General

Simple motion inside biological cells, such as the streaming of cytoplasm – the liquid cell interior – is widely believed to be essential for cells and the development of complex organisms. But due to the lack of suitable tools, this intracellular motion could so far not be tested as hypothesized. […]

In 2015, University of California San Diego biologists Ethan Bier and Valentino Gantz developed a breakthrough technology known as “active genetics,” which results in parents transmitting a genetic trait to most of their offspring (instead of 50 percent receiving the trait under standard inheritance). Immediate targets of active genetics included gene-drive systems […]

A discovery by Queensland scientists could be the key to stopping damage caused by uncontrolled inflammation in a range of common diseases including liver disease, Alzheimer’s and gout. University of Queensland researchers have uncovered how an inflammation process automatically switches off in healthy cells, and are now investigating ways to stop […]

In the issue of the journal Nature, researchers describe how two normally mismatched bases in human DNA, guanine and thymine, are able to change shape in order to form an inconspicuous rung on the helical DNA “ladder.” This allows them to survive by avoiding the body’s natural defenses against genetic mutations. […]

Requiring physicians to report patients with dementia to state driver’s licensing authorities is not associated with fewer hospitalizations from motor vehicle crashes. However, in-person license renewal laws and vision testing dramatically cut crashes involving drivers with dementia, according to a new study led by the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of […]

Neuroblastoma forms in the peripheral nervous system and is one of the most common forms of solid cancer in young children. The disease mainly affects babies and young children, and while in some cases the tumours can disappear of their own accord, the majority are aggressive, metastasising cancer tumours that […]

As components of two entirely separate systems in the body, you wouldn’t think ovaries have much in common with bones. But it turns out they do – and their commonalities may help explain why dwarfs such as actors Peter Dinklage and David Rappaport are so short, say UConn Health scientists. […]

Research on HIV over the past decade has led to many promising ideas for vaccines to prevent infection by the AIDS virus, but very few candidate vaccines have been tested in clinical trials. One reason for this is the technical difficulty of manufacturing vaccines based on the envelope proteins of […]

In one of many ways cancer attacks the body, it activates an enzyme that is typically absent in normal, healthy cells. The enzyme is also present in stem cells. When stem cells in our bodies divide, chromosomes within those cells, which carry our genetic material, shorten. If they become too […]

Two independent chemistry breakthroughs have opened a plethora of doors that were previously locked to drug developers and cancer researchers. The discoveries, which involved adding new materials to a previously unstable chemical scaffold and building molecules onto the “pigments of life”, will also offer new possibilities to molecular engineers, materials […]

With new findings, scientists may be poised to break a long impasse in research on Huntington’s disease, a fatal hereditary disorder for which there is currently no treatment. One in 10,000 Americans suffer from the disease, and most begin to show symptoms in middle age as they develop jerky movements—and […]

A new method for monitoring interactions between cells, dubbed LIPSTIC by its creators, is much more than a cosmetic improvement over existing techniques. The breakthrough, led by The Rockefeller University assistant professor Gabriel Victora, offers scientists in a wide range of disciplines a powerful new tool for studying complex biological events […]

UC San Francisco scientists have invented a technique that lets them precisely and reversibly disrupt the action of specific cellular proteins at a microscopic scale by making them split apart when illuminated with blue light. The researchers envision a vast number of applications for the technique in the study of […]

Neurologist and neuroscientist Dena Dubal, MD, PhD, is taking an innovative approach to battling neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Rather than trying to understand the specific mechanisms that cause each disease, she took a step back and asked, “What do all these conditions have in common?” The answer: old […]

Researchers at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute (VTCRI) are partnering with INSIGHTEC to develop noninvasive treatments for brain disorders using Exablate Neuro focused ultrasound and Siemens MR imaging. Through this collaboration, the institute became INSIGHTEC's first nonclinical research site. “There is considerable basic research to be done in order to develop […]

A recent Penn State College of Medicine physician’s study review suggests that shorter courses of radiation are preferable to longer ones for older patients receiving treatment for slow-growing skin cancers. Skin basal and squamous cell cancers are common among patients over 60 years old and are rarely fatal. These cancers — which […]

Growing old is not easy. Your mental health is likely to suffer too just because you have to notice your body fall apart. Furthermore, you become excluded from the normal social life and it can be very painful. However, now scientists say that 85 year old women are actually happier […]

Sleep apnoea is a bizarre condition when people stop breathing when sleeping or their breathing becomes really shallow. It can get so bad that people experience hypoxia, cannot get a good night sleep and sometimes have to get treatment. Now scientists from the University of Queensland found that low levels […]

A team of researchers at the University of Georgia has developed a non-invasive method of delivering drugs directly to cancerous tissue using magnetic forces, a form of treatment that could significantly reduce the toxic side effects of chemotherapy. “We showed that we can deliver anti-cancer drugs exactly in the area […]

University of California, Irvine scientists have created a new chemical tool that can analyze RNA structures within living cells. The technique could facilitate a better grasp of how RNA structures fold and form in cells, as well as help in the design of drugs targeting RNA. Robert Spitale, assistant professor […]

Inadequate oxygen levels during sleep can damage the brain and increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, University of Queensland researchers have found. Scientists from UQ’s Queensland Brain Institute and School of Biomedical Sciences are now initiating a clinical study of patients with sleep apnoea to determine whether treatment lowers the risk of developing […]

We live in a strange world. Everyone is ageing and it is accepted, but somehow older people find themselves excluded from the society.  So much so that World Health Organization is promoting programmes that encourage age-friendly environments. Now scientists from Newcastle and Liverpool universities conducted a research to evaluate effectiveness […]

Taking five or more prescription medications increases the risk of hospitalization and death in older adults infected with HIV and comparable adults without HIV. The findings of this Yale-led study highlight the potential risks of prescribing additional drugs to patients with multiple medical conditions. The research was published online in the […]

Scientists from the University of Zurich have redesigned an adenovirus for use in cancer therapy. To achieve this they developed a new protein shield that hides the virus and protects it from being eliminated. Adapters on the surface of the virus enable the reconstructed virus to specifically infect tumor cells. […]

A new anti-cancer strategy wields light as a precision weapon. Unlike traditional light therapy — which is limited to the skin and areas accessible with an endoscope — this technique can target and attack cancer cells that have spread deep inside the body, according to researchers at Washington University School […]

The European Cancer Stem Cell Research Institute, based with Cardiff University, has repurposed a current cancer therapy, TRAIL, to find a new treatment for advanced cancers that are resistant to anti-hormone therapy. Up to 75% of women diagnosed with breast cancer will have a cancer driven by oestrogen signalling and […]

Recent studies indicate that infants born prematurely have a higher risk of developing heart disease later in life. Now, researchers at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle have shown that, in preterm animal models, inflammation due to infection can disrupt the activity of genes crucial for normal […]

Wound healing process is something we all are familiar with. The wound fills up with blood, which coagulates and seals it. Then new cells have to rebuild what was lost. However, there are many various cells in our skin and their relation in wound healing process is only partially understood. […]

A new study on the mechanics of aging and longevity finds that fruit flies inhibited from producing the protein Sirt4 — which is also found in humans — are short-lived, while flies modified to make extra Sirt4 are long-lived. In addition, flies lacking Sirt4 display increased sensitivity to starvation, decreased fertility […]

Researchers from the University’s Institute of Translational Medicine have found an explanation for how breast cancer spreads to the lungs, which could potentially hold the key to preventing the progression of the disease. Breast cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death in women due to metastasis (the spread of a cancer […]