General

All vertebrates need muscles to function; they are the most abundant tissue in the human body and are integral to movement. In a recent article published in Nature Communications, an international team of researchers discovered two proteins essential to the development of skeletal muscle. This research, led by Jean-François Côté, a […]

We all start out as a clump of identical cells. As these cells divide and multiply, they gradually take on distinct identities, acquiring the traits necessary to form, for instance, muscle tissue, bone, or nerves. A recent study from Rockefeller scientists offers new insight into how these cellular identities are […]

People with autoimmune diseases such as psoriasis, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis are at high risk of developing cardiovascular disease, even though none of these conditions seem to target the cardiovascular system directly. Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis believe they have begun to understand the […]

Newborn breastfed babies’ saliva combines with breastmilk to release antibacterial compounds that help to shape the bacterial communities (microbiota) in babies’ mouths, biomedical scientists have found. A study led by Dr Emma Sweeney and Adjunct Associate Professor Christine Knox, from QUT’s Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, with colleagues at the […]

Scientists have made a major discovery that shines a new, explanatory light on the link between obesity and cancer. Their research confirms why the body’s immune surveillance systems – led by cancer-fighting Natural Killer cells – stutter and fail in the presence of excess fat. Additionally, it outlines possible paths […]

New research suggests that infant girls fed soy formula are more likely to develop severe menstrual pain as young adults. The finding adds to the growing body of literature that suggests exposure to soy formula during early life may have detrimental effects on the reproductive system. The study appears online […]

Studying DNA from more than 1.5 million people, an international team of researchers — led by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of California, San Francisco — has identified points of DNA that increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and also heighten the risk for […]

Our ability to selectively forget distracting memories is shared with other mammals, suggests new research from the University of Cambridge. The discovery that rats and humans share a common active forgetting ability – and in similar brain regions – suggests that the capacity to forget plays a vital role in […]

A new gene therapy can turn certain brain glial cells into functioning neurons, which in turn could help repair the brain after a stroke or during neurological disorders like Alzheimer's or Parkinson’s diseases. In a series of studies in animals, a team of Penn State researchers led by Gong Chen […]

Children who suffer abuse are more likely to age faster, while those who endure food insecurity or neglect may develop more slowly, according to new research led by the University of Washington. Violence, psychological or emotional abuse, deprivation and neglect — adverse childhood experiences — can affect both epigenetic, or […]

Stanford biologist Shripad Tuljapurkar had assumed humans were approaching the limit to their longevity – that’s what previous research had suggested – but what he observed in 50 years of lifespan data was more optimistic than he was. Analyzing the average age of death in people who lived to be […]

Unlike old dogs, old adults can indeed learn new tricks thanks to a protein molecule called netrin. Netrin is known to help set up the healthy nervous system in an infant’s developing brain by directing brain cells to make appropriate connections with other brain cells. New research conducted by scientists […]