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Scientists develop more cost-effective way to culture stem cells

Human pluripotent stem cells can infinitely self-renew and develop into all major cell types in the body, making them important for organ repair and replacement. But culturing them in large quantities can be expensive. Now, scientists at Japan's Kyoto University, with colleagues in India and Iran, have developed a more cost-effective culture by using a new combination of chemical compounds.

5 Mar 2018

Study pinpoints gene that plays direct role in neurodevelopmental disorders

A study led by researchers at McMaster University has pinpointed a gene that is responsible for neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism.

5 Mar 2018

Scientists move closer to developing alternative method for breast cancer detection

Engineering researchers at the University of Arkansas have moved closer to developing an alternative method of detecting and possibly treating breast cancer.

2 Mar 2018

CRISPR enzyme can also cleave RNA, finds study

Researchers have discovered that the Cas-9 enzyme used in CRISPR gene editing can also cleave complimentary messenger RNA, in addition to DNA.

2 Mar 2018

UH researcher examines role of estrogen in cervical cancer

Two University of Houston researchers, working to find cancer cures, received grants from the Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas, the organization that funds groundbreaking cancer research and prevention programs in the state.

1 Mar 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

Rare immune cell may prove to be potent weapon in fighting against cancer

One of the rarest of immune cells, unknown to scientists a decade ago, might prove to be a potent weapon in stopping cancer from spreading in the body, according to new research from the University of British Columbia.

23 Feb 2018

Genetic variants make Asians and Europeans more prone to severe dengue

As globalization and climate change spread tropical infectious diseases around the globe, not all populations have the same degree of susceptibility.

23 Feb 2018

Researchers describe important step toward gene therapy for patients with Sandhoff disease

Babies with the rare, deadly genetic disorder Sandhoff disease begin to miss developmental milestones just months after birth. Lacking muscle tone, they never learn to sit up, develop heads too large to lift and eventually suffer uncontrollable seizures. There is no cure.

22 Feb 2018

Neuroscientists discover novel mechanism of action behind schizophrenia

An international team of researchers led by a Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine scientist has uncovered a novel mechanism in which a protein--neuregulin 3--controls how key neurotransmitters are released in the brain during schizophrenia.

21 Feb 2018

Zika virus could be alternative for treatment of aggressive brain cancer

Zika virus, feared for causing microcephaly in babies whose mothers were infected during pregnancy by attacking the cells that will give rise to the fetus's cerebral cortex, could be an alternative for treatment of glioblastoma, the most common and aggressive kind of malignant brain tumor in adults.

21 Feb 2018

Oncolytic virus alerts the immune system to attack tumors

A new UC San Francisco study has shown that a cancer-killing virus currently in clinical trials may function as a cancer vaccine - in addition to killing some cancer cells directly, the virus alerts the immune system to the presence of a tumor, triggering a powerful, widespread immune response that kills cancer cells far outside the virus-infected region.

14 Feb 2018

Cardiomyocytes fuse transiently during heart development and regeneration

Cardiomyocytes fuse during cardiac development and regeneration. A scientist of the German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK) discovered these previously unknown processes with the aid of genetically modified zebrafish in which fused cells fluoresce.

9 Feb 2018

Study adds more evidence that intestinal microbiome plays substantial role in obesity

A new Johns Hopkins study of mice with the rodent equivalent of metabolic syndrome has added to evidence that the intestinal microbiome -; a "garden" of bacterial, viral and fungal genes -; plays a substantial role in the development of obesity and insulin resistance in mammals, including humans.

6 Feb 2018

Next-generation ‘active genetics’ tool opens new horizons

In 2015, University of California San Diego biologists Ethan Bier and Valentino Gantz developed a breakthrough technology known as "active genetics," which results in parents transmitting a genetic trait to most of their offspring (instead of 50 percent receiving the trait under standard inheritance).

6 Feb 2018

Moffitt study identifies new drug target that may reduce GVHD risk

Stem cell transplants can cure patients with high-risk leukemia or lymphoma. Graft-versus-host disease is a potentially life-threatening side effect that occurs when the donor's immune cells attack the recipient's normal tissues.

5 Feb 2018

Researchers move closer to solving puzzle of 15q13.3 microdeletion syndrome

Researchers are closer to solving the puzzle of a complex neurological condition called 15q13.3 microdeletion syndrome. Individuals with this condition are missing a small piece of chromosome 15 that usually contains six genes, but which one of the genes is responsible for the clinical characteristics of patients has not been clear.

2 Feb 2018

Scientists develop immune-stimulating injections against cancer

A team of researchers have developed two immune-stimulating injections, that removed all traces of cancer when injected directly into solid mouse tumors.

2 Feb 2018

Historic study involving Simmons Cancer Center shows effectiveness of CAR-T therapy

A historic study involving researchers from UT Southwestern's Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center demonstrates the effectiveness of CAR-T therapy, which uses genetically modified immune cells to treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in children and young adults. The research appears in the New England Journal of Medicine.

1 Feb 2018