General

Doctors aren’t sure what causes age-related macular degeneration, a disease that affects millions of people in the United States. Also called AMD, it is known for causing blurred central vision due to damage to the macula — a small area at the back of the eye. Currently, there is no cure. But there […]

99.8 % accuracy of the new methods that can read lengthy sections of genetic material is quite impressive. These methods can reduce the time needed to analyse DNA data, which could speed up genetic studies. However, a new research from the University of Edinburgh revealed that even 99.8 % accuracy […]

Both genes and the environment shape a person’s risk of disease, but while genes are frequently cataloged, perturbed, activated, turned off and systematically tested in the lab, environmental exposures are often studied as one-offs. Now Harvard Medical School investigators at Brigham and Women’s Hospital have developed an approach to systematically […]

Aging is no fun. As you get older, your body weakens and it becomes more and more difficult to walk and complete even basic tasks. Now scientists from UCL analysed data from over 20,000 people from England and the United States and found that people who are married walk better […]

Improving dietary habits and learning skills such as reading food labels and recognizing the signs of a heart attack have the potential to improve cardiovascular health among underserved rural populations, according to newly published research from Florida State University. Laurie Abbott, an assistant professor in the College of Nursing, found […]

In the largest study of its kind to date, Cambridge researchers have looked at why some people manage to stay thin while others gain weight easily. They have found that the genetic dice are loaded in favour of thin people and against those at the obese end of the spectrum. […]

The accumulation of amyloid beta (Aβ) plaques and tangles of a protein called tau in the brain are hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Much effort has focused on the former, with many attempts made to prevent, slow or even reverse the presence of Aβ, and thus ameliorate the development of […]

A simple blood test reliably detects signs of brain damage in people on the path to developing Alzheimer’s disease – even before they show signs of confusion and memory loss, according to a new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the German Center for Neurodegenerative […]

A signaling pathway controlled by transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ) could be involved in the progression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Researchers at the National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health, have found that interrupting TGFβ signals to immune cells called microglia causes the cells to […]

A new study, published in Clinical Epigenetics, identifies genes associated with Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) that could represent new targets for future drug development. AMD is the leading cause of blindness in the UK and affects more than 200 million of people worldwide. The condition results in a gradual loss of […]

Immune cells called macrophages are supposed to serve and protect, but cancer has found ways to put them to sleep. Now researchers at the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania say they’ve identified how to fuel macrophages with the energy needed to attack and eat cancer cells. It is well […]

A new Tel Aviv University study finds that eosinophils — white blood cells that may have played an evolutionary role in combating parasites, but which are today responsible for chronic asthma and modern allergies — may be used to eliminate malignant colon cancer cells. The research was led by Prof. Ariel Munitz of the Department […]

Research published in the journal Brain reveals a new approach to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) that may eventually make it possible to reverse memory loss, a hallmark of the disease in its late stages. The team, led by University at Buffalo scientists, found that by focusing on gene changes caused by […]

new drug shows potential to halt cancer cells’ growth by stunting the cells’ biological clock. The findings from scientists at the USC Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience and Nagoya University’s Institute of Transformative BioMolecules (ITbM) advance a burgeoning area of research: turning the body’s circadian rhythms against cancer. Their study, conducted on […]

Biologists at the University of California San Diego have developed the world’s first CRISPR/Cas9-based approach to control genetic inheritance in a mammal. Scientists around the world have been using CRISPR/Cas9 in a variety of plant and animal species to edit genetic information. One approach to editing the genome can control […]

New research builds on Nobel-winning immune checkpoint blockade work. Immunotherapy’s promise in the fight against cancer drew international attention after two scientists won a Nobel Prize this year for unleashing the ability of the immune system to eliminate tumor cells. But their approach, which keeps cancer cells from shutting off […]

Offspring whose mothers had a complicated pregnancy may be at greater risk of heart disease in later life, according to a new study in sheep. The research, led by a team at the University of Cambridge, suggests that our cards may be marked even before we are born. Heart disease […]

Growing muscle tissue on grooved platforms helps neurons more effectively integrate with the muscle, a requirement for engineering muscle in the lab that responds and functions like muscle in the body, University of Illinois researchers found in a new study. Such engineered muscle with integrated nerves has applications in reconstructive and […]

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) — an intermediate form of cancer cell between a primary and metastatic tumor cell — carry a treasure trove of information that is critical to treating cancer. Numerous engineering advancements over the years have made it possible to extract cells via liquid biopsy and analyze them […]

AIDS patients suffer higher rates of cancer because they have fewer T-cells in their bodies to fight disease. But new research examines why HIV-infected patients have higher rates of cancer—among the leading causes of death among that population—than the general population. Researchers at Case Western Reserve University’s School of Dental […]

Older patients with a diagnosis of chronic sinusitis — a disease of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses that often persists over many years — have a unique inflammatory signature that may render them less responsive to steroid treatment, according to a new study published by Vanderbilt researchers. The study […]

Although chemotherapy can kill cancer cells very effectively, healthy cells also suffer. If doctors could remove excess chemotherapy drugs from a patient’s bloodstream after the medicines have done their job, they might reduce side effects such as hair loss and nausea. Now, researchers have developed a 3D-printed device that absorbs […]

We often design and build genetic devices in isolation and then bring the plasmids encoding them together in one cell; most of the time this results in an unexpected behavior. The devices function differently when sharing the same cell than they did when alone. Recent work suggests that this is, […]

Scientists at Cardiff University are helping to bring personalised treatments for Parkinson’s disease closer to the clinic, thanks to a major investment of over £50,000 from American charity, The Summit for Stem Cell Foundation. Working in partnership with Professor Jeanne Loring of the Scripps Research Institute, Cardiff University’s Dr Mariah […]

A new study finds acupressure could be a low-cost, at-home solution to a suite of persistent side effects that linger after breast cancer treatment ends. Researchers from the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center had reported in 2016 that acupressure helped reduce fatigue in breast cancer survivors. In their new study, they looked at the […]

For patients affected by systemic scleroderma (also known as systemic sclerosis), a chronic autoimmune disease marked by hardening of the skin and internal organ involvement, the need for treatments is well understood. “Scleroderma has the highest mortality rates of any rheumatic disease,” says Dinesh Khanna, M.D., M.Sc., director of the Michigan Medicine Scleroderma Program. “This […]

A new study from Harvard Medical School researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital has found that the hypertension drug losartan, which targets the angiotensin signaling pathway, may improve the effectiveness of chemotherapy agents used to treat ovarian cancer. Previous research from the same team identified a similar effect for losartan in […]

Using a novel patient-specific stem cell-based therapy, researchers at the National Eye Institute (NEI) prevented blindness in animal models of geographic atrophy, the advanced “dry” form of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which is a leading cause of vision loss among people age 65 and older. The protocols established by the […]

Nerve axons serve as the wiring of the nervous system, sending electrical signals that control movement and sense of touch. When axons are damaged, whether by injury or as a side effect of certain drugs, a program is triggered that leads axons to self-destruct. This destruction likely plays an important […]

Scientists working to develop more effective treatments for diabetes are turning to stem cells. Such cells can be transformed into cells that produce insulin, the hormone that controls blood sugar. But there’s a major challenge: the amount of insulin produced by theses cells is difficult to control. Now, by tweaking […]