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New technique models brain cells in older patients more accurately than ever before. Despite the prevalence of Alzheimer’s, there are still no treatments, in part because it has been challenging to study how the disease develops. Now, scientists at the Salk Institute have uncovered new insights into what goes awry […]

Salk scientists find brain’s immune cells form some plaques as a defense in Alzheimer’s, suggesting a new therapeutic direction. One of the characteristic hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the buildup of amyloid-beta plaques in the brain. Most therapies designed to treat AD target these plaques, but they’ve largely failed […]

Like thousands of other people you may be starting your day with a cup of coffee. Maybe you consume more caffeine as your day goes by. But did you ever think that it might be seriously bad for you? Scientists at UCL found that big doses of daily caffeine may […]

A new physiological measurement of heart function developed at UVA Health could improve survival for heart-failure patients by identifying high-risk patients who require tailored treatments, a study has found. The study is the first to show a survival benefit from wireless pressure-monitoring sensors implanted in the pulmonary arteries. Pulmonary artery […]

Accelerated cognitive decline in patients with and without existing dementia is one of the most disturbing outcomes of hospitalizations for older adults, affecting at least 2.6 million Americans every year. But the condition, known as delirium, is believed to be preventable in up to 40 percent of hospital-acquired cases, and […]

A new study from Tel Aviv University (TAU) revealed a mechanism through which “good” viruses can attack the genetic systems of “bad” bacteria, destroying them and blocking their reproduction. The researchers demonstrated that the “good” virus (bacteriophage) is able to block the replication mechanism of the bacteria’s DNA without damaging its own. […]

COVID-19 causes a big variety of different symptoms and some of them are quite difficult to explain. Now a new University of Birmingham-led study discovered that at least some of those symptoms are due to the body's immune response against its own tissues and organs. This is some important knowledge […]

Carried like stowaways in the guts of international travelers, new and potentially deadly strains of antimicrobial-resistant superbugs may be coming to a community near you, suggests new research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. “Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, we knew that international travel was contributing to […]

A new Alzheimer’s disease drug will hit the market soon, the first in nearly two decades. But some experts say the evidence for it isn’t terribly strong and worry that it may cost a lot. Still, the announcement of its approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration made headlines […]

In a study of healthy volunteers, National Institutes of Health researchers have mapped out the brain activity that flows when we learn a new skill, such as playing a new song on the piano, and discovered why taking short breaks from practice is a key to learning. The researchers found […]

One of the most powerful tools available to biologists these days is CRISPR-Cas9, a combination of specialized RNA and protein that acts as a molecular scalpel, allowing researchers to precisely slice and dice pieces of an organism's genetic code. But even though CRISPR-Cas9 technology has offered an unprecedented level of […]

Follow-up data from the landmark SPRINT study of the effect of high blood pressure on cardiovascular disease have confirmed that aggressive blood-pressure management—lowering systolic blood pressure to less than 120 mm Hg—dramatically reduces the risk of heart disease, stroke and death from these diseases, as well as death from all […]

Scientists from the University of Bristol have pioneered a new approach to help biological engineers both harness and design the evolutionary potential of new biosystems. Their concept of the ‘evotype’ lays a foundation for the next generation of stable, safe and self-improving biotechnologies. A defining characteristic of all life is […]

A new study comparing different ways of encouraging people to reduce their alcohol intake has found telling people alcohol causes cancer makes them want to drink less, and encouraging them to count their drinks helps them do it. Lead author Professor Simone Pettigrew from The George Institute for Global Health said that […]

Virtual care provided through telephone or videoconference has been broadly implemented in recent months because of the COVID-19 pandemic. A new analysis of published studies has examined the accuracy and reliability of virtual compared with in-person cognitive assessments for diagnosing dementia or mild cognitive impairment. The analysis, which is published […]

New research at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research and ANZAC Research Institute has uncovered a mechanism that helps lung cancer cells resist standard chemotherapies. A team led by Associate Professor David Croucher and Associate Professor Andrew Burgess found that individual lung adenocarcinoma cells, the most common form of lung […]

A study led by researchers at the Universities of Manchester and York published in The Lancet Regional Health – Europe has revealed strong disparities in rates of excess deaths in England and Wales during the first 30 weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the research team, deaths compared with […]

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have investigated how a newly developed algorithm in connection with gene analysis can be used to improve the possibilities of preventing premature vascular disease and death in individuals with the hereditary lipid disorder, familial hypercholesterolemia. The findings, published in the Journal of Internal Medicine, show how […]

The immune system is the brain’s best frenemy. It protects the brain from infection and helps injured tissues heal, but it also causes autoimmune diseases and creates inflammation that drives neurodegeneration. Two new studies in mice suggest that the double-edged nature of the relationship between the immune system and the […]

A revolutionary new urine screening test that utilizes a novel Keratin 17 (K17) cancer biomarker can detect the presence of new bladder cancer in patients with hematuria, or blood in the urine, according to a study led by researchers at Yale Cancer Center, Stony Brook University, and KDx Diagnostics, Inc. The findings also […]

An odor-based test that sniffs out vapors emanating from blood samples was able to distinguish between benign and pancreatic and ovarian cancer cells with up to 95 percent accuracy, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine. The findings suggest that the Penn-developed […]

Hydrogels are polymer materials made mostly from water. They can be used in a wide range of medical and other applications. However, previous incarnations of the materials suffered from repeated mechanical stress and would easily become deformed. A novel crystal that can reversibly form and deform, allows hydrogels to rapidly […]

A team of researchers led by diabetes specialists and biomedical engineers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Cornell University has demonstrated that using a miniscule device, they can implant insulin-secreting cells into diabetic mice. Once implanted, the cells secrete insulin in response to blood sugar, reversing […]

The human brain is the most interesting object in neuroscience. Recently, researchers from Harvard University and Google released a 1.4-petabyte dataset of a small sample of the human cerebral cortex (a surface layer of the brain, responsible for higher-level cognitive functions). The sample has been imaged at 4nm-resolution using electron […]

About a third of the corneal transplant surgeries in the United States involve people with diabetes who donate their corneas after death. The number of corneal transplants has grown over the last decade, but through continuous research, the medical community has learned that not all corneal tissue from diabetics may […]

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have discovered a new genetic disease that causes a severe form of neurogenic orthostatic hypotension, a rapid drop in blood pressure upon standing that can cause fainting. The rare condition, which they named familial autonomic ganglionopathy, is caused by variations in the CHRNA3 gene, […]

By studying guppies, scientists at the University of Toronto and Florida State University found that behaviours affected by methylphenidate hydrochloride (MPH) – the active ingredient in stimulants such as Ritalin and Concerta used to treat ADHD – can be passed along to several generations of descendants. “We exposed male and female Trinidadian […]

A new model by University of Manchester researchers has proposed a way to prevent hearing loss in older people by addressing socioeconomic inequalities encountered while young. Published in Trends in Hearing the team hope the model could impact the estimated 466 million people worldwide who have disabling hearing loss, mostly affecting […]

Women may have a stronger immune response to a common form of skin cancer than men, according to early research on mice and human cells. Led by University of Manchester scientists at the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute, the team publish their findings in Clinical Cancer Research. The study is funded by The Wellcome […]

Neurons result from a highly complex and unique series of cell divisions. For example, in fruit flies, the process starts with stem cells that divide into mother cells (progenitor cells), which then divide into precursor cells that eventually become neurons. A team from the University of Michigan, spearheaded by graduate […]