Medical Science News

RSS

Complementary medicines for weight loss cannot be justified based on current evidence, review suggests

The first global review of complementary medicines (herbal and dietary supplements) for weight loss in 16 years--combining 121 randomized placebo-controlled trials including nearly 10,000 adults--suggests that their use cannot be justified based on the current evidence.

8 May 2021

Study provides new insight on how HER2-low tumors may evolve in breast cancer patients

The finding that breast tumors can evolve to express low HER2 potentially widens the number of patients who can benefit from new investigational agents, typically novel antibody-drug conjugate therapies, that are currently in clinical trials for HER2-low tumors.

8 May 2021

Damage to the white matter is more predictive of cognitive impairment after brain injury

A new University of Iowa study challenges the idea that gray matter (the neurons that form the cerebral cortex) is more important than white matter (the myelin covered axons that physically connect neuronal regions) when it comes to cognitive health and function.

7 May 2021

Targeted therapies could exploit unique metabolic features of pancreatic cancer cells

Probing the unique biology of human pancreatic cancer cells in a laboratory has yielded unexpected insights of a weakness that can be used against the cells to kill them.

7 May 2021

Using ultrasound and RNA-loaded nanoparticles to deliver potent medicine to brain tumors

RNA-based drugs have the potential to change the standard of care for many diseases, making personalized medicine a reality. This rapidly expanding class of therapeutics are cost-effective, fairly easy to manufacture, and able to go where no drug has gone before, reaching previously undruggable pathways.

7 May 2021

Researchers discover possible origin of neuroblastoma in the adrenal glands

Neuroblastoma is a childhood cancer, most commonly affecting children aged between 2 -3 and can be fatal. Since the tumor cells resemble certain cells in the adrenal glands, a joint research group from MedUni Vienna's Center for Brain Research and the Swedish Karolinska Institute investigated the cellular origin of these cells and sympathetic neurons during the embryonic development of human adrenal glands.

7 May 2021

Compound from tropical ginger plant can help in the treatment of inflammatory diseases

Many natural compounds have various anti-inflammatory and other beneficial properties that humans have been utilizing for medicinal purposes for hundreds of years.

7 May 2021

Researchers identify genetic cause of a rare neurological disorder

In a paper published today in Nature Communications, an international group of collaborators led by researchers at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh have identified a genetic cause of a rare neurological disorder marked by developmental delay and loss of coordination, or ataxia.

7 May 2021

Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA vaccine reduces both symptomatic and asymptomatic COVID-19 infection in case study

Follow-up of vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital revealed asymptomatic infection reduced by 90% and symptomatic infections reduced by up to 96% in vaccinated people compared to those not vaccinated.

7 May 2021

How did SARS-CoV-2 first evolve in humans?

In a perspective article recently published in the journal Science, Hyeryun Choe and Michael Farzan from the Scripps Research Institute, USA, have described the early-stage evolution of SARS-CoV-2 in humans. They have provided a detailed overview of how early mutations in SARS-CoV-2 spike protein facilitate its adaptation in human systems.

7 May 2021

Immunosuppression in COVID-19 promotes emergence of multiple immune escape mutants

An interesting new study describes the emergence of several such variants from a chronically immunosuppressed COVID-19 patient, who remained infected for over 170 days before clearing the virus.

7 May 2021

The ancestor of SARS-CoV-2’s Wuhan strain was circulating in late October 2019

The SARS-CoV-2 was first reported in a case from Wuhan, China, in December 2021, and subsequently became the cause of the COVID-19 pandemic that is ravaging the world today. A new study in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution tracks its variants all over the world since the onset of the pandemic.

7 May 2021

Are infants at greater risk of COVID-19 than children?

The widely circulating SARS-CoV-2 has caused the devastating COVID-19 pandemic. The impact of this infection varies significantly with age, sparing young children for the most part, though not completely. However, a new study, released as a preprint on the medRxiv* server, shows that infants are not as resistant to the virus as children are. The researchers trace this to the expression of ACE2 to varying extents in different groups.

7 May 2021

Imbalance in gut microbiota could play a key role in progression of inflammatory skin disorder

Findings presented at today’s EADV 2021 Spring Symposium suggest that an imbalance in gut microbiota (dysbiosis), could play a significant role in the progression of inflammatory skin disease, Hidradenitis Suppurativa (HS).

7 May 2021

Human organoids useful for modeling COVID-19 variants of concern, finds study

A new study published on the bioRxiv* preprint server found that using human organoids could help with better characterizing the phenotype of several viral variants, including B.1.1.7. Their findings show the ribonucleic acid (RNA) shedding of the SARS-CoV-2 variant correlated with viral fitness and infectiousness.

7 May 2021

Researchers discover new binding sites for active agents on cell cytoskeleton

Through a unique combination of computer simulations and laboratory experiments, researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI have discovered new binding sites for active agents - against cancer, for example - on a vital protein of the cell cytoskeleton. Eleven of the sites hadn't been known before. The study appears today in the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition.

7 May 2021

Medical Science News

Complementary medicines for weight loss cannot be justified based on current evidence, review suggests

Study provides new insight on how HER2-low tumors may evolve in breast cancer patients

Damage to the white matter is more predictive of cognitive impairment after brain injury

Targeted therapies could exploit unique metabolic features of pancreatic cancer cells

Using ultrasound and RNA-loaded nanoparticles to deliver potent medicine to brain tumors

Researchers discover possible origin of neuroblastoma in the adrenal glands

Compound from tropical ginger plant can help in the treatment of inflammatory diseases

Researchers identify genetic cause of a rare neurological disorder

Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA vaccine reduces both symptomatic and asymptomatic COVID-19 infection in case study

How did SARS-CoV-2 first evolve in humans?

Immunosuppression in COVID-19 promotes emergence of multiple immune escape mutants

The ancestor of SARS-CoV-2’s Wuhan strain was circulating in late October 2019

Are infants at greater risk of COVID-19 than children?

Imbalance in gut microbiota could play a key role in progression of inflammatory skin disorder

Human organoids useful for modeling COVID-19 variants of concern, finds study

Researchers discover new binding sites for active agents on cell cytoskeleton

Molecular clues explain why some neurons are more susceptible than others in Alzheimer’s disease

New transport system delivers large protein-based drugs into cancer cells

New technique can print life-like organ models in minutes

Large-scale study focuses on COVID-19 antibodies in asymptomatic and symptomatic patients

Innovating Texture and Culture in Plant-Based Foods

Advancing brain microphysiological systems (bMPS)

PhD researcher at LifeArc

Latest News