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 […]

In this open access commentary, the authors discuss efforts to uncover the mechanisms by which microglia in the aging brain are primed to undertake inflammatory responses, more so than those in the young brain. This may be due in part towards increased numbers of senescent microglia, secreting pro-inflammatory signals. This […]

In vitro fertilization fulfils the wishes of half a million parents each year, yet fertility treatment leaves plenty of room for improvement. A majority of potential embryos are ruled out for implantation, flagged by a genetic test designed to root out abnormalities early on.  This selection process limits the success […]

To improve the development of new saliva-based diagnostic tests and personalized medicine, the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) has supported the development of the Human Salivary Proteome Wiki, the first public platform that catalogues and curates data on each of the thousands of proteins within our saliva. Detailed […]

Scientists at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have developed important new resources that will aid the battle against cancer and advance cutting-edge genomics research. UVA’s Chongzhi Zang and his colleagues and students have developed a new computational method to map the folding patterns of our chromosomes in three […]

For the past few years, Annabelle Singer and her collaborators have been using flickering lights and sound to treat mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease, and they’ve seen some dramatic results. Now they have resulted from the first human feasibility study of the flicker treatment, and they’re promising. “We looked at safety, tolerance, and adherence, […]

Parkinson’s disease is an incurable neurodegenerative condition, affecting millions of people in the world. It is one of the leading causes of age-related dementia as well as a very common cause of disability or death. Now scientists at the University of York are pushing to make a nasal spray treatment […]

If you come from a family where people routinely live well into old age, you will likely have better cognitive function (the ability to clearly think, learn and remember) than peers from families where people die younger. Researchers affiliated with the Long Life Family Study (LLFS) recently broadened that finding […]

When a single gene in a cell is turned on or off, its resulting presence or absence can affect the function and survival of the cell. In a new study appearing in Nature Neuroscience, UCSF researchers have successfully catalogued this effect in the human neuron by separately toggling each of […]

Ultrahigh-resolution, high-speed imaging of fruit fly brains has allowed University of Oregon scientists to capture mechanical motions that stem cells use to make neurons, the cells that make up the brain. The motions coordinate cell division during differentiation, when some newly born cells become neurons. Differentiation is essential for building […]

Personalized nutrition has emerged in recent years as a key potential solution to a variety of diseases that originate in the gut, and Nebraska scientists are mining microbiome data to determine how individuals’ digestive systems might respond to different nutritional approaches. Ultimately, these findings could help scientists and doctors recommend […]

One trait shared by all humans is that they don’t remember specific life episodes that occurred before the age of 3 or 4.  Many scientists have attributed this so-called “infantile amnesia” to a lack of development in the hippocampus, an area of the brain located in the temporal lobe that is […]

Researchers here report on DNA sequencing carried out in a (necessarily small) number of supercentenarians (age 110 and over) and semi-supercentenarians (age 105 to 109), and identification of genetic variants associated with DNA repair and clonal hematopoiesis that are more common in these survivors to late old age. We should […]

An exciting new way has been found in which the body senses a bacterial infection within 4 hours and uses nerve pathways to trigger an immune response in distant organs. The speed by which an infection can be identified, and how the defence mechanisms are triggered is critical to infection […]

The progressive age-related dysfunction of microglia in the aging brain is implicated in the progression of neurodegenerative disease, as well as the increased inflammation and forms of pathology found in the brain tissue of older individuals. In mice, clearance of microglia can be efficiently achieved and leads to a rapid […]

Cancerous tumors thrive on blood, extending their roots deep into the fabric of the tissue around them. They alter the genetics of surrounding cells and evolve to avoid the protective attacks of immune cells. Now, Penn State researchers have developed a way to study the relationship between solid, difficult-to-treat tumors and the […]

There is enthusiasm in the research community for in vivo cellular reprogramming as a path to treat aging. Reprogramming somatic cells to pluripotency recaptures some of the processes that take place in the developing embryo, and has been shown to restore youthful patterns of gene expression, leading to improved mitochondrial […]

Passing down a healthy genome is a critical part of creating viable offspring. But what happens when you have harmful modifications in your genome that you don’t want to pass down? Baby plants have evolved a method to wipe the slate clean and reinstall only the modifications that they need to grow […]

It comes after a successful pilot between Cardiff University’s Wales Research and Diagnostic PET Imaging Centre at the University Hospital of Wales, Aneurin Bevan University Health Board and the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Wales. From this week the technology will be available across all health boards – and it is hoped […]