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GlobalData: Leading medical robots used by the healthcare industry

The healthcare industry uses four types of robots to improve the current standard of care, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

2 Jan 2020

Tau-protein better predicts brain atrophy in Alzheimer's patients than amyloid plaques

Brain imaging of pathological tau-protein "tangles" reliably predicts the location of future brain atrophy in Alzheimer's patients a year or more in advance, according to a new study by scientists at the UC San Francisco Memory and Aging Center. In contrast, the location of amyloid "plaques," which have been the focus of Alzheimer's research and drug development for decades, was found to be of little utility in predicting how damage would unfold as the disease progressed.

2 Jan 2020

Research reveals how the brain balances pleasure and pain

As our brains take in information about the world and use it to steer our actions, two key principles guide our choices: seek pleasure and avoid pain.

31 Dec 2019

Bile acids help norovirus to infect cells of the small intestine

A new study led by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals that human noroviruses, the leading viral cause of foodborne illness and acute diarrhea around the world, infect cells of the small intestine by piggybacking on a normal cellular process called endocytosis that cells use to acquire materials from their environment.

31 Dec 2019

Crab study advocates a more 'multimodal' approach to defining cell identity

A longstanding goal in neuroscience is to classify the brain's many cells into discrete categories according to their function.

31 Dec 2019

Scientists identify molecules capable of inhibiting DNA methylation, effectively killing malaria parasites

Parasites in the genus Plasmodium, which cause malaria, are transmitted to humans through bites from infected mosquitoes.

31 Dec 2019

Consumers feel empowered and confused by direct-to-consumer fertility tests, study reveals

Direct-to-consumer hormone-based "fertility testing" for women is viewed by consumers as both an alternative, empowering tool for family planning, and a confusing and misleading one, according to the results of a new study from Penn Medicine.

30 Dec 2019

Grizzly bears' strategy could help prevent muscle atrophy in humans

Grizzly bears spend many months in hibernation, but their muscles do not suffer from the lack of movement. In the journal "Scientific Reports", a team led by Michael Gotthardt reports on how they manage to do this.

30 Dec 2019

A new deep learning approach to predict disease-associated mutations

During the past years, artificial intelligence (AI) -- the capability of a machine to mimic human behavior -- has become a key player in high-techs like drug development projects.

28 Dec 2019

New 'fishing' technique to detect thousands of proteins

A new study published today in the journal Nature Cell Biology reports the use of a novel fishing method, under microscopy, to pick up thousands of proteins that are involved in supervising how the cell skeleton is assembled.

23 Dec 2019

New technique provides real-time images of biomolecules in living cells

Metabolic diseases such as diabetes and obesity are ever more common globally. In addition to genetic disposition, lifestyle contributes strongly to the prevalence of these metabolic diseases.

23 Dec 2019

Autism risk in children could be predicted by mutations in paternal sperm

Researchers from the University of California, San Diego, have found that mutations present in the sperms of the father could be predictors of autism in the offspring, in a landmark study. These mutations, if quantified could help ascertain the risk say the researchers. The new study appears this week in the latest issue of the journal Nature Medicine.

23 Dec 2019

Scientists develop 3D atlas of bone marrow to help study blood diseases

The bone marrow, which is the spongy and viscous tissue that fills the bone, is the site of blood cell formation or hematopoiesis. If the bone marrow doesn’t work properly, it can lead to many blood diseases, including leukemia, sickle cell anemia, and lymphoma, among others.

23 Dec 2019

NFCR-funded translational cancer research project receives $700,000 from Virginia Catalyst

A translational research project supported by the National Foundation for Cancer Research (NFCR) has been awarded $700,000 from Virginia Catalyst to advance its lead cancer drug candidate.

23 Dec 2019

2,500 vaping-related hospitalizations in the US

Over the past few months, there was a sudden surge of patients presenting with mysterious lung disease, e-cigarette, or vaping, product use-associated lung injury (EVALI), which was tied to e-cigarette use. Now, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports more than 2,500 hospitalizations and a total of 54 deaths.

22 Dec 2019

MIT engineers generate first laser ultrasound images in humans

For most people, getting an ultrasound is a relatively easy procedure: As a technician gently presses a probe against a patient's skin, sound waves generated by the probe travel through the skin, bouncing off muscle, fat, and other soft tissues before reflecting back to the probe, which detects and translates the waves into an image of what lies beneath.

21 Dec 2019

McGill study finds new role of apolipoprotein E4 gene in Alzheimer’s disease

For years, physicians have been aware that patients carrying the apolipoprotein E4 (APOEε4) gene are at a greater risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. New research from McGill University has now found the gene plays an even greater role in dementia.

21 Dec 2019