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Study unravels biological mystery behind 'magical' properties of psychedelic mushrooms

Psychedelic mushrooms likely developed their "magical" properties to trip up fungi-munching insects, suggests new research.

28 Feb 2018

Researchers discover 50 new gene regions that increase risk of schizophrenia

Researchers at the MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics at Cardiff University have discovered 50 new gene regions that increase the risk of developing schizophrenia.

28 Feb 2018

Specific genes linked to differences in brain anatomy of autistic children

A team of scientists at the University of Cambridge has discovered that specific genes are linked to individual differences in brain anatomy in autistic children.

27 Feb 2018

Study shows importance of family history in onset of Alzheimer's disease

You're about to turn 60, and you're fretting. Your mother has had Alzheimer's disease since the age of 65. At what age will the disease strike you? A Canadian study published in JAMA Neurology shows that the closer a person gets to the age at which their parent exhibited the first signs of Alzheimer's, the more likely they are to have amyloid plaques, the cause of the cognitive decline associated with the disease, in their brain.

27 Feb 2018

Quiescent cells also acquire particular type of mutation, research shows

For almost a hundred years, geneticists have believed that the more a cell divides the more mutations it acquires. However, research by scientists at the Institut Pasteur shows that quiescent cells, which do not divide, also acquire a particular type of mutation - deletions (mutations through loss of nucleobases).

27 Feb 2018

UC receives $1.75 million grant for epilepsy research

Research scientist Jianxiong Jiang, PhD, doesn't just want to treat acquired epilepsy...he hopes to prevent it.

27 Feb 2018

ASU researchers uncover crucial step in telomerase enzyme catalytic cycle

Can we stay young forever, or even recapture lost youth? Research from the laboratory of Professor Julian Chen in the School of Molecular Sciences at Arizona State University recently uncovered a crucial step in the telomerase enzyme catalytic cycle.

27 Feb 2018

New treatment shows promise to fight against serious inflammatory disease

Still's disease is a serious orphan disease manifested by high fevers, skin and joint involvement, including paralysis, as well as damage to other organs such as the liver or spleen. It is caused by a deregulation of the immune system triggering an acute inflammatory response.

27 Feb 2018

Researchers develop new tool that provides 3D view of metabolic processes

An international team of researchers has developed a computational resource that provides a 3D view of genes, proteins and metabolites involved in human metabolism.

27 Feb 2018

Study uncovers special receptor that protects against asthma, allergies

A special receptor on cells that line the sinuses, throat and lungs evolved to protect mammals from developing a range of allergies and asthma, according to a study from researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

27 Feb 2018

Research reveals how mutant p53 enhances tumor metastasis

Scientists at The Wistar Institute have found a novel mechanism through which mutant p53 enhances metastasis by controlling tumor metabolism. The research, published online in Genes & Development, also revealed how this process is influenced by a naturally occurring p53 gene variant.

26 Feb 2018

Novel method to extract valuable psychiatric symptom information from doctors' notes

Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School have developed a new method to extract valuable symptom information from doctors' notes, allowing them to capture the complexity of psychiatric disorders that is missed by traditional sources of clinical data.

26 Feb 2018

Combined analysis makes risk prediction for colorectal cancer more precise

If first-degree relatives are affected by colorectal cancer, this indicates a person's own elevated risk of developing bowel cancer. The same holds true for people who have large numbers of genetic risk markers in their genome.

26 Feb 2018

New NIH study aims to identify biomarkers of AMD progression

A new clinical study led by the National Eye Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, will follow 500 people over five years to learn more about the natural history of early age-related macular degeneration.

26 Feb 2018

Researchers discover key inner control mechanism of cell's 'smart glue'

Researchers at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have discovered that a protein critical to a process called liquid-liquid phase separation within the cell undergoes internal changes in conformation that are key to its function.

26 Feb 2018

Research provides new directions in understanding and fighting glaucoma

Two distinctive handfuls of short molecules that regulate gene expression have been found in the eye fluid of patients with two distinct types of vision degenerating glaucoma.

26 Feb 2018

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy patient maintains active lifestyle while minimizing risk

A group of cardiologists is changing the conversation about a form of heart disease and exercise. One patient details how she's maintaining an active lifestyle while minimizing risk.

24 Feb 2018

Impairment of interneuron migration could lead to cortical malformation

A team from the University of Liège has discovered a new crosstalk between the migrating inhibitory interneurons and the stem cells that generate the excitatory neurons.

24 Feb 2018

Patients at risk of heart disease do not always understand genetic test results

University of Sydney researchers are raising concerns over the need for informed decision making for genetic testing after a study published today finds patients at risk of inherited heart disease do not always understand test results or the impact results will have on their life.

23 Feb 2018