December 18, 2019

Researchers put a Human Patient into “Suspended Animation” for the First Time

According to Samuel Tisherman, spokesperson from the University of Maryland, his team of researchers have successfully placed at least one human in suspended animation for the first time in history. The goal of this ground-breaking achievement is to enable medical professionals to fix traumatic injuries such as gunshot or stab […]
December 18, 2019

Case Western Reserve researchers to lead Northeast Ohio initiative to prevent, detect and treat lung cancer in underserved communities

With a $2.75 million, three-year grant from the Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) Foundation, researchers from Case Western Reserve University will lead a community-wide initiative to create and apply innovative methods to prevent and detect lung cancer in underserved residents in Northeast Ohio. The Community Collaborative for Lung Health Equity, directed by […]
December 18, 2019

Blue mushroom dye used to develop new fluorescent tool for cell biologists

Reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as free radicals and peroxides, are produced in cells under oxidative stress. Whilst present in healthy cells in small amounts, excessive ROS in cells is damaging and can lead to cancer and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s Disease. The scientists at Bath, collaborating with researchers […]
December 18, 2019

Hydrogels control inflammation to help healing

Hydrogels for healing, synthesized from the molecules up by Rice University bioengineers, are a few steps closer to the clinic. Rice researchers and collaborators at Texas Heart Institute (THI) have established a baseline set of injectable hydrogels that promise to help heal wounds, deliver drugs and treat cancer. Critically, they’ve analyzed […]
December 17, 2019

‘Conductor’ Gene Found in Plant Root Stem Cell ‘Orchestra’

In a new paper, researchers at North Carolina State University lift the veil on the “conductor” plant root stem cell gene that helps orchestrate and coordinate stem cell division of different root stem cell types, ensuring the harmonic communication necessary for plant growth and maintenance. Ross Sozzani, an NC State associate […]
December 17, 2019

Stroke Drug Boosts Stem Cell Therapy for Spinal Cord Injury in Rats

Four months after treating them, Yasuhiro Shiga, MD, PhD, checked on his rats. Walking into the lab, he carried minimal expectations. Treating spinal cord injuries with stem cells had been tried by many people, many times before, with modest success at best. The endpoint he was specifically there to measure […]
December 17, 2019

Math Equation Predicts and Detects Liver Cancer

By combining RNA sequencing, bioinformatics and mathematical modeling, University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center researchers identified a sudden transcriptomic switch that turns healthy liver tissue cancerous. The finding was used to develop a quantitative analytical tool that assesses cancer risk in patients with chronic […]
December 17, 2019

Low genetic risk for ADHD may protect against negative life experiences

A recent study shows that people at low genetic risk for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are not only less likely to have the disorder, they also have better than expected economic, health and behavioral outcomes in later life. The results, published in the journal Psychological Medicine, “capture far more than just […]
December 17, 2019

Turning to genetics to treat little hearts

A team of researchers at CHU Sainte-Justine and Université de Montréal has discovered a new mechanism involved in a common congenital disease of the aortic valve. The findings of the study, conducted in collaboration with the Hadassa Hebrew University Medical Center, were published in the prestigious journal Nature Genetics. Valve disease […]
December 17, 2019

Many psychiatric disorders originate from shared genes

The largest study of its kind so far shows that the eight most common psychiatric disorders have a common genetic structure. Researchers from iPSYCH and the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium are behind the new results, which could help to develop more precise diagnoses and improved treatment. Over the course of a […]
December 17, 2019

New model explains how our immune system sometimes helps cancer spread

Mathematicians at the University of Alberta have developed a model that explains how the immune system interacts with cancer—and in some cases, may help cancer spread to other areas of the body. “Past research has shown that sometimes, the immune system has the opposite effect of what we might expect,” […]
December 17, 2019

Asthma severity linked to microbiome of upper airway

A new study led by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests there is a link between bacteria that live in the upper airway and the severity of asthma symptoms among children with mild to moderate asthma. The study raises the possibility that the airway’s microbiome could have […]
December 17, 2019

Researchers discover critical link to controlling inflammation in Crohn’s disease

Investigators at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine discovered that blocking interleukin-1α (IL1α), a protein that controls inflammation in the gut markedly decreases the severity of intestinal inflammation in a mouse model of Crohn’s disease (CD). The anti-inflammatory effects of the biological therapies used to neutralize IL1α were […]
December 17, 2019

Simple tool shows life expectancy after dementia diagnosis

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and from the Netherlands have developed a simple tool that shows the survival probability of a person with dementia disease over three years. This, they hope, will facilitate dialogue with the most seriously affected and help doctors and others plan the necessary care. The study is […]
December 17, 2019

Free tool simplifies cancer research

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have developed a new method for identifying which proteins are affected by specific drugs. The tool and the results it has already generated have been made freely available online. The method is described in the scientific journal Nature Communications. Every cell contains a vast number of […]
December 17, 2019

A new gene therapy strategy, courtesy of Mother Nature

Scientists have developed a new gene-therapy technique by transforming human cells into mass producers of tiny nano-sized particles full of genetic material that has the potential to reverse disease processes. Though the research was intended as a proof of concept, the experimental therapy slowed tumor growth and prolonged survival in […]
December 17, 2019

Screen could offer better safety tests for new chemicals

It’s estimated that there are approximately 80,000 industrial chemicals currently in use, in products such as clothing, cleaning solutions, carpets, and furniture. For the vast majority of these chemicals, scientists have little or no information about their potential to cause cancer. The detection of DNA damage in cells can predict […]
December 16, 2019

Chemists’ calculations may advance cancer prediction

When do cancer-prone cells turn into full-blown cancer? A Rice University scientist and his colleague believe there’s a way to know. It may become possible for biomarkers in the blood to reveal whether mutated cells have turned a corner toward forming tumors, and how long the process — depending on […]
December 13, 2019

Fragmented sleep may affect brain’s immune cells, impair cognition

Fragmented sleep in older people with and without Alzheimer’s disease may have an effect on the brain’s immune cells and impact people’s cognitive abilities, according to a new study by University of Toronto researchers. The study by Dr. Andrew Lim, an associate professor in neurology at U of T’s Faculty of Medicine, […]
December 13, 2019

Research Brief: Keeping health care workers safe from chemotherapy drugs

Chemotherapy drugs have been used to treat cancer since the 1950s. While the drugs are often lifesaving for cancer patients, they are also linked to reproductive problems, breast cancer, and other health issues in the medical staff who work with the medications. To help protect health care workers, the University […]
December 13, 2019

Study finds differences in energy use by immune cells in ME/CFS

New findings published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation suggest that specific immune T cells from people with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) show disruptions in the way they produce energy. The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health. “This research gives us additional evidence for the role […]
December 13, 2019

Depression, anxiety may hinder healing in young patients with hip pain

New research suggests that physicians evaluating young patients with hip pain should consider more than such patients’ physical health. They also should consider screening those patients for clinical depression and anxiety — impairments that researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found can have a negative […]
December 13, 2019

Tropical flower offers potential new route for treating pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most aggressive and deadly cancers. Following diagnosis, patients have an average survival of less than 6 months; sadly around 10,000 patients in the UK per year die from this type of cancer. Researchers from the University of Bath have made three new molecules similar […]
December 12, 2019

The Danger Behind Certain Biologics

Autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, and Crohn’s disease plague tens of millions of Americans and are the result of the body’s immune system, whose role is to fight against disease-causing pathogens, turning against itself. Thankfully, several new drugs designed to fight these diseases are now available. The downside—the […]
December 12, 2019

Winship study sheds light on immune control of cancer

New findings could provide doctors with vital clues about how the immune system prevents cancer from recurring. The study from Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University looked at whether immune cells were present in tumor samples removed from patients with kidney and other urologic cancers. For those patients where the […]