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DNA is a lengthy molecule — approximately 1,000-fold longer than the cell in which it resides — so it can’t be jammed in haphazardly. Rather, it must be neatly organized so proteins involved in critical processes can access the information contained in its nucleotide bases. Think of the double helix like […]

G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are everywhere in our bodies. They are embedded in our cell membranes, where they act as signal transducers, allowing cells to respond to their external environments. GPCRs play a crucial role in most biological functions, including heart rate, blood pressure, vision, smell, taste and allergic responses. GPCR […]

Regarding overall health, there is probably no symptom more readily linked to prevailing conditions and illnesses than stress. The question we should be asking, however, is whether or not naming stress as a cause is accurate. There is no doubt that stress can be a contributor to all kinds of […]

A research collaboration involving the University of Liverpool proposes a set of measurements that can be used as a toolkit to assess bone, joint and muscle health that could provide a benchmark for how well older people are able to keep moving. The composition of the body changes as we […]

A DNA-based analysis of blood cells soon after a stem cell transplant can predict likelihood of disease recurrence in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), a group of cancerous disorders characterized by dysfunctional blood cells, according to new research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Such a practice […]

The results from a seven-year study of the benefits and risks of a low daily dose of aspirin to the lives of people over 70 are published in three papers in New England Journal of Medicine. The study, led by a team from Monash University, involved the University of Adelaide’s […]

Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center researchers have answered questions about the incidence and timing of rare but sometimes fatal reactions to the most widely prescribed class of immunotherapies. Their research, which appeared in JAMA Oncology, is the largest evaluation of fatal immune checkpoint inhibitor toxicities published to date. They determined that although these severe […]

When sound reaches the inner ear, it is converted into electrical signals that are relayed to the brain via the ear’s nerve cells in cochlea. Previously, most of these cells were considered to be of two types: type 1 and type 2 neurons, type 1 transmitting most of the auditory […]

Sometimes kids trip and fall, and their teeth take the hit. Nearly half of children suffer some injury to a tooth during childhood. When that trauma affects an immature permanent tooth, it can hinder blood supply and root development, resulting in what is essentially a “dead” tooth. Until now, the […]

In a large clinical trial to determine the risks and benefits of daily low-dose aspirin in healthy older adults without previous cardiovascular events, aspirin did not prolong healthy, independent living (life free of dementia or persistent physical disability). Risk of dying from a range of causes, including cancer and heart […]

Improving Care for People with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias Using Technology (iCare-AD/ADRD) Challenge Through this challenge, the National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of Health, seeks to reward and spur the development of solutions for a technology-based application, fostering connections between relevant stakeholders to use […]

Research has shed new light on genetic processes that may one day lead to the development of therapies that can slow, or even reverse, how our cells age. A study led by the University of Exeter Medical School has found that certain genes and pathways that regulate splicing factors – […]

Research from Oxford University published in the journal Genome Research has found that a special combination of epigenetic modifications crucial to stem cell growth evolved in animals much earlier than previously appreciated. These findings imply that our stem cells, and those of simple animals such as planarian worms, have much more in […]

Unlocking the mysteries of chromatin – a mix of RNA, DNA and protein that serves to package and protect DNA – could lead to important insights about gene regulation and the genome, as well as cancer and other diseases. Combining engineering, biology and physics, three Yale researchers have received a […]

The amoeba Naegleria fowleri is commonly found in warm swimming pools, lakes and rivers. On rare occasions, the amoeba can infect a healthy person and cause severe primary amebic meningoencephalitis, a “brain-eating” disease that is almost always fatal. Other than trial-and-error with general antifungal medications, there are no treatments for the infection. […]

A new study by Harvard Medical School researchers based at Massachusetts General Hospital finds that inducing the production of new neurons in the brain structure in which memories are encoded can improve cognitive function in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease. Their investigation shows that those beneficial effects on cognition […]

A multi-institutional study led by Harvard Medical School investigators based at Massachusetts General Hospital and researchers from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine has found how the abnormal form of tau, which accumulates in the neurofibrillary tangles that characterize Alzheimer’s disease, can disrupt the normal function of brain cells. In […]

A pregnant woman’s higher blood sugar level is linked to a significantly greater long-term risk of obesity in her child — even more than a decade later, reports a large new international study led by Northwestern Medicine. The higher the woman’s blood sugar, the greater the risk of her child […]

Many men suffering from advanced-stage prostate cancer appear to share at least one thing in common: they are now or have been heavy drinkers of beer, according to a study by uro-oncologist Pierre Karakiewicz, a professor of urological surgery at UdeM’s Faculty of Medicine. In the study, published in Cancer Epidemiology in […]

UC San Francisco researchers have discovered how a mutation in a gene regulator called the TERTpromoter — the third most common mutation among all human cancers and the most common mutation in the deadly brain cancer glioblastoma — confers “immortality” on tumor cells, enabling the unchecked cell division that powers their aggressive […]

Genetic mutations in a form of non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) may drive tumor formation by blurring cells’ perception of key growth signals, according to a new laboratory study published in Science. The research, led by UC San Francisco researchers, could have important implications for understanding and ultimately targeting the defective […]

Immunotherapy, hailed as one of the most promising methods for tackling cancerous tumours, has recently taken a decisive new step in its development – a new study recently published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science introduces a melanoma vaccine shown to be highly effective in mice. […]

Getting cancer drugs to permeate tumors can be tough, especially in the brain, but researchers have been using ultrasound to massage the drugs into malignancies that have taken root there. A new study details how the experimental method has overcome various barriers to treating cancers in the brain. “The blood-brain barrier is a […]

A new University at Buffalo study has shown for the first time that walking more can significantly lower the risk of heart failure in older women. The U.S. study of more than 137,000 postmenopausal women aged 50 to 79 is the largest and most comprehensive to date that has evaluated […]

Ever wondered how groups of cells managed to build your tissues and organs while you were just an embryo? Using state-of-the-art techniques he developed, UC Santa Barbara researcher Otger Campàs and his group have cracked this longstanding mystery, revealing the astonishing inner workings of how embryos are physically constructed. Not only does […]

There are more than 3 million cases of arthritis in the U.S. each year, and osteoarthritis is the most common type. In patients, cartilage — the slick surface on the ends of bones — wears away, bone rubs against bone, causing swelling and stiffness. Now Keck School of Medicine of USC […]

Much of modern Western medicine is based upon the treatment of acute, immediate harm, from physical injury to infections, from broken bones and the common cold to heart and asthma attacks. But progress in treating chronic illness, where the cause of the problem is often unknown—and, in fact, may no […]

UCLA researchers have found that the extracellular matrix, the dense network of proteins and carbohydrates that surround a cell, can influence how cells move within the body by regulating their sugar consumption. The study shows that acute changes in a single component of the extracellular matrix can trigger a very […]

People with a form of heart disease called cardiomyopathy have abnormally short telomeres in heart muscle cells responsible for contraction, according to a new study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. A telomere is a DNA sequence that serves as a protective cap on the ends of chromosomes. […]

A person’s brainstem controls some of the body’s most important functions, including heart beat, respiration, blood pressure and swallowing. Tumor growth in this part of the brain is therefore twice as devastating. Not only can such a growth disrupt vital functions, but operating in this area is so risky, many […]