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Making it all work: brain-dependent immune activation in embryos

How does the immune system develop its functionality? This has been an ongoing area of research for biologists. Now, a new study published in the journal NPJ Regenerative Medicine in February 2020 shows that in very early fetal life the brain must signal directions to the developing immune system to help it defend the body from infectious agents. This signaling markedly improves the capability of the embryo to survive when faced with bacterial infection.

4 Feb 2020

Hendra antibody trial shows promise in a world-first human clinical trial

The Hendra virus is a potent pathogen transmitted to humans from animals that cause a severe and often fatal illness in both infected horses and humans. Originating from fruit bats, the virus caused an outbreak in Australia in 1994.

4 Feb 2020

RNA affecting skin cancer progression discovered

Researchers at the University of Turku, Turku University Central Hospital, and Western Cancer Center have discovered a new RNA molecule, PRECSIT, which regulates the growth and invasion of squamous cell carcinoma of the skin.

4 Feb 2020

Researchers develop an emergency stop switch for CAR T-cell therapies

Immunotherapy, unlike chemotherapy and radiotherapy, arms the body's immune system to attack cancer cells. In recent years, it has proven to be remarkably successful at treating leukemia, lymphoma and other liquid cancers, or cancers present in body fluids.

4 Feb 2020

Ludwig Cancer Research study develops a safer CAR-T therapy

A Ludwig Cancer Research study has devised a new type of chimeric antigen-receptor (CAR) T cell - a family of promising immunotherapies for cancer- that can be switched on and off on demand.

3 Feb 2020

Blood test can be used to gauge a person's risk for cerebral small vessel disease

A UCLA-led study has found that levels of six proteins in the blood can be used to gauge a person's risk for cerebral small vessel disease, or CSVD, a brain disease that affects an estimated 11 million older adults in the U.S. CSVD can lead to dementia and stroke, but currently it can only be diagnosed with an MRI scan of the brain.

3 Feb 2020

Researchers receive $1 million grant to study effects of bacteria on the brain

With a $1 million grant from the W. M. Keck Foundation, neuroscience researchers at Washington State University and the University of Massachusetts Amherst will explore whether variations in brain levels of bacterial fragments can account for life's sleep/wake and 24-hour cycles, known as circadian rhythms.

3 Feb 2020

New noninvasive way to monitor the health of brain cells using an infrared laser

With no way to reliably tell whether an athlete has a concussion, many may be playing with an undiagnosed injury. Likewise, 2 million people die every year because we don't have an early warning when brain cells are dying--and another 4 million experience cognitive disabilities.

3 Feb 2020

New combination treatment could help fight advanced melanoma

A study by researchers at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center suggests that using an immunotherapy drug called NKTR-214, also known as bempegaldesleukin, in combination with an infusion of anti-tumor immune cells, or T cells, may produce a stronger immune response that could help fight advanced melanoma.

31 Jan 2020

Researchers provide first insight into innovative approach for diabetes care

The circadian clock system (from Latin "circa diem", about a day) allows the organisms to anticipate periodical changes of geophysical time, and to adjust to these changes. Nearly all the cells in our body comprise molecular clocks that regulate and synchronize metabolic functions to a 24-hour cycle of day-night changes.

31 Jan 2020

New discovery could enable scientists to fine-tune activity of cancer-killing immune cells

A discovery by University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers could allow scientists to fine-tune genetically engineered immune cells to heighten their killing power against tumors or to decrease their activity level in the case of severe side effects.

31 Jan 2020

IU researchers receive $3 million NIH grants to study cell functions in the bone marrow

More than $3 million from the National Institutes of Health will allow Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center researchers to improve understanding of the complex system of how hematopoietic stem cells survive and sustain their function in the bone marrow.

31 Jan 2020

Scientists track down a potential target for new sleeping sickness drugs

Using ultra-bright X-ray flashes, a team of researchers has tracked down a potential target for new drugs against sleeping sickness: The scientists have decoded the detailed spatial structure of a vital enzyme of the pathogen, the parasite Trypanosoma brucei.

30 Jan 2020

MSU researcher makes strides in discovering new cellular mechanism

A Montana State University biotechnology researcher was part of an international team that recently discovered an internal mechanism which may protect human cells from oxidative damage.

30 Jan 2020

New genetic screen for Huntington’s disease

Huntington’s disease is a genetic disease that is debilitating and progressive leading to severe brain damage and eventual death. In patients with this autosomal dominant disease, there is presence of a protein called the Huntingtin protein that forms clumps within the brain leading to the symptoms of the disease.

30 Jan 2020

Scientists discover small molecule that may slow or stop Parkinson's disease progression

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.

30 Jan 2020

New target protein linked to regulation, movement of tumor-associated macrophages

Developing a therapy to combat cancer remains one of the most difficult challenges in medical research. Cancer owes its notorious identity to the fact that the cancer cells use the host's own immune system to grow and spread, ultimately becoming deadly.

30 Jan 2020

Link between autism and poor cognition

Autistic people are often brilliant, but they may also have poor cognitive skills. The relationship between autism and either condition, inside the brain, has been far from clear. However, now a new study shows that poor cognition in autism could be due to the influence of a small gene fragment.

29 Jan 2020

Bandages sense infections, change color, treat infection

In what reads like science fiction, a new study published in the journal ACS Central Science reports the development of bandages that detect the presence of bacteria in wounds and change color, depending on whether they are drug-sensitive or drug-resistant. This is an important step in helping patients recover better.

29 Jan 2020

Nanoparticle Trojan horse approach to clearing atherosclerotic plaques

Researchers from Michigan State University and Stanford University have designed special nanoparticles which could break down an atherosclerotic plaque from within. This could prevent heart attacks say researchers. The study titled, “Pro-efferocytic nanoparticles are specifically taken up by lesional macrophages and prevent atherosclerosis,” was published in the latest issue of the journal Nature Nanotechnology.

29 Jan 2020