General

Analysis of the world’s largest set of genome data from pregnant women, totaling 141,431 expectant mothers from across China, has uncovered unsuspected associations between genes and birth outcomes, including the birth of twins and a woman’s age at first pregnancy. The analysis also allowed researchers to reconstruct the recent movement […]

What a difference a year of high school can make — for long-term health. In 1972, England, Scotland and Wales raised the mandatory school attendance age from 15 to 16. Through a large-scale genetic study, USC Dornsife researchers have found that decades later, the change had a health benefit for […]

A team of scientists at the University of Cambridge has developed an artificial mouse embryo-like structure capable of forming the three major axes of the body. The technique, reported today in the journal Nature, could reduce the use of mammalian embryos in research. The definitive architecture of the mammalian body is […]

Aortic dissection occurs when weakened layers of the aorta — the body’s main artery — pull apart or tear, trapping blood between layers. This further weakens the aorta and may cause it to rupture. “An acute aortic dissection is a very lethal condition,” says Bo Yang, M.D., a cardiac surgeon at the University […]

Only a fraction of people in their 50s and early 60s have had their DNA tested —either for medical reasons, to learn their ancestry or out of curiosity — but far more have an interest in pursuing such tests. One in 10 older adults have taken genetic tests offered directly to consumers, and […]

Robin Kingsbury spends the bulk of her time helping others. So when a swollen lymph node in her right groin began hurting in January 2017, it was hard to slow down and take notice. With a blended family of five kids plus elderly in-laws to take care of, the busy […]

It has long been known that there are many physical and mental health benefits of breastfeeding for mothers and babies. But can these benefits be due to genetic changes induced by breastfeeding? New research suggests that connection. The research, published in the edition of Pediatrics, was led by Barry M. Lester, Ph.D, […]

A team of Canadian scientists, including researchers at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital (The Neuro) has discovered the first French-Canadian founder mutation gene linked to synucleinopathies, a group of neurodegenerative diseases that includes Parkinson’s disease (PD), dementia with Lewy-Bodies (DLB) and multiple system atrophy (MSA). The mutation, known as […]

An apple a day keeps the doctor away. That is how that old saying goes, but some people substitute apple with a pill of aspirin. This quite strange yet very common behaviour was encouraged by doctors and older people alike. It is believed that taking a low daily dose of […]

Researchers at the Abramson Cancer Center tested a new immunotherapy approach utilizing a therapeutic vaccine in two groups of patients with advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCCa), and found 86 percent showed elevated T cell activity. It is the first study to show that the vaccine can help immune cells infiltrate tumors. HNSCCa […]

Delivery of corticosteroids directly into the eye is more effective than injections adjacent to the eye, according to results from a comparative clinical trial of macular edema in patients with noninfectious uveitis. The study was funded by the National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health. The […]

Sometimes our cells employ meticulous and elegant solutions to fix things that break. Other times, they slap on some duct tape and keep going. The human body can apply these quick-and-dirty methods to even its most critical components, such as when both strands of a DNA helix suddenly snap. Such […]

Some babies act like they are in a rush. They come to this world too quickly and have to deal with some health problems because of it. Scientists know this issue, which is why they are looking for ways to aid the brain development of pre-term babies. However, nature already […]

Pretty much everyone knows that drinking has severe negative health effects – that is not a surprise to anyone. However, some people are still abusing alcohol, while completely ignoring all the warning signs. A new study from the University of Adelaide found that middle-age drinkers who only consume a moderate […]

Mysteries remain in your mitochondria, but researchers led by Rice University bioscientist Natasha Kirienko plan to bring them to light. Kirienko is the first Rice faculty member to win a new class of grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, one of the National Institutes of Health, called an R35. The five-year grant […]

Inflammation is one strategy your body uses to fight infection, but if it gets out of control it can kill instead of heal. In the journal Immunity, UConn Health immunologist Vijay Rathinam and colleagues show how the body damps down inflammation, making clever double use of a protein previously thought to be responsible […]

Through clever partner selection, animals can increase the future success of their offspring. With some species, this process continues even after the sex act. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology in Plön have discovered that among sticklebacks, the egg cells of the fish are involved in the […]

Mitochondrial disease is now thought to be the second most commonly diagnosed genetic disease worldwide, and, unfortunately, there are still no proven treatment strategies for those diagnosed. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing in Cologne were involved in collaborations to apply gene-therapy approaches in mice to […]

Researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center have shown that autologous fecal microbiota transplantation (auto-FMT) is a safe and effective way to help replenish beneficial gut bacteria in cancer patients who require intense antibiotics during allogenic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. In their study, patients who underwent the procedure were randomly […]

Protective caps at the ends of our chromosomes called telomeres protect our cells’ genomic information but shorten each time a cell divides. This shortening of telomeres has been linked to aging and chronic diseases. For example, previous studies have shown that individuals with asthma have shorter telomeres than those without […]

Many Americans visit chiropractors to address pain, often without informing their physicians. And they might not consider eye complications that could result, says Yannis Paulus, M.D., a retina specialist at the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center. The energetic thrusts and rotations sometimes performed in high-velocity neck manipulation have been shown to create […]

We as human want to be mobile. We want to move around, see things and meet people. And a car is a great way to do that. However, once you reach a certain age you really shouldn‘t be driving. But that is such a difficult change. Scientists from the University […]

From aging to cancer — with quite a bit in between — Katherine Aird, assistant professor of cellular and molecular physiology at Penn State College of Medicine, and her team have a whole world of research opportunities in front of them. This is not just because they have a lot […]

The systematic review, which looked at the survival of 120,000 patients with cancer who took aspirin, compared with 400,000 patients who did not, showed that at any time following the diagnosis of some cancers the proportion of patients who were still alive was 20-30% greater in those taking the drug.  The […]

Radiotherapy is one of the most common cancer treatments. It damages the DNA, causing cancer cells to stop growing and die if the damage is left unrepaired. Unfortunately, some cancers are resistant to radiotherapy and the treatment also damages the DNA in healthy cells, thus limiting the amount of radiation […]

Hyeun Joong Yoon, Ph.D, is new to the College of Engineering this fall. An assistant professor in the electrical and biomedical department, Yoon's research interests focus on developing engineering methods in nanomaterial science and advanced bioMEMS tools to improve diagnostics for cancer research. Yoon joined the University of Nevada, Reno […]

It happens to everyone. You are talking to someone and just for a second you lose concentration and start veering off topic. Sometimes it is really hard to keep the conversation on track when people do not seem to be interested. However, for some it happens more often that to […]

A new study by scientists at the University of Liverpool highlights how a clinically-approved lung cancer drug could potentially be ‘repurposed’ to design new treatments for future cancer therapies. The research, published in Science Signaling, focuses on a protein called TRIB2, which is linked to promoting survival and drug resistance in […]

One of the most cited researchers in Denmark, Professor Jun Wang, participates in DTU High Tech Summit and urges all Danes to digitize their health data. Chinese top researcher and former Head of Beijing Genome Institute, Jun Wang, believes that digitization of health information is crucial for the choice of […]

“4 get cancer from donated organ,” blared the headline above a news story. It described the case of a woman in Europe who died in 2007. Her undetected breast cancer was transmitted via transplant to four individuals who received her lungs, liver and kidneys. Only one recipient is alive today, after […]