2021

Identification of neural circuits clarifies motor vs. cognitive symptoms, aiding efforts to improve treatments. Parkinson’s disease (PD) is well known as a debilitating disease that gradually worsens over time. Although the disease’s progression has been largely tied to the loss of motor functions, non-motor symptoms, including the loss of cognitive […]

Map of basal ganglia connectivity uncovers key links with implications for range of disorders. Thousands of our daily activities, from making coffee to taking a walk to saying hello to a neighbor, are made possible through an ancient collection of brain structures tucked away near the center of the cranium. […]

Variable number tandem repeats modulate genes associated with Alzheimer’s disease, obesity, cancer and other conditions. An international team of researchers led by computer scientists at the University of California San Diego have identified 163 variable number tandem repeats (VNTRs) that actively regulate gene expression. In a paper published in Nature […]

Brain tumors known as glioblastomas are among the most aggressive and malevolent forms of cancer. Median survival time without treatment is just nine months; with standard of care surgery and chemoradiation, it’s 15 to 16 months. Patients rarely survive more than a few years. In only a very small subset […]

Exposure to phthalates, a class of chemicals widely used in packaging and consumer products, is known to interfere with normal hormone function and development in human and animal studies. Now researchers have found evidence linking pregnant women’s exposure to phthalates to altered cognitive outcomes in their infants. Most of the […]

Scientists have identified new genetic clues in people who have had small and often apparently ‘silent’ strokes that are difficult to treat and a major cause of vascular dementia, according to research led by the University of Cambridge and published in The Lancet Neurology. Researchers discovered changes to 12 genetic regions […]

Scientists at the University of Cambridge have shown in animal studies that gene therapy may help repair some of the damage caused in chronic neurodegenerative conditions such as glaucoma and dementia. Their approach demonstrates the potential effectiveness of gene therapy in polygenic conditions – that is, complex conditions with no […]

Artificial intelligence ‘deep learning’ techniques can be used to triage suspected cases of Barrett oesophagus, a precursor to oesophageal cancer, potentially leading to faster and earlier diagnoses, say researchers at the University of Cambridge. When researchers applied the technique to analysing samples obtained using the ‘pill on a string’ diagnostic […]

Pollution from miniscule pieces of plastic, or microplastics, have been a growing concern for scientists, public health advocates and environmentalists as these non-degradable items have increasingly made their way into waterways and even the air we breathe.  Now, a team of Florida State University researchers is looking at what inhalation and ingestion […]

People who have recovered from COVID-19 had a robust antibody response after the first mRNA vaccine dose, but little immune benefit after the second dose, according to new research from the Penn Institute of Immunology. The findings, published in Science Immunology, suggest only a single vaccine dose may be needed to produce […]

New gene therapy for one of the most common forms of congenital blindness was safe and improved patients’ vision, according to initial data from a clinical trial led by researchers at the Scheie Eye Institute in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The therapy delivers working […]

A team of scientists from Russia studied the role of double-stranded fragments of the maturing RNA and showed that the interaction between distant parts of the RNA can regulate gene expression. The research was published in Nature Communications. At school, we learn that DNA is double-stranded and RNA is single-stranded, but […]