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New gene therapy cures babies with fatal 'Bubble Boy' disease

A new gene therapy created by US researchers appears to have cured eight infant boys born with a rare genetic disorder referred to as “Bubble Boy” disease.

18 Apr 2019

New bandage-like biosensor collects and analyzes sweat

Like other biofluids, sweat contains a wealth of information about what's going on inside the body. However, collecting the fluid for analysis, usually by dripping or absorbing it from the skin's surface, can be time-consuming and messy.

17 Apr 2019

Gut bacteria and pregnancy

Researchers from Bar-Ilan University have found that with pregnancy there is a change in the composition of gut bacteria in women. This could be associated with the changing hormonal status they speculate. The results of their study titled, “Progesterone Increases Bifidobacterium Relative Abundance during Late Pregnancy,” were published in the latest issue of the journal Cell Reports.

17 Apr 2019

New technology developed for microscopic imaging in living organisms

Biotechnologists, physicists, and medical researchers at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg have developed technology for microscopic imaging in living organisms.

17 Apr 2019

Outpatient healthcare providers inappropriately prescribe antibiotics to 40% of patients

Outpatient healthcare providers inappropriately prescribed antibiotics to 40 percent of patients in a major Veterans Affairs healthcare system, a higher figure than in previous studies examining outpatient antibiotic use, according to a new study appearing in the American Journal of Infection Control, the journal of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology published by Elsevier.

17 Apr 2019

Study shows money lenders are less likely to approve same-sex couples

Applying for a mortgage is one of the first steps couples take when buying a home, but a new study suggests lenders are less likely to approve same-sex couples.

17 Apr 2019

Precise decoding of breast cancer cells paves way for new treatment option

Researchers at the University of Zurich and from IBM Research have investigated the varying composition of cancer and immune cells in over one hundred breast tumors.

16 Apr 2019

New catalog of DNA mutation 'fingerprints' could help doctors pinpoint cancer culprits

Scientists in Cambridge and London have developed a catalog of DNA mutation 'fingerprints' that could help doctors pinpoint the environmental culprit responsible for a patient's tumor - including showing some of the fingerprints left in lung tumors by specific chemicals found in tobacco smoke.

16 Apr 2019

Researchers uncover cellular resistance mechanisms to BRAF inhibitors in melanoma

Melanoma is one of the most aggressive types of skin cancer, but recent advances in targeted therapies have improved the prognosis for many patients. Unfortunately, for some patients these positive outcomes are not long lasting, due to the development of drug resistance and tumor recurrence.

15 Apr 2019

Petting zoos can create a diverse reservoir of multidrug resistant bacteria

New research presented at this year's European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases in Amsterdam, Netherlands shows that petting zoos can create a diverse reservoir of multidrug resistant bacteria, which could lead to highly virulent drug-resistant pathogens being passed on to visitors.

15 Apr 2019

Study finds ‘superbug’ in hands or nostrils of patients staying in the hospital

For decades, hospitals have worked to get doctors, nurses and others to wash their hands and prevent the spread of germs.

15 Apr 2019

Low hand hygiene compliance found among healthcare workers on ICUs

Healthcare workers on intensive care units are regularly missing opportunities to clean their hands during the care of patients, despite its critical importance for infection control, according to new research being presented at this year's European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases in Amsterdam, Netherlands (13-16 April).

15 Apr 2019

New app can predict likelihood of developing incisional hernia after abdominal surgery

A new app can predict the likelihood that a patient will develop an incisional hernia following abdominal surgery, using big data to potentially help address a problem effects one out of every eight of these surgical patients.

12 Apr 2019

Unreliable diagnostics for fish allergy testing

James Cook University scientists in Australia have found material commonly used for fish allergy testing is unreliable - potentially putting lives at risk.

12 Apr 2019

FDA approves new treatment for adults with metastatic bladder cancer

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today granted accelerated approval to Balversa (erdafitinib), a treatment for adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic bladder cancer that has a type of susceptible genetic alteration known as FGFR3 or FGFR2, and that has progressed during or following prior platinum-containing chemotherapy.

12 Apr 2019

How to fight ‘scary’ superbugs? Cooperation — and a special soap

Hospitals and nursing homes in California and Illinois are testing a surprisingly simple strategy against the dangerous, antibiotic-resistant superbugs that kill thousands of people each year: washing patients with a special soap.

12 Apr 2019

Bacteria share genes with one another, even across tissue boundaries

Bacteria in the human body are sharing genes with one another at a higher rate than is typically seen in nature, and some of those genes appear to be traveling - independent of their microbial hosts - from one part of the body to another, researchers report in the journal Scientific Reports.

11 Apr 2019

New liquid biopsy technique used to assess melanoma progression

When the surgeon surgically removes a melanoma, some patients are said to be 'cancer-free' and they do not get additional treatment. However, should the fluid obtained in the drainage implanted after surgery be tested using the liquid biopsy technique rather than be disposed of as medical waste, the test might predict the high or low risk of cancer recurrence.

11 Apr 2019

Researchers discover pathway contributing to fatty liver disease

Researchers from Karolinska Institutet have found a protein that is a critical regulator in the development of fatty liver disease in mice, according to a study published in the journal Nature Communications.

11 Apr 2019

New study shows that microbes can help break toxic chemical in dust

The dust that settles throughout our homes and offices almost always contains bits of chemicals that can cause problems for the human endocrine system, scientists say.

11 Apr 2019