General

One of the big challenges in neurobiology is cell classification, a problem compounded by the fact that the same cell type can look different depending on the method of analysis used to classify it — whether by cell shape, gene expression profile, electrophysiological firing pattern, or selective vulnerability to certain […]

The wonder-material graphene could hold the key to unlocking the next generation of advanced, early stage lung cancer diagnosis. A team of scientists from the University of Exeter has developed a new technique that could create a highly sensitive graphene biosensor with the capability to detect molecules of the most […]

Damage to nerves during surgery or after an injury such as a slipped disc can lead to long-term pain. An international collaboration of scientists, led by Alexander Davies and Simon Rinaldi from the University of Oxford, has found that specialised cells within the body’s immune system – Natural Killer cells […]

Two distinct parts of the human brain – the neocortex and the hippocampus (a part of the brain involved in higher-order brain functions) – have been shown to help protect our memories from interfering with one another. Researchers from the Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging at the University of Oxford […]

MIT cancer biologists have discovered a new mechanism that lung tumors exploit to promote their own survival: These tumors alter bacterial populations within the lung, provoking the immune system to create an inflammatory environment that in turn helps the tumor cells to thrive. In mice that were genetically programmed to […]

Search for a description of “p53” and it becomes clear that this human protein is widely known for its cancer-fighting benefits, leading to its renown as “the guardian of the genome.” Scientists at the University of California San Diego have published a new study challenging that description. Studying the “wild type” version […]

Computer simulations show for the first time that when a patient has history of an enlarged prostate, tumors in the prostate barely grow at all. WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — For men older than about 60, an enlarged prostate means feeling the urge to make a pit stop way too often […]

A new compound based on Iridium, a rare metal which landed in the Gulf of Mexico 66 M years ago, hooked onto albumin, a protein in blood, can attack the nucleus of cancerous cells when switched on by light, University of Warwick researchers have found. The treatment of cancer using […]

Human embryo research is a controversial topic that often pits the necessity of biomedical investigation against the moral commitment to protect early human life. A new series of research papers from Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy is discussing human embryos and the related ethical, policy and scientific issues […]

In a new study published in the journal Cell, the team showed that cells determine exactly where they need to be and therefore what body parts they will become by optimizing the use of all information available from the genetic code. This optimization allows each cell to position itself within one cell’s […]

There are many ways to frame the forces that shape this Sunday’s Super Bowl – East Coast vs. West Coast, dynasty (the New England Patriots) vs. upstarts (the Los Angeles Rams). But there’s an even more stark contrast in the matter of age. That is, we have 40-something quarterback Tom […]

Researchers exploring the effects of a long-standing treatment for cystic fibrosis have discovered a potential new target for drugs to treat the disease, which has no cure and typically cuts decades off the lives of patients. The research, a collaboration between the University of Saskatchewan in Canada and UC Berkeley, […]