General

University of Maryland researchers analyzed a DNA-based evolutionary tree for a majority of known bat species and found four bat lineages that exhibit extreme longevity. They also identified for the first time two traits that predict extended life spans in bats. Their work is described in a research paper, published […]

By speaking the brain’s language, the material is a portal between electronics and the brain. WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — What if the brain could detect its own disease? Researchers have been trying to create a material that “thinks” like the brain does, which would be more sensitive to early signs […]

Researchers find new way to clean up cells; discovery could aid attack on human disease. Marie Kondo herself couldn’t do it any better. Usually cells are good at recognizing what doesn’t spark joy. They’re constantly cleaning house — picking through their own stuff to clear out what no longer works. […]

There could be new treatments on the horizon for diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, or DIPG, a devastating form of brain cancer that afflicts young children and is currently incurable. Recent experiments in animal models of the disease have identified an experimental drug that effectively destroys DIPG cells. And a team […]

The ability to turn while walking is impaired among patients with Parkinson's disease. This difficulty is also associated with freezing of gait and falls, which can have devastating medical consequences in an older population. A new Tel Aviv University study advances the understanding of turns in Parkinson's patients, providing new insights into […]

Some of the deadliest cancers have mostly silent symptoms. By the time people go to their doctors because of worrisome changes, cancer may have already reached a late stage, giving physicians limited treatment options. Scientists are always looking for ways to detect cancer and other diseases through tests that show […]

Leukemia treatments often leave girls infertile, but a procedure developed by researchers at the University of Michigan working with mice is a step toward restoring their ability to be biological mothers. Ovarian follicles are the “nests” that carry eggs and support them to grow and become viable. The researchers demonstrated […]

University at Buffalo researchers have developed a new method to more accurately predict tumor growth rates, a crucial statistic used to schedule screenings and set dosing regimens in cancer treatment. The mathematical method successfully estimated the doubling time — the amount of time for a tumor to double in size […]

Purdue University researchers have developed a new design method to create soft robots that may help in caregiving for elderly family members. WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The world’s elderly population is booming. The number of older people — those age 60 years or older — is expected to more than […]

Chronological aging is easy to track – birthdays. Biological aging can be obvious too – graying hair, sagging skin, and other inexorable signs of impending decrepitude. But measuring biological aging isn’t as easy as noting the passage of time. The best-studied measure of biological age is the shrinking of chromosome tips, or telomeres, […]

Scientists have known for decades that caloric restriction leads to a longer lifespan. It has also been observed that chronic inflammation increases with age. But any relationship between the two had remained unexplored. But in a new study, published in Cell Metabolism,  Harvard Medical School researchers at Joslin Diabetes Center have uncovered […]

In a first on the quest to cure HIV, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health scientists report in EBioMedicine that they’ve developed an all-in-one immunotherapy approach that not only kicks HIV out of hiding in the immune system, but also kills it. The key lies in immune cells designed to recognize an […]

If a picture’s worth a thousand words, a video is perhaps worth much more. For the first time, scientists have observed a dynamic localization of a single RNA with processing bodies—the membraneless organelles present in the cytoplasm of nearly all mammalian cells that play an important role in RNA regulation. […]

DTU has entered into collaboration with the UK company Kromek aimed at developing a scanner that can improve breast cancer diagnostics. Advanced technology developed for space research often has great potential in other fields. The new industrial research and development partnership between DTU Space and the UK company Kromek Group plc is a good […]

New research from Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital shows that women aged 65 and older have a higher risk of dying from cervical cancer than previously thought – although this age group is not covered by the Danish screening programme. Denmark has one of highest incidences of cervical cancer […]

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 […]