Related Science News

Years before people start showing characteristic symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, sticky plaques begin forming in their brains, damaging nearby cells. For decades, doctors have sought ways to clear out these plaques as a way to prevent or treat the disease. The sticky clumps, known as amyloid plaques, are composed primarily […]

For a stem cell, the future is wide open. It can divide infinitely to create more stem cells, or it can grow up into other kinds of cells, taking its place in the heart, brain, or other organs. But the stem cell loses something during that maturation: its remarkable ability […]

One family of genes allows cells to adapt to daily changes in environmental conditions by adjusting their internal “body clock,” the circadian clock responsible for regular sleep-wake cycles. The new discovery by University of Tokyo scientists reveals for the first time that circadian regulation may be directly connected to cellular […]

UC San Francisco scientists have uncovered a common genetic driver of aggressive meningiomas, which could help clinicians detect such dangerous cancers earlier and lead to new therapies aimed at curing these difficult-to-treat tumors. Meningiomas are tumors that grow from the layer of tissue that surrounds the brain and spinal cord […]

New research utilizing UC San Francisco’s cutting-edge cryo-electron microscopy facility has revealed atomic-scale details about the workings of an experimental drug that boosts learning and memory and restores function following concussion in mice. In a study published in Science, UCSF biochemist Peter Walter, PhD, and structural biologist Adam Frost, MD, PhD, showed that […]

Arthropods are among the most successful animals on the planet. They inhabit the sea (horseshoe crabs), the sky (fruit flies), and the earth (scorpions) in vast numbers and are defined by their exoskeleton exteriors and segmented legs and bodies. These adaptable, modular parts may help explain why these animals are […]

Few older adults use medical marijuana, a new national poll finds, but the majority support its use if a doctor recommends it, and might talk to their own doctor about it if they developed a serious health condition. Four out five of poll respondents between the ages of 50 and […]

hysicians and researchers at the USC Roski Eye Institute have collaborated with other California institutions to show that a first-in-kind stem cell-based retinal implant is feasible for use in people with advanced dry age-related macular degeneration. The results of their phase I/IIa study, which was funded in part by the California Institute for […]

Genetic sequencing of tumor DNA may be simpler and better than the multiple tests now used to check for Lynch syndrome in colorectal cancer patients. An up-front tumor sequencing test also could simultaneously provide additional data that might help guide treatment. These are the conclusions of a study published in […]

Drugs with high-risk anticholinergic properties can lead to risks of developing serious adverse events, such as cognitive impairment, falls, dementia, and even mortality in older adults. Yet, relatively little is known about prescribing trends of high-risk anticholinergic medications in the United States of America. Researchers in the University of Minnesota College […]

Each day, normal human cell tissues express a protein known as p53 that wages war against potential malignancies. However, between 30 and 40 percent of human breast cancers express a defective (mutant) form of p53 that helps cancer cells proliferate and grow. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri have found that […]

One way to fight diseases including HIV infection and autoimmune disorders could involve changing how a naturally occurring enzyme called SAMHD1 works to influence the immune system, new research suggests. The study, led by researchers from The Ohio State University, details how the enzyme influences proteins that stimulate the immune […]

Invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells are powerful weapons our body’s immune systems count on to fight infection and combat diseases like cancer, multiple sclerosis, and lupus. Finding ways to spark these potent cells into action could lead to more effective cancer treatments and vaccines. While several chemical compounds have […]

One of the major side effects of chemotherapy is a sharp drop in white blood cells, which leaves patients vulnerable to dangerous infections. MIT researchers have now developed a portable device that could be used to monitor patients’ white blood cell levels at home, without taking blood samples. Such a device could […]

Most of the human genome — 98 percent — is made up of DNA but doesn’t actually encode genes, the recipes cells use to build proteins. The vast majority of genetic mutations associated with cancer occur in these non-coding regions of the genome, yet it’s unclear how they might influence […]

It took eight long years of research, but now an international team led by neuroscientists at Université de Montréal has discovered a basic molecular mechanism that better helps understand how Lou Gehrig's disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), works. And that basic science could someday lead to new therapy for […]

Many patients receiving chemotherapy following surgery for bowel cancer may only need three months treatment rather than the six months currently given, new research published in Lancet Oncology has shown. An international clinical trial, funded by an NIHR and MRC partnership, has evaluated the effectiveness of a three-month course of adjuvant […]

Cancer patients always say that cancer is pain. People suffer from pain every day and sometimes it can be difficult to manage. It significantly deteriorates the quality of life of these people, leaving no choice but to resort to medicine. Scientists from the University of Edinburgh together with health practitioners […]

Scientists have long known that restricting calories can fend off physiological signs of aging, with studies in fruit flies, roundworms, rodents and even people showing that chronically slashing intake by about a third can reap myriad health benefits and, in some cases, extend lifespan. From a public health perspective, that […]

Ever notice how a cut inside the mouth heals much faster than a cut to the skin? Gum tissue repairs itself roughly twice as fast as skin and with reduced scar formation. One reason might be because of the characteristics of gingival mesenchymal stem cells, or GMSCs, which can give […]

The skeleton, discovered in a leather pouch behind an abandoned church, was pristine: a tiny figure, just six inches long, with a cone-shaped head, 10 pairs of ribs, and bones that looked like those of an 8-year-old child. Found in the Atacama Desert of Chile and later affectionately nicknamed “Ata,” […]

By the time he died in 1973, Harry Eastlack had two skeletons; the one he was born with, and the one that grew around it, gradually encasing him in a prison of his own bone. Forty-five years later, UConn researchers have shown in the journal Nature Communications that a certain type of […]

Scientists at the University of Southampton have discovered a new combination of cancer immunotherapy treatment that could improve patients’ survival rates. The pre-clinical study, published in Clinical Cancer Research, by Dr Sarah Buchan and colleagues, combined antibodies targeting PD-1/PD-L1, a type of immunotherapy known as checkpoint blockade that overcomes the resistance […]

In July 2015, 86-year-old Douglas Waters developed severe age-related macular degeneration (AMD). He struggled to see things clearly, even when up close. A few months later, he became part of a clinical trial that used stem cell-derived ocular cells developed in part by researchers at UC Santa Barbara. His retinal […]

Kinesin family member 5A (KIF5A), a gene previously linked to two rare neurodegenerative disorders, has been definitively connected to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) by an international team from several of the world’s top ALS research labs. The findings identify how mutations in KIF5A disrupt transport of key proteins up and […]

Harvard Medical School researchers based at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Harvard Stem Cell Institute have identified a neural circuit mechanism involved in preserving the specificity of memories. They also identified a genetic “switch” that can slow down memory generalization, the loss of specific details over time that occurs in both age-related […]

We are as old as our arteries, the adage goes, so could reversing the aging of blood vessels hold the key to restoring youthful vitality? The answer appears to be yes, at least in mice, according to a new study led by investigators at Harvard Medical School. The research, published […]

Immune cells called microglia can completely repopulate themselves in the retina after being nearly eliminated, according to a new study in mice from scientists at the National Eye Institute (NEI). The cells also re-establish their normal organization and function. The findings point to potential therapies for controlling inflammation and slowing […]

New research led by Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital has unmasked hundreds of cancer-driving genes and revealed that different tissue types have shockingly variable sensitivities to those genes. The findings, published online in Cell promise to improve scientists’ understanding of normal and malignant cell proliferation. They also help explain […]

Scientists have discovered a process during mammalian embryonic development that is critical for early embryos to develop into healthy blastocysts. Using advanced microscopy techniques and live mouse embryos, the researchers observed rings of actin – a main component of a cell’s cytoskeleton – forming on the surface of the embryo. […]