Robot

A new genetic screen may predict a person’s future risk of osteoporosis and bone fracture, according to a study by a researcher at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Specifically, the study, one of the largest of its kind, identified 899 regions in the human genome associated with low bone-mineral density, […]

A pair of new studies led by investigators at Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital looks to T cells as paths toward reducing organ transplant rejection and treating autoimmune diseases. The immune system has two major kinds of T cells. T helper cells, also known as effector T cells, […]

Mutations in the gene LRRK2 have been linked to about three percent of Parkinson’s disease cases. Researchers have now found evidence that the activity of LRRK2 protein might be affected in many more patients with Parkinson’s disease, even when the LRRK2 gene itself is not mutated. The study was published […]

Throughout his science training in Vietnam, Germany, Austria and the United States, Nam Chu has loved finding ways to fight diseases such as neurodegeneration and cancer. “To do that,” he says, “you need to understand the underlying molecular mechanisms—how certain proteins can cause the disease and how you can intervene.” Now a […]

A gene linked to 3 to 4 percent of people with Parkinson’s disease could play an important role in most, if not all, people with the disease, according to new study findings from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and UPMC. The gene, called LLRK2, was previously thought to only cause […]

A wildebeest knows when it is outnumbered by a pack of hungry hyenas, thanks to an imprecise, primal brain function called the Approximate Number System, or ANS. Animals have it and human babies are born with it. Scientists have long believed that human’s ability to solve symbolic math problems such […]

It is summer now and we are all rushing to the nearest beach, river or lake. It helps us to cool down, but we can also try some extreme sports there, such as jumping to the water from some height. That can result in some injury and as a new […]

Convelo Therapeutics Inc., a company founded on seminal scientific discoveries made in the laboratories of Paul Tesar and Drew Adams at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, has launched from working in stealth mode with a mission to discover and develop a new class of medicines that regenerate the […]

The immune system can be an important ally in the fight against cancer. A study from McGill scientists published today in Science suggests that the reverse may also be true – that abnormal inflammation triggered by the immune system may underlie the development of stomach tumours in patients with a hereditary cancer syndrome known […]

Genes produce proteins that keep your body functioning and healthy. But genes that code for protein make up less than 2 percent of your DNA. The rest of the DNA might appear to be dormant at first glance, but scientists now appreciate that this region plays a key role in […]

The lack of certain toxic and cancer-causing chemicals in e-cigarettes may not necessarily mean that e-cigarette users are not exposed to them anyway. A new study from the University of Minnesota found that while e-cigarettes contain virtually no N-nitrosonornicotine (NNN) — a chemical that can cause oral cavity and esophageal cancer […]

UA students study honey bees to find out how bacteria in their guts and the foods they eat are connected to life expectancy. They hope the insects can serve as model systems to discover clues about how genetics, gut bacteria and diet influence aging in humans. To the untrained eye […]