Related Science News

New simulations by Rice University scientists tell a tale of two taus and how they relate to neurological disease. Their work suggests tau proteins take either of two paths to form aggregates suspected of promoting, and perhaps causing, Alzheimer’s and Pick’s (aka frontotemporal dementia) diseases. Precisely why remains a mystery, but figuring it out offers the […]

Epigenetic clocks are a topic of considerable interest in the research community. They are perhaps the most promising of the present techniques for assessing biological age, the closest to becoming a useful biomarker of aging. Epigenetic clocks are weighted algorithmic combinations of the DNA methylation status of various sites on the genome, reflecting changes that […]

A team of researchers led by the University of California San Diego has created a device that measures how “sticky” cancer cells are, which could improve prognostic evaluation of patient tumors. The device is built with a microfluidic chamber that sorts cells by their physical ability to adhere to their […]

Some cancer cells refuse to die, even in the face of powerful cellular immunotherapies like CAR T cell therapy, and new research from the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania is shedding light on why. In a new study, researchers describe how a death receptor pathway in the cancer cell […]

From fragile ice fish deep in the Antarctic Ocean to flying fish gliding above the Caribbean Sea, fish have evolved a fascinating variety of skeletal traits. These traits not only help them adapt to their environments, but they also provide genetic insights into rare human skeletal disorders. Fish are not […]

Scientists have identified specific regions of chromosome 21 which cause problems in memory and decision-making in mice with Down’s syndrome. They say it is the first time the areas have been determined – and suggest the findings may provide new insight into the condition in humans. Most people have 46 […]

Babies born with low birth weights are more likely to have poor cardiorespiratory fitness later in life than their normal-weight peers. That is according to a study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden published in the journal JAHA. The findings underscore the importance of prevention strategies to reduce low […]

Women who have prophylactic mastectomies to stay ahead of a BRCA2 mutation may have made a wise choice, according to findings of a study just published in Science Advances. I’m amazed at the bravery of these women who go the Angelina Jolie route. Inheriting a BRCA2 mutation brings a 50 to 80 percent lifetime risk of developing […]

The deadly nature of cancer stems from its ability to spread and grow inside the host. Tumor associated macrophages (TAMs) are host macrophages recruited by the tumor, which promote tumor progression. A team of researchers from Tokyo University of Science and other institutes have discovered that the protein FROUNT may […]

A new study by researchers at McGill University has measured the dynamic physical properties of the human aorta, laying the foundation for the development of grafts capable of mimicking the native behavior of the human body’s largest artery. Marco Amabili, a Canada Research Chair professor in McGill’s Department of Mechanical […]

MYC is a family of three related proteins that are overexpressed in cancer and which contribute to an estimated 100,000 cancer deaths annually in the United States. Efforts to block MYC directly have failed. Fortunately, these proteins have an Achilles’ heel — a chromosome-binding cofactor called WDR5. Understanding how MYC […]

New brain networks come ‘online’ during adolescence, allowing teenagers to develop more complex adult social skills, but potentially putting them at increased risk of mental illness, according to new research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Adolescence is a time of major change in life, with […]

Using genetically engineered human pluripotent stem cells, University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers created a new type of cancer model to study in vivo how glioblastoma, the most common and aggressive form of brain cancer, develops and changes over time. “We have developed stem cell models that are CRISPR-engineered […]

Writing in the journal Stem Cells Translational Medicine, an international research team, led by physician-scientists at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, describe a new method for delivering neural precursor cells (NSCs) to spinal cord injuries in rats, reducing the risk of further injury and boosting the propagation of […]

On Monday, 27 January 2020, researchers from Osaka University in Japan have announced the first-ever successful physician-initiated clinical trial whereby heart muscles grown using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) have been transplanted into a human patient. Induced pluripotent stem cells – derived from the blood cells of healthy adult donors […]

AARP Innovation Labs is looking for the world's best developers who are passionate about finding ways to enhance the quality of life for women before, during, and after menopause. AARP iLabs seeks a science-based approach to wellness and assistive technology, including AI, electronics, software, industrial design, and psychology to enable prime […]

A collaboration between scientists at Rutgers University and Scripps Research led to the discovery of a small molecule that may slow down or stop the progression of Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s, which affects 1 million people in the United States and over 10 million worldwide according to the Parkinson’s Foundation, is a neurodegenerative […]

Widely Used Brain Organoids are ‘Confused’ and ‘Disorganized’ Compared to New Atlas of the Developing Human Brain. Brain organoids – 3-D balls of brain-like tissue grown in the lab, often from human stem cells – have been touted for their potential to let scientists study the formation of the brain’s […]

University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers have developed nanoparticles that, in the lab, can activate immune responses to cancer cells. If they are shown to work as well in the body as they do in the lab, the nanoparticles might provide an effective and more affordable way to fight cancer. They are […]

The controversy about whether eggs are good or bad for your heart health may be solved, and about one a day is fine. A team of researchers from the Population Health Research Institute (PHRI) of McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences found the answer by analyzing data from three large, […]

Senolytic drugs that selectively destroy senescent cells in aged tissues have performed quite well in animal studies of fibrosis in heart, lung, and kidney. The therapy reverses fibrosis in those tissues to a larger degree, and with greater reliably, than is the case for any other readily available approaches. Unfortunately small molecule senolytics are all tissue specific to varying degrees […]

A new research project funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) at the University of Manchester aims to find a way to slow down the progression of heart failure. Heart failure is a life-threatening condition that affects 920,000 people in the UK. For people with severe heart failure, everyday tasks […]

Evaluating the effectiveness of therapies for neurodegenerative diseases is often difficult because each patient’s progression is different. A new study shows artificial intelligence (AI) analysis of blood samples can predict and explain disease progression, which could one day help doctors choose more appropriate and effective treatments for patients. Scientists at […]

New cancer immunotherapies involve extracting a patient’s T cells and genetically engineering them so they will recognize and attack tumors. This technique is a true medical breakthrough, with an increasing number of leukemia and lymphoma patients experiencing complete remissions since CAR T therapy was FDA approved in 2017. This type […]

New research from UC Riverside shows scientists may soon be able to prevent disease-spreading mosquitoes from maturing. Using the same gene-altering techniques, they may also be able help boost reproduction in beneficial bumblebees. The research shows that, contrary to previous scientific belief, a hormone required for sexual maturity in insects […]

Healthcare has had major upgrades since implementing Artificial Intelligence (AI) to facilitate the responsibilities of doctors, technicians, nurses, and other medical employees. This technology is constantly being advanced to reach ultimate standards in efforts to aid and improve medicine as we know it. Within the past year, the completion and […]

GPs are being urged to consider shortness of breath and cough as potential predictors of lung cancer, after a study found they were becoming more common as the first symptom in diagnosis. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the UK and has a poor five year […]

Scientists at Rutgers University-Newark have discovered that when a key protein needed to generate new brain cells during prenatal and early childhood development is missing, part of the brain goes haywire – causing an imbalance in its circuitry that can lead to long-term cognitive and movement behaviors characteristic of autism […]

Chronic inflammation is an important aspect of aging, a process that stems from low-level biochemical damage and cellular dysfunction, and that then contributes to the progression of age-related disease and tissue dysfunction. Chronic inflammation sustained over years accelerates all of the common fatal age-related conditions: it disrupts tissue maintenance, and […]

As tumours develop, cancer cells gain and lose so-called “chromosome arms”, changing their response to drugs, a finding which may offer better personalised treatments for 17 types of cancer. Dr Pascal Duijf from QUT’s School of Biomedical Sciences and IHBI (Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation) said the study, published […]