Related Science News

October 25, 2018

The pentagon and the bean

Researchers have revealed the structure of an essential immune system protein, creating future possibilities to develop more effective medicines for a range of illnesses from cancer to neurological diseases. University of Tokyo researchers made this discovery with computerized image analysis and modern electron microscope imaging. Researchers verified the structure of […]
October 24, 2018

Helping blood cells regenerate after radiation therapy

Patients with blood cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma are often treated by irradiating their bone marrow to destroy the diseased cells. After the treatment, patients are vulnerable to infection and fatigue until new blood cells grow back. MIT researchers have now devised a way to help blood cells regenerate […]
October 24, 2018

Application Seeking Manufacturing and Marketing Approval in Japan Submitted for Parkinson's Disease Treatment Safinamide

Eisai Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Tokyo, CEO: Haruo Naito, “Eisai”) and Meiji Seika Pharma Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Tokyo, CEO: Daikichiro Kobayashi, “Meiji”) announced that an application seeking manufacturing and marketing approval in Japan was submitted as of today by Meiji for the Parkinson’s disease treatment ME2125 (safinamide mesylate, “safinamide”). This application […]
October 24, 2018

Gene Plays Critical Role in Noise-Induced Deafness

In experiments using mice, a team of UC San Francisco researchers has discovered a gene that plays an essential role in noise-induced deafness. Remarkably, by administering an experimental chemical—identified in a separate UCSF lab in 2013—that acts on the pathway linking this gene to hearing loss, they found that they […]
October 24, 2018

Mutation in common protein triggers tangles, chaos inside brain cells

A pioneer in the study of neural cells revealed how a single mutation affecting the most common protein in a supporting brain cell produces devastating, fibrous globs. These, in turn, disturb the location of cellular processing units, harm the flow of energy and signals through the brain, and reduce the […]
October 24, 2018

Bee social or buzz off: Study links genes to social behaviors, including autism

“Bees have complex social behaviors, and with this species of bee, we can directly compare individuals that live in social groups to those that don’t live in social groups,” said Sarah Kocher, an assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics at Princeton University, who led the research. “We […]
October 23, 2018

Losing control of gene activity in Alzheimer’s disease

Pioneering research into the mechanisms controlling gene activity in the brain could hold the key to understanding Alzheimer’s disease and might help identify effective treatments in the future. An international research team led by scientists at the University of Exeter and the University of Essex have uncovered a link between […]
October 23, 2018

Brain Wave Device Enhances Memory Function

The entrainment of theta brain waves with a commercially available device not only enhances theta wave activity, but also boosts memory performance. That’s according to new research from the Center for Neuroscience at the University of California, Davis, published in the journal Cognitive Neuroscience. Electrical activity in the brain causes different […]
October 23, 2018

Kidneys Aren’t Harmed When Significantly Lowering Blood Pressure

Using a novel biomarker panel to track and measure kidney function, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and University of California San Francisco School of Medicine report that lowering systolic blood pressure to less than 120 mm Hg does not damage the kidney organ itself. Instead, […]
October 22, 2018

3D bioprinting technique could create artificial blood vessels, organ tissue

CU Boulder engineers have developed a 3D printing technique that allows for localized control of an object’s firmness, opening up new biomedical avenues that could one day include artificial arteries and organ tissue. The study, which was recently published in the journal Nature Communications, outlines a layer-by-layer printing method that features […]
October 21, 2018

Common antidepressants could help slowing down Alzheimer's

Using already tested and approved drugs for a new purpose is a new and growing trend. It allows saving time and introducing new therapies quicker and cheaper. Now scientists from the University of Waterloo have discovered that antidepressant medications can be used to treat Alzheimer’s disease. While antidepressants, of course, […]
October 21, 2018

The Michelson Prizes

The Michelson Prizes are scientific awards of $150,000 given annually to young investigators who are applying disruptive research concepts and inventive processes to advance vaccine and immunotherapy research for major global diseases. The 2019 Michelson Prizes have been expanded to include three focus areas: Human Immunology, Computational Biology and Protein Engineering, andNeglected Parasitic […]
October 21, 2018

The New Idea Award

The New Idea Award is a concept award to support innovative approaches that may fundamentally change the understanding, diagnosis and/or treatment of blood cancers and related pre-malignant conditions. This grant program is designed to identify novel research strategies with a potential for high impact on blood cancer. Specifically, this program supports the […]
October 21, 2018

Bone cell response to mechanical force is balance of injury and repair

Scientists have revealed the intricate process that bone cells use to repair themselves after mechanical injury, according to a study in the open-access journal eLife. The research provides new insight on how the body adapts to all kinds of mechanical stresses – from pressure placed on bones during simple walking, […]
October 20, 2018

Do alternative therapies work to treat menopausal symptoms?

Of the 80 per cent of women who develop symptoms during menopause, many will experiment with complementary and alternative medicines (CAMs) as well as lifestyle changes to treat their symptoms, said Tami Shandro, a University of Alberta family physician, Women and Children’s Health Research Institute member and menopause clinic team […]
October 20, 2018

How does brain structure influence performance on language tasks?

Computational modeling shows promise as a tool for probing this question, a study finds. The architecture of each person’s brain is unique, and differences may influence how quickly people can complete various cognitive tasks. But how neuroanatomy impacts performance is largely an open question. To learn more, scientists are developing […]
October 20, 2018

New approach to understanding cancers will speed treatments

A new innovation in cancer research will enable scientists to understand the complex causes of the disease with unprecedented speed and sophistication. This will accelerate the development of new and better treatments, and it will help researchers find ways around roadblocks that now stand in their path. Rather than looking […]
October 19, 2018

Nutrition has a greater impact on bone strength than exercise

One question that scientists and fitness experts alike would love to answer is whether exercise or nutrition has a bigger positive impact on bone strength. University of Michigan researchers looked at mineral supplementation and exercise in mice, and found surprising results––nutrition has a greater impact on bone mass and strength […]
October 19, 2018

Biomaterials with 'Frankenstein proteins' help heal tissue

Biomedical engineers from Duke University and Washington University in St. Louis have demonstrated that, by injecting an artificial protein made from a solution of ordered and disordered segments, a solid scaffold forms in response to body heat, and in a few weeks seamlessly integrates into tissue. The ability to combine […]
October 19, 2018

Research gives new insight into the evolution of the nervous system

Pioneering research has given a fascinating fresh insight into how animal nervous systems evolved from simple structures to become the complex network transmitting signals between different parts of the body. The new study used simple multicellular organisms called Placozoa to reveal the beginnings of the nervous systems found in more complex […]
October 19, 2018

Electrical properties of dendrites help explain our brain’s unique computing power

Neurons in the human brain receive electrical signals from thousands of other cells, and long neural extensions called dendrites play a critical role in incorporating all of that information so the cells can respond appropriately. Using hard-to-obtain samples of human brain tissue, MIT neuroscientists have now discovered that human dendrites […]
October 19, 2018

Environmental Factors May Trigger Onset of Multiple Sclerosis

A new Tel Aviv University study finds that certain environmental conditions may precipitate structural changes that take place in myelin sheaths in the onset of multiple sclerosis (MS). Myelin sheaths are the “insulating tape” surrounding axons; axons carry electrical impulses in neurons. The research demonstrates that myelin sheaths undergo structural transitions when […]
October 19, 2018

Multidisciplinary team to develop stem cell-based approaches to restore vision

A team from the University of Pennsylvania, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison are launching a project to develop new strategies for treating vision disorders using cells implanted in the retina. The work is one of five initiatives newly funded by the National Institutes of Health’s National Eye Institute (NEI) Audacious Goals Initiative. The program’s […]
October 18, 2018

Researchers Successfully Treat Metastatic Cancer Using an AI Algorithm

Using the CURATE.AI artificial intelligence (AI) platform, a research team led by the National University of Singapore (NUS) managed to halt the progression of advanced prostate cancer in a patient by delivering optimal doses of medication. In a clinical study published in the journal Advanced Therapeutics, the researchers deployed the […]
October 18, 2018

Alligators and timing shed light on reproductive disorders

Researchers from the University of Georgia have discovered that timing of exposure is a key factor in how certain contaminants affect the reproductive system—information that may help scientists understand the causes of reproductive disorders in wildlife and women. Scientists observed many of the negative effects of estrogen-mimicking contaminants on the reproductive […]