General

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 […]

One of the largest ever clinical trials in children with Rolandic epilepsy, coordinated by the University of Liverpool, is launching on ‘Purple Day’, the family-focused epilepsy awareness day. Researchers from the Clinical Trials Research Centre at the University of Liverpool have been involved with designing and coordinating the nationwide CASTLE trial, which is one […]

People who are diabetic, prediabetic or obese are at high risk of developing diabetic neuropathy, which is chronic nerve damage that often affects the feet and hands. Researchers at Michigan Medicine may have identified a new way to reverse this common, painful and debilitating condition through simple changes in diet. […]

Researchers from Aarhus University have studied a new group of medicinal products which increase the muscle- and bone mass of mice over a few weeks. This offers hope to the elderly and people suffering from weak muscles and bones due to illness. It is common knowledge that as people grow […]

In a great stride toward finding an effective treatment for early-stage neurodegenerative diseases, UC Santa Barbara neurobiologist Kenneth S. Kosik and collaborators have uncovered a “druggable” mechanism of pathological tau protein aggregation. For the millions of people at risk for frontotemporal dementia and a host of other such conditions including Alzheimer's, this […]

All parents want their children to be not only healthy but also better than them in many ways. Can genetic engineering help them achieve that? Scientific and Moral Aspects of Genetic Modification Gene manipulation has made colossal strides over the last decades. Scientists claim that genetic engineering of children has […]

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have discovered the underlying cause of a hereditary muscle disease first characterised in a Swedish family in 1980. It proves to be the first identified disease caused by defective myoglobin, the protein that transports oxygen in muscle cells. The study is published in Nature Communications. Sarcoplasmic body […]

Pregnant women who use cannabis may slightly increase the risk their unborn child will develop psychosis later in life, suggests new research from Washington University in St. Louis. “Our research shows that prenatal marijuana exposure after maternal knowledge of pregnancy is associated with a small increase in psychosis proneness during […]

Scientists at the University of Virginia and elsewhere have mapped out how the body transports testosterone, and their surprising findings may explain low testosterone levels seen in men with diabetes or patients on certain medications. The discovery allows scientists to understand exactly how testosterone, the male sex hormone, binds to a […]