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Researchers may have found a way to press pause on spinal disc injuries, giving doctors more time to treat them before worse issues develop. The Penn Medicine-led team discovered that cells in the outer region of spinal discs become stressed and kick off a subpar healing process after injuries, which […]

Triggers in everyday life such as running into a former drinking buddy, walking by a once- familiar bar, and attending social gatherings can all cause recovering alcoholics to “fall off the wagon.” About 40 to 60 percent of people who have gone through treatment for substance abuse will experience some […]

Cancer immunotherapy drugs trigger the body’s immune system to attack tumors and have revolutionized the treatment of certain cancers, such as lymphoma, lung cancer, and melanoma. Yet, while some patients respond well to the drugs, others don’t respond at all. Cancer immunologists want to change that. A new study by […]

First evidence of immune response targeting brain cells in autism. Autism spectrum disorders affect one in 59 American children by age eight. With no known quantitative biological features, autism diagnoses are currently based on expert assessments of behavioral symptoms, including impaired social and communication skills, repetitive behaviors and restricted interests. […]

The immune system must strike an exquisite balance between vanquishing infections and cancer, while at the same time restraining its activity to avoid inadvertently attacking the body’s healthy tissues and organs. This balancing feat is accomplished by a host of regulatory genes that calibrate the immune response. When this calibration […]

An interdepartmental team at the University of Michigan obtains a prestigious NIH grant that will support an advanced imaging strategy to improve methods for early cancer detection. Worldwide, the incidence of cancer is steadily growing. Research has shown time and time again that this rise is often connected to the […]

A study of the genetic make-up of zebrafish has provided brand new insights into the cause of congenital hearing disorders in humans. A team including scientists from Cardiff University has identified how specific genes can dictate the patterns of the tiny cells – so-called hair cells – within our ears […]

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), which includes lung diseases such as emphysema and asthma, is the third leading cause of death of people worldwide. COPD patients can experience exacerbations, or intense “flare-ups,” of their conditions leading to hospitalization, breathing tube intubation and even death. A new study co-led by University of Minnesota School of […]

Cancer is a terrible disease, affecting humans and animals. Its exact causes and mechanism is still poorly understood, but in some cases it can be triggered by a virus. For example, now scientists from The University of Sydney found that a virus may be causing liver cancer in companion cats. […]

Inside a living cell, many important messages are communicated via interactions between proteins. For these signals to be accurately relayed, each protein must interact only with its specific partner, avoiding unwanted crosstalk with any similar proteins. A new MIT study sheds light on how cells are able to prevent crosstalk […]

Most cancers kill because tumor cells spread beyond the primary site to invade other organs. Now, a USC study of brain-invading breast cancer cells circulating in the blood reveals they have a molecular signature indicating specific organ preferences. The findings, which appeared in Cancer Discovery, help explain how tumor cells […]

Scientists at the University of East Anglia are pioneering a new way of finding the bacteria and viruses associated with cancer. Some infections have already been linked with cancers including stomach cancer and cervical cancer. New research published in Genome Biology shows how genomic data collected from tumours could be sequenced […]