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From early prenatal development through childhood, the prefrontal cortex of the human brain undergoes an avalanche of developmental activity. In some cases, it also contains seeds of neuropsychiatric illnesses and conditions such as autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia, according to a new genetic analysis led by researchers at Yale University […]

People with celiac disease have increased risk of dying prematurely, despite increased awareness of the disease in recent years and better access to gluten-free food. This is according to a new study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and Columbia University in the U.S. published in the prestigious journal JAMA. Celiac […]

Cells will ramp up gene expression in response to physical forces alone, a new study finds. Gene activation, the first step of protein production, starts less than one millisecond after a cell is stretched – hundreds of times faster than chemical signals can travel, the researchers report. The scientists tested […]

Millions of people around the world are suffering from autoimmune diseases. It is conditions when immune system mistakenly attacks body’s healthy cells. Think Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis. Now scientists from Victoria University in Australia found that  a common probiotic could help people with autoimmune diseases by reducing […]

A study led by an NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre scientist has identified, for the first time, how the human skin suppresses inflammation after exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UVR). Dr. Nathan Hawkshaw is the lead author of a research paper published in Clinical & Translational Immunology, open access, peer-reviewed journal. […]

The first published data from the Anti-Amyloid Treatment in Asymptomatic Alzheimer's Disease (A4) study supports the hypothesis that higher levels of the amyloid protein in the brain represent an early stage of Alzheimer’s disease. Results of an analysis of participant screening data for the study, published in JAMA Neurology, also […]

Researchers have captured an atomic-level high-definition image of a protein and the small molecule that binds to it. Both have been implicated in conditions including dry eye and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Full understanding of their structures will hopefully lead to the development of an effective drug to regulate the […]

Lighting color and intensity affects sleep at nursing home. The science of lighting is about more than brightness, efficiency, and cost. Just ask anyone with seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, how gray skies and short days can affect their mood. It turns out that light—the right kind of light, at […]

Expectations are growing for Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT), a new cancer treatment, with few side effects, that combines thermal neutron irradiation and drug delivery. In BNCT, drugs are used to introduce boron specifically into cancer cells. The cancer cells are then irradiated, killing them with thermal neutrons. By targeting […]

Consuming excess alcohol has always been associated with poor health. However, some scientists suggest that a small glass of wine per day can actually do a lot of good for you. Why? As this new study from UCL has noted it is all due to a dietary compound resveratrol, found […]

You know lobsters from TV documentaries, school biology books and restaurant menus. You may know that they can grow up to be pretty big and that they are delicious. You might also have seen a bizarre fact about them floating on the internet – lobsters do not age and are […]

In the future, treating a concussion could be as simple as cooling the brain. That’s according to research conducted by the University of Wisconsin–Madison engineers, whose findings support the treatment approach at the cellular level. “There are currently no effective medical treatments for concussions and other types of traumatic brain […]

Prions, a class of misfolded proteins, have a tendency to form infectious aggregates, causing deadly neurodegenerative diseases in humans (such as Alzheimer's). In a new study, scientists at Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) and Kanazawa University use high-speed atomic force microscopy to uncover the structural and dynamic properties of […]

Eisai Co., Ltd. has announced that drug discovery research conducted on lenvatinib mesylate (brand name: LENVIMA, lenvatinib), the orally available multikinase inhibitor discovered by Eisai, has been honored with The Pharmaceutical Society of Japan (PSJ) Award for Drug Research and Development '20 by the PSJ. The PSJ Award for Drug […]

Over the past several decades we managed to increase the average lifespan of people. However, now scientists are more focused on healthspan – the duration of the time in your life when you are feeling healthy. Old age is still associated with frailty and cognitive problems. However, scientists from King’s […]

Everyone wants to live a long, happy and healthy life. However, some of us are young and stressed already. In fact, sometimes young people are looking up to older people, because they look so calm and composed. Why is that? Is it true that life gets better with age? Scientists […]

Your energy levels fluctuate throughout the day. Sometimes you feel full of energy and ready to tackle whatever the day is going to throw at you. And then you feel tired and want to go to sleep. These fluctuations are controlled by the circadian clock. If it does not work […]

An analysis of a large Swedish cohort revealed that breast density, microcalcifications, and masses are heritable features, and that breast density and microcalcifications were positively associated with a genetic predisposition to breast cancer, according to a study published in Cancer Research. “Breast features identified through mammography are important for identifying women […]

A new study in Neuron offers clues to why autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is more common in boys than in girls. National Institutes of Health scientists found that a single amino acid change in the NLGN4 gene, which has been linked to autism symptoms, may drive this difference in some […]

The same basic tools that allow computers to function are now being used to control life at the molecular level. The advances have implications for future medicines and synthetic biology. Reporting in the journal Science, a team led by the University of Washington School of Medicine has created artificial proteins that function […]

By now you probably understand that we need to make our energy in a cleaner way. Solar, wind and hydro power plants will eventually take over. However, what you might not know is that some people believe that growth in fossil fuel use is required for increases in life expectancy. […]

Everyone wants to live a long a healthy life. Only in this way you get to experience more while you are alive. Age is the dominant risk factor for many diseases, including cancer, diabetes, dementia, heart disease, stroke and so on. Now scientists from the Salk Institute together with partners […]

People who are at high risk of developing lung cancer, such as heavy smokers, are routinely screened with computed tomography (CT), which can detect tumors in the lungs. However, this test has an extremely high rate of false positives, as it also picks up benign nodules in the lungs. Researchers […]

Understanding how the protein tau moves between neurons yields insight into possible treatments for neurodegenerative diseases. In the fight against neurodegenerative diseases such as frontotemporal dementia, Alzheimer’s and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, the tau protein is a major culprit. Found abundantly in our brain cells, tau is normally a team player […]

Colorectal cancer kills more than 50,000 people a year in the United States alone, but scientists have struggled to find the exact mechanisms that trigger the growth of tumors in the intestine. Cancer researchers have zeroed in on a tightly sequestered group of stem cells within the intestine as suspects […]

Using a modified natural substance along with current clinical approaches could improve colon cancer treatment, according to findings by the University of California, Irvine biologists. The discovery comes from their research into the role of an amino acid in tumor development and a potential method for reversing the process. Their […]

Targeting patients with machine learning can increase the number of people getting liver cancer screenings, according to a National Institutes of Health-sponsored study by a research team from Rice University, Texas A&M University, Iowa State University and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Regular and timely health screenings save […]

The machine learning techniques scientists use to predict outcomes from large datasets may fall short when it comes to projecting the outcomes of people’s lives, according to a mass collaborative study led by researchers at Princeton. Published by 112 co-authors in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the results […]

Findings provide insight that may inform search for treatments. Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have discovered a second gene that causes melorheostosis, a rare group of conditions involving an often painful and disfiguring overgrowth of bone tissue. The gene, SMAD3, is part of a pathway that regulates cell development […]

Researchers at the University of California San Diego discovered that high blood levels of RNA produced by the PHGDH gene could serve as a biomarker for early detection of Alzheimer’s disease. The work could lead to the development of a blood test to identify individuals who will develop the disease […]