Related Science News

August 28, 2018

NIH-funded researchers reverse congenital blindness in mice

Researchers funded by the National Eye Institute (NEI) have reversed congenital blindness in mice by changing supportive cells in the retina called Müller glia into rod photoreceptors. The findings advance efforts toward regenerative therapies for blinding diseases such as age-related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa. A report of the findings […]
August 28, 2018

NIH-led research team develops predictor for immunotherapy response in melanoma

In a new study, researchers developed a gene expression predictor that can indicate whether melanoma in a specific patient is likely to respond to treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors, a novel type of immunotherapy. The predictor was developed by Noam Auslander, Ph.D., with other researchers in the Center for Cancer […]
August 27, 2018

New AI System Detects Hard-to-Spot Cancerous Lesions

A team of researchers working in the fields of engineering and medicine at the University of Central Florida (UCF) has recently developed a new artificial intelligence system capable of spotting often-missed cancerous tumours. “I believe this will have a very big impact,” said group leader and Engineering Assistant Professor Ulas […]
August 27, 2018

High-speed atomic force microscopy reveals clock protein interactions

For the first time, researchers have seen how proteins involved in the daily biological clock interact with each other, helping them to further understand a process tied to numerous metabolic and eating disorders, problems with shift work, jet lag and mental health issues. Working with the clock proteins KaiA, KaiB […]
August 27, 2018

New technology can detect hundreds of proteins in a single sample

New technology developed by a team of McGill University scientists shows potential to streamline the analysis of proteins, offering a quick, high volume and cost-effective tool to hospitals and research labs alike. Proteins found in blood provide scientists and clinicians with key information on our health. These biological markers can […]
August 27, 2018

Tissue architecture affects chromosome segregation

All growth and reproduction relies on a cell’s ability to replicate its chromosomes and produce accurate copies of itself. Every step of this process takes place within that cell. Based on this observation, scientists have studied the replication and segregation of chromosomes as a phenomenon exclusively internal to the cell. They […]
August 24, 2018

Scientists propose a new leader for Alzheimer's research

A University of Adelaide-led team of scientists has suggested a potential link between iron in our cells and the rare gene mutations that cause Alzheimer’s disease, which could provide new avenues for future research. In a paper published in the journal Frontiers in Neuroscience, the team proposes a new theory […]
August 24, 2018

New Promise from Old Medicine

Investigators have discovered that arsenic in combination with an existing leukemia drug work together to target a master cancer regulator. The team, led by researchers at Harvard Medical School and the Cancer Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, is hopeful that the discovery could lead to new treatment strategies […]
August 24, 2018

Cellular Escape Artists

More than two-thirds of women with ovarian cancer have high-grade serous carcinoma (HGSC). Up to 90 percent of HGSCs are not detected until they are beyond the ovaries or fallopian tubes, at which point it may not be possible to fully remove the tumor. Many of these cancers are now […]
August 24, 2018

Healthy diet linked to healthy cellular aging in women

Eating a diet that is rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains and low in added sugar, sodium and processed meats could help promote healthy cellular aging in women, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology. “The key takeaway is that following a healthy diet […]
August 23, 2018

Potent bacteria

A special strain of soil bacteria has the paradoxical ability to produce highly toxic compounds to protect itself from other organisms without harming itself. A collaboration that includes scientists from the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory has discovered that the bacteria performs this feat by confining the toxic […]
August 23, 2018

Epigenetic patterns determine if honeybee larvae become queens or workers

Queen and worker honeybees are almost genetically identical but are fed a different diet as larvae. The researchers have found that specific protein patterns on their genome play an important role in determining which one they develop into. These proteins, known as histones, act as switches that control how the […]
August 23, 2018

Lifestyle factors linked to brain health of young adults

Researchers from the University of Oxford, in collaboration with researchers from Canada and the Universities of Bristol and London, have used advanced magnetic resonance imaging to investigate whether factors such as blood pressure, fitness, smoking and alcohol intake during young adult life are associated with changes in the blood vessels […]
August 22, 2018

Knockdown and replace: A gene therapy twofer to treat blindness

The last year has seen milestones in the gene therapy field, with FDA approvals to treat cancer and an inherited blinding disorder. New findings from a team led by University of Pennsylvania vision scientists, who have taken gene therapies into clinical trials in the past, are proving successful, this time treating a form […]
August 22, 2018

Ovarian Cancer Cells Hoard Iron to Fuel Growth

An unexpected link between iron and fatty acids may be juicing the metabolism of ovarian cancer cells, report UConn Health researchers in the journal OMICS: A Journal of Integrative Biology. The findings could suggest new avenues of research for cancer treatments. Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer deaths […]
August 22, 2018

Female Mice are Immune to Cognitive Damage from Space Radiation

Humankind still dreams of breaking from the bounds of Earth’s atmosphere and venturing to the moon, Mars and beyond. But once astronauts blast past the International Space Station, they become exposed to one of the many dangers of deep space: galactic cosmic radiation. The effects of deep space radiation are […]
August 21, 2018

Twin study highlights importance of both genetics and environment on gene activity

New research highlights the extent to which epigenetic variation is influenced by both inherited and environmental factors. Epigenetic processes affect the expression or activity of genes without changing the underlying DNA sequence and are believed to be one mechanism by which the environment can interact with the genome. Now, an […]
August 21, 2018

Rare cancer could be caught early using simple blood tests

The study investigated the best combination of blood tests that could be used to diagnose myeloma in GP practices. The research was a collaboration between the University of Oxford, the University of Exeter and Chiddenbrook Surgery, Crediton, funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and was published in […]
August 21, 2018

Researchers propose new theory of aging

A high-energy molecule present in every cell, adenosine triphosphate (ATP), is the form of stored energy used to accomplish much of a cell’s activities. A new theory of aging published in the journal BioEssays addresses the link between ATP levels and aging, based on broad research showing that stored energy levels decrease […]
August 21, 2018

A depressed spouse may increase one’s own cognitive decline, study finds

Researchers at Yale School of Public Health and their scientific partners have found that having a depressed spouse can increase one’s own depressive symptoms as well as cognitive decline over time in late life. The findings are published in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. “Because spouses’ emotions and intellectual activities […]
August 20, 2018

Both High and Low Carbohydrate Diets Reduce Lifespan in Humans

According to a new prospective cohort study and meta-analysis, published 16 August 2018 in the journal The Lancet Public Health, advocates of both very high and very low carbohydrate diets are wrong about which approach is best for health. The aim of the paper was to assess “whether the substitution […]
August 20, 2018

First study on physical properties of giant cancer cells may inform new treatments

Polyploidal cancer cells—cells that have more than two copies of each chromosome—are much larger than most other cancer cells, are resistant to chemotherapy and radiation treatments and are associated with disease relapse. A new study by Brown University researchers is the first to reveal key physical properties of these “giant” cancer cells. […]
August 20, 2018

Byproducts of ‘Junk DNA’ Implicated in Cancer Spread

The more scientists explore so-called “junk” DNA, the less the label seems to fit. Only an estimated two percent of the human genome encodes for functional proteins that carry out normal biological processes. The remaining approximately 98 percent—the “junk DNA”—has for many years been considered a useless artifact. Some junk […]
August 20, 2018

Tasmanian devils under new threat from cancer, Southampton research finds

A new study has shown that the Tasmanian devil is under severe threat from a newly emerged contagious cancer, Devil Facial Tumour 2 (DFT2), which could jeopardise its future in the wild. For more than two decades the Tasmanian devil population has been suffering from Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD), […]
August 19, 2018

Older adults who get physical can lower their heart disease risk

The results from increased physical activity were found to be particularly good among women. Physical inactivity is a well-known risk factor for cardiovascular disease and premature death from cardiovascular disease. Physical activity’s protective effect is likely due in part to its impact on biomarkers in the blood that help predict atherosclerosis risk. “The 60 […]
August 19, 2018

This Matrix Delivers Healing Stem Cells to Injured Elderly Muscles

A car accident leaves an aging patient with severe muscle injuries that won’t heal. Treatment with muscle stem cells from a donor might restore damaged tissue, but doctors are unable to deliver them effectively. A new method may help change this. Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology engineered a molecular matrix, […]
August 17, 2018

Common skin cancer can signal increased risk of other cancers

People who develop abnormally frequent cases of a skin cancer known as basal cell carcinoma appear to be at significantly increased risk for the development of other cancers, including blood, breast, colon and prostate cancers, according to a preliminary study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. The increased […]