General

Scientists have identified a group of drugs that may help stop a leading cause of vision loss after making an unexpected discovery that overturns a fundamental belief about DNA. The drugs, known as nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, or NRTIs, are commonly used to treat HIV. The new discovery suggests that […]

The immune system is an extremely complex organ system capable of fighting disease. However, it can also create disease because immune cells may—so to speak—run riot and start attacking the healthy cells of the body. This very delicate balance has always fascinated Professor Sine Reker Hadrup, and she has embarked […]

A Canadian-led research project has confirmed that it is safe to procure organs for transplant from dying patients once the heart has stopped for a full five minutes, in newly published findings in the New England Journal of Medicine. The researchers monitored blood pressure and electrocardiographic (ECG) waveforms in 631 dying patients following […]

Blocking seizures after a head injury could slow or prevent the onset of dementia, according to new research by University of Alberta biologists. “Traumatic brain injury is a major risk factor for dementia, but the reason this is the case has remained mysterious,” said Ted Allison, co-author and professor in the Department […]

Both inactivated and live-attenuated vaccines generally produce an adequate immune response and are safe to use in children suffering from autoimmune diseases treated with all but the most potent immunosuppressants, according to a research review. The team examined 37 original articles: 25 studied the inactivated vaccines influenza; hepatitis A virus; […]

A new study from scientists of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology in Plön, Germany, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing shows that the potential genetic burden of mutations arising from retrogenes is significantly greater than originally thought. Genetic information is stored in DNA and transcribed as […]

Childhood trauma could affect the trajectory of multiple sclerosis development and response to treatment in adulthood, a new study in mice found. Mice that had experienced stress when young were more likely to develop the autoimmune disorder and less likely to respond to a common treatment, researchers at the University […]

There are a great many ways to influence cellular metabolism to modestly slow the pace of aging, but few of them are of lll that much interest from a practical point of view, as a basis for therapies that might meaningfully extend human life spans. If an approach involves improvements […]

Biological sensors developed by MIT spinout Glympse Bio could help clinicians make decisions for individual patients. In the fight against severe diseases like cancer, patients often endure a discomforting, weekslong gap between when treatment begins and when doctors can tell if it’s working. The problem often stems from an inability […]

Near-infrared hyperspectral imaging combined with machine learning can visualize tumors in deep tissue and covered by a mucosal layer, scientists show Gastrointestinal stromal tumors are tumors of the digestive tract that grow underneath the mucus layer covering our organs. Because they are deep inside the tissue, these “submucosal tumors” are […]

ETH researchers have found a gene mutation that causes the sperm of boars to immobilize. Their discovery will help pig breeders to exclude animals with this genetic defect from breeding in future. In pig farming, natural mating between a boar and a sow has become rare. It is much more […]

Researchers from Karolinska Institutet and Gothenburg University have investigated a potential new drug target for the rare genetic disorder Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome that causes accelerated aging in children. The findings in mice are published in the scientific journal eLife and may aid in the development of more effective treatments for […]