Robot – Page 172 – Innovita Research
July 31, 2020

Gene regulation: groundbreaking work promises new targets

Scientists at the IRCM reveal the function of some 200 proteins previously unprobed by biologists, pointing the way to new therapeutic targets for cancers and neurological disorders. A team from the Montreal Clinical Research Institute (IRCM) has written a new chapter in gene regulation by unearthing the function of about […]
July 31, 2020

UW Researchers Devise Approach to Treat Rare, Incurable form of Blindness

Best vitelliform macular degeneration, or Best disease, is an inherited eye condition that typically leads to blindness over the course of a few decades. The disease can be caused by more than two hundred mutations in the BEST1 gene. The researchers were able to correct the disease in stem cells from patients […]
July 31, 2020

Your brain parasite isn't making you sick. Here's why

More than 30 million Americans are infected with a brain parasite spread by cats and contaminated meat, but most will never show symptoms. A new discovery from the University of Virginia School of Medicine explains why, and that finding could have important implications for brain infections, neurodegenerative diseases, and autoimmune […]
July 31, 2020

New understanding of CRISPR-Cas9 tool could improve gene editing

Within a mere eight years, CRISPR-Cas9 has become the go-to genome editor for both basic research and gene therapy. But CRISPR-Cas9 also has spawned other potentially powerful DNA manipulation tools that could help fix genetic mutations responsible for hereditary diseases. Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have now obtained […]
July 30, 2020

Novel, label-free imaging technique brings out the inner light in T cells

T cells are the immune soldiers at the frontline of the battle with infiltrating pathogens that seek to cause disease. A new study published in Nature Biomedical Engineering describes a novel, label-free imaging technique that can differentiate active T cells from those off duty. The method produced by the U.S. National Science Foundation-funded research […]
July 30, 2020

Scientists using AI to benefit cancer patients

Case Western Reserve University scientists are developing artificial intelligence (AI) tools to help surgeons and oncologists identify the subtle but critical differences between a recurring tumor and damaged non-cancerous tissue on post-operative MRI scans of certain cancer patients. The work is being led by Pallavi Tiwari, PhD, and Satish Viswanath, […]
July 30, 2020

Researchers Optimistic After Dose-Determining Trial of Compound Against Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer

A new multi-institution, dose-determining clinical trial of a compound against metastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer showed promising results, researchers reported in Clinical Cancer Research. The phase 1b/2a study of the pan-BET bromodomain inhibitor ZEN-3694 in combination with enzalutamide was led by researchers at the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center, the University of California, San Francisco, […]
July 30, 2020

New Clues in Resistance to Mainstay Drug for Patients with Metastatic Prostate Cancer

Enzalutamide is one of the main treatments for patients with metastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer — the lethal form of the disease. However, treatment options are limited for those who develop resistance to enzalutamide. Now, a multi-institution team has uncovered new clues that may help overcome resistance in some patients, according […]
July 30, 2020

Alzheimer’s protein in blood indicates early brain changes

Two decades or more before symptoms arise, plaques of a sticky protein called amyloid to begin forming in the brains of people later diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown that levels of a specific protein in the blood rise as […]
July 30, 2020

FSU biologist uses genome database to investigate cancer cells

Florida State University Professor of Biological Science David Gilbert is using the latest information about the human genome as a guide to better understand cancer. Gilbert and his FSU colleagues were part of a team that compared different cancer cell types to a database of normal human cells using a […]
July 29, 2020

Specific bacteria help explain stunted growth in malnourished children

Many children treated for childhood malnutrition in developing countries never fully recover. They suffer from stunted growth, immune system dysfunction and poor cognitive development that typically cause long-term health issues into adulthood. Now, new research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the International Centre for Diarrhoeal […]
July 29, 2020

Getting gene therapy to the brain

Alone genetic mutation can cause a life-changing disorder with effects on multiple body systems. Lysosomal storage diseases, for example, of which there are dozens, arise due to single mutations that affect the production of critical enzymes required to metabolize large molecules in cells. These disorders affect multiple organs including, notably, […]
July 29, 2020

Study IDs women who benefit less from 3D mammograms

A new comparison of two breast-screening technologies has found that, for most women, digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT, also called 3D mammography) is superior to digital mammography for cancer detection and for reducing recall visits due to unclear or false findings. The study’s distinction, though, is in identifying women for whom […]
July 28, 2020

Drug target for aggressive breast cancer found

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213671120302411A team of British and American scientists have discovered a way to slow the growth of breast cancer stem cells in the lab. The study led by Dr Bruno Simões and Professor Rob Clarke from The University of Manchester could eventually lead to combination drug therapies on previously untreatable breast […]
July 28, 2020

The amazing travels of small RNAs

Biologists have known for some time that RNA interference can silence genes in far-​off cells. They suspected that a messenger substance “transmits” RNA interference. Now, ETH researchers have definitively shown that these messengers in plants are short double-stranded RNA fragments. In most organisms, small bits of RNA play a key […]
July 28, 2020

St. Baldrick’s Foundation awards grants to Case Western Reserve for pediatric cancer research

Cancer researchers Alex Huang, Reshmi Parameswaran, and Yamilet Huerta have been awarded $315,000 in grants from the St. Baldrick’s Foundation to conduct research of new immunotherapy treatments for pediatric cancers. Huang, professor of pediatrics at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and co-leader of the Hematopoietic and Immune Cancer […]
July 28, 2020

DNA in (Even More) Detail

New technologies accelerate high-resolution imaging of human chromosomes in single cells. The intricate, tightly wound structures of chromosomes condense about two meters of DNA so the complete instruction manual for growing a human can be tucked inside a cell nucleus just 10 microns wide. “This is like fitting something the […]
July 28, 2020

“Self-eating” Process of Stem Cells May be the Key to New Regenerative Therapies

The self-eating process in embryonic stem cells known as chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA) and a related metabolite may serve as promising new therapeutic targets to repair or regenerate damaged cells and organs, Penn Medicine researchers show in a new study published online in Science. Human bodies contain over 200 different types of specialized cells. […]
July 28, 2020

Yale to lead trial of potential COVID-19 treatment

Yale School of Medicine and the biopharmaceutical firm AI Therapeutics have launched a multi-institutional clinical trial of a drug for treating COVID-19. Known as LAM-002A (apilimod), the drug has a proven safety record. Preliminary research has shown it can block cellular entry and trafficking of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the cause […]
July 27, 2020

Aging experts call for more dementia care training

The number of people in the U.S. living with Alzheimer’s or dementia is expected to triple by 2050, and the latest research from the Alzheimer’s Association shows that half of the medical providers are not prepared to care for them. Now, new recommendations from a National Institutes of Health working group on […]
July 27, 2020

Neurons are genetically programmed to have long lives

When our neurons — the principal cells of the brain — die, so do we. Most neurons are created during embryonic development and have no “backup” after birth. Researchers have generally believed that their survival is determined nearly extrinsically, or by outside forces, such as the tissues and cells that neurons supply with […]
July 24, 2020

Breaks in the genome

New method to improve the diagnosis of genetic diseases. Breaks and rearrangements in the genome can lead to severe diseases, even if all genes remain intact. Hi-C, a method to map the three-dimensional structure of chromosomes, promises more reliable and accurate diagnoses of such defects, but is not used in […]
July 24, 2020

Antioxidant cocktail key to preventing Alzheimer's

Research from The University of Western Australia has found a diet rich in nutrients and antioxidants may prevent or even reverse the effects of Alzheimer’s disease. The study, published in Open Biology, found taking a combination of antioxidants at increasing doses was more beneficial at preventing the debilitating disease than any other […]
July 24, 2020

Early menstruation linked to increased menopause symptoms

Early menstruation increases the likelihood of hot flushes and nights sweats decades later at menopause, according to a University of Queensland study. School of Public Health researchers analysed data from more than 18,000 middle aged women across the UK, USA and Australia, as part of the Life course Approach to reproductive health and Chronic […]