General

Scientists at Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital have used a novel gene-editing approach to salvage the hearing of mice with genetic hearing loss and succeeded in doing so without any apparent off-target effects as a result of the treatment. The animals—known as Beethoven mice—were treated for the same […]

New findings show how a genetically aberrant, fused protein promotes a rare form of liver cancer in adolescents and young adults. The researchers also saw that a certain mix of drugs could target the fused protein and the enzymes that it recruits.  In the lab, this drug combination slowed down […]

Thirdhand smoke can damage epithelial cells in the respiratory system by stressing cells and causing them to fight for survival, a research team led by scientists at the University of California, Riverside, has found. The finding could assist physicians treating patients exposed to thirdhand smoke. “Our data show that cells […]

As medical science links certain genetic mutations with a greater variety of cancers, the names for these risk syndromes are falling out of step. It’s more than just a name. These outdated designations could keep the tests from being offered to many people and families whose health is at stake […]

Findings from a study of patients who received radioactive iodine (RAI) treatment for hyperthyroidism show an association between the dose of treatment and long-term risk of death from solid cancers, including breast cancer. The study, led by researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of […]

A new technology discovered by a team including UConn School of Dental Medicine researchers records cellular communication in real time – providing a closer look into the dynamics of cell secretion and a greater understanding of how cells repair tissue. Kshitiz, an assistant professor (who goes by just his first […]

Arriving early or late can have big consequences for early-stage cells that gather to form a new kidney, USC researchers discovered. The scientists showed how progenitor cells that form the kidney’s filtering units, called nephrons, mature into entirely different types of cells based on when they reach the scene of […]

USC researchers have discovered a secret sauce in the brain’s vascular system that preserves the neurons needed to keep dementia and other diseases at bay. The finding, in a mouse model of the human brain, focuses on a specific cell called a pericyte and reveals that it plays previously unknown […]

Our mucosal surfaces are constantly exposed to numerous bacterial species, some of which can induce DNA damage in host cells. Normally this remains inconsequential, as the rapid turnover of the mucosa means damaged cells are shed within days. However, if the long-lived stem cells that continually give rise to new […]

Different African killifish species vary extensively in their lifespans – from just a few months to several years. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing in Cologne investigated how different lifespans have evolved in nature and discovered a fundamental mechanism by which detrimental mutations accumulate in the […]

Understanding the normal molecular interactions could aid in the development of therapeutics to prevent the formation of clumps associated with ALS and frontotemporal dementia. Most of the well-studied proteins in our bodies are like metal; some can change shape easily, like aluminum foil, and others are rigid, like steel beams, […]

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 […]