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A new study in Neuron offers clues to why autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is more common in boys than in girls. National Institutes of Health scientists found that a single amino acid change in the NLGN4 gene, which has been linked to autism symptoms, may drive this difference in some […]

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 […]