General

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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. […]

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 […]

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 […]

Almost 18,000 Americans experience traumatic spinal cord injuries every year. Many of these people are unable to use their hands and arms and can’t do everyday tasks such as eating, grooming or drinking water without help. Using physical therapy combined with a non-invasive method of stimulating nerve cells in the spinal cord, […]

It used to be the case that one could write up a summary of where the research community stood on the treatment of aging as a medical condition (which was varying shades of “not that far along towards practical applications, but definitely promising if they get their act together”) and […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Using stem cells to regenerate parts of the skull, scientists corrected skull shape and reversed learning and memory deficits in young mice with craniosynostosis, a condition estimated to affect 1 in every 2,500 infants born in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The only […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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. […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Tea is a cosy drink. It reduces stress, calms you down, helps concentrating and sleeping. Tea is especially delicious when it’s cold outside. And, as you may know, people in the UK drink a lot of tea, which is why scientists from the Newcastle University conducted a study to see […]