General

A first-of-its-kind national study has found that a form of brain imaging that detects Alzheimer’s-related “plaques” significantly influenced clinical management of patients with mild cognitive impairment and dementia. The study revealed that providing clinicians with the results of positron emission tomography (PET) scans that identify amyloid plaques in the brain […]

A 49-year-old man notices a painless rash on his shoulder but doesn’t seek care. Months later, during a routine physical, his doctor notices the rash and diagnoses it as a benign skin condition. More time passes, and during a routine screening test, a nurse points out the rash to another […]

Colorectal cancer is the second deadliest cancer in the United States, and just six out of 10 adults in the age range recommended for routine screening—50 to 75—reported having it done in 2015. When patients do not keep up with screening, the risk of death is substantially higher, so Penn […]

Researchers have developed a computational model for human MEK1, a protein with potential as a drug target for a variety of human cancers. The initiation and progression of cancer cells occur when molecular signals involved in cellular proliferation go awry. MEK1 plays an essential role in signaling within both healthy […]

New immunotherapies can dramatically defeat cancer. But more often, cancer evades them, and doctors need to know quickly when that happens, so they can adjust treatment. An experimental urine test to detect immunotherapy effectiveness very early has received a major funding boost. The National Institutes of Health has granted $1.8 […]

It's possible to prod immune cells to attack and kill pancreatic cancer cells, according to a report from scientists at the University of Washington School of Medicine and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.  Their findings challenge the commonly held view that pancreatic cancer does not elicit an immune system response that […]

A group of University of Georgia researchers led by geneticist Douglas Menke has become the first in the world to successfully produce a genetically modified reptile—specifically, four albino lizards—using the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing tool. The team’s results, which appeared online, have been submitted for peer review. “Reptiles are very understudied in terms […]

New research from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center sheds light on how tumors use the body’s regulators of immunity for their own benefit. Published in Nature Immunology, the findings could be used to develop the next generation of immune therapies to fight various cancers. “While cancer immunotherapy […]

Seven types of bacteria and certain immune factors in a woman’s vagina and cervix may be responsible for increasing the risk of spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB) or protect against it, according to a new study from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of […]

Prostate cancer can grow slowly and pose little threat to patients, or it can metastasize quickly, causing severe pain and death. But as of now, it’s nearly impossible to determine which type of cancer a patient has during the early stages. Now, University at Buffalo researchers and scientists from Moscow […]

Devising the best treatment for a patient with cancer requires doctors to know something about the traits of the cancer from which the patient is suffering. But one of the greatest difficulties in treating cancer is that cancer cells are not all the same. Even within the same tumor, cancer […]

A prototype wearable device, tested in animal models, can continuously collect live cancer cells directly from a patient’s blood. Developed by a team of engineers and doctors at the University of Michigan, it could help doctors diagnose and treat cancer more effectively. “Nobody wants to have a biopsy. If we […]

A medicine currently being tested as a chemoprevention agent for multiple types of cancer has more than one trick in its bag when it comes to preventing stomach cancer, Vanderbilt researchers have discovered. The investigators found that in addition to its known ability to block the production of cell growth […]

A team of Caltech scientists has developed a new technique to create super-high-resolution images of genetic activity in cells while the cells are still intact in tissue. This work will enable a better understanding of the genetic programs underlying basic biological functions, such as embryonic development, as well as diseases […]

In an important step toward performing medical diagnoses using handheld devices, the researchers have adapted silicon chip technology similar to that found in personal computers and mobile phones to function as a biosensor. The technology uses tiny metal layers embedded in a microchip to eliminate all complex and bulky optical […]

Parkinson’s disease affects more than 5 million people on Earth. Research on the International Space Station could provide insight into this chronic neurodegenerative disease and help scientists find ways to treat and prevent it. The investigation, Crystallization of LRRK2 Under Microgravity Conditions-2 (CASIS PCG 16), grows protein crystals of Leucine-rich […]

Low levels of oxygen in the womb – which can be caused by smoking or conditions such as pre-eclampsia – may cause problems with fertility later in life, a study carried out in rats suggests. The research, led by scientists at the University of Cambridge, found that exposing fetuses to […]

People under age 50 with hearing loss misuse prescription opioids at twice the rate of their hearing peers and are also more likely to misuse alcohol and other drugs, a new national study finds. This means that health care providers may need to take special care when treating pain and […]

NIH has awarded $2 million to UB’s Hunter James Kelly Research Institute to pursue a new direction in understanding and curing the disease. Rep. Brian Higgins visited the New York State Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences on Monday to announce more than $2 million in National Institutes […]

Most people who weather an infection with influenza fully recover after a week or two. But for some, a severe case of the flu can actually reshape the architecture of their lungs and forever compromise their respiratory function. With a surprising new finding, researchers from Penn have identified what they […]

Mistakes in DNA are known to drive cancer growth. But a new study, from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, heavily implicates a genetic phenomenon commonly known as “jumping genes” in the growth of tumors. The study is published in the journal Nature Genetics. Since jumping genes aren’t […]

An experimental combination drug therapy attacking the DNA integrity of cancer cells is showing promise for a possible new cancer therapy in the future. Scientists at the University of Alberta used two drugs together to enhance DNA damage to human breast cancer cells in mice and reduce their capacity to […]

In a breakthrough study of sickle cell disease, biomedical engineers in the University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering have revealed that the building blocks of the disease are much less efficient at organizing than previously thought. The findings open the door to new treatments, including new medicines that […]

When scientists attempt to slip big molecules, like the Cas9 enzyme that is key to CRISPR gene editing, into cells, things can get messy. One popular technique, bulk electroporation, involves jolting cells with electricity. This blows holes everywhere in the cell, allowing anything and everything to get inside. Delicate cells, […]

Bioscientists are moving closer to 3D-printed artificial tissues to help heal bone and cartilage typically damaged in sports-related injuries to knees, ankles and elbows. Scientists at Rice University and the University of Maryland reported their first success at engineering scaffolds that replicate the physical characteristics of osteochondral tissue – basically, hard bone beneath a […]

A team of physical chemists led by Berkeley Lab has unraveled the inner workings of a process that allows hard-working T cells to tune out fake signals. For the first time ever, scientists have imaged the process by which an individual immune system molecule is switched on in response to […]

Cells that line the intestinal tract are replaced every few days, a high rate of turnover that relies on a healthy population of intestinal stem cells. MIT and University of Tokyo biologists have now found that aging takes a toll on intestinal stem cells and may contribute to increased susceptibility […]

A team of researchers from New York University has engineered nanoscale protein micelles capable of both delivering chemotherapeutic drugs and of being tracked by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The innovation falls into the category of “theranostics,” meaning that it combines diagnostic capability and drug delivery, allowing researchers to administer therapy […]

Researchers with The Ohio State University College of Medicine and The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center have identified a metabolic process in the heart that, if treated, could someday prevent or slow the progression of heart failure. The American Heart Association journal published in the Circulation. Before any physical signs or symptoms of heart […]

A new study led by scientists in the Center for Cancer Research (CCR) at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) sheds light on one way tumors may continue to grow despite the presence of cancer-killing immune cells. The findings, published in Science, suggest a way to enhance the effectiveness of immunotherapies […]