Related Science News

Biologists have long wondered how complex organisms contain a variety of dramatically different types of cells with specialized functions, even though all of those cells are genetically identical. New research reveals how proteins, called “pioneer transcription factors,” help turn on key genes that give cell types their unique properties and […]

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have discovered a new genetic disorder characterized by developmental delays and malformations of the brain, heart and facial features. Named linkage-specific-deubiquitylation-deficiency-induced embryonic defects syndrome (LINKED), it is caused by a mutated version of the OTUD5 gene, which interferes with key molecular steps in embryo development. […]

Nowadays, the fashion trends and cosmetics industry promote fitness and “perfect” body types. Strict following of these “recommendations” may have harmful consequences. Social media do not help, promoting standards – to stay healthy and beautiful, measured in clothing sizes. Usually, there is no room for being “just average”. A larger […]

The United States is facing an epidemic of liver disease linked to obesity. Cases of nonalcoholic fatty liver have more than doubled in the past two decades, now affecting around one-quarter of the country’s population. The condition leads to inflammation and scarring in the liver, similar to that caused by […]

University of Alberta researchers have discovered a potential biomarker—the response of a particular reflex in the body dubbed the Hoffmann reflex—that would help surgeons deliver deep brain stimulation (DBS) more precisely and effectively to patients with advanced Parkinson’s disease. The work, led by U of A neurosurgeon Tejas Sankar, was recently published in […]

Several genetic mutations previously linked to breast cancer and included on commercial genetic tests, including direct-to-consumer tests, were found not to increase a woman’s risk of disease, according to a population study of more than 64,000 women published online in the New England Journal of Medicine from several institutions, including Penn Medicine. […]

The colons of African Americans and people of European descent age differently, new research reveals, helping explain racial disparities in colorectal cancer – cancer that killed beloved “Black Panther” star Chadwick Boseman at only 43. Scientists led by UVA Health’s Dr Li Li and Graham Casey, along with Matt Devall […]

Although prostate cancer is one the most common types of malignancy in men, diagnosis is typically made on the basis of the Prostate-specific antigen (PSA), with an accuracy as low as 30%. Given how unreliable PSA-based testing can often be, many patients require invasive biopsy which often leaves them with […]

A fundamental process by which cellular components are degraded is Autophagy. Defects in Autophagy pathways are strongly associated with multiple human diseases, including neurodegenerative disorders and cancer. Despite their importance, to date, a comprehensive characterization of the extent and selectivity for Autophagic degrades has remained largely uncharacterized. Researchers at Karolinska […]

Liverpool cancer researchers have contributed to important new findings of the positive role of androgens in breast cancer treatment, with immediate implications for women with oestrogen receptor-positive (ER-positive) advanced disease. ER-positive breast cancer is the most common type of breast cancer diagnosed today, accounting for around 75 out of every […]

One more piece of the puzzle has fallen into place behind a new drug whose anti-cancer potential was developed at the University of Alberta and is set to begin human trials this year, thanks to newly published research. “The results provide more justification and rationale for starting the clinical trial in […]

NineSigma, representing Suntory Global Innovation Center Ltd. (“Client”), which serves as the Suntory Group's basic research department, seeks technologies for making a minimally invasive assessment of cellular senescence in the human clinical setting. The Client has in mind biomarker-based assessment methods but welcomes proposals for a wide range of other approaches. Anti-ageing is […]

Researchers at the University of Adelaide have found new evidence about the positive role of androgens in breast cancer treatment with immediate implications for women with estrogen receptor-driven metastatic disease. Published in Nature Medicine, the international study conducted in collaboration with the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, looked at the […]

There is currently no cure for osteoarthritis, but a group of scientists believe they’ve discovered a method through which a simple knee injection could potentially stop the disease’s effects. These researchers showed that they could target a specific protein pathway in mice, put it into overdrive and halt cartilage degeneration […]

The abnormal immune system response that causes multiple sclerosis (MS) by attacking and damaging the central nervous system can be triggered by the lack of a specific fatty acid in fat tissue, according to a new Yale study. The finding suggests that dietary change might help treat some people with […]

Fisetin is perhaps the most intriguing of the first generation senolytic compounds, those capable of selectively destroying senescent cells in old tissues and thus producing rejuvenation to a meaningful degree. Senolytics have been demonstrated in animal studies to reverse many age-related conditions to a greater degree than any other approaches. […]

Imagine going to a surgeon to have a diseased or injured organ switched out for a fully functional, laboratory-grown replacement. This remains science fiction and not reality because researchers today struggle to organize cells into the complex 3D arrangements that our bodies can master on their own. There are two […]

A scientific study carried out by the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) and the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM) has produced a mathematical description of the way in which a tumour invades the epithelial cells and automatically quantifies the progression of the tumour and the remaining cell islands after […]

Human genes have an impact on shaping our gut ecosystem according to new evidence from the international MIBioGen consortium study involving more than 18,000 people. The findings, led by the University Medical Center Groningen, Netherlands and involving researchers at the University of Bristol, are published today [18 January] in Nature […]

As the number of people who have fought off SARS-CoV-2 climbs ever higher, a critical question has grown in importance: How long will their immunity to the novel coronavirus last? A new Rockefeller study offers an encouraging answer, suggesting that those who recover from COVID-19 are protected against the virus […]

Targeted neuromodulation tailored to individual patients’ distinctive symptoms is an increasingly common way of correcting misfiring brain circuits in people with epilepsy or Parkinson’s disease. Now, scientists at UC San Francisco’s Dolby Family Center for Mood Disorders and Weill Institute for Neurosciences have demonstrated a novel personalized neuromodulation approach that – at least in […]

Anyone who has tried and failed to meditate knows that our minds are rarely still. But where do they roam? New research led by UC Berkeley has come up with a way to track the flow of our internal thought processes and signal whether our minds are focused, fixated or […]

Today's open access research paper is a reminder of one of the more direct mechanistic links between vascular aging and brain aging. Blood vessels stiffen with age, becoming progressively worse at the necessary task of contracting and relaxing in response to circumstances. This is in part due to cross-linking in […]

In addition to a skin rash, many eczema sufferers also experience chronic itching, but sometimes that itching can become torturous. Worse, antihistamines — the standard treatment for itching and allergy — often don’t help. New research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis indicates that allergens in the environment often […]

Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM), a rare form of lymphoma, does not have any known cure and only one FDA-approved treatment making it challenging to treat patients. Researchers at the University of New Hampshire took the novel approach of targeting specific cell proteins that control DNA information using inhibitors, or drugs, that […]

There is far too much incrementalism in the present research and development of therapies to treat aging. Much of the field is engaged in mimicking calorie restriction or repurposing existing drugs that were found to increase mouse life span by a few percentage points. This will not meaningfully change the […]

In the 1920s, German chemist Otto Warburg discovered that cancer cells don’t metabolize sugar the same way that healthy cells usually do. Since then, scientists have tried to figure out why cancer cells use this alternative pathway, which is much less efficient. MIT biologists have now found a possible answer […]

Researchers at the Center for Computational Imaging and Personalized Diagnostics (CCIPD) at Case Western Reserve University have preliminarily validated an artificial intelligence (AI) tool to predict how likely the disease is to recur following surgical treatment for prostate cancer. The tool, called RadClip, uses AI algorithms to examine a variety of data, […]

Haruhiko Morita had never aspired to be an entrepreneur, but his astute foresight was instrumental in landing his current position of a chief executive officer at Modalis Therapeutics Corp. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, while Morita was an undergraduate and graduate student at the Faculty of Engineering and […]

Frailty is usually accompanied by greater immune dysfunction, given that chronic inflammation is a strong component of both immune aging and the various dysfunctions of frailty. Thus frail individuals exhibit a worse response to vaccinations intended to prevent infectious disease. This is unfortunate, as this is the population in greatest […]