be fed once a day. Studies of intermittent fasting without calorie reduction have shown that this can produce a similar set of metabolic responses to a reduced calorie intake. […]

A new approach reveals how different tissues contribute to inflammatory diseases such as ulcerative colitis. MIT biological engineers have created a multi-tissue model that lets them study the relationships between different organs and the immune system, on a specialized microfluidic platform seeded with human cells. Using this type of model, […]

In the first study of its kind, the University of Miami researchers have found a strong behavioral signal to indicate which infants who have an older sibling with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) will themselves be diagnosed with ASD as they grow older. The researchers found that such high-risk infants […]

Findings from a phase 2 clinical trial show that the drug selumetinib improves outcomes for children with the genetic disorder neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1). In the trial, selumetinib shrank the inoperable tumors that develop with NF1 called plexiform neurofibromas, and children experienced reduced pain, improved function, and better overall quality […]

Researchers working towards understanding the brain in high-definition, single-cell level of detail have designed a new computer program to identify each nerve cell in fluorescent microscope images of living worms. Previous attempts to automate the identification of individual nerve cells have been thwarted by the fact that the same cell […]

Like humans, cells are easily influenced by peer pressure. Take a neural stem cell in the brain: Whether this cell remains a stem cell or differentiates into a fully formed brain cell is ultimately determined by a complex set of molecular messages the cell receives from countless neighbors. Understanding these […]

Inflammation in the brain may be more widely implicated in dementias than was previously thought, suggests new research from the University of Cambridge. The researchers say it offers hope for potential new treatments for several types of dementia. Inflammation is usually the body’s response to injury and stress – such […]

Danon disease is a very rare, life-threatening condition where the fundamental biological process of removing and recycling proteins does not work. This impairment results in dysfunction of the heart, skeletal muscle, neurologic system, eyes, and liver. Most patients die or require heart transplants by the third decade of life. In […]

A group of neuroscience and neurotechnology researchers have conducted extensive research and developed a new brain imaging technology in two EU projects led by Aalto University. As a result of the successful research, a new project funded by Business Finland just started with the aim of making the devices usable for patients. […]

Senior citizens who are not vitamin D deficient have a better chance of walking after hip fracture surgery, according to a Rutgers-led study. The findings in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggest that vitamin D deficiency could limit mobility in older adults, said senior author Sue Shapses, a professor in the Department of […]

Scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego have discovered why some hybrids between populations of the same species don't develop as well as others. The answers lie in their genes. “When individuals from different populations of the same species interbreed, there is often 'hybrid vigor' in […]