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Two new studies by an international team of researchers report progress in using stem cells to develop new therapies for Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease (PMD), a rare genetic condition affecting boys that can be fatal before 10 years of age. Often diagnosed at birth with symptoms of weakness and breathing difficulties, the […]

A new 3D structure for growing cell cultures could enable doctors to test medications on model tumors grown from a patient’s own cells, according to results from a team of engineers and cancer researchers at the University of Michigan. Unlike previous devices, the new structure is made from protein fibers […]

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have developed a new and improved viral vector—a virus-based vehicle that delivers therapeutic genes—for use in gene therapy for sickle cell disease. In advanced lab tests using animal models, the new vector was up to 10 times more efficient at incorporating corrective genes […]

In a virtual world, a knight in full armour sits in front of me, expectantly waiting for me to deal them some playing cards. As the game progresses, a large black spot grows in the middle of my vision. I try to pick up the deck of cards from the […]

There is now a multitude of therapies to treat cancer, from chemotherapy and radiation to immunotherapy and small molecule inhibitors. Chemotherapy is still the most widely used cancer treatment, but chemotherapy attacks all the rapidly dividing cells that it locates within the body, whether they're ultimately harmful or beneficial. A […]

It may sound odd, but most tests for hereditary cancer risks are prescribed by doctors after the patient has been diagnosed with cancer – past the time when such information would be prospectively most useful to the patient. With that backdrop, UW Medicine researchers will explore the feasibility and benefits of administering […]

A biochemist at the University of California, Riverside, has received a grant from the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs, or CDMRP, of the U.S. Department of Defense to develop a novel lead compound to treat breast cancer, the second most commonly diagnosed cancer among American women. John Jefferson Perry, an assistant professor […]

The National Institute on Aging (NIA) is awarding approximately $37 million over five years to a team of international researchers, led by Emory University, to help accelerate the development of promising new therapies that will effectively treat or prevent Alzheimer’s disease (AD). NIA is part of the National Institutes of […]

People with heart disease or defective or artificial heart valves are at increased risk of developing a potentially deadly valve infection. Rutgers researchers reported that new risk factors for this condition have emerged and that an increasing number of patients admitted to hospitals for other diseases are at risk of […]

A team of researchers from The University of Manchester will help “reveal fundamental rules of life” and, potentially, find improved treatments for diseases such as osteoarthritis and healing wounds. The team, from the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health (FBMH) and led by Principal Investigator, Professor Karl Kadler, have been awarded £4.6 […]

At some point in your life you may find yourself in a ditch. You may even live in a bad neighbourhood for a while and be rather poor. And it’s hard. However, it is not just hard on your mental state – it is also quite unhealthy. A new UCL-led […]

There are no wild chickens. It is an animal that humans pretty much invented by breeding wild fowls. And we continue improving our chickens until they have all of our desired characteristics. There are more chickens in the world than any other bird and it is incredibly important for us […]

Researchers have developed a new variant of the gene editing technique CRISPR-Cas9 that has the potential to increase precision during gene therapy in humans. The new variant reduced unintended changes in DNA compared to its wildtype, suggesting it could play a role in gene therapies that require high precision. The […]

Within minutes of breaking a bone, the body begins to repair itself. The immune system sends in cells that act as housekeepers, sweeping out small bone pieces and killing germs. The body forms a soft protective callus to bridge the fracture and blood vessels that grow into the area to […]

Collagen is the most abundant protein in mammals, making up skin, bone, tendons and other soft tissues. Its fibrous nature helps cells to move throughout the body, but until now, it wasn’t clear how the length of fibers influences how cells move in groups. Amit Pathak, a mechanical engineer in […]

A paradox of food insecurity in wealthy countries is its association with excess weight. Now, a study led by researchers at UC San Francisco finds that young adults in the United States who are food insecure not only are slightly more likely to be obese, they are significantly more likely […]

The power of mitochondrial science has the potential to unlock new solutions for heart failure, according to a working group co-chaired by researchers at the University of Washington School of Medicine and Boston University School of Medicine and convened by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute at the National […]

Gene editing will be tested in UW Medicine labs on kidney organoids – tiny, kidney-like structures grown from stem cells – as part of a federally funded effort to develop safe, effective genome editing technologies and therapies. The National Institutes of Health announced the next set of grant awards for the […]

New magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) guided radiation therapy technologies, designed to improve the targeting and treatment of cancerous tumors, have been added to the Department of Radiation Oncology at the Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center,  making it the first site in New England to be able to provide advanced, real-time, pinpoint-accurate MRI-guided […]

Women who experience complications such as preterm births and preeclampsia during their first pregnancy are nearly twice more likely than women without complications to develop high blood pressure later in life — some as quickly as three years later, according to a new study of more than 4,000 women. The study […]

Ovarian cancer is the eighth most commonly occurring cancer in women – it is not very common. And in most cases disease cannot be detected in patients after they receive a course of chemotherapy and a surgery. However, 70 % of ovarian cancer patients relapse and then the disease becomes […]

A nurse scientist at Case Western Reserve University is further expanding her research on aging-related health challenges increasingly faced by people living longer with HIV-AIDS. Allison Webel, an associate professor at the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve, has for more than a decade focused on […]

Nearly 150,000 cancer-related deaths can be attributed annually to Epstein-Barr (EBV) virus, in part because of the lack of effective treatment options. Now, a research team has created the first comprehensive map of interactions between the genes of the virus and host cells in EBV-associated cancers, knowledge that could lead […]

Like the mythological phoenix bird, gene therapy has risen from the ashes and is spreading its wings. September 17 marked 20 years since the death of 19-year-old Jesse Gelsinger in a gene therapy trial. That tragedy halted the fledgling field, with the outlook worsening when, soon after, boys with an […]

Scientists have identified a pair of molecules critical for T cells, part of the immune system, to travel to and populate the lungs. A potential application could be strengthening vaccines against respiratory pathogens such as influenza. The findings were published online in Journal of Experimental Medicine. Much research on immunity […]

A new study, published in Aging Cell, has found that human ageing processes may hinder cancer development. Ageing is one of the biggest risk factor for cancer. However, the biological mechanisms behind this link are still unclear. Each cell in the human body is specialised to carry out certain tasks and […]

Imagine cancer treatment without chemotherapy, radiation or surgery. Just a small aspirin-like pill. Sound like magic? That’s because it kind of is, according to Khaled Barakat, a University of Alberta biophysicist searching for innovative immunotherapies that could help knock out multiple types of cancer simply by empowering the immune system. “We […]

Most women now know to how to check for breast cancer.  And a yearly pap smear to check for cervical cancer is de rigueur.  But awareness of endometrial cancer, not so much. That bothers Dr. Kemi Doll, a gynecologic oncologist with the University of Washington School of Medicine. “The truth is, this is […]

There are 20 amino acids in the standard genetic code. A Rice University professor wants to know what one can do with 21. Rice chemist Han Xiao has landed a $1.8 million National Institutes of Health grant to learn how a custom-designed 21st amino acid could be employed to make life-saving substances — and […]

A new discovery about pancreatic cancer sheds light on how the cancer fuels its growth and may help explain how promising cancer drugs work – and for whom they will fail. The finding one day could help doctors determine which treatments will be most effective for patients, so that they […]