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Bacterial community in the gut of Parkinson's patients differs from that of healthy people

Parkinson's disease is an insidious disease: by the time it manifests as the typical motor dysfunctions such as tremors or muscle rigidity, portions of the brain have already been irreversibly destroyed.

29 Aug 2017

Researchers reveal reason for reduced release of satiety hormones in obese people

Individuals with severe overweight have an inhibited sense of satiation - they release fewer satiety hormones than people of normal weight.

29 Aug 2017

Discovery sheds new light on biological phenomenon in autoimmune disease

A newly-unveiled discovery, which has been four years in the making, has the potential to change the way we look at autoimmune diseases and understand how and why immune cells begin to attack different tissues in the body.

24 Aug 2017

Researchers develop quick and easy-to-use test for detecting rare immunodeficiency

Researchers at the University of Basel have developed a test to quickly and reliably diagnose a rare and severe immune defect, hepatic veno-occlusive disease with immunodeficiency. They reported on their findings in the Journal of Clinical Immunology.

22 Aug 2017

Newly discovered immunodeficiency can make people seriously ill from chickenpox virus

A mutation in one of the sensors that the immune system uses to detect viruses can, in rare cases, turn infections with the chickenpox virus into a life-threatening matter.

11 Aug 2017

Research identifies crucial insights into early T-cell development

Mutations in the gene encoding the enzyme protein tyrosine phosphatase N2 (PTPN2) have been associated with the development of autoimmune disease including Type 1 diabetes, Crohn's Disease, and rheumatoid arthritis.

11 Aug 2017

Discovery of new biological pathway involved in pain processing offers hope for new treatments

The discovery of a new biological pathway involved in pain processing offers hope of using existing cancer drugs to replace the use of opioids in chronic pain treatment, according to scientists at McGill University.

8 Aug 2017

Researchers reveal potential of radiomics to improve precision medicine

Precision medicine has become the leading innovation of cancer treatment. Patients are routinely treated with drugs that are designed to target specific tumors and molecules.

3 Aug 2017

"Fat switch" may hold the key to obesity finds new study

Scientists have been trying for years now to understand what causes overweight and obesity in some but not in others. Now researchers at the Monash University's Biomedicine Discovery Institute seem to have solved the puzzle that has been baffling them all – a so called “fat switch” in the brain that regulates weight gain. This could also mean a new potential for treatment of obesity in future. The study appeared in the journal Cell Metabolism today.

1 Aug 2017

Study identifies key component that allows deadly bacteria to spread antibiotic resistance

Antibiotic resistance of the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus is responsible for 11,300 deaths a year in the United States alone -- a figure that corresponds to half of all deaths caused by gram-positive resistant bacteria in that country.

26 Jul 2017

Research offers explanation for ineffectiveness of checkpoint immunotherapy against bladder cancer

New research offers a possible explanation for why a new type of cancer treatment hasn't been working as expected against bladder cancer.

25 Jul 2017

Research finding could pave way for novel compounds to tackle bacterial resistance

Bacteria or 'superbugs' that have adapted to resist multiple antibiotics are responsible for around 700,000 deaths globally a year; new types of antibiotics are urgently needed.

18 Jul 2017

Scientists reveal key role of TLK2 gene in placenta development, embryo viability in mice

The placenta, a transient organ that links the developing embryo to its mother, is responsible for nutrient, waste and gas exchange between the fetus and the mother.

17 Jul 2017

Study reveals health outcomes of children conceived using donor sperm

Children conceived using donor sperm have similar health and well-being to the general population, according to a study published in Reproductive BioMedicine Online.

13 Jul 2017

Promoting innate detoxification mechanisms could be efficient strategy to reduce cellular oxidative stress

Promoting innate detoxification mechanisms in the body and discovering which supplements increase the efficacy of those biochemical pathways could be an efficient strategy to reduce the cellular oxidative stress and protect our health, according to an article published in the journal Food Chemistry, by the researchers Rafael Franco, from the Institute of Biomedicine of the University of Barcelona, and Eva Martínez Pinilla, from the Institute of Neurosciences of Asturias and the University of Oviedo.

21 Jun 2017

New approach could potentially prevent muscle wasting in muscular dystrophy and cancer

Monash University's Biomedicine Discovery Institute researchers have collaboratively developed a therapeutic approach that dramatically promotes the growth of muscle mass, which could potentially prevent muscle wasting in diseases including muscular dystrophy and cancer.

14 Jun 2017

Research reveals role of Rrm3 protein in repair of breaks that occur during DNA replication

A research group from the University of Seville has revealed the role that the protein Rrm3 plays in the repair of breaks that occur during the replication of DNA, by using the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a model organism.

8 Jun 2017

Research reveals link between POMC neurons and release of insulin by the pancreas

The brain is key in the regulation of appetite, body weight and metabolism. Specifically, there is a small group of hypothalamus neurons, called POMC, that detect and integrate signals that inform on the energy state of the organism and activate the appropriate physiological responses.

8 Jun 2017

Swiss scientists create artificial viruses to combat cancer cells

Swiss scientists from the University of Geneva, Switzerland, and the University of Basel have created artificial viruses that can be used to target cancer.

26 May 2017

Researchers identify key regulator gene for formation of cardiac valves

Researchers from the University of Basel in Switzerland have identified a key regulator gene for the formation of cardiac valves - a process crucial to normal embryonic heart development. These results are published in the journal Cell Reports today.

23 May 2017