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Researchers develop a simple tool for making mouse models of COVID-19

Until there are effective treatments or vaccines, the COVID-19 pandemic will remain a significant threat to public health and economies around the world. A major hurdle to developing and testing new anti-viral therapies and vaccines for COVID-19 is the lack of good, widely available animal models of the disease.

16 Jun 2020

Persistent DNA damage in the placenta can affect embryonic growth

Scientists at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research have shown that a dysfunctional placenta can play a previously unrecognized role during the earliest stages of development in mouse models of Cornelia de Lange syndrome.

16 Jun 2020

Common cholesterol drugs could slow breast cancer metastasis to the brain

A new study from the University of Notre Dame shows drugs used to treat high cholesterol could interfere with the way breast cancer cells adapt to the microenvironment in the brain, preventing the cancer from taking hold.

16 Jun 2020

New discovery could open door to next generation malaria vaccine

In an unprecedented first, scientists at Seattle Children's Research Institute have developed a genetically attenuated parasite (GAP) that arrests late in the liver stage of human malaria.

16 Jun 2020

Exercise has profound protective effect in mouse models of Friedreich's ataxia

A top exercise researcher at the University of Virginia School of Medicine is urging clinical trials of exercise in patients with Friedreich's ataxia after finding that physical activity has a "profound" protective effect in mouse models of the debilitating genetic disease.

16 Jun 2020

Abnormal expression of Zeb2 protein in epithelial cells can induce colorectal cancer

A collaborative study by research groups from the VIB-UGent Center for Inflammation Research and Ghent University uncovered a new mechanism causing colorectal cancer.

16 Jun 2020

Link between ALS and Alzheimer's disease can help advance the search for new therapies

On the surface, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Alzheimer's disease share two commonalities: Both are progressively debilitating neurodegenerative conditions--meaning symptoms get worse--and, at least for now, neither has an effective treatment, let alone a cure.

16 Jun 2020

Blood vessels can sense the metabolic state of neighboring neural cells, shows study

The brain is our most energy-hungry and metabolically active organ. It is responsible for our thoughts, ideas, movement and ability to learn.

16 Jun 2020

Researchers analyze immune properties of ancient human DNA

Could remnants of DNA from a now-extinct human subspecies known as the Denisovans help boost the immune functions of modern humans?

16 Jun 2020

Early genetic rescue may be a potential therapy in autism spectrum disorder

A mouse study by Craig Powell, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues suggests that early genetic rescue may be a potential therapy in autism spectrum disorder or ASD.

16 Jun 2020

Genetic marker may predispose African Americans to cardiac complications from COVID-19

Nearly one out of every 10 African Americans has a genetic variant that puts them inherently at an increased risk for ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death.

15 Jun 2020

U.S. and European SARS CoV-2 mutation enhances transmission, increases infectivity

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that is causing the COVID-19 pandemic across the world has undergone a genetic mutation in the density of functional spikes on the virus, says a new study. This has led the virus to become highly infectious and easily transmissible between humans.

15 Jun 2020

Nearly $19 million awarded for longitudinal study of brain aging and cognitive change

Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, with colleagues at Boston University and elsewhere, will receive almost $19 million over five years to launch the fourth phase of the Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging. Funded by the National Institute on Aging, the grant will support ongoing research, including large-scale behavioral genetics studies, of cognition, aging and the risk for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD).

15 Jun 2020