2021

A new study by researchers at the University of Oxford, published today in Nature Medicine, identifies fetal head growth patterns that are associated with different developmental, behavioural, visual and growth outcomes at 2 years of age. The researchers identify, for the first time, a critical time period during pregnancy from […]

An international team, led by Stefan Raunser, Director at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology in Dortmund, in collaboration with Mathias Gautel at the King's College in London, has produced the first high-resolution 3D image of the sarcomere, the basic contractile unit of skeletal and heart muscle cells, by […]

Myelin is tremendously important for the correct and rapid transmission of electrical signals in the brain. This lipid-rich membrane, which wraps axons, is damaged in certain degenerative nerve disorders. Most of these are rare hereditary diseases with serious clinical courses. Generation of induced oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (iOPCs) from somatic fibroblasts […]

The new “LOOP Zurich – Medical Research Center” promotes patient-focused therapies – for example in oncology and neuro-rehabilitation. To achieve its goals, the centre brings together specialist knowledge in the fields of biomedicine, clinical research and bioinformatics from the University of Zurich, ETH Zurich as well as Zurich’s four university […]

The University of Toronto has partnered with Markham, Ont.-based Edesa Biotech on laboratory studies of a drug that physicians are already using at Canadian hospitals in a clinical trial for some of their sickest patients. Researchers at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine are about to receive their first shipment of the drug, […]

For cancer patients, the use of hematopoietic stem cell transplants can be a game-changer in terms of treatment and recovery. However, most people need to undergo a combination of chemotherapy and radiation before transplants become an option. A new article in Chemical & Engineering News, the weekly newsmagazine of the […]

Scientists have identified a potential drug target for treating obesity and eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, a condition for which no therapeutics are currently available. In a new study scheduled to publish in Science Translational Medicine, a team of researchers from the University of Michigan and Vanderbilt University pinpoints […]

Screening for a sometimes fatal condition among patients with a rare autoimmune disease could soon – thanks to a computer algorithm – become even more accurate. Researchers at Michigan Medicine found that an internet application improved their ability to spot pulmonary arterial hypertension in patients with systemic sclerosis, or scleroderma. […]

An innovative optical technology that can distinguish between different types of skin cancer melanoma has been developed in the laboratory of Professor Abraham Katzir of the Raymond and Beverly Sackler Faculty of Exact Sciences at Tel Aviv University. The method, which is rapid, non-invasive, and painless, was tried successfully on about one hundred patients […]

Researchers from Tel Aviv University (TAU) have created an artificial intelligence platform that can identify the specific proteins that allow bacteria to infect the intestines. The platform paves the way for the creation of smart drugs that can neutralize the proteins and prevent disease, eliminating the use of antibiotics. Participating in the […]

Tens of millions of people worldwide are affected by diseases like macular degeneration or have had accidents that permanently damage the light-sensitive photoreceptors within their retinas that enable vision. The human body is not capable of regenerating those photoreceptors, but new advances by medical researchers and engineers at the University […]

A Florida State University researcher has been awarded a $2.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study sleep-related brain function in Alzheimer’s disease, a progressive disorder that affects memory and behaviour in millions of Americans. Assistant Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience Aaron Wilber will receive the grant, awarded […]

Wildfire smoke can trigger a host of respiratory and cardiovascular symptoms, ranging from a runny nose and cough to a potentially life-threatening heart attack or stroke. A new study suggests that the dangers posed by wildfire smoke may also extend to the largest organ in the human body and our […]

Study linking gut bacteria to more efficient energy generation in the cells of horses paves the way for dietary supplements that enhance their performance. A horse's gut microbiome communicates with its host by sending chemical signals to its cells, which has the effect of helping the horse to extend its […]

When cancer cells metastasize, they often travel in the bloodstream to a remote tissue or organ, where they then escape by squeezing through the blood vessel wall and entering the site of metastasis. A study from MIT now shows that tumor cells become much softer as they undergo this process. […]

Researchers review growing knowledge on the methods and applications of light therapy in treating neurodegenerative diseases. A lot about the human brain and its intricacies continue to remain a mystery. With the advancement of neurobiology, the pathogenesis of several neurodegenerative diseases (ND) has been uncovered to a certain extent along […]

Having an epidural during childbirth is not associated with a greater risk of autism in the child, according to a study led by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and the University of Manitoba. The study, which was published online in JAMA Pediatrics, helps resolve questions raised by an […]

Researchers at the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center have developed a new urine-based, multi-biomarker test to detect aggressive prostate cancer that performed better than existing biomarker tests in initial preclinical evaluations. The Urine Prostate Seq test, or UPSeq for short, uses next-generation genomic sequencing to analyze urine collected from men following a digital […]

A new study from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania found significant disparities in the use of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors, a class of drugs proven to treat type 2 diabetes, with usage remaining low with Black, Asian, and lower-income groups despite an […]

A team led by scientists at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania has illuminated the functions of mysterious structures in cells called “nuclear speckles,” showing that they can work in partnership with a key protein to enhance the activities of specific sets of genes. The discovery, […]

Like a stern bodyguard for the central nervous system, the blood-brain barrier keeps out anything that could lead to disease and dangerous inflammation—at least when all is functioning normally. That may not be the case in people with schizophrenia and other mental disorders, suggest new findings from a team led […]

Published in the Advanced Functional Materials, University of Minnesota researcher Hongbo Pang led a cross-institutional study on improving the efficacy of nucleotide-based drugs against prostate cancer and bone metastasis. In this study, Pang and his research team looked at whether liposomes, when integrated with the iRGD peptide, will help concentrate antisense oligonucleotides […]

Before COVID-19, there was another public health crisis that captured headlines around the world: the Zika virus outbreak of 2015-16, which became an epidemic as it spread through Brazil and the Americas. The mosquito-borne virus was perhaps best known for causing significant birth defects, most prominently microcephaly, which can cause an […]

In today's open access paper, researchers report that long-term supplementation with nicotinamide riboside in mice, starting from mid-life and continuing into old age, slows the pace of osteoporosis. The extracellular matrix of bone tissue is constantly remodeled over time, broken down by osteoclasts and built up by osteoblasts. Osteoporosis is […]

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 […]