General

A protein linked to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a progressive neurological disease that causes muscle weakness, may be a key to treating fibrotic disease of the kidneys and other organs, researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center reported recently. FUS is the acronym of a protein in the nucleus of cells that regulates […]

Many modern cancer drugs target a specific genetic mutation that is driving particular cancer’s runaway growth and division — such as the HER-2 protein in some breast cancers or EGFR in certain lung cancers. But this strategy hasn’t worked well against glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer, which is […]

The findings from a recent study by a University at Buffalo researcher and others could prove to be a game-changer for men with Type 2 diabetes. The single-site study, conducted over 11 years in Bremerhaven, Germany, found that testosterone therapy reversed Type 2 diabetes in one-third of the study participants. […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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, […]

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, […]

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 […]

The Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) Project(link is external) is a worldwide effort to understand how the human genome functions. With the completion of its latest phase, the ENCODE Project has added millions of candidate DNA “switches” from the human and mouse genomes that appear to regulate when and where genes are […]

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 […]

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 […]

The molecular chaperone protein known as heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) helps stabilize a number of proteins that are involved in tumor growth. This is why inhibitors that act on the protein have been investigated as potential anti-cancer drugs. So far, however, the inhibitors developed by various academic groups and […]

When we get a wound on our skin, the cells in our bodies quickly mobilize to repair it. While it has been known how cells heal wounds and how scars form, a team led by researchers from Washington University in St. Louis has determined for the first time how the […]

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 […]

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, […]

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 […]

New findings by chemists Wolfgang Peti and Rebecca Page provide a foundation to better understand and treat these neurological disorders. From the movement of a finger to the creation of a memory, actions of the human body require the harmonious concert of protein interactions. A system of checks and balances […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

A new study, which analyzed 40 years of Framingham Heart Study data, found an association between lowered rates of hip fractures and decreases in smoking and heavy drinking. The rates of hip fractures in the United States have been declining over the past few decades. Although some experts attribute this […]

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. […]

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 […]

Human pregnancy can easily be taken for granted as a natural and regularly occurring event, but it is the product of the complex, coordinated function of two bodies, mother and baby, that has evolved side by side with other important human adaptations. For the first time, researchers have established how […]

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 […]

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 […]