General

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurological condition that affects motor neurons — the nerve cells that control breathing and muscles. Under a microscope, researchers have noticed that the motor neurons of patients with ALS contain excessive aggregation of a protein called TDP-43. Since TDP-43 proteins stuck in these aggregates […]

New research led by The University of Western Australia has shown that the social conditions that a male experiences while growing up can influence the amount of X and Y chromosome sperm that he produces as an adult. The findings, published in Evolution Letters, provide insight into how exposure to […]

Researchers from King’s College London have uncovered the earliest signs of Parkinson’s disease in the brain, many years before patients show any symptoms. The results, published in The Lancet Neurology, challenge the traditional view of the disease and could potentially lead to screening tools for identifying people at greatest risk. […]

From a biological standpoint, the earliest stages of life are the most mysterious. A developing human embryo undergoes a flurry of rapid changes, and these changes are exceedingly difficult to study because they transpire within the confines of a womb. But with new technology, it might soon be possible to […]

Transitions are a hallmark of life. When dormant plants flower in the spring or when a young adult strikes out on their own, there is a shift in control. Similarly, there is a transition during early development when an embryo undergoes biochemical changes, switching from being controlled by maternal molecules […]

Sortilin, which is a receptor expressed on the surface of nerve cells, plays a central role in memory and is now shown surprisingly also to be crucial in pain development in laboratory mice – and in all likelihood in humans as well. This is the main conclusion of the study […]

For many years, the classification of gliomas relied largely on the cells’ general appearance, or histological characteristics, as seen under a microscope. Today, our understanding of glioma subtypes has expanded to include the molecular and genetic variants that can influence a tumor’s development, prognosis, and response to treatment. Until recently, […]

Scientists from the University of Bath are challenging the claims of two high profile papers from 2018 which reported that in the mouse, RNA has to be added to sperm for them to be fully fertile. The Bath findings undermine a proposed mechanism of epigenetic inheritance in which offspring inherit […]

A compound with potential as a treatment for ALS has gained further promise in a new study that showed it improved the condition of mice whose motor neurons had been damaged by an environmental toxin known to cause features of ALS. ALS patients are categorized either as familial – meaning […]

Stem cells are jacks of all trades, capable of alleviating the consequences of such diverse pathologies as heart attacks, strokes and cancer. However, stem cell therapies have been hampered by possible side effects, which are frequently hard to predict. One way around this conundrum is to understand how stem cells […]

Red blood cells carry oxygen throughout the human body, an essential function for survival. Anemia results when someone has fewer red blood cells than normal. The world’s most common blood disorder, anemia comes in many different varieties — mild to severe, acquired or genetic. Yale pediatrician and geneticist Patrick Gallagher, M.D., […]

A research team at the University of California, Riverside, has found that electronic cigarettes, often targeted to youth and pregnant women, produce a stress response in neural stem cells, which are critical cells in the brain. Present throughout life, stem cells become specialized cells with more specific functions, such as […]

Cancer cells use a bizarre strategy to reproduce in a tumor’s low-energy environment; they mutilate their own mitochondria! Researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) also know how this occurs, offering a promising new target for pancreatic cancer therapies. Why would a cancer cell want to destroy its own functioning […]

MicroRNAs are tiny molecules of nucleic acid that control gene expression, acting like a dimmer switch to tone down gene output at key positions in the network of information that governs a cell’s function. MicroRNAs are important for the day-to-day inner working of cells and especially important during development. They […]

By using eye-tracking technology to automatically control a pair of autofocus lenses, engineers have created a prototype for “autofocals” designed to restore proper vision in people who would ordinarily need progressive lenses. Though it may not have the sting of death and taxes, presbyopia is another of life’s guarantees. This […]

The team of researchers discovered that increasing the amount of the molecule L-selectin on T-cells can vastly improve their ability to fight solid tumours. Professor Ann Ager, from Cardiff University’s Systems Immunity Research Institute, said: “These results mean that immunotherapy could be used to fight most cancers. This is great […]

It happens unexpectedly: a person long thought lost to the ravages of dementia, unable to recall the events of their lives or even recognize those closest to them, will suddenly wake up and exhibit surprisingly normal behavior, only to pass away shortly thereafter. This phenomenon, which experts refer to as […]

A recent Multiple Sclerosis Journal study that included data from 281 patients and 609 surgeries suggests post-operative MS relapse risk does not significantly differ from pre-operative relapse risk. No prior studies have systematically investigated the influence of surgery or anesthesia administration on relapse risk, but it’s a large concern in clinical practice. This […]

Parkinson’s disease, a neurodegenerative disorder that affects more than 6 million people worldwide, is caused by the buildup of alpha-synuclein proteins in the brain. The biological function of alpha-synuclein is still not well understood, but because of its role in neurodegenerative diseases, researchers are actively studying this protein to understand […]

Effective weight-loss strategies call for eating less food, burning more calories — or ideally, both. But for the more than 90 million Americans who suffer from obesity, a disease that contributes to conditions ranging from heart disease to cancer, behavioral change is hard to accomplish or not effective enough, which […]

For the first time, researchers in the University of Georgia’s Regenerative Bioscience Center have used an imaging method normally reserved for humans to analyze brain activity in live agricultural swine models, and they have discovered that pig brains are even better platforms than previously thought for the study of human neurological […]

Cytokines, small proteins released by immune cells to communicate with each other, have for some time been investigated as a potential cancer treatment. However, despite their known potency and potential for use alongside other immunotherapies, cytokines have yet to be successfully developed into an effective cancer therapy. That is because […]

The risk of dementia depends on many factors. However, most of us are most likely to experience its symptoms sooner or later. With ageing population we will have more and more elderly, who will need constant care due to debilitating effects of dementia. Scientists are constantly looking for ways to […]

A lot of people struggle to conceive a baby. It is truly debilitating situation to be in. Also, more and more people tend to have babies later in life, which is slightly more difficult. However, scientists from the University of Queensland say that there is a relatively easy way for […]

For some parents, a physician’s advice to “just take him home and love him,” presumably letting nature take it’s most likely course, is just not acceptable. This blog has championed many such parents, who serve as catalysts for others. New to rare disease territory is Orah Lasko, whose toddler Jacob not […]

Music really is a universal language. All people regardless of their age and socioeconomic status can enjoy some music. And in some cases it is actually very useful. Scientists from the University of Helsinki say that music helps improving the spoken language of the hear­ing-im­paired. That is why Finnish scientists […]

Scleroderma is a rare autoimmune disease, affecting about 300,000 Americans, but for those it affects it can be challenging to manage. The disease is associated with chronic inflammation and fibrosis in the connective tissues and visibly results in hardening and tightening of the skin, among other symptoms. Depending on the severity, patients […]

Rearing its head in infancy, Christianson Syndrome is a rare disorder whose symptoms include intellectual disability, seizures and difficulty standing or walking. Although it is becoming increasingly diagnosed, with little being known about the neural mechanism behind the disease, therapeutic options for patients remain limited. Now, researchers at McGill University […]

Lung cancer cells use antioxidants, endogenous or dietary, to spread in the body by activating a protein called BACH1 and increasing the uptake and use of sugar, Swedish and American researchers report in two independent studies. The studies, which are published in the eminent scientific journal Cell, pave the way […]

University of Manchester and University of North Texas scientists are the first to show that an embryonic living heart can be programmed to survive the effects of a low oxygen environment in later life. The BBSRC funded study of juvenile Common Snapping Turtles for the first time explains the heart’s […]