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Researchers use human stem cell models to analyze degeneration in glaucoma

More than 3 million Americans have glaucoma, a serious eye condition causing vision loss. Using human stem cell models, researchers at Indiana University School of Medicine found they could analyze deficits within cells damaged by glaucoma, with the potential to use this information to develop new strategies to slow the disease process.

11 Jun 2020

Developing lymphatic vessels in zebrafish

When an embryo develops, a wide variety of proteins and enzymes trigger a series of biochemical reactions. The development of the lymphatic vasculature is crucially dependent on one specific protein - the growth factor VEGF-C.

11 Jun 2020

WVU researchers develop new diagnostic and antibody tests for COVID-19

COVID-19 tests are in short supply. The companies that make the necessary chemicals--called reagents--can't keep up with demand. But researchers at West Virginia University are developing new tests on their own to identify who has COVID-19 now and who had it in the past but recovered.

11 Jun 2020

Synthetic nanobodies potent neutralizers for SARS-CoV-2

Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences report the generation of potent synthetic nanobodies that selectively and efficiently neutralize severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pseudovirus.

11 Jun 2020

Treatment with vitamin A analog improves visual function in diabetic mice

Diabetic retinopathy is a common complication of diabetes and a leading cause of blindness among the working-age population.

11 Jun 2020

Race-related differences in genetic determinants of COVID-19 severity

Researchers at the University of Iowa have identified differences in gene expression levels between African Americans and European Americans that may explain the disproportionately higher rates of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases and related deaths among African Americans.

11 Jun 2020

Study reveals novel mechanism that triggers a cell-mediated immune response

Viruses and other disease-causing microbes influence the type of immune response their hosts will develop against them. In some cases, the predominant response involves antibodies, proteins made by the immune system that specifically recognize parts of the invading microbe and mediate its destruction.

11 Jun 2020

German researchers recommend early screening and treatment for spinal muscular atrophy

The advent of therapeutic interventions for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) has increased the importance of presymptomatic diagnosis and treatment. When to start treatment in children with less severe disease remains controversial.

11 Jun 2020

New method uses human embryonic stem cells to generate 3D assembly of cells

Scientists from the University of Cambridge, in collaboration with the Hubrecht Institute in The Netherlands, have developed a new model to study an early stage of human development, using human embryonic stem cells.

11 Jun 2020

Overactive enzyme causes an inherited form of high blood pressure

A Turkish family from a village near the Black Sea first caught the attention of medical researchers in the early 1970s.

11 Jun 2020

A lead compound can significantly reduce or eliminate toxoplasmosis and malaria

Toxoplasma gondii infection is one of the most frequent parasitic infections of humans. This parasite is present in the brain of an estimated two billion people--about 40 percent of all humans on earth. It is endemic throughout the world, causing water and food-borne epidemics that result in toxoplasmosis.

10 Jun 2020

Study assesses the acute impact of cannabis among real-world users

Smoking high-potency marijuana concentrates boosts blood levels of THC more than twice as much as smoking conventional weed, but it doesn't necessarily get you higher, according to a new study of regular users published today by University of Colorado Boulder researchers.

10 Jun 2020

Key enzyme that contributes to eczema identified

Researchers at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute have identified a key enzyme that contributes to eczema, which may lead to better treatment to prevent the skin disorder's debilitating effects.

10 Jun 2020

UMSOM researchers identify how certain gene mutations cause ALS

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine have identified how certain gene mutations cause amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

10 Jun 2020

Key recommendations on genetic testing of men for prostate cancer

Prostate cancer is a leading cause of death from cancer in the US and especially in the Philadelphia region. Consistently, Philadelphia has outpaced the state of PA and the nation in diagnoses and death from prostate cancer.

10 Jun 2020

Researchers identify a novel mechanism of chemoresistance

Resistance of cancer cells against therapeutic agents is a major cause of treatment failure, especially in recurrent diseases.

10 Jun 2020

Study provides new evidence that liver dysfunction may lead to heart disease

A new study that looks closely at the cardiac health of flies provides new evidence that liver dysfunction may lead to deterioration of the heart.

10 Jun 2020

Plasmodium parasites have timekeeping systems that maintain their cell cycle activities

The parasites responsible for malaria seem to march to their own beat.The mystery behind the molecular basis of how these parasites synch their rhythm in replication to the host's clock-driven rhythms has been solved.

10 Jun 2020

Study unravels role of a protein in osteoclast generation

Bone-dissolving cells called osteoclasts are derived from a type of immune cells called macrophages. They are necessary for the maintenance and renewal of bones.

9 Jun 2020

Cellular mechanophenotyping may provide more comprehensive view of the tumor

Our ability to predict who will get cancer, how a patient will respond to treatment, or if a patient will relapse is still quite limited. Despite advances in the detection of genetic mutations and the establishment of risk factors, such as age and genetic variants, it remains a great scientific and medical challenge.

9 Jun 2020