Related Science News

March 10, 2020

Microscopic STAR Particles Offer New Potential Treatment for Skin Diseases

Skin diseases affect half of the world’s population, but many treatments are not effective, require frequent injections, or cause significant side effects. But what if there was a treatment that eliminated injections, reduced side effects, and increased drug effectiveness? A skin therapy with these properties may be on the horizon […]
March 10, 2020

Cancerous tumors, surrounding cells illuminated by new imaging agent

Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have developed a new imaging agent that could let doctors identify not only multiple types of tumors but the surrounding normal cells that cancer takes over and uses as a shield to protect itself from attempts to destroy it. The […]
March 10, 2020

Combining smoke cessation programs with screening for lung cancer can reduce mortality

Programs that help smokers kick the habit along with existing lung cancer screening efforts could reduce lung cancer mortality by 14% compared with screening alone, according to a study led by the University of Michigan. “The study shows the huge impact that combined screening/smoking cessation programs could have,” said senior […]
March 10, 2020

Scientists design new model to further understand causes of Alzheimer’s disease

The Multiplex Model is a new way of looking at Alzheimer’s disease developed by Professor Julie Williams, Dr Rebecca Sims and Dr Matt Hill of the University’s UK Dementia Research Institute (UKDRI) and unveiled in the Journal Nature Neuroscience. The model was produced by looking at all known genetic risk factors […]
March 10, 2020

Protecting DNA Origami for Anti-Cancer Drug Delivery

Scientists designed a tunable peptide-like molecular coating that enables 3-D DNA nanostructures to maintain their structural integrity and functionality in different physiological environments relevant to drug delivery and other biomedical applications. Scientists have designed and synthesized chains of molecules with a precise sequence and length to efficiently protect 3-D DNA […]
March 9, 2020

Engineering Immunotherapy

Call it the next frontier in cancer immunotherapy—biomedical materials-inspired design of cancer-fighting immune treatments. In an effort to do just that, Harvard University’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and its collaborating institutions, the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Harvard’s Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative […]
March 9, 2020

3D beating heart tissue experiment heads to Space Station

Space exploration can take a toll on the human heart.  Astronauts are at risk for changes in their cardiac function and rhythm. To learn how microgravity and other physical forces in space exact their effects on the heart muscle, a Tissue Chips in Space project has now been packed for […]
March 9, 2020

Researchers discover new genetic variants that cause heart disease in infants

Florida State University researchers working in an international collaboration have identified new genetic variants that cause heart disease in infants, and their research has led to novel insights into the role of a protein that affects how the heart pumps blood. It is a discovery that could lead to new […]
March 9, 2020

Anti-Aging Benefits of Caloric Restriction Demonstrated at the Cellular Level

A study published in the academic journal Cell on 27 February 2020 concludes that reducing one’s caloric intake could reduce inflammation throughout the body, delay the onset of age-related diseases, and prolong lifespan. “We already knew that calorie restriction increases life span, but now we’ve shown all the changes that […]
March 9, 2020

Producing Human Tissue in Space

The University of Zurich has sent adult human stem cells to the International Space Station (ISS). Researchers from UZH Space Hub will explore the production of human tissue in weightlessness. On 6 March at 11:50 p.m. EST, the International Space Station resupply mission Space X CRS-20 took off from Cape […]
March 6, 2020

Geneticists pump the brakes on DNA, revealing key developmental process

Led by graduate student Shannon Keenan, the team used light to activate chemical signals in developing fruit flies and traced the effects on a protein called Capicua, or Cic. Located in a cell’s nucleus, Cic binds to DNA and performs the specialized task of silencing genes. The study, published in Developmental Cell […]
March 6, 2020

Immune cells play surprising role in heart, mouse study suggests

New research in mice suggests that certain immune cells may help guide fetal development of the heart and play a role in how the adult heartbeats, according to new research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The findings, published in the journal JCI Insight, may help lay […]
March 6, 2020

AI reveals differences in appearance of cancer tissue between racial populations

Scientists better predict recurrence of prostate cancer for black patients, according to new study; land $3.2 million in federal grants to explore racial bias in cancer diagnosis using Artificial Intelligence, computational imaging. Scientists at Case Western Reserve University are using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to reveal apparent cellular distinctions between black […]
March 5, 2020

Gene therapy shows promise in tackling common cause of childhood blindness

The results of a first-in-human clinical trial of gene therapy to treat a common cause of genetic blindness have shown partial reversal of sight loss in some patients. X-linked retinitis pigmentosa, caused by mutations in RPGR gene, is the most common cause of blindness in young people. The inherited mutations […]
March 5, 2020

USask researchers test out new exercises to help FORTIFY Bones

A new study has a group of University of Saskatchewan (USask) researchers taking a look at how high intensity resistance exercises can help adults over the age of 50 who are suffering with bone issues such as osteoporosis. “Ideally, you don’t want someone to be crippled the last 10 or […]
March 5, 2020

Chemotherapy rewires a novel resistance-promoting signaling pathway in ovarian cancer

Researchers from Karolinska Institutet along with clinicians from the Karolinska University Hospital have discovered a new molecular mechanism of cell oncogenic signaling switch, which is induced by platinum chemotherapy and contributes to treatment resistance in ovarian cancer. Even with the continuous development of new anti-cancer treatments, chemotherapy is used as […]
March 5, 2020

Scientists explore how the brain trains muscles to move

But research into the neurological process of learning how to move suggests that it might be more accurate to say “mindful practice makes perfect.” This may not sound revolutionary to anyone who’s ever shot a free throw like LeBron or knocked a golf ball like Nicklaus. Star athletes understand that […]
March 5, 2020

People with MS are living longer. How does neurodegeneration in these patients change as they age?

Neurodegeneration results from a number of neurological conditions affecting older adults, including Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. Treating such diseases is challenging enough, but in recent years, the increased longevity of patients with multiple sclerosis, which also causes neurodegeneration and brain atrophy, has highlighted the need to understand the differences […]
March 4, 2020

Modified tuberculosis vaccine as a therapy for cancer of the bladder

The human immune system can recognize and eliminate not only germs but also cancer cells. This is why treatments with weakened germs can help the immune system in its fight against cancer. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology in Berlin have genetically modified the tuberculosis vaccine BCG […]
March 4, 2020

Boosting energy levels within damaged nerves may help them heal

NIH-funded project in mice provides insights into why nerves fail to regrow following injury. When the spinal cord is injured, the damaged nerve fibers — called axons — are normally incapable of regrowth, leading to permanent loss of function. Considerable research has been done to find ways to promote the […]
March 4, 2020

Illuminating the Athletic Aorta

It’s long been known that endurance athletes have larger hearts on average than the rest of the population and that cardiac enlargement is a healthy adaptation to exercise. But what wasn’t known until now was whether the aorta—the main artery leaving the heart and supplying the body with oxygenated blood—followed […]
March 3, 2020

Scientists discover new “Jekyll and Hyde” immune cell

Scientists from Trinity have identified a rare, new cell in the immune system with “Jekyll and Hyde properties”. These cells play a key protective role in immunity to infection but – if unregulated – also mediate tissue damage in autoimmune disorders. The findings should help us design more effective vaccines […]
March 3, 2020

Presence of Staph Bacteria in Skin Microbiome Promotes Netherton Syndrome Inflammation

Netherton syndrome, a rare skin disease caused by a single genetic mutation, is exacerbated by the presence of two common Staphylococcal bacteria living on human skin, one of which was previously thought to only offer protective properties, report University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers. “Our study shows how closely […]
March 3, 2020

Research identifies how new cancer treatments can activate tuberculosis infection

Researchers at the University of Southampton have identified how new checkpoint inhibitor treatments for cancer can activate tuberculosis in some patients. Immune therapies for cancer are transforming treatment by activating the body’s immune cells to fight off cancer. Immune checkpoints are part of the human body’s immune system that prevent […]
March 3, 2020

Scientists show drug may greatly improve cancer immunotherapy success

A study led by the University of Southampton, funded by Cancer Research UK, has shown a new drug – originally developed to tackle the scarring of organ tissue – could help to significantly improve the success rate of cancer immunotherapy treatment. Scientists have shown in mouse cancers, that GKT137831 (Setanaxib) […]
March 3, 2020

Brain immune cells, neurodegeneration differ in males, females

Immune cell activity in the brain differs between males and females in ways that may explain why some neurodegenerative diseases affect the sexes differently, according to a new study from Weill Cornell Medicine scientists. Dr. Li Gan, the Burton P. and Judith B. Resnick Distinguished Professor in Neurodegenerative Diseases in […]