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Researchers develop a novel strategy to fight osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is the most common age-related bone disease which affects hundreds of millions of individuals worldwide. It is estimated that one in three women and one in five men aged over 50 suffer from osteoporotic bone fractures.

5 Aug 2020

Could labs that test livestock ease covid testing backlog for people? Well … maybe.

In a heated exchange late last month on CNN's State of the Union, host Jake Tapper pressed Adm. Brett Giroir, the Health and Human Services assistant secretary who oversees COVID testing efforts for the Trump administration, on why the government isn't requiring commercial labs to increase testing capacity in order to speed turnaround time.

5 Aug 2020

Embryos are susceptible to COVID-19 if mothers get sick, indicates study

Genes that are thought to play a role in how the SARS-CoV-2 virus infects our cells have been found to be active in embryos as early as during the second week of pregnancy, say scientists at the University of Cambridge and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

5 Aug 2020

Scientists develop new models to study molecular characteristics of lung and pancreatic cancers

Scientists at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah (U of U) report today the development of new models to study molecular characteristics of tumors of the lung and pancreas

5 Aug 2020

Researchers identify novel protein that reduces adverse effect of hypertonicity

A University of Houston College of Medicine researcher has found how a protein inside the body reduces the adverse effects of hypertonicity, an imbalance of water and solutes inside cells. Hypertonicity causes cell shrinkage and eventual cell death.

5 Aug 2020

Researchers evaluate the properties of anterograde and retrograde viral tracers

Researchers from the newly-established Center for Neural Circuit Mapping at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine evaluate the properties of anterograde and retrograde viral tracers, comparing their strengths and limitations for use in neural circuit mapping. Results were published today as a primer in Neuron.

5 Aug 2020

Study shows how regulatory mechanisms contribute to formation of tissues in mouse embryo

A research team at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics in Berlin has explored the role of factors in embryonic development that do not alter the sequence of DNA, but only epigenetically modify its "packaging"

5 Aug 2020

UCLA launches new study to revolutionize detection, treatment of depression

While the capability to diagnose cancer and heart problems has advanced by giant steps in recent years, methods to detect depression have stubbornly stayed the same for more than a century: Observe patients, and ask them how they are doing.

4 Aug 2020

Genetic variation influencing chromatin states associated with neuropsychiatric disorders

A new study led by NorthShore University HealthSystem and the University of Chicago took a novel approach to identifying SNPs influencing the risk of neuropsychiatric disorders like schizophrenia, bipolar and major depressive disorder, the institutions announced today.

4 Aug 2020

CNIO and HKUST researchers identify how some gliomas acquire chemoresistance

A team led by Massimo Squatrito, Head of the Seve Ballesteros Foundation Brain Tumour Group at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre, have made important findings of how some gliomas can acquire chemoresistance.

4 Aug 2020

Novel mutation identified in SARS-CoV-2 spike protein from Sweden

Researchers from Sweden and Brazil have identified a novel mutation in a strain of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) obtained from a patient in Stockholm, Sweden, in late April.

4 Aug 2020

Machine learning may offer a better way to identify antibiotic-resistant pathogens

Biomedical engineers at Duke University have shown that different strains of the same bacterial pathogen can be distinguished by a machine learning analysis of their growth dynamics alone, which can then also accurately predict other traits such as resistance to antibiotics.

4 Aug 2020

NIH-funded project to develop AI-based system to help doctors cure cancer

Using artificial intelligence (AI) to cure cancer may sound like science-fiction, but Eugene Santos Jr., a professor of engineering at Dartmouth, disagrees.

4 Aug 2020

Researchers discover treatment for severe auto inflammatory syndrome

Researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine used a novel genetic sequencing technology to identify the genetic cause of--and a treatment for--a previously unknown severe auto inflam-matory syndrome affecting an 18-year-old girl since infancy.

4 Aug 2020

Normal DNA repair process can lead to mutations in cancer

Hypermutation is an unusual occurence that can lead to many nearby mutations at once, severely damaging our genetic material and potentially causing cancer.

4 Aug 2020

Lower incidence of COVID-19 in high-altitude residents is intriguing, but requires more research

Despite recent reports of lower COVID-19 incidence among high-altitude populations, current data is insufficient to conclude that high altitude is protective against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, as reported in the peer-reviewed journal High Altitude Medicine & Biology.

4 Aug 2020