General

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 […]

While the world worries about novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, other viruses continue to be used for the good – as vectors that ferry in healing genes for gene therapy and editing. Charles Hough calls himself “reborn” after lentiviruses – disabled versions of HIV – gave his blood cells the gene that overrides the […]

An international team of researchers from the University of Zurich, the University Hospital Zurich, Heidelberg and Glasgow has identified a novel function for the cell death regulating protein MCL1: It is essential in protecting the intestine against cancer development – independent of bacterial-driven inflammation. These findings have implications for the […]

Researchers based at UTokyo and RIKEN in Japan, and the University of New South Wales in Australia have uncovered a new aspect of one of the molecules involved in cells' production line to build cholesterol. This understanding could provide a new target for high-cholesterol medications and other drugs that kill […]

Researchers have found that colon cancer tumor cells produce energy for growth differently in women and men and that this difference is associated with a more aggressive form of tumor growth with a higher incidence in women. In a study published in Scientific Reports, the authors note that this is […]

Researchers here report on preliminary evidence that antibodies binding to TREM2 can enhance the ability of the immune cells known as microglia to clear out debris and metabolic waste in brain, particularly the amyloid-β plaques thought to contribute to the progression of the condition. Given the unremitting record of failure to date for amyloid-β clearance approaches to produce […]

Multiple proteins can be assembled from the blueprint of a any given gene, depending on which of the intron sequences (usually removed) and exon sequences (usually retained) within the overall gene sequence are included in the final protein. Splicing is the part of the gene expression process that determines this outcome, and regulation of splicing is one […]

University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers have identified a new way that common Aspergillus molds can induce asthma, by first attacking the protective tissue barrier deep in the lungs. In both mice and humans, an especially strong response to this initial damage was associated with developing an overreaction to future mold exposure and the […]

Some 20 percent of breast cancer survivors will suffer from lymphedema, a potentially severe side effect of treatment that makes arms swell with lymph. The disease is often overlooked, but commercially available app-based technology now makes early detection easier, allowing for proactive treatment. The lymphedema monitoring technology originated through research […]

A number of previous studies have found that the roughly 400 olfactory genes present in the human body are sometimes expressed beyond the nose, posing an interesting question for researchers involved in the field of genetics. Now, a study published in Molecular Systems Biology has shown that patients with colon […]

A protein that normally deposits mineralized calcium in tooth enamel may also be responsible for calcium deposits in the back of the eye in people with dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), according to a study from researchers at the National Eye Institute (NEI). This protein, amelotin, may turn out to […]

Skin is our body’s most ardent defender against pathogens and other external threats. Its outermost layer is maintained through a remarkable transformation in which skin cells swiftly convert into squames—flat, dead cells that provide a tight seal between the living portion of the skin and the world outside. “Throughout our […]