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Study could help identify genes linked to aging process

To better understand the role of bacteria in health and disease, National Institutes of Health researchers fed fruit flies antibiotics and monitored the lifetime activity of hundreds of genes that scientists have traditionally thought control aging.

25 Jun 2021

Researchers trace gecko’s skin tumors to a gene implicated in deadly cancer

The leopard gecko's name was Mr. Frosty, and he was hard to miss. Yellow bands striped his back, and uncommonly white skin peeked out from speckles on his head and tail.

25 Jun 2021

Researchers decode humans’ survival from historical coronavirus outbreaks

An international team of researchers co-led by the University of Adelaide and the University of Arizona has analyzed the genomes of more than 2,500 modern humans from 26 worldwide populations, to better understand how humans have adapted to historical coronavirus outbreaks.

25 Jun 2021

Parents of children with medical complexity more likely to have poor or fair mental health

Parents of children with the most complex medical conditions are more likely to report poor or fair mental health and struggle to find community help, according to a study completed by researchers at University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) and Golisano Children's Hospital.

24 Jun 2021

New findings shed light on genetic changes that underlie rare, aggressive childhood cancer

A new study could lead to improved decision making in assigning treatments for children with the aggressive cancer rhabdomyosarcoma after revealing key genetic changes underlying development of the disease.

24 Jun 2021

New study revises current textbook knowledge about gastrulation

Scientists from Helmholtz Zentrum München revise the current textbook knowledge about gastrulation, the formation of the basic body plan during embryonic development. Their study in mice has implications for cell replacement strategies and cancer research.

24 Jun 2021

Study identifies the cell of origin of medulloblastoma

The study was conducted by an international collaboration involving the research team led by Luca Tiberi of the Armenise-Harvard Laboratory of Brain Cancer at the Department of Cellular, computational and integrative biology - Cibio of UniTrento, the Paris Brain Institute-Institut du Cerveau at Sorbonne Université in Paris, the Hopp Children´s Cancer Center (KiTZ) in Heidelberg, Germany, and Sapienza University in Rome.

24 Jun 2021

Researchers create first detailed atlas of the developing mouse brain

Researchers at Harvard University and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard have created a first detailed atlas of a critical region of the developing mouse brain, applying multiple advanced genomic technologies to the part of the cerebral cortex that is responsible for processing sensation from the body.

24 Jun 2021

Study: A subset of patients with localized prostate cancer may benefit from immunotherapies

In recent years, cancer immunotherapy has been effective in treating patients with immunogenic, or so-called "hot" tumors with increased levels of inflammation and the presence of immune cells in and around the tumors.

24 Jun 2021

Scientists predict driver mutations of future SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern

A team of scientists from the USA has recently predicted the driver mutations that may appear in future variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The prediction is based on currently available genetic surveillance data on amino acid mutations present in SARS-CoV-2 variants. A detailed description of the study is currently available on the medRxiv* preprint server.

24 Jun 2021

Common cause of rare syndromes revealed by cultured mini-brains

The culprit behind a large number of cancerous tumors is known to be a certain protein. Now for the first time, research shows that the same protein is the cause of several rare brain syndromes.

24 Jun 2021

Is COVID-19 more severe in pregnancy?

A new study, released as a preprint on the medRxiv* server, indicates that pregnant women are more likely to develop severe disease following severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection.

24 Jun 2021

Could polio vaccines induce cross-reactive antibodies that target SARS-CoV-2?

A new preprint released on the medRxiv* server explores a link between immunity to SARS-CoV-2, the earlier SARS-CoV, and childhood poliovirus vaccination. Almost 90% of the world’s people have received this vaccine, but antibodies elicited by it reduce over time and are almost absent at the end of adolescence.

24 Jun 2021

New study suggests an earlier and faster spread of COVID-19 than initially thought

Researchers from Kent University in the UK have shown that the first coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patient likely dates back to October 2019. They also found that the spread to other continents of its causative pathogen – the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – occurred faster and sooner.

24 Jun 2021

Antidepressants taken during pregnancy do not increase risk for autism spectrum disorder

Women with depression and other mood disorders are generally advised to continue taking antidepressant medications during pregnancy.

24 Jun 2021

New tool can help conserve one of the UK’s most threatened mammals

A new tool to help conserve one of the UK’s most threatened mammals has been released today, with the publication of the first high-quality reference genome for the European water vole.

24 Jun 2021

Researchers identify a new type of odor neuron in flies

The stink of ammonia in urine, sweat, and rotting meat repels humans, but many insects find ammonia alluring. Now, UConn researchers have figured out how the annoying insects smell it, a discovery that could lead to better ways to make them buzz off.

24 Jun 2021

Machine-learning approach could accurately predict the evolution of breast cancer

From amoebas to zebras, all living things evolve. They change over time as pressures from the environment cause individuals with certain traits to become more common in a population while those with other traits become less common.

24 Jun 2021

New class of compounds can stop the reproduction of coronavirus

A human genetic mechanism hijacked by SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus behind the COVID-19 pandemic, to help it spread also makes it vulnerable to a new class of drug candidates, a new study finds.

24 Jun 2021

Biomarker of chronic cellular stress is associated with Huntington's disease, shows study

A new University of California, Irvine-led study finds that the persistence of a marker of chronic cellular stress, previously associated with neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD), also takes place in the brains of Huntington's disease (HD) patients.

24 Jun 2021