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Hereditary genetic defect linked to medulloblastoma destabilizes protein regulation

The causes of 40 percent of all cases of certain medulloblastoma - dangerous brain tumors affecting children - are hereditary.

1 Apr 2020

What are coronaviruses and COVID-19?

The current COVID-19 pandemic is caused by a novel coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2, or severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by SARS-CoV-2.

1 Apr 2020

Tracking tau protein yields insight into possible treatments for neurodegenerative diseases

In the fight against neurodegenerative diseases such as frontotemporal dementia, Alzheimer's and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, the tau protein is a major culprit.

1 Apr 2020

Putting an end to the pandemic

From the plagues of medieval Europe to the influenza pandemic of 1918, the specter of the next public health disaster has gripped the minds of scientists, captivated the imaginations of writers and vexed conspiracy theorists.

1 Apr 2020

Understanding hereditary medulloblastomas in children

This is a combined press release between EMBL, the Hopp Children's Cancer Center Heidelberg and the German Cancer Consortium.

1 Apr 2020

Researchers identify risk gene for Alzheimer's development

Researchers from the University of British Columbia and the Central South University in China have for the first time identified a gene that increases the risk of Alzheimer's disease.

1 Apr 2020

Inherited gene mutation can predispose children to SHH medulloblastoma

Investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, and the German Cancer Research Center have identified ELP1 as a novel predisposition gene in the SHH subgroup of pediatric medulloblastoma.

1 Apr 2020

Inhibiting the iron transport could halt tuberculosis

The bacteria that cause tuberculosis need iron to survive. Researchers at the University of Zurich have now solved the first detailed structure of the transport protein responsible for the iron supply.

1 Apr 2020

New collaboration may lead to future clinical trials to test treatment for leukemia

In a new pre-clinical study published this week in the journal Leukemia, the research team of Children's Hospital Los Angeles investigator Hisham Abdel-Azim, MD, MS, worked with colleagues to engineer T-cells to identify and target multiple sites on acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells instead of just one. The early collaboration points the way to future clinical trials to test the therapy.

1 Apr 2020

Pancreatitis drug Nafamostat shows promise for coronavirus

With the increasing number of infections across the globe, scientists have resorted to studying existing drugs in the hope of discovering a cure for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). A team of researchers has found that an existing drug, Nafamostat or Fusan, a drug used to treat acute pancreatitis, may effectively block the process used by the novel coronavirus to spread and cause illness.

1 Apr 2020

Researchers publish review on HIV-1 Rev Regulatory complex in “Current HIV Research” journal

A team of researchers led by Patrick E. H. Jackson at the Myles H. Thaler Center for HIV and Human Retrovirus Research, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA, has published a review on the subject of the HIV-1 Rev Regulatory complex (dubbed the HIV-1 Rev Regulatory Axis) in the journal, Current HIV Research.

1 Apr 2020

Antihypertensive drugs may protect against COVID-19 in heart patients

Common drugs used in high blood pressure, heart failure, and diabetic patients with kidney damage, including angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), could be protective in patients with COVID-19.

31 Mar 2020

Scientists unravel a new mechanism that triggers cell death and inflammation

Z-form nucleic acids are double-stranded DNA and RNA molecules with an unusual left-handed double helix structure, as opposed to the classical right-handed Watson-Crick double helix. Z-nucleic acids were discovered more than 40 years ago, but their biological function has remained poorly understood.

31 Mar 2020

COVID-19: Ban on eating wild meat deprives some forest communities

As efforts to curb the COVID-19 pandemic accelerate around the world, wildlife conservationists have welcomed a move by the Chinese government to outlaw the hunting and consumption of all terrestrial wild animals.

31 Mar 2020

Novel, affordable pneumonia vaccine tested in human patients

A novel vaccine against pneumonia that is less expensive and more effective than those currently used in Brazil is being tested in human patients.

31 Mar 2020

Amyloid plaque formation causes brain tissue loss in animals

Amyloid plaque formation directly causes brain tissue loss in animals, but a drug called lithium reduces the life-shortening effects of this loss, shows a study published today in eLife.

31 Mar 2020

Virus-scanning tool could identify previously undetected cases of COVID-19 infections

When a virus invades the body, it leaves fingerprints behind. A research tool known as VirScan can detect this evidence - from just a single drop of blood - and identify the viruses that have infected a person in the past. Soon, the new coronavirus will join the VirScan lineup.

31 Mar 2020