General

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- […]