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Italian researcher sheds light on the lasting psychiatric impact of childhood trauma

In a revealing Genomic Press Interview published today in Brain Medicine, Sara Poletti, PhD, senior researcher at IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele Milan, illuminates the profound connections between childhood adversity and lifelong vulnerability to psychiatric disorders through persistent neuroinflammation pathways and alterations in brain structure.

11 Jun 2025

Lung cells in COPD patients show higher levels of soot-like carbon deposits

Cells taken from the lungs of people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have a larger accumulation of soot-like carbon deposits compared to cells taken from people who smoke but do not have COPD, according to a study published today (Wednesday) in ERJ Open Research.

10 Jun 2025

Study reveals the genetic underpinnings of a rare and aggressive ovarian cancer

A new study explains the genetic underpinnings of a rare and aggressive form of ovarian cancer – and offers a potential pathway for new treatments.

9 Jun 2025

US funding freeze halts malaria prevention and genomic research

The “catastrophic” freeze on US funding for malaria has halted prevention programmes across Africa and also threatens to stall advances in genomic research, says Jane Carlton, director of the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute.

1 Jun 2025

New microfluidic device brings affordable kidney testing to the point of care

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) affects over 800 million people globally and is often diagnosed too late for effective intervention.

31 May 2025

New plant-derived therapy shows promise for cancer pain relief

RTX is a non-addictive pain therapy derived from a cactus-like plant.

29 May 2025

Wilms tumor found to contain millions of genetic changes

Researchers have uncovered that some childhood cancers have a substantially higher number of DNA changes than previously thought, changing the way we view children's tumours and possibly opening up new or repurposed treatment options.

29 May 2025

Study combines biology and mathematics to reveal new insights into cell migration

Imagine cells navigating through a complex maze, guided by chemical signals and the physical landscape of their environment.

28 May 2025

Scientists reveal how RNA could have replicated on early earth

Chemists at UCL and the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology have demonstrated how RNA (ribonucleic acid) might have replicated itself on early Earth – a key process in the origin of life.

28 May 2025

Silence on E. coli outbreak highlights how Trump team’s changes undermine food safety

Colton George felt sick. The 9-year-old Indiana boy told his parents his stomach hurt. He kept running to the bathroom and felt too ill to finish a basketball game.

28 May 2025

Researchers find way to protect mitochondria from stress-induced damage

Mitochondria are the cell's power plants: They turn the food we eat into the energy our cells can use. But when stress hijacks the process they use to maintain their quality, they get snipped into useless fragments and go into a tailspin that spreads from cell to cell and triggers a wide range of human diseases.

26 May 2025

Confocal microscopy may help identify biomarkers for chemotherapy-induced neuropathy

A University of Arizona Comprehensive Cancer Center researcher received a $2.4 million National Cancer Institute grant to develop a noninvasive, confocal microscope to examine nerve endings of cancer patients with chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy in the hopes of identifying potential biomarkers for the disease.

22 May 2025

Understanding how cholera bacteria resist phage predation

When we think of cholera, most of us picture contaminated water and tragic outbreaks in vulnerable regions. But behind the scenes, cholera bacteria are locked in a fierce, microscopic war-one that could shape the course of pandemics.

22 May 2025

New technique rapidly tracks cell state changes through density measurements

Measuring the density of a cell can reveal a great deal about the cell's state. As cells proliferate, differentiate, or undergo cell death, they may gain or lose water and other molecules, which is revealed by changes in density.

21 May 2025

Innovative technology offers non-invasive way to observe blood clotting

Researchers from the University of Tokyo have found a way to observe clotting activity in blood as it happens - without needing invasive procedures.

15 May 2025

New technology maps molecules within single cells to uncover disease mechanisms

Tissues consist of a heterogenous mixture of different cell types, complicating our understanding of their biological functions and studies of disease.

14 May 2025

Researchers uncover how Entamoeba histolytica evades the immune system

The single-celled parasite Entamoeba histolytica infects 50 million people each year, killing nearly 70,000. Usually, this wily, shape-shifting amoeba causes nothing worse than diarrhea.

12 May 2025

Disrupted muscle clocks linked to accelerated aging in shift workers

Muscle cells contain their own circadian clocks and disrupting them with shift work can have a profound impact on aging, according to new research.

5 May 2025

As a diversity grant dies, young scientists fear it will haunt their careers

Adelaide Tovar, a University of Michigan scientist who researches genes related to diabetes, used to feel like an impostor in a laboratory. Tovar, 32, grew up poor and was the first in her family to graduate from high school. During her first year in college, she realized she didn't know how to study.

29 Apr 2025