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Research reveals potential early indicator of Fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome

A new paper in the journal NeuroImage: Clinical from researchers at the University of Kansas reveals a possible early indicator of Fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome, or FXTAS.

4 Aug 2020

Researchers develop implantable radio-frequency transmitter chip for biomedical devices

Purdue University innovators are working on inventions to use micro-chip technology in implantable devices and other wearable products such as smart watches to improve biomedical devices, including those used to monitor people with glaucoma and heart disease.

4 Aug 2020

New peptide molecule offers hope for emphysema

Emphysema is a progressive, debilitating lung disease in which the lung's breathing sacs, or alveoli, enlarge, get thinner, and eventually are destroyed as the cells die off. It can be fatal, and there is currently no cure.

4 Aug 2020

ALKBH5 enzyme shows promising target for cancer immunotherapy

Cancer immunotherapy - a treatment that better enables a patient's own immune system to attack tumors - has shown great potential against some cancers. Yet immunotherapy doesn't work against all tumor types, and many patients who initially respond later develop resistance and relapse.

4 Aug 2020

Zika virus mutation responsible for quick spread, birth defects uncovered

A multidisciplinary team from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston has uncovered a Zika virus mutation that may be responsible for the explosive viral transmission in 2015/2016 and for the cause of microcephaly (babies with small heads) born to infected pregnant women.

3 Aug 2020

Study identifies possible therapeutic treatment for COVID-19

Yunjeong Kim and Kyeong-Ok "KC" Chang, virologists in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University, have published a study showing a possible therapeutic treatment for COVID-19.

3 Aug 2020

A new platform to provide information on SARS-CoV-2 immunity or seroprevalence

Who has overcome an infection with the virus without noticing, and how many people have already produced protective antibodies against the new coronavirus? Various antibody studies are now under way that will provide information on immunity or seroprevalence in the population.

3 Aug 2020

Study reveals impact of TP53 gene mutations on MDS severity

Considered the "guardian of the genome," TP53 is the most commonly mutated gene in cancer. TP53's normal function is to detect DNA damage and prevent cells from passing this damage on to daughter cells.

3 Aug 2020

Penn researchers identify genetic driver of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease

Inherited mutations in a gene that keeps nerve cells intact was shown, for the first time, to be a driver of a neuropathy known as Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease.

3 Aug 2020

Study uncovers how schistosome worms trick the host's immune system

Researchers uncovered in a new study how schistosomes, parasitic flatworms that infect more than 200 million people in the tropics, trick the host's immune system and continue producing eggs for decades.

3 Aug 2020

Study shows how G406R single point mutation of the Cav1.2 channel confers autism

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a heterogeneous disorder initiated early in development and characterized by abnormal social communication. Accumulating evidence supports the idea that specific mutations affect regulatory proteins that control arrays of cellular pathways.

3 Aug 2020

New biomarkers may identify Type 1 diabetes patients who could benefit from immunotherapy

Scientists at UCL have discovered new biomarkers, which may identify those people with Type 1 diabetes who would benefit from the immunotherapy drug Abatacept, a finding which could eventually help thousands manage the disease more effectively.

3 Aug 2020

A blood test may be an easy way to predict who will benefit from immunotherapy

A test which detects changing levels of tumour fragments in the blood may be an easy, non-invasive and quick way to predict who will benefit from immunotherapy, a treatment option for advanced cancers.

3 Aug 2020

Sweet-taste perception changes from childhood to adulthood

Compared with adults, children and adolescents are less sensitive to the sweet taste and need 40% more sucrose in a solution for them to detect the taste of sugar, a new study found.

3 Aug 2020

Cannabinoids may alter the effects of some prescription drugs

Cannabinoid-containing products may alter the effects of some prescription drugs, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers.

3 Aug 2020

Children exposed to trauma show biological signs of aging faster

Children who suffer trauma from abuse or violence early in life show biological signs of aging faster than children who have never experienced adversity, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.

3 Aug 2020

Researchers identify transferrin as potential contributor to COVID-19 severity

SARS-CoV-2 is the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. It is currently not known why some individuals develop only mild or no symptoms when infected, whilst others experience severe, life-threatening forms of the disease.

3 Aug 2020

Immune system's oldest branches may underpin COVID severity

One of the immune system's oldest branches, called complement, may be influencing the severity of COVID disease, according to a new study from researchers at Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

3 Aug 2020

Screening for pancreatic cancer using artificial intelligence

Dr. Ananya Malhotra speaks to News-Medical about her research into how pancreatic cancer prognosis could be improved by using artificial intelligence.

3 Aug 2020

Long stretches of repeating DNA associated with susceptibility to systemic sclerosis

Researchers from the University of Tsukuba show that long stretches of repeat DNA sequences in the gene FLI1 are associated with susceptibility to systemic sclerosis.

2 Aug 2020