General

The venom of insects such as wasps and bees is full of compounds that can kill bacteria. Unfortunately, many of these compounds are also toxic for humans, making it impossible to use them as antibiotic drugs. After performing a systematic study of the antimicrobial properties of a toxin normally found […]

Newborns with vitamin D deficiency have an increased risk of schizophrenia later in life, a team of Australian and Danish researchers has reported. The discovery could help prevent some cases of the disease by treating vitamin D deficiency during the earliest stages of life. The study, led by Professor John McGrath from The […]

Postmenopausal women with higher levels of body fat have a significantly increased risk of developing breast cancer even if they have a normal body mass index (BMI), according to a study published Dec. 6 in JAMA Oncology. BMI is a measure of body mass based only on height and weight; […]

Older adults who added hazelnuts to their diet for a few months significantly improved their levels of two key micronutrients, new research at Oregon State University indicates. In the study, 32 people age 55 and older ate about 57 grams of hazelnuts – 2 ounces or about one-third cup – […]

Girls exposed to chemicals commonly found in toothpaste, makeup, soap and other personal care products before birth may hit puberty earlier, according to a new longitudinal study led by researchers at UC Berkeley. The results, which were published in the journal Human Reproduction, came from data collected as part of the […]

When traveling in space, astronauts experience physiological changes normally associated with aging, such as bone loss, muscle deterioration and altered immune systems. When the astronauts return to Earth, the changes often reverse. To better understand the relevance of the astronauts’ experience to human health — both on the ground and […]

Postmenopausal women who have experienced loss of all teeth are at higher risk of developing high blood pressure, according to a University at Buffalo study published Dec. 4 in the American Journal of Hypertension. Multiple studies have suggested an association between periodontal disease and tooth loss with hypertension, but the […]

Nature is so complex that natural molecules used for i.e. cancer treatment still can’t be produced by chemical synthesis. Today, major chemical and pharmaceutical companies harvest large amounts of rare plants and seeds in order to extract valuable substances. But the production methods based on extracts from natural resources are […]

Researchers studying Alzheimer’s disease have created an approach to classify patients with Alzheimer’s disease, a finding that may open the door for personalized treatments. “Alzheimer’s, like breast cancer, is not one disease,” said lead author Shubhabrata Mukherjee, research assistant professor of medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine. ”I […]

Researchers at the University of Missouri have unraveled how a cancer-critical enzyme is positioned on cell surfaces. The enzyme enables tumor cells to tunnel through collagen, creating a convenient path for tumors to spread cancer throughout the body. This breakthrough is an important step toward the development of pharmaceuticals that can prevent […]

University of Minnesota Technology Commercialization today announced the formal launch of Vascudyne Inc., a startup company based in Stillwater, Minn., focused on the development of biologically engineered tissue for medical device and therapeutics applications. The technology offers a regenerative capacity unavailable until now in materials and devices used for medical […]

Sports concussions, Parkinson’s disease and hormone therapy for cancer all can have memory loss as symptoms. But can the biochemical processes of each reveal anything about the memory loss associated with Alzheimer’s disease? Rong Xu recently received a total of $5 million from the National Institute of Health’s (NIH) National […]

There is a large, untapped potential for developing drugs against cancer, fibrosis and cardiovascular diseases by targeting a family of receptors known as Frizzleds, researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden believe. In a new study published in Science Signaling, they identify how these receptors are activated in the cell membrane and […]

Purdue University research shows the antidote can effectively remove acrolein, a neurotoxin produced in the body that is directly correlated with Parkinson’s disease. A World War II chemical weapon antidote is shown to be effective combating a new enemy: Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s is characterized by the steady and progressive loss […]

Epigenetics is the expression and control of genes. The epigenetics involved in the inner ear is a critical part of the mystery of hearing. A team led by Prof. Karen B. Avraham, Vice Dean of the Sackler Faculty of Medicine at Tel Aviv University, has now created the first map of “methylation” — one […]

The National Institutes of Health announced that enrollment for the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study is now complete and, in early 2019, scientists will have access to baseline data from all ABCD Study participants. There are 11,874 youth, ages 9-10, participating in the study, including 2,100 young people who […]

For the first time, bioengineered spinal discs were successfully implanted and provided long-term function in the largest animal model ever evaluated for tissue-engineered disc replacement. A new Penn Medicine study published in Science Translational Medicine provides compelling translational evidence that the cells of patients suffering from neck and back pain could be used to […]

A drug originally developed for prostate cancer may have exciting potential for treating Parkinson’s. The study, funded by Parkinson’s UK, suggests that the drug, tasquinimod, which is not yet on the market, works by controlling genes that may cause Parkinson’s. This happens when the drug interacts with a protein inside […]

Women who experience pregnancy loss and do not go on to have children are at greater risk of cardiovascular disease, such as heart disease and stroke, compared with women who have only one or two children, according to new research from the University of Cambridge and the University of North […]

In two papers published in the journal Cell, researchers from multiple Princeton departments report on the conditions that lead to the formation of membraneless organelles and the impact that the formation has on cellular DNA. Clifford Brangwynne, associate professor of chemical and biological engineering and leader of the research teams, said the […]

Mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes pose a serious risk for breast and ovarian cancer because they endanger the genomic stability of a cell by interfering with homologous recombination repair (HR), a key mechanism for accurately repairing harmful double-stranded breaks in DNA. Without the ability to use HR to […]

A class of cancer drugs called protein kinase inhibitors is one of the most effective treatments for melanoma. However, in many cases, tumors eventually become resistant to the drugs and cause a relapse in the patient. A new study from MIT suggests that combining kinase inhibitors with experimental drugs known […]

A randomized clinical trial involving 97 medical centers in 20 countries, including Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health, found that treating patients who have chemotherapy-resistant head and neck cancer with the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab is more effective and less toxic than standard chemotherapy, reports an international team of […]

Jellyfish undergo an amazing metamorphosis, from tiny polyps growing on the seafloor to swimming medusae with stinging tentacles. This shape-shifting has served them well, shepherding jellyfish through more than 500 million years of mass extinctions on Earth. “Whatever they’re doing has really worked for them,” said David Gold, an assistant professor […]

A study of the dual pathways that process the essential vitamin folate by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators unexpectedly revealed a new way the cancer drug methotrexate works and may suggest strategies to boost its cancer-killing effects. For the study, published in Cell, the investigators used genome editing and biochemical experiments […]

As if a cancer diagnosis isn’t bad enough, women with one of the most common forms of ovarian cancer face a hard reality. By the time they get the news, the cancer has likely already spread, and the drugs doctors use to fight back will likely stop working within just […]

Immune cells known as microglia have been found to protect the brain from injury and infection and are critical during brain development, helping circuits wire properly. They also seem to play a role in disease—showing up, for example, around brain plaques in people with Alzheimer’s. In an ambitious study, perhaps […]

Reduce, reuse, recycle. Or just stick with recycle. A plant relies on cellular machinery to recycle materials during times of stress, but that same machinery has a remarkable influence on the plant’s metabolism even under healthy growing conditions, according to new research from Washington University in St. Louis. Autophagy is […]

Heart disease kills millions every year. It is one of the leading causes of death, because of how crucial heart is for our survival. However, situation is completely different for some animals. A tiny Mexican tetra fish is able to repair its own heart. Scientists from UCL and the University […]

Proteins are the workhorses of our cells, carrying out essential tasks to keep our cells – and our bodies ­– functioning properly. But proteins can only do their jobs if they fold into the right shape. When a protein mis-folds, the cell can try to salvage the situation by re-folding […]