Related Science News

October 30, 2020

Tiny golden bullets could help tackle asbestos-related cancers

Gold nanotubes – tiny hollow cylinders one thousandth the width of a human hair – could be used to treat mesothelioma, a type of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos, according to a team of researchers at the Universities of Cambridge and Leeds. In a study published in journal Small, […]
October 30, 2020

In Vivo Reprogramming Improves Cognitive Function in Old Mice

Reprogramming cells in a living animal, transforming them into induced pluripotent stem cells, has the sound of a bad idea – leading to cancer, damage to structures and tissues, inappropriate signaling, and more. One of the interesting discoveries of recent years is that in vivo reprogramming can be quite beneficial, […]
October 30, 2020

Study to test ‘eye retraining’ treatment for sight loss caused by stroke

Researchers at the University of Liverpool are leading a new study to test the effectiveness of a treatment for ‘retraining’ the eyes for people who experience a loss of vision after stroke. Funded by eye research charity Fight for Sight and the Stroke Association, the study hopes to establish a […]
October 30, 2020

Priming the immune system to attack cancer

Immunotherapies, such as checkpoint inhibitor drugs, have made worlds of difference for the treatment of cancer. Most clinicians and scientists understand these drugs to act on what’s known as the adaptive immune system, the T cells and B cells that respond to specific threats to the body. New research from […]
October 29, 2020

Targeting Aging is the Way to Treat Diseases of Aging

Near all work to date on the treatment of age-related disease has failed to consider or target underlying mechanisms of aging, the molecular damage that accumulates to cause pathology. It has instead involved one or another attempt to manipulate the complicated, disrrayed state of cellular metabolism in late stage disease, […]
October 29, 2020

Study helps explain why motivation to learn declines with age

As people age, they often lose their motivation to learn new things or engage in everyday activities. In a study of mice, MIT neuroscientists have now identified a brain circuit that is critical for maintaining this kind of motivation. This circuit is particularly important for learning to make decisions that […]
October 29, 2020

Brain and spine fluid proteomics may hold Alzheimer’s clues

A major scientific effort is underway to characterize the proteins in the cerebrospinal fluid to improve diagnostics and clinical monitoring assays and discover potential therapies, for Alzheimer’s disease. Several research labs at the University of Washington School of Medicine and Stanford University are pooling their protein science expertise in this […]
October 29, 2020

A patch that could help heal broken hearts

According to the American Heart Association, heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide in recent years.  During a heart attack, or myocardial infarction (MI), a blocked artery and the resulting oxygen deprivation cause massive cardiac cell death, blood vessel impairment and inflammation. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Biomaterials Science […]
October 29, 2020

Estrogenic and anti-estrogenic effects of PFASs could depend on the presence of estrogen

Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) have received intense scrutiny in recent years because of their persistence in the environment and potential endocrine-disrupting effects. However, their estrogenic activities are controversial, with different studies showing apparently contradictory results. Now, researchers reporting in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology have used a combination of laboratory experiments and computer […]
October 28, 2020

OneSkin Launches a Topical Senolytic Treatment

Senescent cells are damaging to tissue function and health when they linger and grow in number, as becomes the case with age. They contribute to the chronic inflammation of aging via their signaling, the senescence-associated secretory phenotype. In skin, senescent cells are most likely responsible for a sizable fraction of […]
October 28, 2020

What do breast cancer cells feel inside the tumour?

Using a new technique, a team of McGill University researchers has found tiny and previously undetectable ‘hot spots’ of extremely high stiffness inside aggressive and invasive breast cancer tumours. Their findings suggest, for the first time, that only very tiny regions of a tumour need to stiffen for metastasis to […]
October 28, 2020

Scientists use clues in the human genome to discover new inflammatory syndrome

Researchers from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have discovered a new inflammatory disorder called vacuoles, E1 enzyme, X-linked, autoinflammatory and somatic syndrome (VEXAS), which is caused by mutations in the UBA1 gene. VEXAS causes symptoms that included blood clots in veins, recurrent fevers, pulmonary abnormalities and vacuoles (unusual cavity-like structures) in […]
October 28, 2020

Low quantity and quality of muscle predicts poor outcomes in colon cancer surgery

New study suggests interventions to help patients build muscle before surgery may improve their outcomes. Low muscle quality and quantity are both predictive of poor outcomes in colon resection surgery, according to a new study published in JAMA Surgery. Carla Prado, a researcher at the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Agricultural, Life & […]
October 28, 2020

Gut bacteria associated with animal-based diet may mitigate risk of cardiovascular disease

Oregon State University researchers have found that a type of common gut bacteria sometimes associated with inflammation, abscesses, bowel disease and cancer has a major silver lining: It seems to help prevent cardiovascular disease. The findings suggest the possibility of probiotic treatments for atherosclerosis, the dangerous buildup of fats, cholesterol […]
October 27, 2020

The Challenge of Achieving Healthy Human Longevity

The big sea change of the past 10 to 15 years in aging research is that the scientific community is now near entirely behind the idea that aging is a viable target for therapy, and that we should be working towards greater healthy human longevity. Prior to this time, aging […]
October 27, 2020

New graphene-based antibody test developed for detecting kidney disease

An interdisciplinary team of researchers from The University of Manchester have developed a new graphene-based testing system for disease-related antibodies, initially targeting a kidney disease called Membranous Nephropathy. The new instrument, based on the principle of a quartz-crystal microbalance (QCM) combined with a graphene-based bio-interface, offers a cheap, fast, simple and sensitive […]
October 27, 2020

Silencing gene expression to cure complex diseases

Many people think of new medicines as bullets, and in the pharmaceutical industry, frequently used terms like “targets” and “hits” reinforce that idea. Immuneering co-founder and CEO Ben Zeskind ’03, PhD ’06 prefers a different analogy. His company, which specializes in bioinformatics and computational biology, sees many effective drugs more […]
October 27, 2020

‘Genome Archeologists’ at U of T and UHN activate immune response against cancer

Researchers at University Health Network and the University of Toronto have identified silent and ancient DNA elements buried in our genomes that, when reactivated, can initiate a powerful immune response to kill colorectal cancer cells. The researchers also discovered a key enzyme that human cancer cells use to prevent that […]
October 27, 2020

Study shows how exercise stalls cancer growth through the immune system

People with cancer who exercise generally have a better prognosis than inactive patients. Now, researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have found a likely explanation of why exercise helps slow down cancer growth in mice: Physical activity changes the metabolism of the immune system’s cytotoxic T cells and thereby improves […]
October 27, 2020

How Stem Cells Choose their Careers

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” is a question it seems like every child gets asked. A few precocious ones might answer “a doctor” or “an astronaut,” but most will probably smile and shrug their shoulders. But well before a child could comprehend the question or […]
October 27, 2020

New insights into autoimmune disease

The immune response is a balancing act: Too much can lead to inflammatory or autoimmune disease; too little could lead to a serious infection. Regulatory T cells, or Tregs, are important players in striking this balance, acting as “brakes” on the immune response so it doesn’t go overboard. Consequently, controlling […]
October 27, 2020

Novel Drug Seeds for the Treatment of Intractable and Refractory Autoimmune Diseases

NineSigma, representing a Japanese pharmaceutical company, seeks novel drug seeds that can be applied to the treatment of intractable and refractory autoimmune diseases. While proposals for a drug candidate compound are preferred, those with novel unique mechanisms, concepts, or ideas are also welcome to participate. The client, specializing in autoimmune diseases […]
October 27, 2020

Cancer's Dangerous Renovations to our Chromosomes Revealed

Cancer remodels the architecture of our chromosomes so the disease can take hold and spread, University of Virginia researchers have revealed. This remodelling is important because the arrangement of the components in our chromosomes actually affects the workings of our genes. With these renovations, cancer begins making a comfortable home […]
October 27, 2020

Researchers discover link between microRNA and metabolic disorders

In a study published in the journal Cell,  UC Berkeley Nutritional Sciences and Toxicology professor Anders Näär led a group of researchers from 12 institutions in the United States and Europe, to better understand a region on the second human chromosome previously linked to both the digestion of milk and metabolic disorders. They […]