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New way to prevent malaria bugs from breeding

A new international collaboration reports that the compound called TCMDC-135051 is capable of preventing the synthesis of a protein that is required for growth in Plasmodium falciparum, one of the species of the Plasmodium parasite that causes malaria. The study, reported in the journal Science, could lead to the development of a new antimalarial drug.

8 Oct 2019

Men should stay alcohol-free for at least six months before conception

A new study has revealed that men hoping to conceive should stop drinking for at least six months before to prevent congenital heart diseases.

4 Oct 2019

Origin of female orgasm revealed by rutting rabbits

The female orgasm has been a complex and difficult-to-study and understand phenomenon for centuries. Now researchers have come up with an easier way of studying female orgasms using rabbits. They speculate that the evolution of the female orgasm could be related to the mammalian reflex linking ovulation to intercourse.

30 Sep 2019

Prostate cancer risk linked to assisted reproduction techniques

A study published in BMJ has revealed a link between the risk of prostate cancer and men who have become fathers via assisted reproduction techniques.

26 Sep 2019

Study explores link between assisted reproduction and prostate cancer risk

In a new national register study from Lund University in Sweden, researchers have studied the link between prostate cancer and infertility. The study, published in the British Medical Journal, includes over one million Swedish men.

26 Sep 2019

Researchers identify key switch that eliminates dormant HIV reservoirs

Using genetic sequencing, University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers have identified a principal cellular player controlling HIV reproduction in immune cells which, when turned off or deleted, eliminates dormant HIV reservoirs.

24 Sep 2019

Study uncovers epigenetic origins for hypersexual disorder

A new study has shown that epigenetic changes lead to overactivity of the hormone oxytocin, and this is a key element in hypersexual disorder.

24 Sep 2019

Study reveals possible role of hormone oxytocin in hypersexual disorder

A new study of men and women with hypersexual disorder has revealed a possible role of the hormone oxytocin, according to results published in the journal Epigenetics.

23 Sep 2019

Researchers uncover fundamental difference in how DNA is held together

Researchers have made a fundamental discovery about the structure of DNA; the structure is held together by water, not hydrogen alone.

23 Sep 2019

Faster, cheaper, better: improved gene therapy tool production

The heart of modern therapy is increasingly personalized and targeted at specific cellular or genetic deficits. This requires gene therapy, in many cases. A new study, published on 19 September 2019 in the journal Nature, describes an improved way to produce purified gene carrier viruses called AAVs cheaply and quickly, from the culture medium.

22 Sep 2019

NIH grants totaling $2.8 million focus on pinpointing male fertility genes

Pinpointing the genes responsible for male fertility is the focus of two National Institutes for Health grants totaling $2.8 million.

20 Sep 2019

Forbidden fruit: Scientists venture into “embryoid” manufacturing

After working on stem cells for several years, scientists have now announced that they have found a way to synthesize structures that look like very primitive human embryos. While some hailed the discovery, others questioned the ethical basis of manufacturing synthetic humans.

12 Sep 2019

Early detection method for pinpointing molecular signatures of Lyme disease

When researchers examined the mitochondrial DNA of Ötzi, a man entombed in ice high in the Tyrolean Alps some 5,300 years ago, they made a startling discovery.

26 Aug 2019

Humic substances extracted from coal can help fight viruses

Scientists from Russia demonstrated a novel approach leveraging the combination of high-resolution mass spectrometry and chemoinformatics to identify biologically active molecular components of humic substances extracted from coal, and discovered substances with antiviral activity against the tick-borne encephalitis virus.

19 Aug 2019

Simple technique to choose the sex of offspring by separating X and Y sperm

A simple, reversible chemical treatment can segregate X-bearing sperm from Y-bearing sperm, allowing dramatic alteration of the normal 50/50 male/female offspring ratio, according to a new study by Masayuki Shimada and colleagues at Hiroshima University, published on August 13 in the open-access journal PLOS Biology. The study was performed in mice, but the technique is likely to be widely applicable to other mammals as well.

From PLOS ONE 16 Aug 2019

Receptor in the uterus can detect sperm molecule, aids in sperm survival

Why does it take 200 million sperms to fertilize a single egg? The single sperm that reached the finished line has successfully survived multiple checkpoints within the female reproductive tract, dubbed as pre-fertilization events. Now, a new study shows that the uterus contains receptors that facilitate sperm survival.

19 Jul 2019