Related Science News

July 5, 2021

Fibromyalgia likely the result of autoimmune problems, study shows

A new study involving Liverpool researchers has shown that many of the symptoms in fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) are caused by antibodies that increase the activity of pain-sensing nerves throughout the body. The results show that fibromyalgia is a disease of the immune system, rather than the currently held view that […]
July 5, 2021

Scientists publish a how-to guide for creating mouse-human chimeric embryos

A year after University at Buffalo scientists demonstrated that it was possible to produce millions of mature human cells in a mouse embryo, they have published a detailed description of the method so that other laboratories can do it, too. The ability to produce millions of mature human cells in […]
July 5, 2021

Trauma Patients with COVID-19 Face Greater Risk of Complications and Death

In addition to sickening and taking the lives of millions across the globe, COVID-19 complicated patient care in a range of less direct ways, from increased incidence of heart attacks to decreased cancer screenings.  The virus also increased the risk of complications and death among trauma patients with injuries from car crashes, falls […]
July 5, 2021

A Guide to Knowing the Unknowns: Lipids Model How to Explore for Unexpected Disease Causes

It is not shocking to anyone that fat molecules are tied to heart conditions. Lipids, a term for fatty acids and their derivatives, are the subject of countless papers when it comes to cardiovascular disease. A keyword search for “lipid” on the Journal of the American Heart Association’s website alone returns more than 2,600 results. So, if […]
July 5, 2021

Researchers illuminate invisible DNA repair pathways

The question of how reproductive cells like sperm and eggs maintain their DNA integrity during development is at the heart of a new study by student researchers in the lab of molecular biologist Diana Libuda. DNA damage occurs dozens or even hundreds of times within each individual developing sperm or […]
July 5, 2021

Calorie Restriction Reduces the Number of Senescent T Cells in Older Mice

A sizable enough fraction of T cells of the adaptive immune system become senescent in old age to cause major issues. Senescent cells cease replication and secrete a mix of signals that cause harm in numerous different ways: rousing chronic inflammation; disrupting tissue maintenance and structure; encouraging other cells to […]
July 5, 2021

CD22 Inhibition Improves Microglia Function in Old Mice

Microglia are innate immune cells of the central nervous system, responsible for clearing harmful molecular waste, tracking down pathogens, and a range of other supporting roles in the function and tissue maintenance of the brain. Unfortunately microglia are known to become dysfunctional with age: notable more inflammatory, and less capable […]
July 4, 2021

Marmoset study identifies brain region linking actions to their outcomes

Researchers have discovered a specific brain region underlying ‘goal-directed behaviour’ – that is, when we consciously do something with a particular goal in mind, for example going to the shops to buy food. The study, published in the journal Neuron, found that marmoset monkeys could no longer make an association between […]
July 4, 2021

Identifying the Neural Link Between Gut Bacteria and Social Behavior in Mice

Research has shown that the communities of bacteria that live in a mouse's gut are essential for the animals to exhibit normal social behavior with other mice. Mice that have been bred to be germ-free, without a gut microbiome, display significant antisocial behaviors, such as avoiding a stranger mouse rather […]
July 4, 2021

Major research project to study chronic pain

Chronic pain is a major global public health challenge that causes significant disability. A new research consortium and national chronic pain data hub could improve outcomes for the many people living with painful and debilitating conditions, such as fibromyalgia, lower back pain, headaches and migraines, thanks to a joint £14 […]
July 4, 2021

Most US adults fall short of cancer-prevention dietary guidelines

The vast majority of American adults eat a dietary pattern that falls short of meeting national dietary guidelines for cancer prevention, a new study shows. When researchers analyzed the dietary intake of more than 30,000 American adults according to body mass index (BMI), the results also showed that people with […]
July 4, 2021

How long can a person live? The 21st century may see a record-breaker

The number of people who live past the age of 100 has been on the rise for decades, up to nearly half a million people worldwide. There are, however, far fewer “supercentenarians,” people who live to age 110 or even longer. The oldest living person, Jeanne Calment of France, was 122 […]
July 4, 2021

Joint venture to test new treatments in clinical and digital health

The University of Manchester, together with Health Innovation Manchester and its Academic Health Science Centre, are launching a joint venture with the Morningside Group to trial a series of new diagnostics and interventions in clinical and digital health. The venture will look at novel digital health innovations and trial a […]
July 4, 2021

Stem Cell Therapy Improves Mitochondrial Quality Control

First generation stem cell therapies, such as those using cells derived from fat tissue, have been shown to reduce chronic inflammation. This effect is produced as a result of signaling from the transplanted cells, which near entirely die rather than surviving to integrate into tissues and perform useful work. Improvements […]
July 4, 2021

Clinical trial at UofL shows cell therapy improves outcomes in heart failure

A clinical trial conducted at the University of Louisville has shown for the first time that heart failure treatments using cells derived from the patient’s own bone marrow and heart resulted in improved quality of life and reduced major adverse cardiac events for patients after one year. “This is a […]
July 3, 2021

Some brain disorders exhibit similar circuit malfunctions

Many neurodevelopmental disorders share similar symptoms, such as learning disabilities or attention deficits. A new study from MIT has uncovered a common neural mechanism for a type of cognitive impairment seen in some people with autism and schizophrenia, even though the genetic variations that produce the impairments are different for […]
July 3, 2021

Unlocking the power of the microbiome

Not only animals and humans host a complex community of microorganisms – plants do this as well. Researchers at ETH Zurich have recently published two new studies that shed light on fundamental aspects of these close – and often overlooked – relationships. Hundreds of different bacterial species live in and […]
July 3, 2021

Long Lived Mammals Exhibit Lower Plasma Methionine Levels

Mechanisms to sense levels of the essential amino acid methionine are one of the more important triggers for the beneficial calorie restriction response in mammals. Since the body doesn't manufacture methionine, it must come from the diet. Either a low calorie diet or a low methionine diet produce broadly similar […]
July 2, 2021

Autoantibodies: a possible contributor to fibromyalgia

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and their British colleagues have identified a possible contributory cause of fibromyalgia, a difficult to treat pain condition. In a study on mice and human tissue, the researchers found that fibromyalgia patients’ antibodies played a key part in symptom development. The results, which are published in […]
July 2, 2021

Osmium activation in cancer cells

Cancer is a complex disease, and as such, there is not just a single way to tackle it. While cancer treatments are evolving towards personalised procedures, in most cases standard chemotherapy treatments are still required. In chemotherapy, platinum drugs such as cisplatin (approved 42 years ago by FDA) are used, […]
July 2, 2021

Scientists discover a new class of neurons for remembering faces

Scientists have long searched in vain for a class of brain cells that could explain the visceral flash of recognition that we feel when we see a very familiar face, like that of our grandmothers. But the proposed “grandmother neuron”—a single cell at the crossroads of sensory perception and memory, […]
July 2, 2021

New approach can add diversity to crop species without breeding GMOs

Genetic technique edits every chloroplast in a plant, but does not change nuclear DNA of offspring. Breeding better crops through genetic engineering have been possible for decades, but the use of genetically modified plants has been limited by technical challenges and popular controversies. A new approach potentially solves both of […]
July 2, 2021

Spatially resolved cellular model built of developing mouse

A new technique called sci-Space, combined with data from other technologies could lead to four-dimensional atlases of gene expression across diverse cells during the embryonic development of mammals. Such atlases would map how the gene transcripts in individual cells reflect the passage of time, cell lineages, cell migration, and location […]