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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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

For 13 years, Daniel Carr had no idea he was missing part of his brain. One of the first clues occurred on the baseball field. The coach of his seventh-grade boys’ competitive team in suburban St. Louis noticed Daniel’s unusual, albeit effective, fielding tactic in the outfield. Daniel wore his […]

Every day in the U.S. in 2018, motor vehicle crashes killed more than 20 people over age 65 and injured almost 700. Older adults are the most responsible drivers of any age group — they tend to obey speed limits and avoid driving at night and in bad weather, for […]

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 […]

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, […]

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 […]

The proteasome is a complex structure in the cell that is responsible for breaking down unwanted proteins. Like other recycling processes, proteasomal function is connected to life span in short-lived species. Better cell maintenance in response to stress and damage improves cell function, organ function, and longevity. The proteasome is […]

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 […]

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, […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

A long noncoding RNA whose function was previously unknown turns out to play a vital role in mobilizing the immune response following a bone marrow transplant or solid organ transplantation. This RNA molecule, catalogued in scientific databases simply as Linc00402, helps activate immune defenders known as T cells in response […]

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 […]

A team of researchers from the University of Michigan and the Henry Ford Health System is shedding new light on important differences in triple-negative breast cancer tumours from African, African American and white patients. The work was conducted using mouse xenograft models implanted with patient breast tumours. The findings, which […]

A major challenge in the study of aging and age-related disease is establishing the direction of causation. A great many mechanisms of aging are known, but it is difficult to firmly establish the relationships between them. The body is made up of many interacting systems, and changes in any one […]

A new study from the Maurice and Gabriela Goldschleger School of Dental Medicine at Tel Aviv University (TAU) has found that the excessive use of smartphones and social media can lead to problems sleeping; drowsiness and fatigue during the day; teeth-grinding; and pain in the mouth muscles and jaws. The researchers compared about 600 […]

A study of Japanese university students and recent graduates has revealed that writing on physical paper can lead to more brain activity when remembering the information an hour later. Researchers say that the unique, complex, spatial and tactile information associated with writing by hand on physical paper is likely what […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]