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Accumulated brain protein affects genes in Alzheimer's disease

A new study published in February 2020 in the journal Cell Reports shows how the build-up of specific brain cell proteins are linked to altered gene expression that causes the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease (AD).

11 Feb 2020

Individual response to Ebola predicted by new method

The Ebola virus produces widely varying reactions, from asymptomatic illness to death, in people depending on the individual's susceptibility. But what drives this difference in response? A new study published in the journal Cell Reports on February 2020 goes one step further in understanding how the immune system reacts to the virus causing varying levels of severity of disease between cases.

11 Feb 2020

MGH researchers uncover potential antiviral drug target for treating infectious diseases

As the coronavirus outbreak shows, viruses are a constant threat to humanity. Vaccines are regularly developed and deployed against specific viruses, but that process takes a lot of time, doesn't help everyone who needs protection, and still leaves people exposed to new outbreaks and new viruses.

11 Feb 2020

Macrophages migrate from the blood to attack brain tissue shortly after stroke

Macrophages are part of the innate immune system and essential for brain development and function. Using a novel method, scientists from Jena University Hospital, the University of Bonn and the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York (USA) succeeded in visualizing macrophages that were formed in the bone marrow.

11 Feb 2020

DNA misfolding linked to heightened risk for Type 1 diabetes

It's known that genetics, or an inherited genome, is a major determinant of one's risk for autoimmune diseases, like Type 1 diabetes. In human cells, a person's genome--about six feet of DNA--is compressed into the micrometer space of the nucleus via a three-dimensional folding process.

11 Feb 2020

A protein that plays key role in endometrial cancer growth discovered

The hormone estrogen plays many critical roles in men and women, in both healthy tissues and in cancer. In breast and gynecologic cancers, estrogen sends signals to tumors instructing the cancer cells to grow out of control.

11 Feb 2020

Biological age metric can provide new opportunities for preventative healthcare

People age in different ways. Biological age is a metric that scientists use to predict health risks, the relevance of which can be enhanced by combining different markers. Particularly important markers are frailty and the epigenetic clock, write researchers from Karolinska Institutet in a study published in eLife.

11 Feb 2020

Developmental shape-shifting is key to cancer's ability to spread and evade immune defenses

Just as people tend to become stuck in their ways as they grow older so too do cells. Neurons in the brain don't one day decide to become heart cells; skin cells repair wounds with skin cells rather than kidney cells.

11 Feb 2020

Pioneering project on genomic edition through CRISPR/Cas9 to study early embryonic development

Characterization studies of early embryonic development are limited, mainly due to the lack of samples and the obvious legal and ethical limitations.

11 Feb 2020

Finding a cure for canine gliomas may help find treatment for human brain cancer

Cancer research using experimental models--everything from cancer cells in a dish to patient tumors transplanted in mice--has been extremely useful for learning more about the disease and how we might treat it.

10 Feb 2020

Study explores how some mammals postpone development of their embryos

How do some mammals postpone the development of their embryos to await better conditions for having offspring? A recent study at the UW Medicine Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine explored this reproductive enigma, which can occur in more than 130 species of mammals as well as in some marsupials.

10 Feb 2020

Coronavirus could have spread to humans from bats via pangolins

A new research from China reveals that the novel corona virus that has killed hundreds of infected persons in Wuhan from the Hubei province in China and infected thousands across the world could have spread to humans via bats mediated via another species of animals – pangolins.

10 Feb 2020

Higher maternal blood pressure linked to placental gene modifications

Higher maternal blood pressure in pregnancy is associated with chemical modifications to placental genes, according to a study by researchers from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, part of the National Institutes of Health.

10 Feb 2020

Research reveals novel way to treat cancers using CAR T cell therapy

Too many patients with cancers like multiple myeloma relapse after treatment. This grim reality motivated researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah to try to improve the depth and durability of treatment response in multiple myeloma through a new cancer cell targeting mechanism.

10 Feb 2020

High bacterial levels in half of lupus skin rashes

A new study published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology reports that half the skin lesions present in patients with lupus show the presence of viable staph bacteria. This makes them more susceptible to skin infections and also increases the risk that the infection will spread to others.

9 Feb 2020

Growing eggs and sperm to treat infertility

Scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles, have reported, in the journal Cell Reports, the mechanism of how the very early precursor or stem cells which eventually give rise to the germ cells, eggs and sperm, are formed over the course of development. This could help create eggs and sperms under laboratory conditions to help infertile people who don’t have sperms, or eggs, for instance.

9 Feb 2020

Discovery of potential cause of age-related macular degeneration

Age related macular degeneration or AMD leads to loss of vision in around 1.5 million people in the United Kingdom and millions of others around the world. In a new study researchers have discovered a new protein that could explain the causation and thus provide clues to its early diagnosis and effective treatment. The study was published in the latest issue of the journal Nature Communications.

9 Feb 2020

CRISPR-edited immune cells can be safely given to cancer patients

The emergence of CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technology has spurred hope in both doctors and patients since it shows promise in treating a multitude of diseases, including cancer. For the first time in the United States, a team of scientists has shown that CRISPR-edited immune cells can be safely used to cancer patients.

9 Feb 2020

Biological toolkit will help researchers design new functions in mammalian cells

A new synthetic biology toolkit developed at Northwestern University will help researchers design mammalian cells with new functionalities.

9 Feb 2020

Researchers identify involvement of certain cortical areas in the loss of control over food intake

Researchers at UPF, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Mainz (Germany), the Center for Genomic Regulation, Instituto Cajal, Johannes Gutenberg University (Germany), the Autonomous University Barcelona and Hospital del Mar have identified for the first time the involvement of certain cortical areas in the brain in the loss of control over food intake.

9 Feb 2020