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New human tissue chips aim to replace animal testing

Animal testing has long been the standard for evaluating new drugs before they reach human patients. But when it comes to cancer immunotherapy drugs, animal models often fail to predict which immunotherapies might produce harmful side effects in humans because they do not have the same responses or the same cell receptors.

11 Aug 2026

New machine learning model improves accuracy of prenatal genetic testing

Advances in genome sequencing are giving more families access to prenatal genetic testing and new information about an unborn baby's health, including whether genetic changes may link to a neurodevelopmental condition.

11 Aug 2026

Senescent brain immune cells secrete protein linked to cognitive decline

Brain-resident immune cells that have reached an old-age state called "senescence" secrete a protein that causes dysfunction in other brain cells, according to a study led by investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine.

11 Aug 2026

Huge philanthropic grant funds pioneering stem cell-based heart attack therapy

In a landmark moment for both the treatment of heart disease and philanthropic support, The Marcus Foundation has awarded the head of USC Stem Cell Center, Chuck Murry, MD, PhD, $28.7 million to advance a clinical trial testing a stem cell-based therapy designed to regenerate damaged tissue after a heart attack.

11 Aug 2026

Shared cellular pathway drives neurodegeneration in rare childhood dementia and Alzheimer’s

Researchers at University of California San Diego and their colleagues have identified a key cellular pathway that drives brain degeneration in both a rare childhood disorder and the far more common Alzheimer's disease.

11 Aug 2026

Dexamethasone calms lung inflammation without weakening core immune responses

Researchers from Trinity College Dublin and St. James's Hospital have shown that dexamethasone, a commonly prescribed anti-inflammatory steroid, can reduce harmful inflammation triggered by Mycobacterium avium without weakening the ability of human immune cells to control the infection.

11 Aug 2026

Waist size predicts heart disease risk better than body mass index

The size of a person's midsection is a better indicator of cardiovascular disease risk when compared to their body mass index (BMI) alone, according to a study published in JACC, the flagship journal of the American College of Cardiology.

11 Aug 2026

HonorHealth begins trial of dendritic cell vaccine for advanced melanoma

Physicians at HonorHealth Research Institute have begun a clinical trial of a new, potentially more powerful, treatment for fighting advanced melanoma, using the immune system's dendritic cells to create a vaccine.

11 Aug 2026

SwRI researchers design better inhalers for young children

A Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) project is developing techniques to improve inhalers for young children and other people who can't inhale deeply.

11 Aug 2026

$Bone loss alone fails to explain diabetes-related fracture risk$

Bone loss alone fails to explain diabetes-related fracture risk

A new study published in Diabetes Care finds that bone loss alone does not explain the increased fracture risk observed in some older adults with type 2 diabetes.

11 Aug 2026

New lab-grown heart valves advance treatments for childhood heart diseases

Melbourne researchers have created human heart valve tissues from stem cells, providing a powerful new platform to advance treatments for childhood heart diseases.

11 Aug 2026

New heart assembloid model mimics complex valve disorders

A multi-disciplinary, multi-institution group of researchers focused their expertise in genetics, mechanics, chemistry and biology on a chip the size of a postage stamp in order to model a particular class of heart conditions.

11 Aug 2026

New computational tool identifies hidden genes driving asthma

Researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, in collaboration with investigators at the University of Chicago, have developed a new computational framework that helps scientists identify genes that play central roles in diseases such as asthma but are often overlooked by existing genetic analysis methods.

11 Aug 2026

Miniature microscope tracks and activates single brain cells during movement

Researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz and the University of Colorado Boulder have developed a miniature microscope that allows scientists to observe and activate individual brain cells during natural movement, an advance that could accelerate research into how the brain controls behavior while deepening understanding of neurological diseases.

11 Aug 2026

New UH Health initiative targets Texas healthcare workforce shortage

Addressing Texas' growing healthcare workforce shortage and rising demand for care, the University of Houston has launched UH Health, an academic health enterprise designed to integrate education, research and community engagement across the University.

11 Aug 2026

New dashboard tracks flesh-eating screwworm threat across the United States

In the 1950s, the New World screwworm cost U.S. livestock producers tens of millions of dollars a year, as much as $50 to $100 million annually in the hardest-hit Southwest, before it was eradicated from the United States and pushed south to Panama.

11 Aug 2026

Lab-grown mini tumors help scientists predict breast cancer treatment success

Researchers at UC San Francisco have developed a new method to predict how different types of breast cancer will respond to treatment, using patient data from the I-SPY2 breast cancer trial and rapid testing on lab-grown mini tumors.

11 Aug 2026

Online training program helps clinicians track psychiatric patient progress consistently

Questionnaires that track depression, anxiety, and other symptoms can help psychiatrists see whether a patient is improving.

11 Aug 2026

Folic acid relies on vitamin A pathway to prevent birth defects

For decades, we've known that folic acid can help prevent serious birth defects of the brain and spinal cord, but we haven't fully understood how it does it.

11 Aug 2026

New review urges proteostatic fitness standards for stem cell therapies

Stem cell therapies have expanded rapidly, with more than 115 clinical trials involving over 1,200 patients approved by late 2024. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved Ryoncil (remestemcel‑L) for children with steroid‑refractory acute graft‑versus‑host disease, signaling a major shift toward routine clinical use.

11 Aug 2026