General

The connective tissue cells known as fibroblasts are vitally important for our recovery from injury. Sensing tissue damage, they gravitate to the site of a wound, instigating an inflammatory response that mends damaged tissue. A new Tel Aviv University study published in Nature Communications finds that fibroblasts also play a devastating role in the […]

Unlike almost every other organ, the mammary gland does not develop until after birth. And it’s unusually dynamic, shape-shifting during menstrual cycles, puberty, pregnancy, and lactation. These changes require energy. In a study using a new, genetically altered mouse model, researchers led by Rumela Chakrabarti of Penn’s School of Veterinary Medicine have uncovered a key protein […]

Each year, roughly 15,000 Americans are diagnosed with Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM), the most common malignant primary brain tumor in adults… and also the most lethal. Surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy can help slow the tumor’s growth, but the disease remains incurable. Recurrence occurs in almost every case. But the tide to […]

Amid concerns about gluten sensitivity, increasing numbers of people are avoiding wheat. Most have not been diagnosed with a wheat-related medical condition, yet they seem to feel better when they don’t eat gluten-containing foods. A possible explanation is that modern varieties of wheat are responsible. But now, researchers reporting in […]

Saccharin received a bad rap after studies in the 1970s linked consumption of large amounts of the artificial sweetener to bladder cancer in laboratory rats. Later, research revealed that these findings were not relevant to people. And in a complete turnabout, recent studies indicate that saccharin can actually kill human […]

For many years, some parents have noticed that their autistic children’s behavioral symptoms diminished when they had a fever. This phenomenon has been documented in at least two large-scale studies over the past 15 years, but it was unclear why fever would have such an effect. A new study from […]

The first strain of influenza virus we encounter during childhood sets the course of how our immune system responds to exposures later in life. How successfully a person can fend off the flu depends not only on the virus' notorious ability to change with the season, but also on the […]

Researchers say a new method to analyse data from individual human cells could be a step-change for diagnosing some of the most devastating diseases, including cancer and autoimmune disease. By combining single cell analysis techniques with machine learning algorithms, a team led by researchers at the Garvan Institute of Medical […]

Getting a good night’s sleep could be beneficial for long-term health. A pioneering new study led by Dr. Lu Qi, director of the Tulane University Obesity Research Center, found that even if people had a high genetic risk of heart disease or stroke, healthy sleep patterns could help offset that […]

The search for a cure to AIDS has partly focused on ways to eradicate infected cells. Now, new research from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and the University of Pennsylvania in the U.S. shows that this approach may not be necessary for a functional cure. In a study focusing on a […]

For many years, the parents of children with autism have reported that behavioral symptoms diminished when the child had a fever. The fever phenomenon has been documented in at least two large-scale studies over the past 15 years, but the reasons behind it have continued to mystify scientists. Now, a […]

Children who acquired HIV in utero or during birth or breastfeeding did not perform as well as their peers who do not have HIV on tests measuring cognitive ability, motor function and attention, according to a report published online in Clinical Infectious Diseases. The observational study included neuropsychological evaluations of 611 […]

In most cases, your genes have less than five percent to do with your risk of developing a particular disease, according to new research by University of Alberta scientists. In the largest meta-analysis of its kind ever conducted, the researchers examined two decades of data from studies on the relationships […]

As an embryo develops, its cells must learn what to do with the thousands of genes they’ve been equipped with. That’s why each cell comes with a detailed gene-expression manual outlining exactly which genes should be switched on, to what extent, and when. To execute their respective manuals, the cells […]

Male Infertility New mouse model allows researchers to track defective sperm and potentially find ways to correct it. One out of eight couples has trouble conceiving, with nearly a quarter of those cases caused by unexplained male infertility. For the past decade, research has linked that infertility to defective sperm […]

Can’t remember something? Try waiting until later in the day. Researchers have identified a gene in mice that seems to influence memory recall at different times of day and tracked how it causes mice to be more forgetful just before they normally wake up. “We may have identified the first […]

E-cigarette use significantly increases a person’s risk of developing chronic lung diseases like asthma, bronchitis, emphysema or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, according to new UC San Francisco research, the first longitudinal study linking e-cigarettes to respiratory illness in a sample representative of the entire U.S. adult population. The study also […]

In recent years, researchers all over the world have been seeking a deeper understanding about the impact of people’s gut bacteria—their so-called microbiome—on their health and risk of developing different diseases. Researchers from the National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark (DTU), in cooperation with Rigshospitalet, have investigated the microbiome […]

For most of our evolutionary history — for most of the time anatomically modern humans have been on Earth — we’ve shared the planet with other species of humans. It’s only been in the last 30,000 years, the mere blink of an evolutionary eye, that modern humans have occupied the […]

The progression of cancer has been studied extensively, and the key steps in this journey have been well mapped, at least in some solid tumors: Lesions to genes that confer risk of cancer accumulate and alter normal cell behaviors, giving rise, scientists believe, to early-stage cancer cells that eventually swamp […]

It starts off small, just a skin blemish. The most common moles stay just that way — harmless clusters of skin cells called melanocytes, which give us pigment. In rare cases, what begins as a mole can turn into melanoma, the most serious type of human skin cancer because it […]

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 […]

Teenage girls who experience clinical levels of anxiety could be at greater risk of eating disorders, according to associations identified in a study completed by researchers at the University of Bristol with UCL. Published in European Eating Disorders Review, the new research looked at anxiety disorder pathology and engagement with […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

One of most potent drugs for treatment of glioblastoma, the most deadly type of brain tumor, can’t be used in patients because of two problems. First, it can’t reach its target because it’s blocked by the blood-brain barrier, a microscopic structure that protects the brain from toxins in the blood. […]

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 […]

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 […]