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Universal flu vaccine candidate provides protection against severe infection in animal models

Annual flu vaccines protect against severe infection, but they vary in efficacy and may not match the most virulent strains of the season.

23 Aug 2024

Defective ZNRF3 gene causes opposing brain sizes and potential tumor risk

A gene called ZNRF3, known to be involved in cancer, also messes with the mind. The human brain relies on two copies of this gene to build a right-sized brain. If one of the copies is defective, the brain will be either too small or too large - known as mirror effect -, leading to various neurological symptoms.

23 Aug 2024

Disability rights activist pushes government to let him participate in society

Garret Frey refuses to be sidelined. Frey has been paralyzed from the neck down for more than 37 of his 42 years. He has spent decades rejecting the government's excuses when he and others with disabilities are denied the support they need to live in their own homes and to participate in society.

23 Aug 2024

Exploring the impact of thyroid hormone on brain function

Thyroid hormone plays a key role in regulating a range of physiologic functions, including metabolism, temperature, heart rate, and growth. It accomplishes this impressive array of activities by interacting with almost every organ system in the body. Yet despite a long history of research on how thyroid hormone influences different organs, its effects on arguably the most crucial organ - the brain - have remained shrouded in mystery.

23 Aug 2024

The impact of stem cells on the epigenetic clock

How old are you, really? Your chronological age is the number of years you have been alive. Your biological age is how old your cells are which scientists believe may better assess one's age-related health and disease risk. People biologically age at different rates, depending on genetic and environmental factors, so that a person's chronological age does not necessarily match their biological age. In recent years, direct-to-consumer biological age tests have become increasingly accessible and popular as interest has increased in this nascent science.

23 Aug 2024

Immune cells' two-pronged approach to maintaining acetyl-CoA reserves

Immune cells use two different routes to produce acetyl-CoA, an essential metabolite required to fight infection and cancer, reports a study led by Van Andel Institute scientists.

23 Aug 2024

Virginia Tech leads national initiative to predict and prevent future pandemics

Viruses like SARS-CoV-2 don't respect boundaries, moving between species and continents and leaving destruction as they go. Beating the next pathogen with pandemic potential means getting good at crossing borders ourselves - between fields of study, between research universities, and between scientists and the wider community.

23 Aug 2024

New technique speeds up screening of DNA molecules

Studying how single DNA molecules behave helps us to better understand genetic disorders and design better drugs.

22 Aug 2024

Study reveals RAD51D variant enrichment in Chinese ovarian cancer patients

Researchers from BGI Genomics and Fudan University published new findings on OV among Chinese patients in JCO Global Oncology.

22 Aug 2024

Mother's gut bacteria during pregnancy promote healthy brain development in the fetus

A study in mice has discovered that the presence of Bifidobacterium breve bacteria in the mother's gut during pregnancy promotes healthy brain development in the fetus.

22 Aug 2024

DNA scavengers break down antibiotic-resistant genes

For nearly a century, scientists have waged war on antibiotic-resistant microbes. Michigan State University researchers say they've found a new way to prevent it – by unleashing "DNA scavengers" in wastewater treatment plants.

22 Aug 2024

mRNA therapy shows promise for maple syrup urine disease

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine, Gene Therapy Program, and Moderna, have shown that repeated administration of lipid nanoparticle-encapsulated mRNA therapy significantly extended survival and reduced serum leucine levels in a mouse model of maple syrup urine disease (MSUD).

22 Aug 2024

The critical role of PGK1 in Parkinson's disease

An enzyme called PGK1 has an unexpectedly critical role in the production of chemical energy in brain cells, according to a preclinical study led by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine. The investigators found that boosting its activity may help the brain resist the energy deficits that can lead to Parkinson's disease.

21 Aug 2024

New discovery reveals how DNA regulates inheritance of disease mutations

University of Queensland researchers have discovered a mechanism in DNA that regulates how disease-causing mutations are inherited.

21 Aug 2024

Hair follicles use unique sensor system to clean up dead cells

Billions of our cells die every day to make way for the growth of new ones. Most of these goners are cleaned up by phagocytes - mobile immune cells that migrate where needed to engulf problematic substances.

21 Aug 2024

The role of the gut microbiota in multiple sclerosis: A scientometric analysis reveals key research trends

Researchers examine the relationship between gut microbiota and multiple sclerosis.

21 Aug 2024

Study finds potential for antidiabetic drugs to modify osteoarthritis risk

Whether antidiabetic medications could potentially be used as disease-modifying osteoarthritis drugs or DMOADs for the therapeutic management of osteoarthritis.

21 Aug 2024

New genomic technique tracks superbugs in hospitals for faster infection management

Researchers have developed a new genomic technique that can track the spread of multiple superbugs in a hospital simultaneously, which could help prevent and manage common hospital infections quicker and more effectively than ever before.

20 Aug 2024

Exploring gene silencing mechanisms for improved RNAi therapeutics

RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics have garnered significant attention in clinical research due to their potential for treating various diseases, including genetic disorders, viral infections and cancer.

20 Aug 2024

Processed and red meat intake associated with higher diabetes risk

Meat consumption, particularly consumption of processed meat and unprocessed red meat, is associated with a higher type 2 diabetes risk, an analysis of data from 1.97 million participants, published today in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology, has found.

20 Aug 2024