Related Science News

January 27, 2021

The New Gold Standard: Anti-cancer Drug Discovery Made Easier with Gold Nanostructures

Scientists design a novel 3D cell culture-based electrical platform for high-throughput anti-cancer drug testing using a new type of gold nanostructure. Brain cancer is one of the deadliest forms of cancer with poor treatability. Now, scientists from Korea and China have developed a multi-functional platform using gold nanostructures that allows […]
January 27, 2021

A Review of Research into Intermittent Fasting and its Effects on Longevity

Intermittent fasting (such as alternate day fasting) is not as effective as calorie restriction (consistent reduction in calories every day) in extending life span in animal models such as mice, but it does have many of the same effects on health and longevity. Even when total calorie intake is held […]
January 27, 2021

Epigenetic mechanisms that regulate macrophage inflammation discovered

How do cis-regulatory genome elements regulate gene expression, what are the critical components involved, and can we therapeutically target them? By investigating how corepressors modulate enhancers and silencers during inflammatory macrophage activation, BioNut researchers have found some unexpected answers to these fundamental questions. The study is published in Molecular Cell. […]
January 27, 2021

Surprising Behavior of Transcription Factors Challenges Theories of Gene Regulation

How cells develop and the diseases that arise when development goes wrong have been a decades-long research focus in the laboratory of Distinguished Professor of Biology Ellen Rothenberg. In particular, the lab studies the development of immune cells known as T cells, which act as “intelligence agents”—they circulate throughout the body, […]
January 27, 2021

What is Personality?

An individual's personality does not lie in their behavior or their genes but in the brain, according to a new theoretical study. Do you value courage and bravery or intelligence and learning? Your answer may indicate whether you end up in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw, according to a Harry Potter-themed personality […]
January 27, 2021

Machine learning tool used to predict early symptoms of schizophrenia in relatives of patients

University of Alberta researchers have taken another step forward in developing an artificial intelligence tool to predict schizophrenia by analyzing brain scans. In recently published research, the tool was used to analyze functional magnetic resonance images of 57 healthy first-degree relatives (siblings or children) of schizophrenia patients. It accurately identified the […]
January 27, 2021

B Side

Researchers in the Blavatnik Institute at Harvard Medical School have pieced together the near-atomic structures of a pair of proteins crucial for B cell function—immune cells that produce antibodies and remember how to fight specific invaders long after infection. The work provides invaluable details that may guide the design of […]
January 27, 2021

Blood Discoveries Advance Effort to Grow Organs, Battle Cancer

Pioneering research into how our bodies manufacture the cells that make blood has moved us closer to regrowing tissues and organs. The findings also may let doctors grow cells for transplantation into people to battle cancer, blood disorders and autoimmune diseases. Researcher Karen K. Hirschi of the University of Virginia’s […]
January 27, 2021

MU Research Reactor to supply radioisotope for targeted cancer therapy

The University of Missouri Research Reactor (MURR®) has entered into an exclusive multi-year agreement with Advanced Accelerator Applications International, SA (AAA), a Novartis company, to provide a key ingredient in a targeted therapy for certain types of cancerous tumors. The agreement covers medical markets in the U.S. and around the […]
January 26, 2021

A Conceptual Shift to (Finally) Seeing Aging as the Cause of Age-Related Disease

The mainstream of the scientific community has for decade after decade followed an entirely incorrect strategy in the matter of aging, and it was only comparatively recently that this state of affairs was changed for the better by the advocacy of groups like the SENS Research Foundation, Methuselah Foundation, and […]
January 26, 2021

Not-so-Young at Heart

Heart disease deaths have declined among older people, but the trend is less encouraging among younger people, particularly women. Indeed, research suggests that heart disease and death rates from heart disease in these younger groups have remained unchanged or have even gone up slightly. To understand which factors put younger […]
January 26, 2021

Biologists unravel full sequence of DNA repair mechanism

Every living organism has DNA, and every living organism engages in DNA replication, the process by which DNA makes an exact copy of itself during cell division. While it’s a tried-and-true process, problems can arise. Break-induced replication (BIR) is a way to solve those problems. In humans, it is employed chiefly […]
January 25, 2021

Diamonds may help measuring thermal conductivity in living cells

Scientists have very precise instruments, but measuring properties of tiny little cells is still very difficult. Now researchers at the University of Queensland have developed a new tool to measure heat transfer inside living cells. It includes actual diamonds and it can work as both a heater and a thermometre. […]
January 25, 2021

Non-invasive brain stimulation can ease tremors in Parkinson's

Brain stimulation is a relatively new way to treat various neurological conditions. It is typically an invasive procedure because electrodes need to be implanted in the brain. However, now scientists at UCL have found a way to use non-invasive brain stimulation to ease tremors typically found in conditions such as […]
January 25, 2021

A Closer Look at How Immune Cells Attack and Heal

Macrophages – immune cells that both fight infections and fix the damage they cause – are often placed into two categories: those that increase inflammation (known as “M1”) to attack, and those that decrease inflammation to begin the healing process (“M2”). Researchers in the lab of Kathryn Miller-Jensen, associate professor […]
January 25, 2021

Study reveals immune driver of brain aging

Scientists have identified a key factor in mental aging and shown that it might be prevented or reversed by fixing a glitch in the immune system’s front-line soldiers. Suppose Smokey Bear were to lose it and start setting forest fires instead of putting them out. That roughly describes the behaviour […]
January 25, 2021

Lack of sleep, stress can lead to symptoms resembling concussion

A new study suggests that a lot of people might be going through life with symptoms that resemble concussion – a finding supporting researchers’ argument that athletes recovering from a brain injury should be assessed and treated on a highly individualized basis. In the national study, between 11% and 27% […]
January 25, 2021

Catching cancer in the act

When cancer is confined to one spot in the body, doctors can often treat it with surgery or other therapies. Much of the mortality associated with cancer, however, is due to its tendency to metastasize, sending out seeds of itself that may take root throughout the body. The exact moment […]
January 22, 2021

‘Junk DNA’ plays a key role in regulating circadian clocks

If you’ve ever had a bad case of jet lag, you know how a disruption to your body’s circadian rhythm makes it difficult to function. Molecular circadian “clocks” exist in cells throughout the body, governing more than just sleep and wake cycles — they are crucial to many aspects of […]
January 22, 2021

Beyond changing DNA itself, mutagens also cause errors in gene transcription

Exposure to mutagens, or mutation-causing agents, can not only bring about changes in DNA but also appear to induce errors when genes are transcribed to make proteins, which may be an important factor in age-related diseases. USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology Assistant Professor Marc Vermulst and colleagues made the discovery by […]
January 22, 2021

Stem cells may correct deformity and restore brain function after childhood disorder

Using stem cells to regenerate parts of the skull, USC scientists partially corrected a skull deformity and reversed learning and memory deficits in young mice with craniosynostosis, a condition estimated to affect 1 in every 2,500 infants born in the United States. The only current therapy is complex surgery within […]
January 22, 2021

Study finds evidence of lasting immunity after mild or asymptomatic Covid-19 infection

The study, published in Science Immunology, analysed antibody and T cell responses in 136 London healthcare workers who had mild or asymptomatic Covid-19 infection dating back to March 2020. The team, including researchers from Queen Mary, Imperial College London and University College London, found that 89 per cent of healthcare workers […]
January 22, 2021

Accurate predictions of ovarian cancer outcome possible with new classification system

Researchers have discovered and identified sub-types of ovarian cancer cells, which can then be used to accurately identify which ovarian cancer subtypes are likely to lead to more severe cancer outcomes – an approach which has been dubbed the ‘Oxford Classification of Carcinoma of the Ovary’ or ‘Oxford Classic’ for […]
January 22, 2021

A healthy heart may help delay or prevent dementia

New study shows targeting arterial stiffening earlier in a person’s lifespan could provide cognitive benefits in older age and may help to delay the onset of dementia. Researchers at the University of Oxford and University College London investigated 542 older adults who received two measurements of aortic stiffness, at 64 […]
January 22, 2021

Motion sensitivity research could benefit people with inner ear condition

Research into motion sensitivity could lead to improved rehabilitation programmes and an improvement in building designs for people with a rare inner ear condition that affects their balance. Dr Jessica Tyrrell at the University of Exeter’s Medical School will use the VSimulators research facility at Exeter Science Park to explore the response […]
January 22, 2021

Gut bacteria help digest dietary fiber, release important antioxidant

Dietary fiber found in grains is a large component of many diets, but little is understood about how we digest the fiber, as humans lack enzymes to break down the complex molecules. Some species of gut bacteria break down the fiber in such a way that it not only becomes […]
January 22, 2021

Stretching more effective than walking to lower high blood pressure

A new University of Saskatchewan (USask) study has found that stretching is superior to brisk walking for reducing blood pressure in people with high blood pressure or who are at risk of developing elevated levels. Walking has long been the prescription of choice for physicians trying to help their patients […]
January 22, 2021

Regulating the ribosomal RNA production line

The enzyme that makes RNA from a DNA template is altered to slow the production of ribosomal RNA (rRNA), the most abundant type of RNA within cells, when resources are scarce and the bacteria Escherichia coli needs to slow its growth. Researchers used cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) to capture the structures […]