General – Page 148 – Innovita Research
January 13, 2021

Early research shows promise for therapeutics that delay Type 2 Diabetes

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered a unique pathway that initiates islet β cell inflammation—a hallmark of type 2 diabetes—putting them a step closer to developing targeted therapeutics for the disease that affects one in 10 Americans. The article, “RIPK3-mediated inflammation is a conserved β-cell response to ER stress” was published in the journal Science […]
January 13, 2021

Weaker skin barrier leads to faster uptake of chemicals

The ability of our skin to protect us from chemicals is something we inherit. Some people are less well-protected which could imply an increased risk of being afflicted by skin disease or cancer. A new study from Karolinska Institutet that has been published in Environmental Health Perspectives shows how the […]
January 13, 2021

New research shows the importance of consuming enough Vitamin B12 in pregnancy

A new study published in Nutrition Research has found that children born to a mother with low intake of Vitamin B12 during pregnancy were at increased risk of adverse development specific to certain speech and mathematical abilities. The study, from Professor Jean Golding and colleagues at the University of Bristol, used data […]
January 13, 2021

Study: High doses of saccharin don’t lead to diabetes in healthy adults

For those trying to live a healthy lifestyle, the choice between sugar and artificial sweeteners such as saccharin can be confusing. A new study led by Ohio State University researchers found the sugar substitute saccharin doesn’t lead to the development of diabetes in healthy adults as previous studies have suggested. […]
January 13, 2021

Protecting lungs from ventilator-induced injury

An unfortunate truth about the use of mechanical ventilation to save the lives of patients in respiratory distress is that the pressure used to inflate the lungs is likely to cause further lung damage. In a new study, scientists identified a molecule that is produced by immune cells during mechanical […]
January 13, 2021

Neuroscientists identify brain circuit that encodes timing of events

When we experience a new event, our brain records a memory of not only what happened, but also the context, including the time and location of the event. A new study from MIT neuroscientists sheds light on how the timing of memory is encoded in the hippocampus and suggests that […]
January 12, 2021

New insights on the role of the MLL4 gene in Kabuki syndrome

Scientists have known for years that mutations in the MLL4 gene can cause Kabuki syndrome, a rare developmental disorder. But a study published in Nature Communications illuminates new details regarding how this occurs. The research suggests that MLL4 controls the production of neurons that secrete growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) in a part […]
January 12, 2021

Brain Cells Most Vulnerable to Alzheimer’s Disease Identified by Scientists

A major mystery in Alzheimer’s disease research is why some brain cells succumb to the creeping pathology of the disease years before symptoms first appear, while others seem impervious to the degeneration surrounding them until the disease’s final stages. Now, in a study published in Nature Neuroscience, a team of […]
January 12, 2021

Nanomaterials for the Clearance of Senescent Cells

Senescent cell accumulation is a contributing cause of aging, and targeted destruction of senescent cells with senolytic therapies produces meaningful rejuvenation and reversal of age-related disease in animal models. First generation senolytics are largely repurposed small molecules. Second generation senolytics will include a range of more carefully designed strategies, including […]
January 11, 2021

Alpha-ray missile therapy: tumor cells attacked from intracellular region

Researchers at Osaka University have developed a technique of attacking cancer cells with lethal alpha rays from within by using a nutrient transporter to deliver radionuclides into malignant tumors A cancer-specific L-type amino acid transporter 1 (LAT1) is highly expressed in cancer tissues. Inhibiting the function of LAT1 has been […]
January 11, 2021

‘Virtual biopsies’ could replace tissue biopsies in future thanks to technique developed by Cambridge scientists

A new advanced computing technique using routine medical scans to enable doctors to take fewer, more accurate tumour biopsies, has been developed by cancer researchers at the University of Cambridge. This is an important step towards precision tissue sampling for cancer patients to help select the best treatment. In future […]
January 11, 2021

Magnets dim natural glow of human cells, may shed light on how animals migrate

Researchers in Japan have made the first observations of biological magnetoreception –  live, unaltered cells responding to a magnetic field in real-time. This discovery is a crucial step in understanding how animals from birds to butterflies navigate using Earth’s magnetic field and addressing the question of whether weak electromagnetic fields […]
January 11, 2021

U of M begins Phase I of first-in-human clinical trial for glioblastoma

Physicians and scientists at the University of Minnesota have opened a new brain cancer clinical trial and have treated their first patient. This Phase I, the first-in-human trial is enrolling patients with a specific type of brain cancer, glioblastoma. The development for this innovative treatment is based on years of […]
January 10, 2021

‘Invisible’ Stem Cells Evade Natural Killer Cells Using Immune ‘Off-Switch’

UC San Francisco scientists have discovered a new way to control the immune system’s “natural killer” (NK) cells, a finding with implications for novel cell therapies and tissue implants that can evade immune rejection. The findings could also be used to enhance the ability of cancer immunotherapies to detect and […]
January 10, 2021

FSU researcher examines ways cocaine alters gene expression

New research from Florida State University identifies a novel gene that plays a functional role in cocaine addiction.   In a new paper in the journal Biological Psychiatry, Assistant Professor of Biological Science Jian Feng and his colleagues reveal that cocaine use in mice resulted in changes to what’s called long noncoding RNA […]
January 9, 2021

Advances in research on the most general type of stem cells

Stem cell research is the prerequisite for regenerative medicine, which with the help of the body's cells recreates and heals important organs. Now, researchers at Karolinska Institutet, SickKids in Canada and KU Leuven in Belgium have found a method for defining the most general type of stem cells, that can […]
January 8, 2021

Functional seizures associated with stroke, psychiatric disorders in electronic health records study

In a large-scale study of electronic health records, Vanderbilt University Medical Center investigators have determined the prevalence of functional seizures and characterized comorbidities associated with them. Functional seizures are sudden attacks or spasms that look like epileptic seizures but do not have the aberrant brain electrical patterns of epilepsy. The research […]
January 8, 2021

Vanderbilt leads $1.5 million NSF project to develop advanced brain organoids

Vanderbilt engineers have received a $1.49 million National Science Foundation grant to advance the science of organoids with cells that organize themselves and mimic the development of human brain structures. Organoids are lab-produced groups of cells that serve as research models for human physiology in development and disease, including design […]
January 8, 2021

New approach needed for newborns with hearing loss

Parents are often struggling with hearing aid management for their newborn babies, according to research by the University of Manchester and NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) experts. The study of 81 babies, assessed at three to seven months and again at seven to 21 months, shows hearing aid use […]
January 8, 2021

RNA molecules are masters of their own destiny

Research suggests the products of transcription — RNA molecules — regulate their own production through a feedback loop. At any given moment in the human body, in about 30 trillion cells, DNA is being “read” into molecules of messenger RNA, the intermediary step between DNA and proteins, in a process […]
January 7, 2021

Antioxidants Vitamin C and Vitamin E Linked to Lower Risk of Parkinson’s

People who consume high levels of vitamin C and E in their diet may have a lower risk of Parkinson’s disease than people who get only small amounts of these nutrients, according to a new study from University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy, and Karolinska Institutet. The study was published in Neurology. […]
January 7, 2021

How an Embryo Tells Time

It is estimated that the majority of pregnancies that fail do so within the first seven days after fertilization, before the embryo implants into the uterus. In this time period, a complicated cascade of events occurs with precise timing. One particularly important process is called polarization, when the individual cells […]
January 7, 2021

Ginger Counters Certain Autoimmune Diseases in Mice

Naturopathic medicine, or herbal medicine, is all the rage, especially among young people. But how much of this is supported by science? Ginger is known to have anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative effects, making it a popular herbal supplement to treat inflammatory diseases. And according to a Michigan Medicine led study published […]
January 7, 2021

DNA-editing method shows promise to treat mouse model of progeria

Researchers have successfully used a DNA-editing technique to extend the lifespan of mice with the genetic variation associated with progeria,  a rare genetic disease that causes extreme premature aging in children and can significantly shorten their life expectancy. The study was published in the journal Nature, and was a collaboration between the National Human Genome Research […]
January 7, 2021

Scientists capture the moving parts of the portal to the cell’s nucleus

The nucleus of a cell is well-shielded by a double membrane to protect its most sensitive possession—its DNA. Anything that enters or exits must pass through the nuclear pores, cylindrical structures made of hundreds of proteins. Scientists have made great advances in figuring out the architecture of the pore by reconstructing each […]
January 7, 2021

Cancer Metastasis is Target of New Research Initiative

Six UC San Francisco researchers have won an Endeavor Award to build a new research collaborative at the university focused on decoding the “rulebook” of metastatic cancer as a pathway to new treatments. The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research established the awards to support research challenges that are too far-reaching for a single […]