Related Science News

Tracking the origin of synthetic genetic code has never been simple, but it can be done through bioinformatic or, increasingly, deep learning computational approaches. Though the latter gets the lion’s share of attention, new research by computer scientist Todd Treangen of Rice University’s Brown School of Engineering is focused on whether sequence alignment and pan-genome-based methods can outperform recent […]

The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and UC Berkeley announced a long-term research partnership with Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, and its parent company, Roche Holding AG, to speed the development of new therapeutics for debilitating brain diseases and disorders of the central nervous system (CNS), such […]

A McMaster stem cell research team has made an important early step in developing a new class of therapeutics for patients with a deadly blood cancer. The team has discovered that for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients, there is a dopamine receptor pathway that becomes abnormally activated in the cancer […]

The formation of a brain is one of nature’s most staggeringly complex accomplishments. The intricate intermingling of neurons and the labyrinth of connections also make it a particularly difficult feat for scientists to study. Now, Yale researchers and collaborators have devised a strategy that allows them to see this previously […]

Inflammatory lung diseases such as asthma, COPD and, most recently, COVID-19, have proven difficult to treat. Current therapies reduce symptoms and do little to stop such diseases from continuing to damage the lungs. Much research into treating chronic inflammatory diseases has focused on blocking chemicals called cytokines, which trigger cascades […]

A study of spatial learning in mice shows that exposure to new experiences dampens established representations in the brain’s hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, allowing the mice to learn new navigation strategies. The study, published in Nature, was supported by the National Institutes of Health. “The ability to flexibly learn in new […]

People who have had evidence of a prior infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, appear to be well protected against being reinfected with the virus, at least for a few months, according to a newly published study from the National Cancer Institute (NCI). This finding may explain why reinfection appears […]

First-time analyses of glaucoma across multiple ancestries find new genetic variants. In the largest genome-wide association study of glaucoma to date, which compared the genes of 34,179 people with the disease to 349,321 control participants, an international consortium of researchers identified 44 new gene loci and confirmed 83 previously reported […]

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disorder marked by joint pain, swelling and damage. Although medications, such as steroids, anti-inflammatory drugs and immunosuppressants, can help slow joint destruction and relieve pain, they have side effects and aren’t completely successful. Now, researchers reporting in ACS’ Nano Letters have developed magnesium-based micromotors propelled by […]

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) Assistant Professor Peter Koo and collaborator Matt Ploenzke reported a way to train machines to predict the function of DNA sequences. They used “neural nets,” a type of artificial intelligence (AI) typically used to classify images. Teaching the neural net to predict the function of short stretches […]

Corn—or maize—has changed over thousands of years from weedy plants that make ears with less than a dozen kernels to the cobs packed with hundreds of juicy kernels that we see on farms today. Powerful DNA-editing techniques such as CRISPR can speed up that process. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) […]

A national clinical trial program will test promising new targeted therapy for pancreatic cancer, one of the deadliest forms of cancers of which more than 3000 cases are diagnosed annually in Australia alone. The clinical trial program (MoST–P), led by researchers and clinicians at UNSW Sydney and the Garvan Institute […]

A disease of the joints, osteoarthritis affects more than 30 million adults and is the fifth-leading cause of disability in the United States. In a new study, scientists have discovered the cellular pathway that leads to osteoarthritis and have identified a commonly used anti-depressant — paroxetine — that inhibits this […]

Can long-term stress lead to heart attacks? Most people would probably answer in the affirmative, but the scientific evidence of this is scarce. A new study reveals that the levels of the stress hormone cortisol were increased in the months preceding a heart attack. The results suggest that long-term stress […]

A new computational approach for analyzing complex datasets shows that as disease progresses, neurons and astrocytes lose the ability to maintain homeostasis. Using an innovative computational approach to analyze vast brain cell gene expression datasets, researchers at MIT and Sorbonne Université have found that Huntington’s disease may progress to advanced […]

A new research development from The University of Manchester and The Christie NHS Foundation Trust has shown progress for developing a potential new cancer treatment using high energy electron beams. The collaborative research team have published their findings in Nature’s journal, Scientific Reports, and demonstrated that Very High Energy Electron (VHEE) beams can have […]

In recent decades, researchers have made big advances in developing new cancer medicines such as Herceptin, the targeted drug to treat women diagnosed with HER2-positive breast cancer. Yet, despite these successes, cancer remains the second leading cause of death after heart disease and nearly 90 per cent of all cancer drugs entering […]

The cocktail of beneficial bacteria passed from mother to infant through breast milk changes significantly over time and could act like a daily booster shot for infant immunity and metabolism. The research, conducted by scientists from Montreal and Guatemala and published in Frontiers in Microbiology, has important implications for infant development […]

Decades ago, blue lights helped shoppers scope out sales. Today they’re helping urologists scope out cells, specifically those of non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer. UW Medicine urologists with the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance possess a mechanism that makes the tumors glow bright pink. All the better to see them. “Seventy percent of bladder […]

Scientists have known for more than a decade that “good bacteria” from healthy intestines can treat and ward off potentially deadly intestinal infections by Clostridium difficile bacteria. Now researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have discovered that immune cells called Treg cells are crucial for the success […]

University of Alberta researchers have found that limiting the amount of fat the body releases into the bloodstream from fat cells during heart failure could help improve outcomes for patients. In a recent study published in the American Journal of Physiology, Jason Dyck, professor of paediatrics in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry and director […]

An international research team used the ultrabright X-rays of the Advanced Photon Source to examine neurons in the brains of schizophrenia patients. What they learned may help neurologists treat this harmful brain disorder. Schizophrenia, a chronic, neurological brain disorder, affects millions of people around the world. It causes a fracture […]

As people get older, their neural stem cells lose the ability to proliferate and produce new neurons, leading to a decline in memory function. Researchers at the University of Zurich have now discovered a mechanism linked to stem cell aging – and how the production of neurons can be reactivated. […]

NineSigma, representing a global 500 medical device company, invites proposals for technologies that can alleviate the deleterious effects of calcified coronary arteries in a manner that is both easier and safer than traditional angioplasty or atherectomy procedures. The goal of this RFP is to identify technologies, beyond those that are traditionally […]

Insomnia — trouble falling asleep, staying asleep or waking up too early — is a common condition in older adults. Sleeplessness can be exacerbated by osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis causing joint pain. While there are effective therapies for treating insomnia in older adults, many people cannot get […]

The blood-brain barrier prevents immune cells from circulating freely in the brain, and the breakdown of its function is a major cause of post-stroke inflammation. Now, for the first time, researchers have identified how a toxic stroke byproduct, acrolein, could activate the barrier-degrading enzyme proheparanase (proHPSE). The research group has […]

New research led by Swansea University in collaboration with researchers at the University of Bristol and the Francis Crick Institute in London has indicated that consuming a diet high in sugar fructose might prevent the proper functioning of peoples' immune systems in ways that have, until now, largely been unknown. […]

When you slip into sleep, it’s easy to imagine that your brain shuts down, but University of Michigan research suggests that groups of neurons activated during prior learning keep humming, tattooing memories into your brain. U-M researchers have been studying how memories associated with a specific sensory event are formed […]

In recent years, researchers have begun using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) not just for better understanding the neural bases of psychiatric illness, but also for experimental treatment of depression, ADHD, anxiety, PTSD, substance use disorder, and schizophrenia with a technique called real-time fMRI neurofeedback. While rtfMRI-NF has emerged in recent […]

Intravenous injection of bone marrow-derived stem cells (MSCs) in patients with spinal cord injuries led to significant improvement in motor functions, researchers from Yale University and Japan report in the Journal of Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery. For more than half of the patients, substantial improvements in key functions — such […]