General

“Why does it feel that the time passes faster as we get older? What is the physical basis for the impression that some days are slower than others? Why do we tend to focus on the unusual (the surprise), not on the ever present?,” asks Adrian Bejan, the J.A. Jones […]

Aging affects every living organism, but the molecular processes that contribute to aging remain a subject of debate. While many things contribute to the aging process, one common theme in animal aging is inflammation—and this may be amplified by a class of selfish genetic elements. The human genome is littered […]

Not all cancer cells are created equal. Only a small number of cells in a patient’s initial tumor may have the power to travel through the blood, cross the protective membrane known as the blood-brain barrier, and directly attack the brain. But which cells? What makes them special? How can […]

Even premature babies carry anti-viral antibodies transferred from the mother, researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden report in a paper on maternal antibodies in newborns, published in the journal Nature Medicine. The results should change our approach to infection sensitivity in newborns, they say. Antibodies are transferred from the mother’s blood […]

For the first time, researchers have evidence that fibromyalgia can be reliably detected in blood samples – work they hope will pave the way for a simple, fast diagnosis. In a study that appears in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, researchers from The Ohio State University report success in identifying biomarkers of […]

Green tea cut obesity and a number of inflammatory biomarkers linked with poor health in a new study. Mice fed a diet of 2 percent green tea extract fared far better than those that ate a diet without it, a finding that has prompted an upcoming study of green tea’s […]

RNA transcribed from genes that seem not to code for anything may play an important role in regulating cancer, a new study suggests. A number of these noncoding RNA fragments lie next to known cancer genes, the study found. Understanding how they interact with those cancer genes could open new […]

An approved drug normally used to treat fungal infections could also do the job of a protein channel that is missing or defective in the lungs of people with cystic fibrosis, operating as a prosthesis on the molecular scale, says new research from the University of Illinois and the University […]

Scientists at the University of Illinois have found that free fatty acids in the blood appear to boost proliferation and growth of breast cancer cells. The finding could help explain obese women’s elevated risk of developing breast cancer after menopause. “When taken up by estrogen-receptor positive breast cancer cells, these […]

Researchers from DTU and the University of Copenhagen are now pointing out that narcolepsy is an autoimmune disease. This may be important to future treatment of this chronic disorder. Between 2,500 and 3,000 Danes suffer from the sleep disorder narcolepsy—which is characterized by a sudden and overwhelming urge to sleep. […]

Scientists have long known that the protein p53, when mutated, is a critical factor in the onset of many different kinds of cancer. In its unmutated form, however, it is known to protect against cancer. These dueling qualities make the p53 protein and the gene that makes it among the […]

Scientists puzzled for two decades over this seemingly unnecessary withholding. Now researchers at Princeton University have shown that the inhibiting mechanism, controlled by an enzyme known as RNR, is key to the embryo’s survival. Too much material early on leads to disaster for the fledgling lifeform. “This study shows us […]

The jawbone is not typically connected to the rib bone, but it might be in an emergency. Rice University bioengineers and their colleagues have developed a technique to grow live bone to repair craniofacial injuries by attaching a 3D-printed bioreactor — basically, a mold — to a rib. Stem cells and blood vessels from […]

It was surprisingly simple. University of California, Berkeley, scientists inserted a gene for a green-light receptor into the eyes of blind mice and, a month later, they were navigating around obstacles as easily as mice with no vision problems. They were able to see motion, brightness changes over a thousandfold […]

Light physical activity such as gardening, strolling through a park, and folding clothes might be enough to significantly lower the risk of cardiovascular disease among women 63 and older, a new study has found. This kind of activity, researchers said, appears to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease events such […]

A group of researchers from the University of Cambridge have grown a miniature (roughly pea-sized) brain in a dish which they claim might “improve our understanding of human brain development and neurological disorders”. The paper accompanying the work, published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, details how a grey blob of […]

Catheter ablation, a common cardiovascular procedure, appears no more effective than drug therapies in preventing strokes, deaths, and other complications in patients with atrial fibrillation. However, patients who get the procedure experience much greater symptom relief and long-term improvements in the quality of life, including  fewer recurrences of the condition […]

Thinking you could wait till your 50th birthday to worry about colorectal cancer? Maybe not. New guidelines from the American Cancer Society recognize recent studies that have found increasing rates of colorectal cancer among younger people. In response, they lowered the recommended age to begin screening from 50 to 45. “Research […]

Older children and teenagers may have a higher risk of obesity if they consistently don’t get enough sleep, according to recent Michigan Medicine research. The study, published in the Journal of Pediatrics, found the highest levels of obesity in adolescents who weren’t sleeping enough night after night, even more so than […]

Researchers can now explain how a cell that is being attacked by bacteria or viruses specifically manages to ‘sound the alarm’ among its neighbouring cells so they can react with a quick response. “We’ve succeeded in finding and describing a messenger which both quickly and effectively can inform the surrounding […]

Research by Professor Sonia Rocha and her team at the Institute of Integrative Biology reveals new insights into how cells respond to oxygen deprivation. Published in the prestigious journal Science, the researchers found that chromatin, the complex of DNA and proteins where all genes reside, quickly changes in response to low oxygen. Oxygen is essential for […]

One of the most common cancer-promoting genes, known as Myc, is also one of the most difficult to target with drugs. Scientists have long tried to develop drugs that block the Myc protein, but so far their efforts have not been successful. Now, using an alternative strategy, MIT researchers have […]

By exposing mice to a unique combination of light and sound, MIT neuroscientists have shown that they can improve cognitive and memory impairments similar to those seen in Alzheimer’s patients. This noninvasive treatment, which works by inducing brain waves known as gamma oscillations, also greatly reduced the number of amyloid […]

Even as overall cancer incidence and mortality decrease in the United States, the number of people diagnosed with liver cancer is on the rise. Current therapies for liver cancer are largely ineffective, resulting in poor outcomes, but new preclinical data from University of California San Diego School of Medicine offers […]

While the human T- cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is known to cause a rare cancer of the immune system’s T-cells called adult T-cell leukemia or ATL in about five percent of those infected, researchers from the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) and Moores Cancer Center at UC San […]

A new study led by The University of Western Australia has identified 11 recommendations to help health professionals and patients better manage musculoskeletal problems. The study comes after the team found many musculoskeletal problems were not being managed effectively. Musculoskeletal conditions – including back and neck pain, osteoarthritis and shoulder […]

Heart failure – a condition in which the heart muscle can no longer pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs, and distinct from a heart attack – is the most common reason Americans age 65 and older are hospitalized. And while we spend nearly $31 billion annually dealing with […]

Skin is the body’s largest organ, and scientists at UC San Francisco and the San Francisco Veterans Administration (VA) Health Care System think it may be to blame for body-wide inflammation linked to numerous chronic diseases of aging. The good news is that properly caring for the skin with a moisturizing cream […]

Puberty is something we all go through and yet there is limited science to explain what is happening inside our bodies during this transition, and how it affects our physical and mental health. The research that does exist focuses primarily on girls and often ignores the changes for boys, African […]

Millions of Americans are progressively losing their sight as cells in their eyes deteriorate, but a new therapy developed by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, could help prolong useful vision and delay total blindness. The treatment — involving either a drug or gene therapy — works by reducing […]