Related Science News

December 28, 2017

Blueberry vinegar improves memory in mice with amnesia

Dementia affects millions of people worldwide, robbing them of their ability to think, remember and live as they once did. In the search for new ways to fight cognitive decline, scientists report in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry that blueberry vinegar might offer some help. They found that the fermented […]
December 27, 2017

More frequent genomic monitoring may help guide cancer treatment

Ongoing monitoring for genetic changes in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) during targeted treatment may allow clinicians to adjust patients’ treatments as the cancer evolves, according to a study published in Nature Communications led by Weill Cornell Medicine and New York Genome Center scientists. Physicians usually genetically profile a patient’s cancer […]
December 27, 2017

Revealing commonalities between central and peripheral nervous system progenitors

The nervous system is arguably the most complex organ of the vertebrate body. The eye, ear and olfactory epithelium are part of the peripheral nervous system and provide visual, sound and smell information to the brain. As part of the central nervous system the brain integrates this information to build […]
December 27, 2017

Seasonal images reveal the science behind stem cells

At first glance, a pair of award-winning images created by University of Southampton postgraduate researcher Catarina Moura seem to have a seasonal theme. But look more closely and you’ll see that the component parts of the pictures (or micrographs) of a Christmas tree and seasonal wreath are actually comprised of […]
December 27, 2017

Hormone therapy combination may benefit health without increasing cancer risk

Treating ovariectomized mice with a combination of conjugated estrogens and the drug bazedoxifene triggers the expression of genes that improve metabolism and prevent weight gain –  without stimulating the uterus and increasing risks of reproductive cancer, a new study suggests. University of Illinois food science and human nutrition professor Zeynep Madak-Erdogan led a group […]
December 27, 2017

Breaking up (protein complexes) is hard to do, but new UW study shows how

A new study by University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers identified the structural basis for how tightly bound protein complexes are broken apart to become inactivated. The structure explains why the complexes are less active in some cancers and neurodegenerative diseases, and offers a starting point to identify drug targets to reactivate […]
December 27, 2017

Physical exercise can fight dementia – and it is never too late to start

We know that physical exercise is good for your mind and body. It can offset dementia, but when exercising is too late? A new research from UCL shows that it is actually never too late – exercising brings benefits against dementia regardless of part exercising habits and the onset of […]
December 22, 2017

Virtual reality may improve drug delivery to cancer cells (Video)

For most people, virtual reality is just an interesting piece of entertainment. It is quite an experience to play games or even watch movies in virtual reality. However VR may be a useful research tool for medical scientists as well. Now researchers from UNSW, Australia, are creating virtual reality technology […]
December 22, 2017

Defending against environmental stressors may shorten lifespan

A shorter life may be the price an organism pays for coping with the natural assaults of daily living, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health and their colleagues in Japan. The scientists used fruit flies to examine the relationship between lifespan and signaling proteins that defend the […]
December 21, 2017

Disruptive Therapy for Hearing Loss

Hearing loss is the most common form of sensory loss in humans, and almost half of cases stem from genetic causes. Now, a team led by researchers from Harvard Medical School, the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Harvard University and Howard Hughes Medical Institute have […]
December 21, 2017

Fluorescent nanomedicine can guide tumor removal, kill remaining cancer cells

Oregon State University scientists have developed a nanomedicine platform for cancer that can help doctors know which tissue to cut out as well as kill any malignant cells that can’t be surgically removed. The platform allows for greater precision and thoroughness in cancer treatment. Here’s how it works: Nanoparticles tightly […]
December 21, 2017

A non-invasive method to detect Alzheimer’s disease

New research has drawn a link between changes in the brain’s anatomy and biomarkers that are known to appear at the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), findings that could one day provide a sensitive but non-invasive test for AD before cognitive symptoms appear. Scientists have known for some time […]
December 20, 2017

Electric scalp device prolongs survival in deadly brain cancer

A device attached to a patient’s scalp that delivers a continuous dose of low-intensity electric fields improves survival and slows the growth of a deadly brain tumor, according to a new clinical trial led by a Northwestern Medicine scientist and published in the journal JAMA. The new treatment for glioblastoma uses […]
December 20, 2017

NIH study uncovers clues about why common cancer drug causes hearing loss

Scientists have found a new way to explain the hearing loss caused by cisplatin, a powerful drug used to treat many forms of cancer. Using a highly sensitive technique to measure and map cisplatin in mouse and human inner ear tissues, researchers found that forms of cisplatin build up in […]
December 20, 2017

DNA Annotations Predict Patient Outcomes in Childhood Leukemia

UC San Francisco physician-scientists have developed a test that can predict how patients with juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML) will respond to treatment, and may also be able to identify patients who are likely to recover spontaneously with little to no treatment. The researchers are currently optimizing the test for more […]
December 20, 2017

Researchers find immune cells help rebuild damaged nerves

Immune cells are normally associated with fighting infection, but in a new study scientists have discovered how they also help the nervous system clear debris, potentially clearing the way for nerve regeneration after injury. In a study published in the Journal of Neuroscience, researchers from Case Western Reserve University School of […]
December 19, 2017

Arthritis drug could help treat advanced skin cancer

Treatment for the most deadly form of skin cancer could be more effective if combined with a well-known drug for rheumatoid arthritis, new research has shown. The study, by scientists at the University of East Anglia (UEA), found that in mice, using the two treatments together almost completely stopped the […]
December 19, 2017

New Southampton study could help tailor treatment for most common type of leukaemia

New findings by scientists at the University of Southampton could help to predict how people with the most common form of leukaemia will respond to chemotherapy. The findings will help doctors decide which type of treatment to give patients. The researchers, who were funded by the blood cancer research charity […]
December 19, 2017

Study prompts new ideas on cancers’ origins

Rapidly dividing, yet aberrant stem cells are a major source of cancer. But a new study suggests that mature cells also play a key role in initiating cancer — a finding that could upend the way scientists think about the origins of the disease. Researchers at Washington University School of […]
December 18, 2017

Team develops cancer imaging aid from horse chestnuts

Research at The City College of New York shows that cancer imaging can be simplified by a photonic process utilizing molecules derived from horse chestnuts. The study with potential to better detect the presence of cancer is led by George John, professor in City College’s Division of Science, in collaboration with Jan Grimm, a […]
December 18, 2017

Hybrid genes related to pediatric leukemia with poor prognosis discovered

Researchers at the University of Tokyo and their collaborators have identified recurrent fusion genes—new genes formed from the combination of two or more separate genes that appear in more than one sample of a disease taken from different patients—tied to a form of pediatric T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL), a […]
December 18, 2017

At UVA's Keck center, researchers peer deep into inner workings of cells

FLIM, FRET and FLIRR don’t mean anything to most people, but to scientists studying the inner workings of cells, these high-resolution imaging techniques are essential tools for gaining insights to cellular behavior at the molecular level. Cells communicate with each other and multiply, and how they operate from within is […]
December 18, 2017

Study: a gold – standard cancer treatment is in decline, and money may be why

he evidence is clear: Cervical cancer is best treated with brachytherapy, a form of radiation therapy. Yet the use of this potentially life-saving treatment has been declining, and a new study from the University of Virginia School of Medicine may explain why. UVA researchers have determined that offering brachytherapy for […]
December 18, 2017

The biological clock of plants

‘A Nobel Prize for the biological clock has long been overdue,’ says Dorothee Staiger. What is so remarkable is that the prize has been granted to basic research – that is, to studies on fundamental concepts in nature. Whereas the American colleagues have been analysing the biological clock in animals, […]
December 18, 2017

Combination Rethink

The efficacy of many FDA-approved cancer drug combinations is not due to synergistic interactions between drugs, but rather to a form of “bet hedging,” according to a new study published by Harvard Medical School researchers in Cell. Reanalyzing data from 15 clinical trials, the researchers show that independent action—in which drugs […]
December 15, 2017

Scientists Make Paralyzed Rats Walk Again

Paralyzed rats with severed spinal cords are walking again, after Tel Aviv University and Technion–Israel Institute of Technology scientists restored their nervous function and sensation through tissue engineering and stem cells taken from the oral mucosa membrane of the mouth, Haaretz recently reported. The research was led by Prof. Daniel Offen of TAU's Sackler School of Medicine and […]
December 14, 2017

Researchers make important discovery in oral pre-cancer condition

Scientists at the School of Dental Science in Trinity have made an important discovery involving bacteria and a pre-cancerous growth called oral leuoplakia which can precede oral cancer. The researchers examined the microbiome of oral leukoplakia in order to determine if certain bacteria were associated with oral leukoplakia and whether […]