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Some of the world’s most common allergy-inducing critters, from dust mites to fungi to shellfish, have one thing in common: chitin, the polymer that makes tough cell walls in mushrooms, fungal spores and crunchy lobster exoskeletons. A whiff of chitin triggers an immune response in the lungs, likely to prepare […]

CT scans for patients with concussions provide critical information about their risk for long-term impairment and potential to make a complete recovery – findings that underscore the need for physician follow-up. In a study led by UC San Francisco, researchers looked at the CT scans of 1,935 patients, ages 17 […]

In the largest study of its kind, an investigation by UC San Francisco has found no evidence that moderate coffee consumption can cause cardiac arrhythmia. In fact, each additional daily cup of coffee consumed among several hundred thousand individuals was associated with a 3 percent lower risk of any arrhythmia […]

New research adds to a body of evidence indicating decisions about withdrawing life-sustaining treatment for patients with moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) should not be made in the early days following the injury. In the study published in JAMA Neurology, researchers led by UC San Francisco, Medical College of Wisconsin […]

When we are exposed to a pathogen, the immune system’s B cells swarm to our lymph nodes, spleens, and tonsils. There, those cells mutate in germinal centers—microscopic boot camps that rush the B cells through volleys of mutations to produce the most potent antibodies for neutralizing the infectious agent. As […]

Developing drugs to combat tuberculosis, or TB, can be frustrating business. A gene essential to the bacteria’s lifecycle is discovered, scientists rush to develop drugs that inhibit the target, and then—disappointment. Volleys of compounds hurled at the essential gene target have little impact on microbial growth. The bacteria live on. […]

Unique development is biocompatible and does not require electricity, wires, or batteries. Tel Aviv University (TAU) researchers have developed a technology that involves a tiny sensor implanted in the nerve of an injured limb and is connected directly to a healthy nerve. Each time the limb touches an object, the sensor […]

The body’s so-called good cholesterol maybe even better than we realize. New research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests that one type of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) has a previously unknown role in protecting the liver from injury. This HDL protects the liver by blocking inflammatory signals […]

According to research supported by NIH's National Eye Institute, a form of gene therapy protects optic nerve cells and preserves vision in mouse models of glaucoma. The findings suggest a way forward for developing neuroprotective therapies for glaucoma, a leading cause of visual impairment and blindness. The report was published […]

Elevated levels of three specific circulating proteins are associated with protection against kidney failure in diabetes, according to new research from Harvard Medical School researchers at Joslin Diabetes Center published in Science Translational Medicine. “As well as acting as biomarkers for advancing kidney disease risk in diabetes, the proteins may also […]

Over the last decade, investigators at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center have been at the forefront of the effort to identify the small population of neurons deep within the brain that causes hunger. But precisely how these cells and the unpleasant feeling of hunger they cause actually drive an animal to […]

No amount of lead in drinking water is safe for people with kidney disease, study shows Despite advances in reducing the amount of lead in drinking water, low levels of contamination remain widespread throughout the United States. This may be especially dangerous for the 30 to 40 million Americans living […]