November 19, 2019

Stem Cells and AI: Better Together

One day in the future when you need medical care, someone will examine you, diagnose the problem, remove some of your body’s healthy cells, and then use them to grow a cure for your ailment. The therapy will be personalized and especially attuned to you and your body, your genes, […]
November 19, 2019

Improving the odds for patients with heart pumps

A new Yale study shows that some patients being treated for severe heart failure with a battery-operated pump saw significant improvement after additionally using neurohormonal blockade (NHB) drug therapy. NHB therapy, which includes three broad categories of drugs, including ACE inhibitors, has long been the standard therapy for treating heart […]
November 18, 2019

Can Uterine Fibroids Cause Infertility?

Uterine fibroids are a very common condition, and affected women often wonder if their pregnancy challenges are related to their fibroids. In this article, we discuss the ‘classic’ view on how fibroids can affect fertility, and the effects of different fibroid treatment options on fertility. Fibroids It is estimated that […]
November 18, 2019

‘Supergrowth’ Challenges Established Science of Cell Growth

Scientists are still grappling with questions as fundamental as how a cell actually grows. Cells are not just water-filled blobs but are chock-full of proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, and many other types of molecules. When a cell grows, it not only increases in size, it also has to make more […]
November 18, 2019

Could synthetic molecules provide a general treatment for Cystic Fibrosis?

A new treatment for lung disease in cystic fibrosis (CF) for which there remains no cure could potentially benefit all patients, according to a University of Bristol study published in Chemical Science. The findings are an important step towards a new therapy addressing the fundamental cause of cystic fibrosis. Cystic […]
November 18, 2019

Lithium can reverse radiation damage after brain tumour treatment

Children who have received radiotherapy for a brain tumour can develop cognitive problems later in life. In their studies on mice, researchers at Karolinska Institutet have now shown that the drug lithium can help to reverse the damage caused long after it has occurred. The study is published in the […]
November 18, 2019

Antibody injection stops peanut allergy for 2 to 6 weeks, study shows

A Stanford-led pilot study has provided early evidence that an antibody is a safe, effective and rapid food allergy treatment. One injection of an antibody treatment let people with severe peanut allergies eat a nut’s worth of peanut protein two weeks later, a small, Stanford-led pilot study showed. The study […]
November 18, 2019

Stress, Plastic Additives in Late Pregnancy Raise Risk of Premature Birth

Women exposed simultaneously to stress and plastic additives late in pregnancy are at increased risk for premature birth, according to a study by Rutgers and other institutions. The study, published in the journal Environment International, is the first to analyze a link between stress and phthalates – a group of chemicals in plastics, personal […]
November 15, 2019

NIH, NIST researchers use artificial intelligence for quality control of stem cell-derived tissues

Researchers used artificial intelligence (AI) to evaluate stem cell-derived “patches” of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) tissue for implanting into the eyes of patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of blindness. The proof-of-principle study helps pave the way for AI-based quality control of therapeutic cells and tissues. The […]
November 15, 2019

Eliminating Common Bacterial Infection Significantly Decreases Gastric Cancer Risk

While it is well known within the medical community that there is a link between the bacteria Helicobacter pylori (H pylori) and rates of gastric cancer—commonly referred to as stomach cancer—the rates and risk among Americans has been largely understudied. Now, after analyzing records of close to 400,000 patients, researchers […]
November 15, 2019

Researchers Halt Spread of Breast Cancer by Blocking Metastasis-Promoting Enzyme

In a breakthrough with important implications for the future of immunotherapy for breast cancer, UC San Francisco scientists have found that blocking the activity of a single enzyme can prevent a common type of breast cancer from spreading to distant organs. While studying a mouse model that replicates key features […]
November 15, 2019

New finding offers possibility for preventing age-related metabolic disease

A study by researchers at Yale has uncovered why belly fat surrounding organs increases as people age, a finding that could offer new treatment possibilities for improving metabolic health, thereby reducing the likelihood of diseases like diabetes and atherosclerosis that stem from inflammation. Led by Dr. Vishwa Deep Dixit, the Waldemar […]
November 14, 2019

Elusive cancer-related protein captured in flight

Scientists have for the first time seen how the MYC protein, which plays a central role in cancer, binds to a key protein and controls important functions in the cell. The new discovery may in the long term help in the development of new cancer drugs that disrupt the function […]
November 14, 2019

Fertilization Discovery Reveals New Role For The Egg

An unexpected discovery about fertilization from the University of Virginia School of Medicine reveals new insights on how sperm and egg fuse and could have major implications for couples battling infertility – and may lead to a future male contraceptive. The finding has the potential both to boost the success […]
November 14, 2019

Precisely poking cells en masse to cure cancer

What if you could cure cancer by re-engineering patients’ cells to better target and destroy their own tumors? With the advent of powerful new cellular engineering technologies, this is no longer the stuff of science fiction. In the past few years, these technologies have enabled the development of revolutionary engineered […]
November 14, 2019

Study: Melanoma rates drop sharply in teens, young adults

Cases of melanoma among U.S. adolescents and young adults declined markedly from 2006 to 2015 – even as the skin cancer's incidence continued to increase among older adults and the general population during the span, new research shows. The finding, based on national cancer-registry data, suggests that public-health efforts advocating sun […]
November 14, 2019

Slowing the progression of multiple sclerosis

Over 77,000 Canadians are living with multiple sclerosis, a disease whose causes still remain unknown. Presently, they have no hope for a cure. In a study published in Science Translational Medicine, researchers at the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre (CRCHUM) identify a molecule named ALCAM which, once blocked, delays […]
November 14, 2019

Sugar binges increase risk of inflammatory bowel disease, study suggests

Short-term increases in sugar consumption could increase the risk of inflammatory bowel disease and have a significant impact on our health, a new study out of the University of Alberta suggests. In a study published in Scientific Reports, U of A researchers found that mice had an increased susceptibility to chemically […]
November 14, 2019

Lithium can reverse radiation damage after brain tumour treatment

Children who have received radiotherapy for a brain tumour can develop cognitive problems later in life. In their studies on mice, researchers at Karolinska Institutet have now shown that the drug lithium can help to reverse the damage caused long after it has occurred. The study is published in the […]
November 13, 2019

Leukaemia cells can transform into non-cancerous cells through epigenetic changes

All the tissues of our body have the same DNA, but they perform very different functions and have very different aspects. For example, a lymphocyte and a neuron share the same genetic material, but they play very different tasks, and their appearance under the microscope is entirely dissimilar. What gives […]
November 13, 2019

New AI Model Tries to Synthesize Patient Data Like Doctors Do

PNNL incorporates information of over 300,000 medical concepts, more than any existing AI data set, in effort to aid physicians’ diagnoses Artificial intelligence will never replace a doctor. However, researchers at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have taken a big step toward the day when AI can […]
November 13, 2019

Getting a good night’s rest is important for better bone health

Getting five or fewer hours of sleep a night is associated with low bone mineral density (BMD) and higher odds of osteoporosis, according to the findings of the largest study of sleep and BMD to date among U.S. postmenopausal women. “Our study suggests that sleep may negatively impact bone health, […]
November 13, 2019

Pioneering new ‘smart needle’ could revolutionise cancer diagnosis

A multidisciplinary team of experts has developed a ground-breaking ‘smart needle’ probe that uses light to pinpoint cancerous tissues or cells almost instantaneously. This optical biopsy uses a technique called Raman spectroscopy, which measures the light scattered by tissues when a low-power laser is shone onto it. Light is scattered […]
November 12, 2019

USC stem cell scientists reveal key differences in male, female kidney

USC researchers have completed a detailed deconstruction of the kidney, revealing for the first time an intimate portrait of sexual differences and more in the organ. The findings could benefit 37 million Americans suffering from kidney disease by helping to distinguish how it affects men and women differently. They can […]
November 12, 2019

Lasting Tumor Regression of Leukemia and Lymphoma in Mouse Models Achieved by U-M Compound

For decades, a transcription factor known as STAT3 has been a major therapeutic target in the treatment of cancer. But STAT3 has largely been considered “undruggable” due to the difficulty of developing compounds to effectively inhibit its activity. Researchers at the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center have taken a promising […]
November 12, 2019

‘Basket’ Trials for Dementia Aim to Bring Precision Medicine to Neurogenerative Diseases

A new type of clinical trial for dementia that aims to accelerate treatments for neurodegenerative disease by adapting one of the precision medicine approaches that have defined 21st-century cancer therapy has been developed by clinician-scientists at the UC San Francisco Memory and Aging Center (MAC). Cancer researchers, realizing that seemingly different cancer […]