Related Science News

June 12, 2019

A “one-two punch” to wipe out cancerous ovarian cells

Researchers from the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre (CRCHUM) have developed a two-step combination therapy to destroy cancer cells. In a study published in the journal Nature Communications, they show the superior therapeutic effectiveness of the “one-two punch” on cells of ovarian cancer patients, based on manipulation of the state of cellular […]
June 12, 2019

Radiation Treatment Increases Cardiac Risk for Lung Cancer Patients

As advances in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) extend patients’ lives, more of these patients are facing a different threat: adverse cardiovascular events, such as heart attacks and heart failure. A new retrospective study led by investigators from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute examined […]
June 12, 2019

Approach Could Help in Treating Glioblastoma, Other Rare Cancers

Large randomized clinical trials can uncover biomarkers that indicate which cancer treatments are likely to work best for individual patients. But it’s been challenging to find these biomarkers in rarer cancers where such robust data aren’t available. Using a new approach that combines data from human tumors grown in mice […]
June 12, 2019

Researchers Discover How the Brain Changes When Mastering a New Skill

Mastering a new skill — whether a sport, an instrument or a craft — takes time and training. While it is understood that a healthy brain is capable of learning these new skills, how the brain changes in order to develop new behaviors is a relative mystery. More precise knowledge […]
June 11, 2019

Improving breast cancer treatment

Oestrogen receptive positive breast cancer can be treated by drugs, such as fulvestrant, that interfere with the action of oestrogen. Although these drugs are often effective for a while, the cancer can frequently become resistant and the drugs stop working. In the trial, researchers investigated whether they could reverse or […]
June 11, 2019

Sleeping with artificial light at night associated with weight gain in women

Sleeping with a television or light on in the room may be a risk factor for gaining weight or developing obesity, according to scientists at the National Institutes of Health. The research, which was published online in JAMA Internal Medicine, is the first to find an association between any exposure […]
June 11, 2019

Drug delays type 1 diabetes in people at high risk

A treatment affecting the immune system effectively slowed the progression to clinical type 1 diabetes in high risk individuals, according to findings from National Institutes of Health-funded research. The study is the first to show that clinical type 1 diabetes can be delayed by two or more years among people who are […]
June 11, 2019

Drug makes tumors more susceptible to chemo

Many chemotherapy drugs kill cancer cells by severely damaging their DNA. However, some tumors can withstand this damage by relying on a DNA repair pathway that not only allows them to survive, but also introduces mutations that helps cells become resistant to future treatment. Researchers at MIT and Duke University […]
June 10, 2019

Going nuts for anti-aging

The pecan is a North American deciduous walnut tree. Its seeds, pecan nuts, are sweeter in flavor than walnuts and are said to be more popular than almonds in the U.S. What deserves attention is the pecan nut’s antioxidant power. It’s said to have more anti-aging effect than the walnut, […]
June 10, 2019

Immunotherapy Delays Type 1 Diabetes Onset in People at High Risk

A two-week course of an experimental immunotherapy called teplizumab dramatically reduced type 1 diabetes (T1D) diagnosis rates in people at high risk for the disease, according to newly published phase II clinical trial results. This is the first time a drug has been able to delay or prevent the disease, […]
June 10, 2019

Struggling to find a fix for type 2 diabetes

Treatments for both adults and children need to change to avoid a type 2 diabetes epidemic, researchers say. Intervening aggressively to roll back the onset of type 2 diabetes does works in adults, but once the medication and treatment ends, the disease always returns, according to a study published in the journal Diabetes […]
June 10, 2019

Artificial intelligence tool to help detect brain aneurysms

Doctors could soon get some help from an artificial intelligence tool when diagnosing brain aneurysms – bulges in blood vessels in the brain that can leak or burst open, potentially leading to stroke, brain damage or death. The AI tool, developed by researchers at Stanford University and detailed in a […]
June 10, 2019

How to Quell a Cytokine Storm: International Team Finds New Ways to Dampen an Overactive Immune System

BRCA—the family of DNA-repair proteins associated with breast, ovarian prostate, and pancreatic cancers—interacts with a multipart, molecular complex that is also responsible for regulating the immune system. When certain players in this pathway go awry, autoimmune disorders, like lupus, can arise. Now, researchers in the Perelman School of Medicineat the University […]
June 10, 2019

For dying patients, early plans can improve quality of life

Researchers encourage more conversation, better documentation of wishes. Careful documentation of a hospice patient’s end-of-life wishes – and prominently noting that information in health records early – could prevent unwanted hospitalizations and medical interventions, a new study suggests. Researchers at The Ohio State University analyzed the health records of 1,185 […]
June 10, 2019

Study reveals how cells choose their fate

Cells prepare for different developmental paths and make multiple choices on their way to their final state, a study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet, Harvard Medical School and elsewhere published in Science shows. The findings can help pinpoint where cells may “take the wrong turn” and become malignant. The human […]
June 8, 2019

A Precise Look at Alzheimer’s Proteins

PNNL scientist sifts for clues from more than 1,000 human brains A substance known as amyloid beta protein gets a lot of attention from scientists. Beta amyloid, as it’s also called, is a normal brain protein found in everyone, but for unknown reason it gunks up in the brains of […]
June 7, 2019

DNA nanorobots target HER2-positive breast cancer cells

According to the Mayo Clinic, about 20% of breast cancers make abnormally high levels of a protein called human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). When displayed on the surface of cancer cells, this signaling protein helps them proliferate uncontrollably and is linked with a poor prognosis. Now, researchers have […]
June 7, 2019

Ultimate Destiny: how Undifferentiated Cells commit to their Biological Fate

From the light-sensing cones of the retina to the blood-pumping muscle of the heart to the waste-filtering units of the kidneys, the human body is made up of hundreds of cell types exquisitely specialized to perform their jobs with great precision. This complexity, however, belies the fact that each of […]
June 7, 2019

Replicating Fetal Bone Growth Process Could Help Heal Large Bone Defects

To treat large gaps in long bones, like the femur, which result from bone tumor removal or a shattering trauma, researchers at Penn Medicine and the University of Illinois at Chicago developed a process that partially recreates the bone growth process that occurs before birth. A bone defect of more […]
June 7, 2019

Gene study suggests drugs may treat some aneurysms

A mutation has been found in a rare form of brain aneurysm that might be treated with a drug already approved for cancer therapy. The finding suggests that other, more common, forms of aneurysms may be caused by yet undiscovered mutations.  These might also be treated with medication instead of […]
June 7, 2019

Researchers use technology to predict schizophrenia

Schizophrenia, a psychiatric disorder that affects about 1% of the population, is a leading cause of functional disability in the United States. Typically diagnosis has hinged on the display of visible “positive symptoms” such as hallucinations and delusions, but one key to earlier identification and treatment is a recognition of […]
June 7, 2019

Biologist's discovery may advance regenerative medicine

A new study by researchers at the University of Virginia and other institutions has discovered a type of pigment cell in zebrafish that can transform after development into another cell type. David Parichy, the Pratt-Ivy Foundation Distinguished Professor of Morphogenesis in UVA’s Department of Biology, said that researchers in his […]
June 7, 2019

NIH funds clinical trials using genomics to treat chronic diseases

A new phase of the IGNITE Network will conduct clinical trials of genomic medicine interventions. The National Institutes of Health will fund clinical trials to assess the benefits, applicability and efficacy of applying genomic medicine interventions to improve management of diseases such as high blood pressure, depression and chronic pain. […]
June 7, 2019

TAU Researchers Spearhead Early Detection of Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's disease is a debilitating neurodegenerative disease, affecting everything from speech, posture and gait to digestion, sleep, impulse control and cognition. Therapies exist that alleviate some symptoms of the disease, but there is still no cure for Parkinson's, which affects close to one million Americans and 10 million people worldwide. […]
June 6, 2019

Study links irregular sleep patterns to metabolic disorders

A new study has found that not sticking to a regular bedtime and wakeup schedule — and getting different amounts of sleep each night — can put a person at higher risk for obesity, high cholesterol, hypertension, high blood sugar and other metabolic disorders. In fact, for every hour of variability […]
June 6, 2019

Biomarker predicts which pancreatic cysts may become cancerous

Pancreatic cancer kills more than 45,000 people in the U.S. each year, mostly due to the fact that it is detected too late for surgery to remove and halt the spread of the cancer. Cysts in the pancreas sometimes develop into the invasive cancer, depending on the type of cyst, […]
June 6, 2019

Molecular bait can help hydrogels heal wounds

Like fishermen, Rice University bioengineers are angling for their daily catch. But their bait, biomolecules in a hydrogel scaffold, lures microscopic stem cells instead of fish. These, they say, will seed the growth of new tissue to heal wounds. The team led by Brown School of Engineering bioengineer Antonios Mikos and graduate student Jason Guo […]