Related Science News

July 1, 2020

Obesity is a significant contributor to early dementia

Aging sucks. Your entire body starts deteriorating and it’s sad. There is nothing good about aging. But probably the worst part is the decline of cognitive abilities. Losing the sharpness of your mind is truly heartbreaking, but millions and millions of people are facing the inevitability of dementia. However, scientists […]
July 1, 2020

Children begin to outsource their thinking at a very young age

Companies often outsource some of their activities. It means that some parts of their work are done by other organizations, typically where labour is cheaper or there are other incentives. But humans outsource some of their activities too. Scientists from the University of Queensland found that children begin outsourcing thinking […]
July 1, 2020

Scientists uncovered the mechanism how carcinogens cause cancer

Pretty much half of us is going to get cancer. This is part and parcel of our stressful lifestyle as well as aging. Some substances around us are very efficient in causing cancer. But why is that? Why some chemicals are able to cause cancer, which occurs when errors happen […]
July 1, 2020

Exercise can slow or prevent vision loss, UVA study suggest

Exercise can slow or prevent the development of macular degeneration and may benefit other common causes of vision loss, such as glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy, new research suggests. A study from the University of Virginia School of Medicine found that exercise reduced the harmful overgrowth of blood vessels in the eyes of […]
July 1, 2020

A revolutionary new treatment alternative to corneal transplantation

A new approach in ophthalmology that offers a revolutionary alternative to corneal transplantation has just been developed by researchers and clinicians in North America, Europe, and Oceania. The team was co-led by May Griffith, a researcher at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital Research Centre, which is affiliated with Université de Montréal and is […]
July 1, 2020

Laser-welded sugar: Sweet way to 3D-print blood vessels

Powdered sugar is the special ingredient in a Rice University recipe for mimicking the body’s intricate, branching blood vessels in lab-grown tissues. In research published in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering, Rice bioengineers showed they could keep densely packed cells alive for two weeks in relatively large constructs by creating complex blood vessel […]
June 30, 2020

Universal Gut Microbiome-Derived Signature Predicts Cirrhosis

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the leading cause of chronic liver disease worldwide, affecting an estimated one-quarter of the global population. It is a progressive condition that, in worst cases, can lead to cirrhosis, liver cancer, liver failure and death. In a new paper published online in Cell Metabolism, […]
June 30, 2020

Genomes front and centre of rare disease diagnosis

Cambridge-led study discovers new genetic causes of rare diseases, potentially leading to improved diagnosis and better patient care. A research programme pioneering the use of whole genome sequencing in the NHS has diagnosed hundreds of patients and discovered new genetic causes of disease. Whole genome sequencing is the technology used […]
June 30, 2020

Circular RNA makes fruit flies live longer

Ribonucleic acid, or RNA, is part of our genetic code and present in every cell of our body. The best known form of RNA is a single linear strand, of which the function is well known and characterized. But there is also another type of RNA, so-called “circular RNA”, or […]
June 30, 2020

Immune Cells Infiltrating Tumors May Play Bigger Cancer Role Than Previously Thought

Most traditional cancer therapies target either the tumor cells themselves or indiscriminately kill any rapidly dividing cell. New findings by researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine indicate that manipulating macrophages, a type of immune cell found abundantly in the tissues surrounding a tumor, could also be […]
June 30, 2020

Acid Test

Researchers at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard Stem Cell Institute studying embryonic development have identified a mechanism that helps explain how cells choose to become different types. The researchers previously made the surprising discovery that changes in metabolism influence how cells communicate with each other, which in turn affects […]
June 30, 2020

NIH study shows genomic variation causing common autoinflammatory disease may increase resilience to bubonic plague

Researchers have discovered that Mediterranean populations may be more susceptible to an autoinflammatory disease because of evolutionary pressure to survive the bubonic plague. The study, carried out by scientists at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health, determined that specific genomic variants that cause […]
June 30, 2020

New treatment for common form of muscular dystrophy shows promise in cells, animals

University of Alberta-led team develops synthetic molecule that stops production of toxic muscle-killing protein. Researchers have designed a potential new treatment for one of the most common forms of muscular dystrophy, according to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Toshifumi Yokota, professor of medical genetics […]
June 30, 2020

Why memory-forming neurons are vulnerable to Alzheimer's

When Alzheimer’s disease strikes, the entire brain doesn’t crumble at once. Instead, the mind unravels like grim clockwork, beginning with the telltale degradation of a group of brain cells in the entorhinal cortex. These so-called vulnerable neurons are responsible for shuttling experiences into memories. They are always the first to […]
June 30, 2020

Light drinking may protect brain function

Light to moderate drinking may preserve brain function in older age, according to a new study from the University of Georgia. The study examined the link between alcohol consumption and changes in cognitive function over time among middle-aged and older adults in the U.S. “We know there are some older […]
June 30, 2020

Researchers find on-off switch for inflammation related to overeating

Researchers at Yale have identified a molecule that plays a key role in the body’s inflammatory response to overeating, which can lead to obesity, diabetes, and other metabolic diseases. The finding suggests that the molecule could be a promising therapeutic target to control this inflammation and keep metabolic diseases in […]
June 29, 2020

Supercomputer Simulations Show How DNA Prepares Itself for Repair

It’s common knowledge that the human body consists of trillions of cells. The cell nucleus, which houses DNA, is under attack every second of every day by environmental and behavioral factors. Researchers from Harvard University and the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB) recently used the Comet supercomputer at the San Diego […]
June 29, 2020

Neurons thrive even when malnourished

When animal, insect or human embryos grow in a malnourished environment, their developing nervous systems get first pick of any available nutrients so that new neurons can be made. In this process, called organ sparing, resources are preferentially delegated to the nervous system at the cost of less important organs […]
June 29, 2020

Genes affecting brains and brawn?

Genetic deletions associated with neurodevelopmental disorders also important for development elsewhere in the body. Genes located in “copy number variants” (CNVs) — parts of chromosomes that are missing in some individuals and duplicated in others — that are associated with neurodevelopmental disorders affect more than just brain development, according to […]
June 29, 2020

How cancer drugs find their targets

In the watery inside of a cell, complex processes take place in tiny functional compartments called organelles. Energy-producing mitochondria are organelles, as is the frilly golgi apparatus, which helps to transport cellular materials. Both of these compartments are bound by thin membranes. But in the past few years, research at […]
June 29, 2020

A focused approach to imaging neural activity in the brain

When neurons fire an electrical impulse, they also experience a surge of calcium ions. By measuring those surges, researchers can indirectly monitor neuron activity, helping them to study the role of individual neurons in many different brain functions. One drawback to this technique is the crosstalk generated by the axons […]
June 29, 2020

Researchers Identify Novel Genetic Variants Linked to Type-2 Diabetes

After examining the genes of more than 200,000 people all over the world who have type-2 diabetes, researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and the Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA) Corporal Michael J. Crescenz Veterans Affairs Medical Center (CMCVAMC) found hundreds of genetic variants never before linked to the disease. The study also […]
June 29, 2020

Dementia May Develop 7 Years Earlier for Adults with Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Older adults with chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract may develop dementia more than seven years earlier than those without the condition, according to a new study by researchers at UC San Francisco and Taipei Veterans General Hospital in Taiwan. A review of nearly 19,200 Taiwanese patients found that those […]