Related Science News

The development of antibodies to the COVID-19 virus has been the great long-term hope of ending the pandemic. However, immune system turncoats are also major culprits in severe cases of COVID-19, Yale scientists report in the journal Nature. These autoantibodies target and react with a person’s tissues or organs similar to […]

Researchers at Oregon State University have found a key new piece of the puzzle in the quest to use gene therapy to enable people born deaf to hear. The work centres around a large gene responsible for an inner-ear protein, otoferlin. Mutations in otoferlin are linked to severe congenital hearing […]

Eating a Western diet impairs the immune system in the gut in ways that could increase the risk of infection and inflammatory bowel disease, according to a study from researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Cleveland Clinic. The study, in mice and people, showed that […]

Pregnant women made only modest dietary changes after being diagnosed with gestational diabetes, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health. Women with gestational diabetes are generally advised to reduce their carbohydrate intake, and the women in the study did cut their daily intake of juice […]

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have investigated the use of low dose venetoclax, an experimental drug, for the treatment of the heterogeneous cancer disease multiple myeloma in patients who had relapsed on standard therapies. The findings are published in the American Journal of Hematology and provide new hope for the treatment […]

The common skin disease atopic eczema (AE) impacts heavily on the life quality and general health of sufferers. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have now evaluated its treatment with internet-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy (iCBT). The study suggests that patients feel better after iCBT compared with a control group who received only […]

Scientists at Bristol have successfully treated flies displaying behavioural problems linked to newly discovered schizophrenia-associated genes in humans, using common antipsychotics. Schizophrenia is a severe long-term mental health condition that is historically poorly understood and treated. It is relatively common, affecting one to two per cent of the population, and […]

Cancerous tumors thrive on blood, extending their roots deep into the fabric of the tissue around them. They alter the genetics of surrounding cells and evolve to avoid the protective attacks of immune cells. Now, Penn State researchers have developed a way to study the relationship between solid, difficult-to-treat tumors and the […]

Though obesity in midlife is linked to an increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease, new research suggests that a high body mass index later in life doesn’t necessarily translate to greater chances of developing the brain disease. In the study, researchers compared data from two groups of people who had been […]

Differences in how blood pressure affects the risk of dementia in men and women may provide clues to help slow the rapid growth of the disease, according to new research published today. In a study of just over half a million people, George Institute researchers found that while the link between […]

It is a strange world that we live in, in which we have to argue – actually debate with people who earnestly hold the opposing view – that more of us living for longer, in better health than is the case today, is a good outcome. That it is worth […]

What kills most people who die from cancer is not the initial tumor. It’s the intolerable disease burden on the body that arises when tumor cells continually expand their numbers after spreading to different organs. In comparison to what is already known about specific mutations that drive early-stage cancer growth […]

We are truly never alone, not even within our own bodies. Human beings play host to trillions of bacteria, fungi, viruses, and other microorganisms that make up the human microbiome. In recent years, the mix of these resident bacteria, and the presence of specific bacterial species, has been linked to […]

Organ transplant is saving millions of lives every year. However, many people continue waiting for the right donor. Some organs, sadly, get rejected as unsuitable for donation, but this decision is not easy to make. Now scientists from the University of Edinburgh, the Edinburgh Transplant Centre and the University of […]

An Edmonton-based company with roots at the University of Alberta is developing new imaging technology to treat retinal diseases and give hope to the millions of people who suffer from them. PulseMedica has only been operating for about a year, but its preliminary research is so promising, the collaborators hope to […]

An independent group of experts that advises the nation on preventive medical services has lowered the recommended age for adults to begin regular screenings for colorectal cancer from 50 to 45. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has given this recommendation for people without symptoms who are at average risk […]

A rare mutation in the Caps2 gene, which encodes a protein that regulates the release of brain chemicals called neurotransmitters, has also been linked with autism spectrum disorders. Now, researchers at the Tokyo University of Science report that Caps2 mutations in mice limit the release of oxytocin (a hormone that regulates social behavior), causing […]

The first wide-ranging study to look at whether healthy food prescriptions lead to better diets and healthier patients suggests there could be some truth to the saying ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor away.’ Researchers from The George Institute for Global Health and the Friedman School of Nutrition Science & Policy […]

The protein made by the ASH1L gene plays a key role in the development of acute leukemia, along with other diseases. The ASH1L protein, however, has been challenging to target therapeutically. Now a team of researchers led by Jolanta Grembecka, Ph.D., and Tomasz Cierpicki, Ph.D., from the University of Michigan has developed first-in-class small molecules […]

With support from a $4.3 million National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) grant, the University of Minnesota will be the home of a new Interdisciplinary Consortium for Astrobiology Research (ICAR) program that explores the origins of life. Led by Burckhard Seelig, an associate professor in the College of Biological Sciences, the global […]

Impressive results have been produced in mice via clearance of senescent cells: rejuvenation, extension of life, and reversal of numerous different age-related conditions. This has provoked an increasing number of research groups to focus on the mechanisms of cellular senescence, in search of novel ways to identify and destroy these […]

Dozens of commonly used drugs, including antibiotics, anti-nausea and anticancer medications, have a potential side effect of lengthening the electrical event that triggers contraction, creating an irregular heartbeat, or cardiac arrhythmia called acquired Long QT syndrome. While safe in their current dosages, some of these drugs may have a more […]

Multiple studies have shown that African American women with breast cancer have lower survival rates than white women with the disease. But the association between race or ethnicity and treatment outcomes in triple-negative breast cancer — an aggressive type of tumor that does not respond to hormonal or other targeted […]

A new technology developed by UZH researchers enables the body to produce therapeutic agents on demand at the exact location where they are needed. The innovation could reduce the side effects of cancer therapy and may hold the solution to better delivery of Covid-related therapies directly to the lungs. Scientists […]

An innovative cardiac rehabilitation intervention started earlier and more custom-tailored to the individual improved physical function, frailty, quality-of-life, and depression in hospitalized heart failure patients, compared to traditional rehabilitation programs. Supported by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of Health, these new study results were published […]

A long noncoding RNA whose function was previously unknown turns out to play an important role in promoting the body’s immune response against cancer and holds promise for enhancing the efficacy of anti-cancer immunotherapy. That’s according to new findings reported in Nature Cell Biology by researchers at the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center. […]

Stanford researchers have discovered a new kind of biomolecule that could play a significant role in the biology of all living things. The novel biomolecule, dubbed glycoRNA, is a small ribbon of ribonucleic acid (RNA) with sugar molecules, called glycans, dangling from it. Up until now, the only kinds of […]

Glaucoma involves a high risk of losing sight. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and St. Erik Eye Hospital, among others, have now studied the effects of nicotinamide, the amide of vitamin B₃, on animal and cell models for glaucoma. The study, published in Redox Biology, maybe a future neuroprotective therapy in […]

Tulane University researchers found the bacterium that causes Lyme disease in the brain tissue of a woman who had long suffered neurocognitive impairment after her diagnosis and treatment for the tick-borne disease. The presence of the corkscrew-shaped Borrelia burgdorferi spirochetes in the former Lyme disease patient’s brain and spinal cord were evidence […]

During an inflammatory response, things need to happen quickly: ETH Zurich researchers have recently discovered that certain immune cells that function as security guards can use a shortcut to get from the tissue to lymph nodes. In its response to pathogens and vaccines, our immune system relies on dendritic cells. […]