Related Science News

New research from Florida State University identifies a novel gene that plays a functional role in cocaine addiction.   In a new paper in the journal Biological Psychiatry, Assistant Professor of Biological Science Jian Feng and his colleagues reveal that cocaine use in mice resulted in changes to what’s called long noncoding RNA […]

Stem cell research is the prerequisite for regenerative medicine, which with the help of the body's cells recreates and heals important organs. Now, researchers at Karolinska Institutet, SickKids in Canada and KU Leuven in Belgium have found a method for defining the most general type of stem cells, that can […]

Using stem cells to regenerate parts of the skull, scientists corrected skull shape and reversed learning and memory deficits in young mice with craniosynostosis, a condition estimated to affect 1 in every 2,500 infants born in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The only […]

In a large-scale study of electronic health records, Vanderbilt University Medical Center investigators have determined the prevalence of functional seizures and characterized comorbidities associated with them. Functional seizures are sudden attacks or spasms that look like epileptic seizures but do not have the aberrant brain electrical patterns of epilepsy. The research […]

Vanderbilt engineers have received a $1.49 million National Science Foundation grant to advance the science of organoids with cells that organize themselves and mimic the development of human brain structures. Organoids are lab-produced groups of cells that serve as research models for human physiology in development and disease, including design […]

Parents are often struggling with hearing aid management for their newborn babies, according to research by the University of Manchester and NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) experts. The study of 81 babies, assessed at three to seven months and again at seven to 21 months, shows hearing aid use […]

Research suggests the products of transcription — RNA molecules — regulate their own production through a feedback loop. At any given moment in the human body, in about 30 trillion cells, DNA is being “read” into molecules of messenger RNA, the intermediary step between DNA and proteins, in a process […]

People who consume high levels of vitamin C and E in their diet may have a lower risk of Parkinson’s disease than people who get only small amounts of these nutrients, according to a new study from University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy, and Karolinska Institutet. The study was published in Neurology. […]

It is estimated that the majority of pregnancies that fail do so within the first seven days after fertilization, before the embryo implants into the uterus. In this time period, a complicated cascade of events occurs with precise timing. One particularly important process is called polarization, when the individual cells […]

Naturopathic medicine, or herbal medicine, is all the rage, especially among young people. But how much of this is supported by science? Ginger is known to have anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative effects, making it a popular herbal supplement to treat inflammatory diseases. And according to a Michigan Medicine led study published […]

Researchers have successfully used a DNA-editing technique to extend the lifespan of mice with the genetic variation associated with progeria,  a rare genetic disease that causes extreme premature aging in children and can significantly shorten their life expectancy. The study was published in the journal Nature, and was a collaboration between the National Human Genome Research […]

The nucleus of a cell is well-shielded by a double membrane to protect its most sensitive possession—its DNA. Anything that enters or exits must pass through the nuclear pores, cylindrical structures made of hundreds of proteins. Scientists have made great advances in figuring out the architecture of the pore by reconstructing each […]

Six UC San Francisco researchers have won an Endeavor Award to build a new research collaborative at the university focused on decoding the “rulebook” of metastatic cancer as a pathway to new treatments. The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research established the awards to support research challenges that are too far-reaching for a single […]

Tea is a cosy drink. It reduces stress, calms you down, helps concentrating and sleeping. Tea is especially delicious when it’s cold outside. And, as you may know, people in the UK drink a lot of tea, which is why scientists from the Newcastle University conducted a study to see […]

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated isolation and fears for one very vulnerable group of Americans: the 4.3 million older adults with cognitive impairment, who live alone. As the coronavirus continues to claim more lives and upend others, researchers led by UC San Francisco are calling for tailored services and support for […]

Scientists at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health are breaking new ground to make cancer cells more susceptible to attack by the body’s own immune system. Working in mice, a team led by Jamey Weichert, professor of radiology, and Zachary Morris, professor of human oncology, is combining two […]

A scalpel-free alternative to brain surgery has the potential to benefit people with Parkinson’s disease symptoms that are much more severe on one side of the body, new research suggests. More testing is needed, but the approach, which uses a technology called focused ultrasound, could offer a new option for […]

A new class of protein material that interacts with living cells without being absorbed by them can influence cell signalling by binding and sequestering cell surface receptors, a new study shows. This breakthrough could have far-reaching implications for stem cell research and enable the development of new materials designed to […]

Researchers at Case Western Reserve University and partners in the United States and India are applying the investigative and predictive capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI) to help physicians customize treatments for patients with oral squamous cell carcinomas. Research shows that oral squamous cell carcinomas cancer is already the eighth-most common […]

Brown fat is that magical tissue that you would want more of. Unlike white fat, which stores calories, brown fat burns energy and scientists hope it may hold the key to new obesity treatments. But it has long been unclear whether people with ample brown fat truly enjoy better health. […]

Although some artificial intelligence software tested reasonably well, only one met the performance of human screeners, researchers found. Diabetes continues to be the leading cause of new cases of blindness among adults in the United States. But the current shortage of eye-care providers would make it impossible to keep up with the demand […]

Scientists at the University of California, Irvine have developed a new deep-learning framework that predicts gene regulation at the single-cell level. Deep learning, a family of machine-learning methods based on artificial neural networks, has revolutionized applications such as image interpretation, natural language processing and autonomous driving. In a study published […]

The microbiome comprises trillions of microorganisms living on and inside each of us. Historically, some researchers have guessed at its role in human health, but in the last decade or so genetic sequencing techniques have illuminated this galaxy of microorganisms enough to study it in detail. As researchers unravel the […]

Michael Green, M.D., PhD, noticed that when his patients had cancer that spread to the liver, they fared poorly – more so than when cancer spread to other parts of the body. Not only that, but transformative immunotherapy treatments had little impact for this patient. Uncovering the reason and a […]

Researchers at Oregon State University have found that a few organisms in the gut microbiome play a key role in type 2 diabetes, opening the door to possible probiotic treatments for a serious metabolic disease affecting roughly one in 10 Americans. “Type 2 diabetes is in fact a global pandemic […]

The simple act of breathing is among the most familiar ways we convert nutrients to energy – inhaling molecules of oxygen and harmlessly breathing out unwanted material. But when our usual disposal mechanisms fail, the accumulated electrons can produce the kind of toxic event that causes many diseases, including cancer. […]

High blood pressure appears to accelerate a decline in cognitive performance in middle-aged and older adults, according to new research published today in Hypertension, an American Heart Association journal. Nearly half of American adults have high blood pressure or hypertension. Having high blood pressure is a risk factor for cognitive […]

A Washington state woman is recovering after a landmark organ transplant that she hopes will end her nearly decade-long bout with cancer. Kris Anderson, 51, of Redmond, received a lobe of liver from her daughter Lauren, 26, on Dec. 8. It was the Pacific Northwest’s first living-donor liver transplant for metastatic colorectal […]

Resveratrol and derived molecules were for a time excessively hyped as a means to trigger some of the beneficial metabolic response produced by calorie restriction, by acting on sirtuins, and thus have a positive impact on aging. The company Sirtris was founded to develop this area of research into a […]

Senolytic drugs are those capable of selectively destroying senescent cells. A range of such therapies are at various stages of development, including those that have reached initial human clinical trials. Senescent cell accumulation is an important cause of degenerative aging, and the removal of such cells via senolytic treatments has […]