General

A large number of genes have to be switched on or off at different times during development. A particular challenge occurs when two copies of the same gene must acquire opposing states of activation within the same cell, as it is the case, for example, for the two X chromosomes in […]

Many diseases are caused by genetic defects. However, their severity can vary among individual patients, so that even mild forms can occur. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research in Bad Nauheim have now decrypted a molecular mechanism responsible for this phenomenon. Accordingly, the mRNA of […]

Before being tested in animals or humans, most cancer drugs are evaluated in tumor cells grown in a lab dish. However, in recent years, there has been a growing realization that the environment in which these cells are grown does not accurately mimic the natural environment of a tumor, and […]

More than a decade ago, UCI biology professor Arthur Lander, broadened the focus of his research. Instead of studying a particular biological molecule or specific cell type, he reasoned that biomedical researchers would learn more, at a faster pace, if they explored biological systems — how networks of molecules, cells, tissues, […]

Alzheimer’s is a disease of aggregation. Neurons in the human brain make a protein called amyloid beta. Such proteins on their own, called monomers of amyloid beta, perform important tasks for neurons. But in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease, amyloid beta monomers have abandoned their jobs and joined together. First, […]

The recent emergence of immunotherapy has marked a sea change in research and care for many forms of cancer, bringing new hope to patients and families around the world. For those who respond to treatment, the results can be dramatic. Activation of a patient’s immune system against cancer can kill […]

Inflammation is a balanced physiological response – the body needs it to eliminate invasive organisms and foreign irritants, but excessive inflammation can harm healthy cells, contributing to aging and chronic diseases. To help keep tabs on inflammation, immune cells employ a molecular machine called the NLRP3 inflammasome. NLRP3 is inactive […]

Scientists from King's and Cambridge have developed a catalogue of DNA mutation ‘fingerprints’ that could help doctors pinpoint the environmental culprit responsible for a patient’s tumour – including showing some of the fingerprints left in lung tumours by specific chemicals found in tobacco smoke. Our DNA, the human genome, comprises […]

Medications known as PARP inhibitors have emerged as a promising therapy for several forms of cancer fueled by a defect in the cells’ DNA repair machinery. Yet many people with cancers caused by the defect, known as HR deficiency, who stand to benefit from PARP inhibitors, remain unidentified because standard […]

In the last six years, a tool called CRISPR-Cas9 has transformed genetic research, allowing scientists to snip and edit DNA strands at precise locations like a pair of tiny scissors. But sometimes, it takes more than scissors to do the job. Now, a collaborative international team has unveiled a new […]

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have mapped the genetic mutation behind the incurable disease systemic mastocytosis. The results give insights into the origin of the disease, and the researchers also discovered a protein with potential to improve disease diagnosis. The results are published in the journal EBioMedicine. Systemic mastocytosis is an incurable […]

Incurable diseases distort people's world view. It is a very well-known fact that people who suffer from Parkinson’s lose all their motivation. However, now scientists from the Monash University proved that dopamine levels in the brain can help people with Parkinson’s disease to combat cognitive apathy and regain cognitive motivation […]

Researchers at the University of Zurich and from IBM Research have investigated the varying composition of cancer and immune cells in over one hundred breast tumors. They've found that aggressive tumors are often dominated by a single type of tumor cell. If certain immune cells are present as well, an […]

Vitamin D is very important to us. Unlike many other vitamins, vitamin D is produced in our own body as a response to sunlight. Vitamin D is praised for its health benefits, but they are not fully understood. Scientists from the University of Edinburgh found that the vitamin D might […]

I’ve just had cataract surgeries, so I wasn’t thrilled to find a new report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences comparing the protein glitch behind them to the one behind Alzheimer’s. Fortunately the similarity is only in how the proteins fold. The amyloid beta buildup of cataracts could be an early […]

Researchers have known for decades that inflammation accompanies Alzheimer’s disease (AD) brain lesions. Several early studies suggested that “super-aspirins” or Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) could help avoid the disease. However, after clinical trials showed that NSAIDs don’t help patients who already have AD symptoms, doctors wondered whether these drugs could […]

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet present a publicly available resource that can accelerate the use of so-called FISH techniques for studying how the genome is spatially organised in the cell nucleus. The new platform, which enables more cost-effective analyses for both research and diagnostic labs, is described in the scientific journal Nature […]

The next cancer therapy could be a patient’s own cells. Tactiva Therapeutics, a Buffalo-based immuno-oncology startup, is developing a personalized cancer treatment based on engineered immune cells derived from patients’ own cells. The company’s approach involves attaching proteins called receptors to these cells. The receptors target antigens present in cancer […]

This may help identify the cause of the cancer, so that the children can receive more precise treatment in the long term and avoid unnecessary side effects. Personalized medicine is now a reality for Danish children with cancer. If children can be prevented from dying from the disease, receive a […]

If caught early, nearly all cases of colon cancer are curable. Though this should make screening tests straightforward, colon cancer screening suffers from a paradoxical combination of low compliance rates and overdiagnosis. In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, University of Wisconsin–Madison scientists identified four blood-based fingerprints – […]

Results from NASA’s landmark Twins Study, which took place from 2015-2016, were published Thursday in Science. The integrated paper — encompassing work from 10 research teams — reveals some interesting, surprising and reassuring data about how one human body adapted to — and recovered from — the extreme environment of space. The Twins Study provides the […]

Yale scientists with colleagues at University College London have taken the next step towards unravelling how cells work together during wound closure, a question that could be fundamental to determining optimal healing rates after injury or disease. How cells behave, the rate at which they repair skin tissue, and how […]

Recent advances in the development of cancer therapies have increased long-term survival and prognosis. However, the increased burden and prevalence of harmful side effects, including cardiomyopathy, have emerged alongside those therapeutic benefits. In particular, there have been increases in cancer therapy-induced cardiomyopathy (CCM) — a heart condition which may compromise […]

The ability of cancer to establish itself in distant parts of the body — called metastasis — causes 90% of deaths from solid tumors. Metastasis is the result of complex genetic interactions that have proven difficult for scientists to study. Now Yale researchers have devised a way to identify some […]

Rare types of cervical cancer can be effectively prevented with screening, a comprehensive study of identified cases of rare cervical cancer over a ten-year period in Sweden concludes. The study was conducted by researchers at Karolinska Institutet and is published in The BMJ. The main aim of cervical screening is to […]

University of Maryland researchers analyzed a DNA-based evolutionary tree for a majority of known bat species and found four bat lineages that exhibit extreme longevity. They also identified for the first time two traits that predict extended life spans in bats. Their work is described in a research paper, published […]

By speaking the brain’s language, the material is a portal between electronics and the brain. WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — What if the brain could detect its own disease? Researchers have been trying to create a material that “thinks” like the brain does, which would be more sensitive to early signs […]

Researchers find new way to clean up cells; discovery could aid attack on human disease. Marie Kondo herself couldn’t do it any better. Usually cells are good at recognizing what doesn’t spark joy. They’re constantly cleaning house — picking through their own stuff to clear out what no longer works. […]

There could be new treatments on the horizon for diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, or DIPG, a devastating form of brain cancer that afflicts young children and is currently incurable. Recent experiments in animal models of the disease have identified an experimental drug that effectively destroys DIPG cells. And a team […]

The ability to turn while walking is impaired among patients with Parkinson's disease. This difficulty is also associated with freezing of gait and falls, which can have devastating medical consequences in an older population. A new Tel Aviv University study advances the understanding of turns in Parkinson's patients, providing new insights into […]