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Vaccine for Lassa fever set to enter clinical testing in humans

There is currently no vaccine for the Lassa arenavirus, which causes Lassa fever. This hemorrhagic fever, endemic in West Africa, infects up to 300,000 people each year.

24 Oct 2019

Researchers discover unexpected role of mTORC2 protein in colorectal cancer

New results from researchers at MedUni Vienna's Center for Pathobiochemistry and Genetics show that a protein called mTORC2, which is the target of newly developed cancer drugs, is not even active in colorectal cancer. mTORC2 activity was only found in certain immune cells, which actually need this protein to fight cancer cells.

24 Oct 2019

SLU research halts toxic protein linked to muscular dystrophy in animal models

There is no cure or treatment for facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy, an illness that starts with facial, shoulder and upper arm weakness and eventually affects nearly all skeletal muscles of those with the disease.

23 Oct 2019

New study on zebrafish may have possible relevance for heart regeneration in humans

In mammals, including humans, the heart muscle has a very limited capacity to recover after injury. After an acute myocardial infarction, millions of cardiac muscle cells, named cardiomyocytes, die, and are replaced by a scar.

23 Oct 2019

Scientists report evidence of immune response targeting brain cells in autism

Autism spectrum disorders affect one in 59 American children by age eight. With no known quantitative biological features, autism diagnoses are currently based on expert assessments of behavioral symptoms, including impaired social skills and communication, repetitive behaviors and restricted interests.

17 Oct 2019

Drug may improve the safety of cannabis use in early pregnancy

Cannabis use during pregnancy may increase the risk of psychosis in children. Scientists have now found a drug that can reduce the effects of THC on the fetus.

16 Oct 2019

New therapeutic approach for children born to mothers who used cannabis during pregnancy

As a growing number of U.S. states legalize the medicinal and recreational use of marijuana, an increasing number of American women are using cannabis before becoming pregnant and during early pregnancy often to treat morning sickness, anxiety, and lower back pain.

14 Oct 2019

UC San Diego's CMCR announces research grants to explore cannabis for medical applications

The Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research (CMCR) at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, the nation's oldest research center for scientific inquiry into the safety and efficacy of cannabis, has announced $3 million in research grants to explore new applications of cannabis for a number of novel medical applications.

11 Oct 2019

MSU researchers identify gender-distinct circuit for depression that activates during stress

Depression affects women nearly twice as much as men, but unraveling the brain's blueprint that regulates this behavior, let alone identifying specific molecular differences between sexes, has proven difficult.

9 Oct 2019

Dysfunctions in blood vessels contribute to the development of chronic inflammatory bowel diseases

In Germany alone there are around 400,000 patients who suffer from chronic inflammatory bowel diseases. For the first time, researchers at Universitätsklinikum Erlangen have discovered that dysfunctions in blood vessels play a significant role in the development of such diseases.

9 Oct 2019

Unique immune cell linked to remission in patients with triple negative breast cancer

A unique type of immune cell has been discovered in human breast tissue, and breast cancer patients with more of these cells are more likely to survive, finds new research from the Francis Crick Institute and King's College London.

From The Francis Crick Institute 9 Oct 2019

Study receives NCI grant to explore better treatment for brain tumors in children

Children with recurrent brain tumors or newly diagnosed, particularly aggressive tumors called diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas are being enrolled in the first study to examine the efficacy of a drug that inhibits an enzyme these tumors use to protect themselves from the child's natural immune response.

8 Oct 2019

New defensive mechanism against bacterial wound infections discovered

Wound inflammation which results in impaired wound healing can have serious consequences for patients. Researchers from Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin have discovered a new defensive mechanism which enables our skin to actively kill bacteria.

4 Oct 2019

Researchers create pain mediator profile for pancreatic diseases

In a recent study, a team at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) discovered the cause of this phenomenon for the first time: a particular neuroenzyme in the body is present in the nerves of the organ in high concentrations.

2 Oct 2019

UC experts explore if ketogenic diet could help make treatments for glioblastoma

Investigators at the University of Cincinnati are studying whether or not a modified Atkins-type ketogenic diet could help make treatments for a common, but dangerous, type of brain cancer called glioblastoma more effective.

30 Sep 2019

High-speed imaging technology reveals previously unseen details of living creatures

The Columbia team behind the revolutionary 3D SCAPE microscope announces today a new version of this high-speed imaging technology.

27 Sep 2019

Robust replication model of human noroviruses may pave way for effective therapeutics

Zebrafish larvae can serve as a robust replication model of human noroviruses, according to a study published September 19 in the open-access journal PLOS Pathogens by Joana Rocha-Pereira, Peter de Witte and Johan Neyts, of KU Leuven in Belgium, and colleagues.

From PLOS ONE 25 Sep 2019