General

Researchers have identified a key protein involved in the irregular brain cell activity seen in autism spectrum disorders and epilepsy. The protein, p53, is well-known in cancer biology as a tumor suppressor. The findings, reported in the journal Human Molecular Genetics and Neuropharmacology, will open new avenues for understanding the […]

Our cells tend to lose their shape as we grow older, contributing to many of the effects we experience as aging. This poses particular problems for the heart, where aging can disrupt the protein network within muscle cells that move blood around the body. A new discovery in how heart […]

Studying two rare inherited cancer syndromes, Yale Cancer Center (YCC) scientists have found the cancers are driven by a breakdown in how cells repair their DNA. The discovery, published in Nature Genetics, suggests a promising strategy for treatment with drugs recently approved for other forms of cancer, said the researchers. The two conditions […]

Prostate cancer is the third most common cause of cancer-related deaths in the UK, and researchers from Cardiff University have identified a genetic alteration that is linked to poor prognosis for patients with the disease. Advanced prostate cancer patients initially respond well to hormonal therapies but nearly all will eventually […]

A new molecule designed by University of Adelaide researchers shows great promise for future treatment of many cancers. The new molecule successfully targets a protein that plays a major role in the growth of most cancers. This protein target is called proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), otherwise known as the […]

The sex of a baby controls the level of small molecules known as metabolites in the pregnant mother’s blood, which may explain why risks of some diseases in pregnancy vary depending whether the mother is carrying a boy or a girl, according to new research from the University of Cambridge. […]

A class of molecules formed when the body metabolizes omega-3 fatty acids could inhibit cancer’s growth and spread, University of Illinois researchers report in a new study in mice. The molecules, called endocannabinoids, are made naturally by the body and have similar properties to cannabinoids found in marijuana – but […]

Recent studies show that 40 percent of Americans over the age of 85 have Alzheimer's disease, and that the disease begins 10 to 20 years before people show up at the doctor's office with memory problems. One major problem with understanding Alzheimer’s is not being able to clearly see why […]

What if cancer cells could be re-engineered to turn against their own kind? A new study led by Harvard Medical School researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital leverages the power of gene editing to take a critical step toward using cancer cells to kill cancer. The team reports promising results […]

Follow-up imaging for women with non-metastatic breast cancer varies widely across the country, according to a new study led by researchers at UC San Francisco. Some patients go without the annual mammograms that experts recommend, while others with the same cancer diagnosis receive full-body scans that expose them to significant […]

New research on human papillomavirus (HPV) testing drew the same reaction from Drs. Rachel Winer and Constance Mao: It’s about time. The UW Medicine researchers responded to a decade-long study reported by two Canadian universities. It showed that HPV screening is more accurate at detecting cervical pre-cancers than the long-established Pap smear. Both doctors hope this will […]

In an achievement that has significant implications for research, medicine, and industry, UC San Francisco scientists have genetically reprogrammed the human immune cells known as T cells without using viruses to insert DNA. The researchers said they expect their technique – a rapid, versatile, and economical approach employing CRISPR gene-editing […]

A University of Southampton eye expert is leading research using state-of-the art imaging to predict which patients with early age-related-macular-degeneration (AMD) are at more risk of blindness. Professor of Ophthalmology in the University’s Faculty of Medicine and Institute for Life Sciences member, Andrew Lotery, is leading an international research team which […]

Researchers have made a breakthrough in more precisely targeting drugs to cancers. Using ultrasound and lipid drug carriers (liposomes), a multi-disciplinary team of biomedical engineers, oncologists, radiologists and anaesthetists at the University of Oxford have developed a new way to improve the targeting of cancer drugs to tumours. The new […]

Travel by airplane has opened the door to experiencing different cultures and exploring natural wonders. That is, if you can get past the jet lag. But what if you could take control of the brain’s daily timing system? Biologists at Washington University in St. Louis unlocked a cure for jet […]

Injecting senescent cells into young mice results in a loss of health and function but treating the mice with a combination of two existing drugs cleared the senescent cells from tissues and restored physical function. The drugs also extended both life span and health span in naturally aging mice, according […]

A new study led by researchers at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health has identified some of the first known inherited genetic variants that significantly raise a person’s likelihood of developing clonal hematopoiesis, an age-related white blood cell condition linked with higher risk of […]

A unique gaming system called ‘OrbIT’ will play a lead role in the fight to improve life for individuals living with Parkinson’s disease, thanks to funding from the Estate of the late Olga Mabel Woolger. In a three-year $90,000 study, Flinders University Rehabilitation Engineer, Mr David Hobbs and University of […]

New research from South Australian scientists has shown that vitamin D (also commonly known as the sunshine vitamin) is unlikely to protect individuals from multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease or other brain-related disorders. The findings, released in the science journal Nutritional Neuroscience reported that researchers had failed to find solid clinical […]

The study compares traditional detection of prostate cancer with a novel practice using a blood test, the Stockholm3 test, in combination with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and targeted prostate biopsies. More men get a correct diagnosis and treatment The results show that the suggested diagnostic strategy decreased the number of […]

Men with advanced cancer are 30 percent less likely than women to consider palliative care, according to a University of Rochester Medical Center study. Researchers believe the findings reflect social norms about gender roles — as well as widespread messages in the media and society about “fighting” cancer. Often men see themselves […]

Dementia is a hugely debilitating condition, taking its toll on aging people and their families. Humans value their intellectual ability highly and coming to terms that they are deteriorating is very difficult. Many people believe that there are some remedies that can prevent multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease or […]

A new study of prostate cancer in 202 men, whose cancers had spread and were resistant to standard treatment, found that a surprisingly large number of these cancers – about 17 percent – belong to a deadlier subtype of metastatic prostate cancer. Previously, it was thought that these cancers constituted […]

A typically developing 2-month-old baby can make cooing sounds, suck on her hand to calm down and smile at people. At that age, the mouth is the primary focus: Such young infants aren’t yet reaching for objects with their hands or using their feet to get around, so the lips […]

Activation of a single type of neuron appears to trigger hot-flash-like symptoms in mice.  In the issue of Cell Reports, researchers show that so-called Kiss1 neurons in the hypothalamus may be the link between sex hormone fluctuations and the hot flashes that affect many menopausal women. These cells project to a brain region controlling […]

The study, led by Imperial College London and researchers from the Universities of Bristol and Cambridge, also suggest pregnant women who develop high blood pressure (pre-eclampsia), or fetal growth restriction (where a baby's growth slows or stops before birth), may have differences in their blood circulation. The team tracked the […]

One of biology’s great mysteries is how a single fertilised egg can generate millions of cells that together make up a human body, while simultaneously restricting growth to prevent lethal diseases such as cancer. This process is strictly regulated by our DNA, the genetic cookbook carried by each single cell […]

Through x-ray crystallography and kinase-inhibitor specificity profiling, University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers, in collaboration with researchers at Peking University and Zhejiang University, reveal that curcumin, a natural occurring chemical compound found in the spice turmeric, binds to the kinase enzyme dual-specificity tyrosine-regulated kinase 2 (DYRK2) at […]

A very low carbohydrate, high-fat diet called the ketogenic diet may improve the effectiveness of an emerging class of cancer drugs, according to a study in mice by investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian. In a study published in Nature, scientists provide a possible […]

Growing miniature tumors from a patient’s cells in the laboratory may help scientists personalize treatments for those with a rare form of prostate cancer, according a study by Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian scientists. Patients with prostate cancer often receive therapies that reduce levels of testosterone. Many of their tumors […]