2021

In an important step toward the clinical application of synthetic biology, Rice University researchers have engineered a bacterium with the capability of diagnosing a human disease. An engineered strain of the gut bacteria E. coli senses pH and glows when it encounters acidosis, an acidic condition that often occurs during flareups of inflammatory bowel […]

Two clusters of brain cells compete to promote either the persistence or disappearance of traumatic memories, according to a new study conducted in mice. The findings could provide important insights into human conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety disorders, and associated problems such as alcohol use disorder (AUD) […]

Mitochondria –  the ‘batteries’ that power our cells – play an unexpected role in common diseases such as type 2 diabetes and multiple sclerosis, concludes a study of over 350,000 people conducted by the University of Cambridge. The study, published in Nature Genetics, found that genetic variants in the DNA […]

Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disease and affects more than 10 million people around the world. To better understand the origins of the disease, researchers from Penn State College of Medicine and The Hebrew University of Jerusalem have developed an integrative approach, combining experimental and computational methods, to understand how individual […]

A new study shows that mathematical topology can reveal how human cells organize into complex spatial patterns, helping to categorize them by the formation of branched and clustered structures. The field of mathematical topology is often described in terms of donuts and pretzels. To most of us, the two differ […]

Writing in the journal The American Journal of Psychiatry, a multi-institution team of scientists led by researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine report that medications commonly prescribed to reduce the severity of physical and mental health symptoms associated with schizophrenia may have a cumulative effect of […]

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 22 percent of older adults in the United States suffer from a functional impairment, defined as difficulties performing daily activities, such as bathing or getting dressed, or problems with concentration or decision-making affected by physical, mental or emotional conditions. In […]

By mapping its genetic underpinnings, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have identified a predictive causal role for specific cell types in type 1 diabetes, a condition that affects more than 1.6 million Americans. The findings were published in the journal Nature. Type 1 diabetes is […]

Reduced levels of a metabolic hormone known as leptin is linked to poor vaccine antibody responses in the general population, a University of Queensland study has found. The researchers made the discovery while investigating several cohorts’ responses to the influenza vaccine or hepatitis B vaccine pre-COVID. UQ’s Professor Di Yu […]

About a third of the corneal transplant surgeries in the United States involve people with diabetes who donate their corneas after death. The number of corneal transplants has grown over the last decade, but through continuous research, the medical community has learned that not all corneal tissue from diabetics may […]

In a study published in Nature Metabolism, researchers at the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology developed a novel technique to identify small molecules that can make insulin-producing β-cells divide. Olov Andersson and Jeremie Charbord explain: Diabetes is characterized by the progressive loss of functional β-cells. One possible approach to curing diabetes is […]

A project to measure the effects of electrical stimulation of a major nerve that could hold the key to new treatments for a range of diseases from epilepsy to depression is underway at the University of Bath. Members of C3Bio, the University’s Centre for Biosensors, Bioelectronics and Biodevices, are working to […]