General

The same basic tools that allow computers to function are now being used to control life at the molecular level. The advances have implications for future medicines and synthetic biology. Reporting in the journal Science, a team led by the University of Washington School of Medicine has created artificial proteins that function […]

By now you probably understand that we need to make our energy in a cleaner way. Solar, wind and hydro power plants will eventually take over. However, what you might not know is that some people believe that growth in fossil fuel use is required for increases in life expectancy. […]

Everyone wants to live a long a healthy life. Only in this way you get to experience more while you are alive. Age is the dominant risk factor for many diseases, including cancer, diabetes, dementia, heart disease, stroke and so on. Now scientists from the Salk Institute together with partners […]

People who are at high risk of developing lung cancer, such as heavy smokers, are routinely screened with computed tomography (CT), which can detect tumors in the lungs. However, this test has an extremely high rate of false positives, as it also picks up benign nodules in the lungs. Researchers […]

Understanding how the protein tau moves between neurons yields insight into possible treatments for neurodegenerative diseases. In the fight against neurodegenerative diseases such as frontotemporal dementia, Alzheimer’s and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, the tau protein is a major culprit. Found abundantly in our brain cells, tau is normally a team player […]

Colorectal cancer kills more than 50,000 people a year in the United States alone, but scientists have struggled to find the exact mechanisms that trigger the growth of tumors in the intestine. Cancer researchers have zeroed in on a tightly sequestered group of stem cells within the intestine as suspects […]

Using a modified natural substance along with current clinical approaches could improve colon cancer treatment, according to findings by the University of California, Irvine biologists. The discovery comes from their research into the role of an amino acid in tumor development and a potential method for reversing the process. Their […]

Targeting patients with machine learning can increase the number of people getting liver cancer screenings, according to a National Institutes of Health-sponsored study by a research team from Rice University, Texas A&M University, Iowa State University and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Regular and timely health screenings save […]

The machine learning techniques scientists use to predict outcomes from large datasets may fall short when it comes to projecting the outcomes of people’s lives, according to a mass collaborative study led by researchers at Princeton. Published by 112 co-authors in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the results […]

Findings provide insight that may inform search for treatments. Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have discovered a second gene that causes melorheostosis, a rare group of conditions involving an often painful and disfiguring overgrowth of bone tissue. The gene, SMAD3, is part of a pathway that regulates cell development […]

Researchers at the University of California San Diego discovered that high blood levels of RNA produced by the PHGDH gene could serve as a biomarker for early detection of Alzheimer’s disease. The work could lead to the development of a blood test to identify individuals who will develop the disease […]

Researchers have developed the first computational model of a human cell and simulated its behavior for 15 minutes – the longest time achieved for a biological system of this complexity. In a new study, simulations reveal the effects of spatial organization within cells on some of the genetic processes that […]

Chemical engineers have developed a way to protect transplanted drug-producing cells from immune system rejection. One promising way to treat diabetes is with transplanted islet cells that produce insulin when blood sugar levels get too low. However, patients who receive such transplants must take drugs to prevent their immune systems […]

MIT biochemists can trap and visualize an enzyme as it becomes active — an important development that may aid in future drug development. How do you capture a cellular process that transpires in the blink of an eye? Biochemists at MIT have devised a way to trap and visualize a […]

In Japan, an increase in the aging population has exacerbated the demand for regenerative medicine to address increasingly common diseases, such as knee osteoarthritis. In a new study, scientists from Tokyo University of Science, led by Prof Hidenori Otsuka, have developed a novel biocompatible hydrogel that acts as a structural […]

James Cook University scientists say a diet heavy in healthy fats and light on carbs may have significant benefits for people who suffer from some metabolic, neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental disorders. Professor Zoltan Sarnyai is a neuroscientist with JCU’s Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine. He led a team examining […]

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and St Erik Eye Hospital in Sweden have discovered a way to refine the production of retinal cells from embryonic stem cells for treating blindness in the elderly. Using the CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing, they have also managed to modify the cells so that they can hide […]

People continuously exposed to air pollution are at increased risk of dementia, especially if they also suffer from cardiovascular diseases, according to a study at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden published in the journal JAMA Neurology. Therefore, patients with cardiovascular diseases who live in polluted environments may require additional support from […]

Cerebroatrophic hyperammonemia (CH) is a rare genetic disorder caused by the mutation of the MECP2 gene. The disease is prominent in females and the common clinical signs and symptoms include microcephaly (head circumference is smaller than normal), loss of coordination and normal movement, loss of communication abilities, abnormal hand movements, […]

Researchers are investigating whether hydroxychloroquine, a commonly used anti-malarial, and autoimmune-disease treatment, can prevent COVID-19. A multi-site clinical trial, led by the University of Washington School of Medicine in collaboration with New York University Grossman School of Medicine, aims to definitively determine whether hydroxychloroquine can prevent transmission in people exposed […]

Two Michigan researchers make major inroads into the biology of brown fat and its implications for weight loss and obesity-related diseases In recent years, brown fat has garnered attention as the so-called good fat that can protect against obesity and its associated health risks, like cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Two […]

Scientists at the University of California, Riverside, have explored the relationship between parental alcohol consumption — before conception in the case of fathers and during pregnancy in the case of mothers — and offspring development. In a paper published in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, the researchers report that when alcohol-exposed male […]

Exercise can only improve strength in muscle-degenerating diseases when a specific type of muscle cell ages, report a Hokkaido University researcher and colleagues with Sapporo Medical University in Japan. Their findings utilizing mice models were published in the journal Nature Communications. Idiopathic inflammatory myopathies are rare diseases that cause muscle […]

Though many negative repercussions of human immunodeficiency virus infection can be mitigated with the use of antiretroviral therapy (ART), one area where medical advances haven’t made as much progress is in the reduction of cognitive impacts. Half of HIV patients have HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND), which can manifest in a […]

Artificial intelligence is not going to replace doctors any time soon. However, it can become a very useful tool for diagnostics and choosing the right treatment. A team of engineers, led by the University of Waterloo, have developed a new powerful technology combines human wisdom and artificial intelligence for faster, […]

Removing a gene from the cells that produce insulin prevents mice from developing Type 1 diabetes by sparing the cells an attack from their own immune system, a new UW–Madison study shows. The cellular sleight of hand may suggest ways to prevent Type 1 diabetes in high-risk individuals, as well […]

A new technique allows researchers to test how the deformation of tiny train track-like cell proteins affects their function. The findings could help clarify the roles of deformed “microtubules” in traumatic brain injuries and in neurological diseases like Parkinson’s. Joint press release by Hokkaido University and the National Institute of […]

It’s a self-perpetuating cycle: Kids with developmental disabilities face challenges in building motor skills, which makes them less able to participate in routine physical activity, which gives them less opportunity to practice those same motor skills. But parents can make a big difference by modeling and supporting physical activity in […]

Old human cells return to a more youthful and vigorous state after being induced to briefly express a panel of proteins involved in embryonic development, according to a new study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. The researchers also found that elderly mice regained youthful strength after their […]

While some of our body’s cells divide in a matter of hours, the process of making sperm, meiosis, alone takes about 14 days from start to finish. And fully six of those days are spent in the stage known as the pachytene when pairs of chromosomes from an individual’s mother […]