General

Biological clocks are ticking everywhere throughout our body. They trigger the release of the hormone melatonin during sleep, leading to the secretion of digestive enzymes at lunchtime or keep us awake at the busiest moments of the day. A “master clock” in the brain synchronises all the subsidiary ones in […]

A new cancer treatment with the ability to normalise tumour blood vessels and boost the body’s immune system has been developed by researchers from The University of Western Australia and the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research. Many tumours can become resistant to the body’s immune system by creating a […]

In a first-of-its-kind study, University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers report that a blood sample, or liquid biopsy, can reveal which patients will respond to checkpoint inhibitor-based immunotherapies. “We can help predict response to immunotherapy by measuring the number of mutations in circulating tumor DNA using a […]

In a new study, Yale researchers have described how nervous systems and immune systems talk to each other to control metabolism and inflammation. Their finding furthers scientists’ understanding of why older adults fail to burn stored belly fat, which raises the risk of chronic disease. The study also points to […]

Like a string of pearls, the spine is made of a series of similar vertebrae. A so-called segmentation clock creates this repetitive arrangement in developing embryos: Each time the clock ticks, a vertebra starts to form. In a paper published Sept. 21 in Cell, Harvard Medical School genetics professor Olivier Pourquié—whose lab […]

Cancers driven by mutations in the KRAS gene are among the most deadly. For decades, researchers have tried unsuccessfully to directly target mutant KRAS proteins as a means to treat tumors. Instead of targeting mutant KRAS itself, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine are now looking […]

In 2014, new combination therapies to treat patients with metastatic melanoma hit the market, helping extend the lives of those with this aggressive disease. Yet unfortunately, after several months of treatment, almost all patients on the regimen eventually relapsed. A study out this week in Nature, led by scientists from the University […]

Tufts University researchers had recently discovered the brain to take an active part in bodily development well before movement or other independent behaviours occur. “Our research shows that the brain is engaged before that [autonomous activity], before it’s even fully built,” said corresponding author on the paper Michael Levin, PhD. […]

Adding or removing water from a stem cell can change the destiny of the cell, researchers have discovered in a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS). The research found that altering the volume of a cell changed […]

In contrast to previous assumptions, the hippocampus, a brain structure that is central to learning and memory, does not complete its maturation until adolescence. Scientists of the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, the Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, and the University of Stirling were […]

The first symptom of Parkinson's disease is often an impaired sense of smell. This neurodegenerative disease primarily causes irreparable damage to nerve cells in a brain area involved in movement control. How it affects the olfactory system has been unclear. Researchers at the Max Planck Research Unit for Neurogenetics in […]

Freshwater planarians, found around the world and commonly known as “flatworms,” are famous for their regenerative prowess. Through a process called “fission,” planarians can reproduce asexually by simply tearing themselves into two pieces— a head and a tail—which then go on to form two new worms within about a week. […]