General

DTU is opening a new Center of Excellence for Microbial Secondary Metabolites (CeMiSt), which aims to identify why microorganisms produce penicillin and other antibiotic substances, so-called secondary metabolites. The centre will be a training platform for a new generation of researchers, and the research will both pave the way for discovering fundamental biological principles […]

Science continues to peel away layers of the skin microbiome to reveal its protective properties. In a study published in Science Advances, University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers report a potential new role for some bacteria on the skin: protecting against cancer. “We have identified a strain of Staphylococcus […]

The prospects – and consequences – of ageing are of concern to us all, especially when considering the likelihood of developing wrinkles. They are not only a hallmark of ageing but also play a fundamental role in how we physically interact with many products and devices, from moisturiser cream and […]

Artificial sweeteners are used in diet drinks and foods but also could someday be used as treatments targeting carbonic anhydrase IX (CA IX), a protein associated with aggressive cancers. Although several drugs have been approved that target similar forms of CA, they aren’t selective and may cause side effects, including […]

The cells, which were previously thought to be immobile, propel themselves forward toward wounds with a wormlike wave motion, rather than adhering to and pushing off from other structures like most motile cells do. University of Bristol Schools of Biochemistry, and Physiology & Pharmacology & Neuroscience Professor Paul Martin commented: […]

A new clinical study led by the National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health, will follow 500 people over five years to learn more about the natural history of early age-related macular degeneration (AMD). By using the latest technologies to visualize structures within the eye and measure […]

Women have been told for years that if they don’t have children before their mid-30s, they may not be able to. But a new study from Princeton University’s Coleen Murphy has identified a drug that extends egg viability in worms, even when taken midway through the fertile window, which could theoretically extend […]

A research team at the University of California, Riverside has discovered a way for chemotherapy drug paclitaxel to target migrating, or circulating, cancer cells, which are responsible for the development of tumor metastases. Until now, paclitaxel has only been used to target rapidly dividing cancer cells. The team was successful […]

A Sandia National Laboratories team has designed and synthesized nanoparticles that glow red and are stable, useful properties for tracking cancer growth and spread. This work is the first time the intrinsic luminescence of metal-organic framework materials, or MOFs, for long-term bioimaging has been reported, materials chemist Dorina Sava Gallis […]

Led by researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, a diverse team of neuroscientists and surgeons successfully grafted human neural progenitor cells into rhesus monkeys with spinal cord injuries. The grafts not only survived, but grew hundreds of thousands of human axons and synapses, resulting in improved […]

Being frail or vulnerable were stronger predictors of post-operative outcomes than age, according to a comprehensive study by University of Alberta researchers. “One-third of patients 65-plus who underwent emergency abdominal surgery were either readmitted to hospital or died six months later. That high number alone surprised us,” said Rachel Khadaroo, a […]

Analyzing the genetics and smoking habits of more than half a million people has shed new light on the complexities of controlling blood pressure, according to a study led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The research, published in The American Journal of Human Genetics, […]

Recent research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis demonstrated that mature cells in the stomach sometimes revert back to behaving like rapidly dividing stem cells. Now, the researchers have found that this process may be universal; no matter the organ, when tissue responds to certain types of […]

Scientists have shown in mice that skin cells re-programmed into brain stem cells, transplanted into the central nervous system, help reduce inflammation and may be able to help repair damage caused by multiple sclerosis (MS). The study, led by researchers at the University of Cambridge, is a step towards developing […]

Collaborative research conducted in Liverpool and Oxford, published in The Red Journal, identifies the specific cellular process that helps cells damaged as a result of proton beam therapy, repair themselves. Proton beam therapy (PBT) is a type of radiation treatment that uses protons to treat cancer. A proton is a positively […]

The number of U.S. cases of Merkel cell carcinoma, an often-fatal skin cancer, is rising about six times faster than most other cancers and at nearly twice the rate of the more-common melanoma. The Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology's March issue reports the finding, which is based on research conducted at the […]

Scientists have discovered a new type of stem cell which has the potential to perform two functions at the same time, meaning better treatment or even cures for many diseases. University of Queensland researchers have found that Meso-Endothelial stem cells in the placenta can generate two cell types and therefore one cell has […]

Proteins that function like spools to tightly wind DNA, called histones, play an active role in DNA repair, according to a new study from Weill Cornell Medicine scientists. The study, published in the journal Molecular Cell, provides the first evidence that histones exist on single strands of DNA and unveils […]

A team of researchers at the University of Georgia’s Regenerative Bioscience Center and ArunA Biomedical, a UGA startup company, have developed a new treatment for stroke that reduces brain damage and accelerates the brain’s natural healing tendencies in animal models. They published their findings in the journal Translational Stroke Research. The research team […]

The mass pursuit of a conspicuous suspect in Alzheimer’s disease may have encumbered research success for decades. Now, a new data analysis that has untangled evidence amassed in years of Alzheimer’s studies encourages researchers to refocus their investigations. Heaps of plaque formed from amyloid-beta that accumulate in afflicted brains are what stick […]

Yale School of Public Health researchers have developed a new method to predict likely resistance paths to cancer therapeutics, and a methodology to apply it to one of the most frequent cancer-causing genes.  That gene, KRAS, is mutated in approximately 20 percent of all human cancers and has a major […]

Aging or impaired brains can once again form lasting memories if an enzyme that applies the brakes too hard on a key gene is lifted, according to University of California, Irvine neurobiologists. “What we’ve discovered is that if we free up that DNA again, now the aging brain can form […]

Imagine getting a phone call asking if you’d like to take part in a study … for the next 20 years. It’s a pitch that makes telemarketing look like child’s play. So no wonder Christina Wolfson, BSc’76, MSc’78, PhD’85, a professor in the Faculty of Medicine, says that the recruitment of […]

Biomedical engineers at Case Western Reserve University are growing tracheas by coaxing cells to form three distinct tissue types after assembling them into a tube structure—without relying on scaffolding strategies currently being investigated by other groups. Successful trials and further research and development could someday allow surgeons the option of […]

Iron deficiency in the first four weeks of a piglet’s life – equivalent to roughly four months in a human infant – impairs the development of key brain structures, scientists report. The abnormalities remain even after weeks of iron supplementation begun later in life, the researchers found. The discovery, reported in the […]

We know that life is short and we want to enjoy it for as long as we can. However, aging has been associated with reduced wellbeing and health as well as increasing risk of death. There are ways to combat this inevitable destiny – a new research led by scientists […]

Detailing their findings in a study published on 12 February in the journal Nature Biotechnology, an international group of researchers had introduced a DNA nanorobot capable of traveling in the bloodstream and delivering a deathly payload to malignant tumours. “It’s a combination of diagnosing the bio-markers on the surface of […]

Despite herculean efforts, cancer remains a formidable disease, with each malignant subtype responding differently to therapeutics. One hurdle specific to treating solid tumors is a protective layer called an extracellular matrix that can prevent chemotherapeutic agents from penetrating the tumor’s core. Scientists now report results in ACS’ Chemistry of Materials showing that, […]

Women with asthma who only use short-acting asthma relievers take longer to become pregnant than other women, according to international research led by the University of Adelaide. However, the study of more than 5600 women in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Ireland also shows that women with asthma […]

Cells are typically grown on solid materials, such as tissue culture plastic, degradable polymers and bioceramics. It is thought that the strong mechanical properties of these biomaterials are required to allow cell adhesion, an important process often controlling the behaviour of stem cells and promoting implant incorporation by surrounding tissues […]