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Imagine standing in a lumberyard and being asked to build a house — without blueprints or instructions of any kind. The materials are all in front of you, but that doesn’t mean you have the first idea how to get from point A to point B. That was the situation […]

Novel high-sensitivity detector could aid in early diagnosis. A prime suspect in the onset of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases is a normally benign enzyme that is essential to proper development of the nervous system. Under certain conditions, however, its chemical structure changes and it goes rogue, contributing to the neural […]

Pretty much all of your cells have the same DNA code, yet they come in an astonishing number of forms. Some cells contract so the heart can beat or your muscles flex. Others have jobs in the immune system, tuned to recognize different threats. Cells can change their behavior, altering […]

Up to two decades before people develop the characteristic memory loss and confusion of Alzheimer’s disease, damaging clumps of protein start to build up in their brains. Now, a blood test to detect such early brain changes has moved one step closer to clinical use. Researchers from Washington University School […]

Brain metastases are the final, lethal consequence of many aggressive cancers, and researchers are racing to discover ways of preventing these intractable growths from developing. A new Tel Aviv University study finds a known adjuvant — an ingredient used in some vaccines that helps create a stronger immune response — that contains […]

“Music evokes emotion, and emotion can bring with it memory… it brings back the feeling of life when nothing else can.” This quote by well-known British neurologist Oliver Sacks (author of Awakenings) shows the power of music. Indeed, like the aroma of cookies baking, a familiar song can bring us back to […]

Contrary to popular belief, most older Americans with advancing dementia remain in their own homes — many until they die. But a new study by researchers at UC San Francisco has revealed that this population may endure more pain and have more complex or unaddressed medical needs than their counterparts […]

A quirk of the body clock that lures some people to sleep at 8 p.m., enabling them to greet the new day as early as 4 a.m., may be significantly more common than previously believed. So-called advanced sleep phase — previously believed to be very rare — may affect at […]

A combination of two different kinds of heart cells, derived from stem cells, might be key to designing an effective graft for repairing damaged hearts. During embryonic development, cells originating in the epicardium – the protective outer wall of the heart – are pivotal in certain aspects of how the […]

Researchers have opened up a possible avenue for new cancer therapies that don’t have the side effects that oftentimes accompany many current cancer treatments by identifying a protein modification that specifically supports proliferation and survival of tumor cells. Depending on the kind of cancer and the type of treatment, a […]

Paper is at the heart of an experimental device developed by Rice University bioengineers to study heart disease. They are using paper-based structures that mimic the layered nature of aortic valves, the tough, flexible tissues that keep blood flowing through the heart in one direction only. The devices allow the engineers […]

Scientists at Magee-Womens Research Institute (MWRI), collaborating with clinicians at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital and UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh report two cases in which young transgender women attempted to recover their fertility after starting and stopping gender-affirming medications. The study, published in Pediatrics, found that one transgender woman was able to produce viable sperm after a […]

The Michelson Prizes are annual awards of $150,000 that support young investigators under the age of 35 who are using disruptive concepts and inventive processes to significantly advance human immunology and vaccine and immunotherapy discovery research for major global diseases. The Prizes are funded by the Michelson Medical Research Foundation […]

Yale investigators have shown that the combination of a vaccine and a medicated cream is a promising strategy to dramatically reduce the recurrence of genital herpes. Their study, co-led by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and University of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, was published in the journal npj Vaccines. […]

Allergies can be life-threatening when they cause anaphylaxis, an extreme reaction with constriction of the airways and a sudden drop in blood pressure. Scientists have identified a subtype of immune cell that drives the production of antibodies(link is external) associated with anaphylaxis and other allergic reactions. The research was funded by […]

Though food allergy affects more than 4.8 million children in the United States, no approved preventative treatments currently exist. While experimental desensitization strategies are available in research settings, people with food allergies must avoid known allergens and are advised to carry injectable epinephrine to prevent potentially life-threatening allergic reactions caused […]

Immunotherapy as a treatment for advanced solid organ tumors has rapidly evolved over the past decade, often yielding remarkable results. However, its use has also given way to new adverse effects, including drug-induced gastrointestinal and liver toxicities. “Checkpoint inhibitors are a game changer for a lot of oncology patients with […]

You definitely have smelled it before, Whether it’s your grandparents or complete strangers, old people have a very specific smell. Some people describe it as musty, others – as stale of even medical. But what causes it? And why so many older people smell so alike? Well, part of the […]

How often do you leave notes for yourself on your phone? Most people do it almost every day. It is very convenient – we write something down and our phones remind us about it whenever we set them to. But how this habit affects your memory? Scientists from the University […]

Time is not good for us. As we age, condition of our bodies start to decline right to the cellular level. A lot of the age-related gastrointestinal problems can be traced to ageing cells of the intestinal epithelium. But now scientists from the University of Helsinki and Karolinska Institutet found […]

Feverfew is a common flowering garden plant. It has small flowers and looks rather lovely, but it is also used as medicine. In fact, it is sold in health food shops as a remedy for migraine and other aches and pains. Now scientists from the University of Birmingham were able […]

Invisible illness – this is how various mental conditions are sometimes described. For example, you cannot really see dementia. Or can you? Scientists from the University of Queensland used super-resolution microscopy to see key molecules in living brain cells. This may help understanding memory formation and the mechanisms of dementia. […]

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have discovered a new signal that cancers seem to use to evade detection and destruction by the immune system. The scientists have shown that blocking this signal in mice implanted with human cancers allows immune cells to attack the cancers. Blocking other “don’t eat […]

Most multicellular organisms on Earth—including you—begin as a single fertilized egg and then undergo a complex choreography of cellular growth to become a functioning adult composed of countless cells. Understanding this process is a major goal in the field of developmental biology. Now, using the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as a model […]

Hormone replacement therapy is a common treatment for menopause-related symptoms, and new research from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health reinforces the importance of tailoring hormone therapy to each patient, based on her individual risk factors for cardiovascular disease. In a study published in the Journal of the American […]

Researchers have found that anti-inflammatory biologic therapies used to treat moderate to severe psoriasis can significantly reduce coronary inflammation in patients with the chronic skin condition. Scientists said the findings are particularly notable because of the use of a novel imaging biomarker, the perivascular fat attenuation index (FAI), that was […]

A fundamental research study on microRNAs, tiny molecules that help control gene activity inside plants and animals, has made an unexpected connection to a molecule associated with multiple genetic diseases. Researchers at the Institute for Quantitative Biosciences discovered that a protein, VCP, known for its involvement in neurodegenerative diseases also […]

Moving to a new residence during the first three months of pregnancy is linked to a heightened risk of premature birth and low birthweight, as well as a slightly higher risk of a smaller-than-expected-size baby, according to new research from the University of Washington published online in the Journal of […]

We expect quality from our healthcare systems and institutions. We need to be sure that we are getting services of the highest order and we want consistency. However, we are certainly not getting it. Scientists from the University of Adelaide and Flinders University found that cardiac device complications vary widely […]

It is difficult to comprehend how many people are dealing with chronic pain every day. Studies have shown that 30 % of people involved in motor vehicle accidents will go on to develop a chronic pain. And then there are people with all kinds of conditions, injuries and illnesses causing […]