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Boosting BCL6 may counteract muscle loss from GLP-1 medications

About one in eight adults in the United States has tried or currently uses a GLP-1 medication, and a quarter of those users cite weight loss as their main goal.

23 Jan 2025

College students gain new muscle, not fat during the holiday season

With the holidays behind us, many Americans are seeing the numbers on the scale go up a pound or two. In fact, data shows that many American midlife and older adults gain 1 to 1.5 pounds over the November through January holiday period.

15 Jan 2025

SMART software offers new solution for modeling cell-signaling networks

Researchers at University of California San Diego have developed and tested a new software package, called Spatial Modeling Algorithms for Reactions and Transport (SMART), that can realistically simulate cell-signaling networks - the complex systems of molecular interactions that allow cells to respond to diverse cues from their environment.

19 Dec 2024

Yale study links paranoia to visual perception deficits

Could complex beliefs like paranoia have roots in something as basic as vision? A new Yale study finds evidence that they might.

17 Dec 2024

Breakthrough discovery could lead to effective vaccine for S. aureus

Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is a major cause of skin and soft tissue infections that can sometimes lead to sepsis and toxic shock syndrome.

16 Dec 2024

Implantable sensors aid in optimizing bone injury recovery

Tiny implantable sensors are helping University of Oregon researchers optimize the process of recovery from severe bone injuries.

12 Dec 2024

PAGER technology unlocks new potential for controlling cellular activity

A basic function of cells is that they act in response to their environments. It makes sense, then, that a goal of scientists is to control that process, making cells respond how they want to what they want.

5 Dec 2024

Dopamine and serotonin balance reward learning in opposing ways

If you've heard of two of the brain's chemical neurotransmitters, it's probably dopamine and serotonin. Never mind that glutamate and GABA do most of the work - it's the thrill of dopamine as the "pleasure chemical" and serotonin as tender mood-stabilizer that attract all the headlines.

25 Nov 2024

Machine learning identifies key genes linking rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis

Rheumatoid arthritis is a common disease affecting an estimated 17 million people worldwide. The disease is caused by immune cells attacking the joints and can result in pain, swelling, and damage to the cartilage and bone.

5 Nov 2024

Surge in GLP-1 drug use for obesity coincides with drop in bariatric surgery

Researchers from Mass General Brigham and collaborators found that use of GLP-1 drugs to treat obesity more than doubled from 2022 to 2023 while rates of surgery dropped by one quarter.

26 Oct 2024

Researchers unlock potential of light-controlled cellular activities

Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI have succeeded in elucidating the structure of specific photoreceptors.

25 Oct 2024

Adenine base editors show potential to correct X-CGD-causing mutations

A collaborative effort between investigators at the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, demonstrates the potential of precise genome editing technologies, called adenine base editors, to correct disease-causing mutations in stem cells from patients with X-linked chronic granulomatous disease (X-CGD), a rare genetic disorder characterized by high susceptibility to infections.

16 Oct 2024

Major donation fuels advances in ophthalmic artificial intelligence

The Icahn School of Medicine has announced a $5 million gift from the John and Daria Barry Foundation for the Center for Ophthalmic Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Human Health.

16 Oct 2024

Distinct immune profiles linked to adverse reactions from immunotherapy

Distinct immune "signatures" in patients who develop adverse events while taking immunotherapy for cancer may help oncologists identify patients at risk and treat them early to prevent serious side effects, suggests a study by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and its Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy.

15 Oct 2024

Scientists develop new method for relocating misplaced proteins

Cells are highly controlled spaces that rely on every protein being in the right place. Many diseases, including cancers and neurodegenerative disorders, are associated with misplaced proteins.

20 Sep 2024

New dye technique allows for transparent skin imaging in live mice

Seeing what's going on inside a body is never easy. While technologies like CT scans, X-rays, MRIs, and microscopy can provide insights, the images are rarely completely clear and can come with side effects like radiation exposure.

5 Sep 2024

Kynurenine pathway blockade shows promise for restoring brain metabolism in Alzheimer's

Among the many ways neuroscientists think Alzheimer's disease may strip away brain function is by disrupting the glucose metabolism needed to fuel the healthy brain.

22 Aug 2024

Understanding host immune responses through cell death pathways

A new review was published as the cover paper of Aging (listed by MEDLINE/PubMed as "Aging (Albany NY)" and "Aging-US" by Web of Science), Volume 16, Issue 15, entitled, "Types of cell death and their relations to host immunological pathways".

16 Aug 2024

Moffitt study identifies predictive biomarkers for immunotherapy in merkel cell carcinoma

Merkel cell carcinoma is a rare but highly aggressive form of skin cancer known for its rapid growth and tendency to metastasize. Despite the promise of immune checkpoint blockade therapy, which can boost the body's immune response against cancer cells, nearly half of patients do not respond to this treatment.

26 Jul 2024

Discovery of "unconventional" immune response opens new avenue in TB vaccine development

An "unconventional" immune response now identified by scientists from the Hackensack Meridian Center for Discovery and Innovation (CDI) is a potential new pathway for developing new vaccines for tuberculosis (TB), according to a new publication.

15 Jul 2024