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The psychedelic drug psilocybin, a naturally occurring compound found in some mushrooms, has been studied as a potential treatment for depression for years. But exactly how it works in the brain and how long beneficial results might last is still unclear. In a new study, Yale researchers show that a […]

Academics at Cardiff University carried out a systematic review of 118 published observational studies in patients with 18 different cancers. They pooled the results and found that in a total of about 250,000 patients with cancer who reported taking aspirin, this was associated with a reduction of about 20% in […]

A new study involving Liverpool researchers has shown that many of the symptoms in fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) are caused by antibodies that increase the activity of pain-sensing nerves throughout the body. The results show that fibromyalgia is a disease of the immune system, rather than the currently held view that […]

A year after University at Buffalo scientists demonstrated that it was possible to produce millions of mature human cells in a mouse embryo, they have published a detailed description of the method so that other laboratories can do it, too. The ability to produce millions of mature human cells in […]

In addition to sickening and taking the lives of millions across the globe, COVID-19 complicated patient care in a range of less direct ways, from increased incidence of heart attacks to decreased cancer screenings.  The virus also increased the risk of complications and death among trauma patients with injuries from car crashes, falls […]

It is not shocking to anyone that fat molecules are tied to heart conditions. Lipids, a term for fatty acids and their derivatives, are the subject of countless papers when it comes to cardiovascular disease. A keyword search for “lipid” on the Journal of the American Heart Association’s website alone returns more than 2,600 results. So, if […]

The question of how reproductive cells like sperm and eggs maintain their DNA integrity during development is at the heart of a new study by student researchers in the lab of molecular biologist Diana Libuda. DNA damage occurs dozens or even hundreds of times within each individual developing sperm or […]

A sizable enough fraction of T cells of the adaptive immune system become senescent in old age to cause major issues. Senescent cells cease replication and secrete a mix of signals that cause harm in numerous different ways: rousing chronic inflammation; disrupting tissue maintenance and structure; encouraging other cells to […]

Microglia are innate immune cells of the central nervous system, responsible for clearing harmful molecular waste, tracking down pathogens, and a range of other supporting roles in the function and tissue maintenance of the brain. Unfortunately microglia are known to become dysfunctional with age: notable more inflammatory, and less capable […]

In cancer research, it’s a common goal to find something about cancer cells — some sort of molecule — that drives their ability to survive, and determine if that molecule could be inhibited with a drug, halting tumor growth. Even better: The molecule isn’t present in healthy cells, so they […]

Researchers have discovered a specific brain region underlying ‘goal-directed behaviour’ – that is, when we consciously do something with a particular goal in mind, for example going to the shops to buy food. The study, published in the journal Neuron, found that marmoset monkeys could no longer make an association between […]

Research has shown that the communities of bacteria that live in a mouse's gut are essential for the animals to exhibit normal social behavior with other mice. Mice that have been bred to be germ-free, without a gut microbiome, display significant antisocial behaviors, such as avoiding a stranger mouse rather […]

Chronic pain is a major global public health challenge that causes significant disability. A new research consortium and national chronic pain data hub could improve outcomes for the many people living with painful and debilitating conditions, such as fibromyalgia, lower back pain, headaches and migraines, thanks to a joint £14 […]

The vast majority of American adults eat a dietary pattern that falls short of meeting national dietary guidelines for cancer prevention, a new study shows. When researchers analyzed the dietary intake of more than 30,000 American adults according to body mass index (BMI), the results also showed that people with […]

The number of people who live past the age of 100 has been on the rise for decades, up to nearly half a million people worldwide. There are, however, far fewer “supercentenarians,” people who live to age 110 or even longer. The oldest living person, Jeanne Calment of France, was 122 […]

The University of Manchester, together with Health Innovation Manchester and its Academic Health Science Centre, are launching a joint venture with the Morningside Group to trial a series of new diagnostics and interventions in clinical and digital health. The venture will look at novel digital health innovations and trial a […]

First generation stem cell therapies, such as those using cells derived from fat tissue, have been shown to reduce chronic inflammation. This effect is produced as a result of signaling from the transplanted cells, which near entirely die rather than surviving to integrate into tissues and perform useful work. Improvements […]

A clinical trial conducted at the University of Louisville has shown for the first time that heart failure treatments using cells derived from the patient’s own bone marrow and heart resulted in improved quality of life and reduced major adverse cardiac events for patients after one year. “This is a […]

Many neurodevelopmental disorders share similar symptoms, such as learning disabilities or attention deficits. A new study from MIT has uncovered a common neural mechanism for a type of cognitive impairment seen in some people with autism and schizophrenia, even though the genetic variations that produce the impairments are different for […]

Not only animals and humans host a complex community of microorganisms – plants do this as well. Researchers at ETH Zurich have recently published two new studies that shed light on fundamental aspects of these close – and often overlooked – relationships. Hundreds of different bacterial species live in and […]

Today's open access paper offers one of a number of different perspectives on the present consensus regarding the causes of individual variance in life expectancy, of differences in species life span, and of changes in human life expectancy over time. Human life expectancy has increased greatly in the modern era, […]

Mechanisms to sense levels of the essential amino acid methionine are one of the more important triggers for the beneficial calorie restriction response in mammals. Since the body doesn't manufacture methionine, it must come from the diet. Either a low calorie diet or a low methionine diet produce broadly similar […]

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and their British colleagues have identified a possible contributory cause of fibromyalgia, a difficult to treat pain condition. In a study on mice and human tissue, the researchers found that fibromyalgia patients’ antibodies played a key part in symptom development. The results, which are published in […]

Cancer is a complex disease, and as such, there is not just a single way to tackle it. While cancer treatments are evolving towards personalised procedures, in most cases standard chemotherapy treatments are still required. In chemotherapy, platinum drugs such as cisplatin (approved 42 years ago by FDA) are used, […]

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the UK – and the second leading cause of death in men – and there is no cure when it spreads to the bone. Dr Toby Phesse and Dr Helen Pearson, from the University’s European Cancer Stem Cell Research Institute, have […]

Michigan Medicine teams complete first procedures using new self-expanding heart valves for chronic pulmonary regurgitation, reducing risks of open heart surgery. Babies born with certain types of congenital heart conditions not only need heart surgery after birth and as infants but again years later as adults. As a result of […]

A diet higher in fatty fish helped frequent migraine sufferers reduce their monthly number of headaches and intensity of pain compared to participants on a diet higher in vegetable-based fats and oils, according to a new study. The findings by a team of researchers from the National Institute on Aging […]

Scientists have long searched in vain for a class of brain cells that could explain the visceral flash of recognition that we feel when we see a very familiar face, like that of our grandmothers. But the proposed “grandmother neuron”—a single cell at the crossroads of sensory perception and memory, […]

Patients with Type 2 diabetes who were prescribed SGLT2 inhibitors lost more weight than patients who received GLP-1 receptor agonists, according to a University at Buffalo-led study. The research, which sought to evaluate the difference in weight loss caused by the antidiabetic medications — both of which work to control […]

Genetic technique edits every chloroplast in a plant, but does not change nuclear DNA of offspring. Breeding better crops through genetic engineering have been possible for decades, but the use of genetically modified plants has been limited by technical challenges and popular controversies. A new approach potentially solves both of […]