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Human embryo research is a controversial topic that often pits the necessity of biomedical investigation against the moral commitment to protect early human life. A new series of research papers from Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy is discussing human embryos and the related ethical, policy and scientific issues […]

In a new study published in the journal Cell, the team showed that cells determine exactly where they need to be and therefore what body parts they will become by optimizing the use of all information available from the genetic code. This optimization allows each cell to position itself within one cell’s […]

There are many ways to frame the forces that shape this Sunday’s Super Bowl – East Coast vs. West Coast, dynasty (the New England Patriots) vs. upstarts (the Los Angeles Rams). But there’s an even more stark contrast in the matter of age. That is, we have 40-something quarterback Tom […]

Researchers exploring the effects of a long-standing treatment for cystic fibrosis have discovered a potential new target for drugs to treat the disease, which has no cure and typically cuts decades off the lives of patients. The research, a collaboration between the University of Saskatchewan in Canada and UC Berkeley, […]

Scientists are making important progress in the battle against a class of devilishly complex human pediatric brain cancers thanks to a new study from a team of Florida State University students and faculty. Among young children, there’s no brain tumor more common than medulloblastoma. But no specific and effective therapy […]

The human body's immune system is like a vast team of special agents. Certain cells called T cells each individually specialize in recognizing a particular intruder, such as the influenza virus or salmonella. Determining a given T cell's target is a critical step in designing personalized treatments for cancers and […]

For children undergoing immunotherapy – a promising treatment for peanut allergies – uncomfortable side effects can induce anxiety, perhaps to the point of skipping doses or dropping treatment entirely. But guiding young patients to the mindset that uncomfortable side effects are a sign that treatment is working can help reduce […]

The team, at the University’s European Cancer Stem Cell Research Institute, found they could stop gastric cells dividing and growing by deleting a particular cell-surface receptor implicated in the function of stem cells. Dr Toby Phesse, Cardiff University, said: “The prognosis of gastric cancer is very poor, with very few […]

Harvard Medical School geneticists have created a new model-in-a-dish of sporadic Alzheimer’s disease, which accounts for more than 90 percent of Alzheimer’s cases and tends to strike people without a family history of the disease. The model marks the first time researchers have identified the same molecular abnormalities across multiple […]

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most common genetic disease of the heart and a leading cause of sudden cardiac death in young people and athletes.Scientists have long known that the condition’s cardinal feature—an unusually thick heart muscle that contracts and relaxes abnormally—is fueled by some glitch in the heart’s molecular machinery. Yet, the spark-plug that […]

In a first-of-its-kind study, scientists at the University of Missouri have helped advance a patient-specific, precision medicine treatment for bone cancer in dogs. By creating a vaccine from a dog’s own tumor, scientists worked with ELIAS Animal Health to target specific cancer cells and avoid the toxic side effects of chemotherapy, while […]

The natural world, with all its diversity, is a popular place for researchers to go looking for new drugs, including those that fight cancer. But there is often a wide gap between finding a plant, sponge, or bacterium that contains a candidate drug, and actually bringing a medicine to the […]

Leukaemia promotes premature ageing in healthy bone marrow cells – according to new research from the University of East Anglia. Findings published today in the journal Blood show that healthy bone marrow cells were prematurely aged by cancer cells around them. It is well known that ageing promotes cancer development. […]

The INTERGROWTH-21st Project, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and led by the University of Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Women’s & Reproductive Health, has already shown that healthy, well-nourished women, free of disease, living in a clean environment and receiving good antenatal care have children with similar skeletal […]

The causes of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are diverse and to some extent, unknown. But without doubt, they are complex, layered and deeply nuanced. In a study published in Translational Psychiatry, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine describe how, in a novel mouse model, epigenetic regulation negatively […]

An 18-month federally-sponsored project led by the Georgia Institute of Technology will develop much-needed curriculum to train workers for the fledgling cell manufacturing industry. Research teams at the University of Georgia (UGA) and the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn), along with four private firms, are also taking part in the $1.4 […]

A University of Maryland-led research team is using a branch of artificial intelligence known as machine learning to better target immunotherapy treatment to those who will benefit. Immunotherapies, which use a person’s own immune system to fight cancer, have produced revolutionary results in recent years, including curing people with previously […]

Cervical cancer was once one of the most common cancers affecting U.S. women and now ranks 14th. The rate has declined sharply with the introduction of the Pap test, a screening procedure that can find changes in the cervix before the cancer develops. The test can also help to find cervical cancer at an […]

The brain’s system for removing waste is driven primarily by the pulsations of adjoining arteries, University of Rochester neuroscientists and mechanical engineers report in a new study. They also show that changes in the pulsations caused by high blood pressure slow the removal of waste, reducing its efficiency. This might […]

Surgery to remove the thymus gland in patients with myasthenia gravis (MG), a rare autoimmune disease affecting neuromuscular function, provides significant clinical benefits for as long as five years after the procedure, according to a paper published in The Lancet Neurology. The study followed 68 patients for up to five years after […]

Americans are feeding the multi-billion-dollar “brain health” dietary supplement industry in a desperate bid to stave off or reverse Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. But such treatments are “pseudomedicine” and health care providers should discourage patients from pursuing them, say neurologists at UC San Francisco. Opinion piece in JAMA, neurologists urge […]

QUT scientists have found that a drug derived from omega-3 fatty acids can reduce osteoarthritis inflammation that’s been caused by a high-fat diet. The study, published in Nature journal Scientific Reports, is among the first to investigate resolvin D1 (RvD1), which has reported anti-inflammatory properties, as a possible treatment for diet-associated osteoarthritis, which affects […]

A new study of older men carried out by The University of Western Australia has found there is a link between men who have higher levels of the sex hormone estradiol, produced from testosterone, and slower ageing. The study is the largest of its kind to look at the relationship […]

Regular use of a common type of medication, such as aspirin and ibuprofen, significantly improves survival for a third or more patients with head and neck cancer, a new study led by UC San Francisco has found. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs, improved the overall five-year survival rate from 25 […]

Trillions of cells — all different shapes and sizes — form a human body’s structure. Surrounding each cell is a membrane, jointly acting as hostess and security — welcoming certain information into the cell while making sure its components don’t spill out into the body’s void. Much is known about […]

When Kim Merchant learned she had breast cancer in January 2018, she “was a little shell-shocked.” As an active person with a healthy diet and no family history of the disease, she was stunned to be diagnosed with stage II invasive ductal carcinoma at the age of 61. “It just […]

An 18-month federally-sponsored project led by the Georgia Institute of Technology will develop much-needed curriculum to train workers for the fledgling cell manufacturing industry. Research teams at the University of Georgia (UGA) and the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn), along with four private firms, are also taking part in the $1.4 […]

Poor sleep has long been linked with Alzheimer’s disease, but researchers have understood little about how sleep disruptions drive the disease. Now, studying mice and people, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that sleep deprivation increases levels of the key Alzheimer’s protein tau. And, […]

A new study shows that there is a very limited regeneration of cells in the brain of patients diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). These findings underline the importance of treating MS at an early stage of the disease progression, when the affected cells can repair the damage as they are […]

Doctors aren’t sure what causes age-related macular degeneration, a disease that affects millions of people in the United States. Also called AMD, it is known for causing blurred central vision due to damage to the macula — a small area at the back of the eye. Currently, there is no cure. But there […]