General

Pushing the limits of cryo-electron microscopy, University of California, Berkeley, scientists have captured freeze-frames of the changing shape of a huge molecule, one of the body’s key molecular machines, as it locks onto DNA and loads the machinery for reading the genetic code. The molecule, called transcription factor IID, is […]

A single season of high school football may be enough to cause microscopic changes in the structure of the brain, according to a new study by researchers at UC Berkeley, Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The researchers used a new type of magnetic resonance […]

New parents often expect their baby to start sleeping through the night by around six months of age. Indeed, they often receive messages from paediatricians and others about the importance of early sleep consolidation. But authors of a study in the issue of Pediatrics found that a large percentage of healthy babies […]

Certain genes that code for proteins have long been known to contribute to cancer progression. But in a frame shift, researchers from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine recently found that non-coding genes also contribute to the development and spreading of the disease, one of the first known examples […]

A world-first clinical trial of a new cellular immunotherapy for multiple sclerosis (MS) has improved symptoms and quality of life for the majority of patients. The treatment targets the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), and is based on a theory formulated by University of Queensland and Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital (RBWH) […]

These days, scientists are fairly adept at reprogramming immune cell pathways to enhance the immune system’s own response to cancerous lesions, yet there is still a lack of understanding as to which specific circuits to rewire for the best results. Fortunately, a new method called SLICE, which has been described […]

In biology, structure equals function. The protein machines that do virtually all of the myriad biochemical jobs within every living cell sometimes require the presence of a molecule or two of an elemental substance — copper, iron, manganese, chromium, or what have you — so they can assume just the […]

Pancreatic cancer cells are known for their ability to thrive under extreme conditions of low nutrients and oxygen, a trait known in the cancer field as “austerity.” The cells’ remarkable resistance to starvation is one reason why pancreatic cancer is so deadly. Now researchers have identified a compound from a […]

For years, it’s remained an open question: What effects do dietary supplements such as high doses of vitamin D or omega-3 fatty acids derived from fish oil have on the risk of diseases such as heart attack, stroke and cancer? While there have been hints along the way, until now, […]

Ovarian cancer claims the lives of more than 14,000 in the U.S. each year, ranking fifth among cancer deaths in women. A multidisciplinary team at Washington University in St. Louis has found an innovative way to use sound and light, or photoacoustic, imaging to diagnose ovarian tumors, which may lead […]

Regulation of gene expression — turning genes on or off, increasing or decreasing their expression — is critical for defining cell identity during development and coordinating cellular activity throughout the cell’s lifetime. The common model of gene regulation imagines the nucleus of the cell as a large space in which […]

Treating brain tumors comes at a steep cost, especially for children. More than half of patients who endure radiation therapy for these tumors experience irreversible cognitive decline, a side-effect that has particularly damaging consequences for younger patients. Up to now, scientists had been unable to test potential strategies to prevent […]

While it’s well reported that black patients are twice as likely as white patients to succumb to sudden cardiac death (SCD), the underlying factors that propel this disparity remain unknown. According to a first-of-its-kind study from Penn Medicine, published online in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, researchers showed that even […]

Simple ovarian cysts are extremely common in women and do not require additional ultrasound surveillance or surgical removal, according to a new study of more than 72,000 women and close to 119,00 pelvic ultrasound exams over a dozen years. The study, a collaboration between UC San Francisco and Kaiser Permanente Washington, found that simple cysts are normal, extremely common in both pre- […]

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders affect an estimated 820,000 to 2.1 million people in the United States, many of whom have co-occurring disorders like heart disease or diabetes that contribute to an increased risk of premature death. Heather Leutwyler, associate professor of Physiological Nursing […]

Premature births can be dangerous and have life-long effects. It is the best for the baby to stay inside for as long as possible in order for him to fully develop in the womb. Now scientists from the University of Adelaide found an interesting way to reduce the risk of […]

Lifting weights for less than an hour a week may reduce your risk for a heart attack or stroke by 40 to 70 percent, according to a new Iowa State University study. Spending more than an hour in the weight room did not yield any additional benefit, the researchers found. […]

Ball lands in cup; cup triggers spring; spring clamps lever tightly onto ball. That’s a rough description of newly discovered cellular mechanisms that eliminate T cells that may cause autoimmune disorders. Although the mechanisms are intertwined with biochemical processes, they also work mechanically, grasping, tugging and clamping, say researchers at the Georgia Institute […]

In a new study, recently published in the journal Preventive Medicine, Assistant Professor Susan Mason from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health ruled out poor food choices and eating practices in the childhood home as a major factor in the development of obesity in adults who were maltreated. Mason acquired observational survey data […]

So audacious was Marcus Bray’s experiment that even he feared it would fail. In the system inside cells that translates genetic code into life, he replaced about 1,000 essential linchpins with primitive substitutes to see if the translational system would survive and function. It seemed impossible, yet it worked swimmingly, […]

In a process known as directed evolution, scientists reengineer biomolecules to find ones that perform beneficial new functions. The field is revolutionizing drug development, chemical engineering and other applications, but to realize its promise involves painstaking and time-consuming laboratory work. In a study published in the journal Cell, University of California, […]

Scientists have long known that cancer can hijack a cell’s existing regulatory circuitry and transform healthy cells into deadly malignancies. But a new discovery from UC San Francisco demonstrates that cancer is more than just a mutineer that seizes control of the cell’s administrative operations – it’s also a clever […]

Sadly, dementia is in the cards for many people. Detected early it can be slowed down, which is why scientists are looking for new, more accurate early diagnosis measures. Now researchers at UCL have found that neck scan could predict risk of developing cognitive decline. This new idea is based […]

Valerie Chang kept waking up breathless in the middle of the night. As a regular swimmer and non-smoker, she figured it was a fluke, a remnant of her childhood asthma, perhaps. But after a lung test, doctors told her that she had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); her lung function […]

An innovative San Francisco program of community choirs for older adults found that singing in a choir reduced loneliness and increased interest in life, but did not improve cognition or physical function, according to a study by researchers at UC San Francisco. The program – Community of Voices – was a collaboration […]

Genetics may predispose some people to both Alzheimer’s disease and high levels of blood lipids such as cholesterol, a common feature of cardiovascular disease, according to a new study by an international team of researchers led by scientists at UC San Francisco and Washington University School of Medicine in St. […]

All vertebrates need muscles to function; they are the most abundant tissue in the human body and are integral to movement. In a recent article published in Nature Communications, an international team of researchers discovered two proteins essential to the development of skeletal muscle. This research, led by Jean-François Côté, a […]

We all start out as a clump of identical cells. As these cells divide and multiply, they gradually take on distinct identities, acquiring the traits necessary to form, for instance, muscle tissue, bone, or nerves. A recent study from Rockefeller scientists offers new insight into how these cellular identities are […]

People with autoimmune diseases such as psoriasis, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis are at high risk of developing cardiovascular disease, even though none of these conditions seem to target the cardiovascular system directly. Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis believe they have begun to understand the […]

Newborn breastfed babies’ saliva combines with breastmilk to release antibacterial compounds that help to shape the bacterial communities (microbiota) in babies’ mouths, biomedical scientists have found. A study led by Dr Emma Sweeney and Adjunct Associate Professor Christine Knox, from QUT’s Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, with colleagues at the […]