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Structural biology reveals 3D structure of asthma-linked receptor

A new study has laid bare the structure of a protein receptor called the CysLT1 receptor that is implicated in a range of allergic and cardiovascular conditions as well as some types of cancer. Published in Science Advances, the paper shows how the researchers used structural biology techniques to accomplish this feat.

10 Oct 2019

Is mental illness being diagnosed correctly?

An important new piece of research appearing in the journal JAMA Psychiatry questions the accuracy of current diagnostic methods used in mental illness, and the true relevance of the diagnoses to the underlying disturbances in the brain’s function.

10 Oct 2019

RTKI drugs may not significantly improve survival rates of patients during radiotherapy

Taking certain cancer-fighting drugs while undergoing radiation therapy may not increase survival for patients, but may, instead, increase side effects, according to a team of researchers. The drugs, however, may be beneficial for patients who are not undergoing radiation therapy.

10 Oct 2019

Genetic mechanisms could serve as a road map for screening new drugs to prolong healthy lifespan

The discovery in the 1990s that a mutation in a single gene of an experimental worm could double its lifespan set off a stampede of research on the molecular biology of aging and triggered hopes that drug therapies or other interventions could be developed to extend healthy human lifespan. But as is often the case in science, the genetic regulation of aging is more complicated than it first appeared.

10 Oct 2019

‘Sticky’ gene may boost the nerve calming effects of Valium

Between 1999 and 2017, the United States experienced a 10-fold increase in the number of people who died from overdoses of Valium and other benzodiazepines.

10 Oct 2019

New liquid-cell technology provides first 3D view of life’s processes

A new liquid-cell technology allows scientists to see biological materials and systems in three dimensions under an electron microscope (EM), according to researchers at Penn State, Virginia Tech and Protochips Inc.

10 Oct 2019

Study pinpoints a gene that allows chlamydia to pick up DNA from host environment

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, chlamydia trachomatis is the most commonly reported sexually transmitted bacterial disease in the U.S., totaling 1.7 million cases in 2017. Rates are highest among teenagers and young adults. Left untreated, chlamydia can cause blindness and sterility.

10 Oct 2019

Penn researchers to develop critical tool for imaging the brains of patients with Parkinson's

Researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania will lead a multi-institutional effort in pursuit of developing a critical tool for imaging the brains of patients with Parkinson's and other neurodegenerative diseases.

10 Oct 2019

Researchers show how food estrogen migrates through the placenta

The human fetus is considered to be particularly sensitive to environmental contaminants. A team led by Benedikt Warth from the Faculty of Chemistry at the University of Vienna and Tina Bürki from the Swiss Materials Science and Technology Institute, Empa, has now been able to demonstrate for the first time how the widespread food estrogen zearalenone behaves in the womb.

10 Oct 2019

CRISPR RNA-cutting enzyme programmed to destroy viruses in human cells

Many of the world's most common or deadly human pathogens are RNA-based viruses -- Ebola, Zika and flu, for example -- and most have no FDA-approved treatments.

10 Oct 2019

Study explores public opinion on health professionals talking with patients about gun safety

Most Californians find gun safety conversations that take place in the exam room appropriate if a patient has access to a gun and the patient -- or someone in the patient's home -- is at increased risk for firearm-related harm, such as trouble with drugs or alcohol misuse.

10 Oct 2019

MDI Biological Laboratory scientist awarded federal grant for aging research

The MDI Biological Laboratory has announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has awarded a grant in the amount of $373,500 per year for five years to Aric Rogers, Ph.D., to support his research on the cellular and molecular mechanisms governing aging.

10 Oct 2019

Osteoarthritis has no cure, but symptoms can be managed

Osteoarthritis can't be ignored. On a grand scale, it is the most common form of arthritis (which actually isn't a specific disease but rather a general term for inflammation in a joint), accounting for more cases than all the other forms combined. It affects an estimated 31 million Americans and is a leading cause of disability among adults.

10 Oct 2019

‘We Vape, We Vote’: How vaping crackdowns are politicizing vapers

Vapers across the country are swarming Twitter, the White House comment line and statehouse steps with the message "We Vape, We Vote."

10 Oct 2019

New microneedle insulin pill avoids injections, applies insulin to gut wall

Quite a few drugs such as insulin are made up of protein and hence can’t be taken internally, as the gut breaks them down, rendering them useless. Thus these have to be administered by injection, and in the case of drugs that have to be taken several times a day this is a definite limitation.

10 Oct 2019

Scientists decode molecular architecture of secretion systems involved in tuberculosis

Tuberculosis is a highly contagious infectious disease that is typically spread through aerosols and mainly affects the lungs. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), an estimated 1.7 million people die from such an infection worldwide every year.

10 Oct 2019

Study shows antibiotic resistance in livestock has almost tripled since 2000

The growing appetite for animal protein in developing countries has resulted in a smorgasbord of antibiotic consumption for livestock that has nearly tripled the occurrence of antibiotic resistance in disease-causing bacteria easily transmitted from animals to humans, according to a recent report in the journal Science.

10 Oct 2019

How do gallstones form?

The human body is known to produce stones in various locations, most commonly in the kidneys, the bladder, the gallbladder and the appendix. Many of these stones appear without any obvious reason. However, a new study published in the journal Immunity shows the whole storyline for the first time: how gallstones are formed.

9 Oct 2019

Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute wins FDA contract to develop new Sentinel Innovation Center

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has awarded a contract that may reach $220 million over the next five years to the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute to continue to lead the Sentinel Operations Center and to develop a new Sentinel Innovation Center.

9 Oct 2019

Study highlights role of drugs in alcohol poisoning and blackout events

Only one in five non-fatal alcohol overdoses results from use of alcohol alone, according to a study of patients in a large addiction treatment facility, with most alcohol overdoses involving concomitant use of other drugs.

9 Oct 2019