Related Science News

March 22, 2021

The Binarized Transcriptomic Aging Clock

Patterns of epigenetic regulation of gene expression (and thus RNA and protein levels) change constantly in response to cell state and environment. Some of those changes are characteristic responses to the damage and dysfunction of aging. Since the demonstration of the first epigenetic clocks, those that predict age based on […]
March 22, 2021

Vaccination by inhalation

Many viruses infect their hosts through mucosal surfaces such as the lining of the respiratory tract. MIT researchers have now developed a vaccination strategy that can create an army of T cells that are ready and waiting at those surfaces, offering a quicker response to viral invaders. The researchers showed […]
March 22, 2021

New technology ‘retrains’ cells to repair damaged brain tissue in mice after stroke

Most stroke victims don’t receive treatment fast enough to prevent brain damage. Scientists at Ohio State University have developed technology to “retrain” cells to help repair damaged brain tissue – an advancement that may someday help patients regain speech, cognition and motor function, even when administered days after an ischemic […]
March 22, 2021

Health declining in Gen X and Gen Y, national study shows

Recent generations show a worrying decline in health compared to their parents and grandparents when they were the same age, a new national study reveals. Researchers found that, compared to previous generations, members of Generation X and Generation Y showed poorer physical health, higher levels of unhealthy behaviours such as […]
March 22, 2021

Bioengineers learn the secrets to precisely turning on and off genes

In a recent study led by the University of Bristol, scientists have shown how to simultaneously harness multiple forms of regulation in living cells to strictly control gene expression and open new avenues for improved biotechnologies. Engineered microbes are increasingly being used to enable the sustainable and clean production of […]
March 22, 2021

Cancer Immunotherapy May Also Treat Certain Autoimmune Diseases

A team of researchers has found disrupting the interaction between cancer cells and certain immune cells is more effective at killing cancer cells than current immunotherapy treatments. The findings, which include studies in cell lines and animal models, appeared in JCI Insight and focus on a protein called CD6 as a target for […]
March 22, 2021

Ultrasound may have potential for treating pain after chemotherapy, U of A study shows

Therapeutic ultrasound was a tool in Janice Yurick’s treatment arsenal for 15 years. Yurick, a now-retired physical therapist and former manager of supportive care services at the Cross Cancer Institute, had more than two decades of experience in oncology rehabilitation. She used the technology with patients and saw results, despite […]
March 22, 2021

New method targets disease-causing proteins for destruction

Scientists at the University of Wisconsin–Madison have developed a way to use a cell’s own recycling machinery to destroy disease-causing proteins, a technology that could produce entirely new kinds of drugs. Some cancers, for instance, are associated with abnormal proteins or an excess of normally harmless proteins. By eliminating them, […]
March 21, 2021

Age-Associated B Cells Contribute to Autoimmunity and Chronic Inflammation

The immune system becomes disordered and dysfunctional with age in numerous different ways. The B cell component accumulates inflammatory and problematic cells that are known as age-associated B cells. Here, researchers show that these errant B cells produce antibodies that provoke autoimmunity. B cell aging is a problem with a […]
March 20, 2021

Electromagnetic fields hinder spread of breast cancer

Electricity may slow – and in some cases, stop – the speed at which breast cancer cells spread through the body, a new study indicates. The research also found that electromagnetic fields might hinder the amount of breast cancer cells that spread. The findings, published recently in the journal Bioelectricity, suggest […]
March 20, 2021

Cancer survivors face elevated heart disease risk, study finds

A new study has found that about 35% of Americans with a cancer history had an elevated risk of cardiovascular disease in the next decade, compared with about 23% of those who didn’t have cancer. Based on a risk calculator that estimates a person’s 10-year chances of developing heart disease or stroke, […]
March 20, 2021

Lower dose of oestrogen receptor modulator seems to reduce risk of breast cancer

While the drug tamoxifen reduces the risk of developing breast cancer and prevents recurrence, the side-effects cause many women to discontinue their treatment. A study involving researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm has now found that a much lower dose than the standard produces a good effect with fewer adverse […]
March 20, 2021

AI method can detect precursors to cervical cancer

Using artificial intelligence and mobile digital microscopy, researchers hope to create screening tools that can detect precursors to cervical cancer in women in resource-limited settings. A study led by researchers at Karolinska Institutet and the University of Helsinki now shows that AI screenings of pap smears carried out with portable […]
March 19, 2021

Two Proteins Critical for Kidney Function

More than 37 million people in the United States have chronic kidney disease, the result of ever-increasing rates of common health conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure. Normal kidneys work relentlessly to maintain a crucial balance of fluids inside our bodies. They also filter sodium, other minerals and […]
March 19, 2021

Can Prebiotics Help Protect Against Immunotherapy-Induced Colitis?

Prebiotics are an intriguing potential approach to curbing some of the severe side effects that life-saving immunotherapy treatments can wreak on the gut, according to an analysis of recent studies and clinical trials by researchers at the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center. Rather than trying to introduce beneficial strains of […]
March 19, 2021

Lab-created heart valves can grow with the recipient

A groundbreaking new study led by University of Minnesota Twin Cities researchers from both the College of Science and Engineering and the Medical School shows for the first time that lab-created heart valves implanted in young lambs for a year were capable of growth within the recipient. The valves also […]
March 19, 2021

Could leak in blood-brain barrier cause poor memory?

Have you forgotten where you laid your keys?  Ever wondered where you had parked your car? Or having trouble remembering the name of the new neighbor? Unfortunately, these things seem to get worse as one gets older. A big question for researchers is where does benign forgetfulness end and true […]
March 19, 2021

Cells burn more calories after just one bout of moderate aerobic exercise

In a recent study testing the effects of exercise on overall metabolism, researchers at Oregon State University found that even a single session of moderate aerobic exercise makes a difference in the cells of otherwise sedentary people. Mitochondria are the part of the cell responsible for the biological process of […]
March 19, 2021

Identifying Cells to Better Understand Healthy and Diseased Behavior

In researching the causes and potential treatments for degenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease, neuroscientists frequently struggle to accurately identify cells needed to understand brain activity that gives rise to behaviour changes such as declining memory or impaired balance and tremors. A multidisciplinary team of the Georgia Institute […]
March 19, 2021

Double duty: Gut’s immune system helps regulate food processing, too

The small intestine is ground zero for survival of animals. It is responsible for absorbing the nutrients crucial to life and it wards off toxic chemicals and life-threatening bacteria. In a new study published in the journal Science, Yale researchers report the critical role played by the gut’s immune system […]
March 19, 2021

Mystery of four-stranded DNA begins to unravel

New insights into a little-understood DNA structure could provide the basis for new cancer therapies. DNA is usually depicted as double-stranded, but not much is known about parts of the genome that adopt four-stranded structures known as quadruplexes. UC Riverside researchers have discovered that they play a key role in […]
March 18, 2021

Age-Related Vision Impairment Correlates with Mortality

Researchers here note an association between vision impairment and mortality in later life. This has the look of a correlation that exists because aging is a global process at work throughout the body. It stems from the accumulation of a few classes of cell and tissue damage. That damage causes […]