Medical Science News

RSS

Study reveals how breast cancer uses exosomes to metastasize to the brain

Metastasizing breast cancers typically seek out the bones, lung, and brain. Brain metastases are especially dangerous; many women survive for less than a year after diagnosis. How is the cancer able to get past the blood brain barrier? And can it be blocked?

13 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

Mount Sinai awarded $1.7 million to study how bladder cancer affects 'natural killer' cells

The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has been awarded nearly $1.7 million in grant funding from the U.S. Department of Defense to study how bladder cancer affects certain types of white blood cells called "natural killer" cells, or NK cells, which control and limit tumor growth.

12 Sep 2019

Scientists discover new drug target for fatal lung condition

Scientists have identified a molecular pathway that contributes to the development of pulmonary arterial hypertension, a severe, often fatal condition that has no cure.

12 Sep 2019

Habitual tea drinking improves brain health, study shows

A recent study led by researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) revealed that regular tea drinkers have better organized brain regions – and this is associated with healthy cognitive function – compared to non-tea drinkers.

12 Sep 2019

Research reveals new molecular mechanisms that contribute to plasticity of the adult brain

The team's findings describe for the first time the changes that take place in the genetic material of excitatory neurons in the hippocampus of adult mice when they activate.

12 Sep 2019

Optimal strategy for making multi-alternative decisions

Our brains are constantly faced with different choices: Should I have a chocolate éclair or macaroon? Should I take the bus or go by car? What should I wear: a woolen sweater or one made of cashmere? When the difference in quality between two choices is great, the choice is made very quickly.

12 Sep 2019

Researchers explore remodeling of cardiac tissues post-aortic valve replacement

University of Colorado Boulder engineers and faculty from the Consortium for Fibrosis Research & Translation at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus have teamed up to develop biomaterial-based "mimics" of heart tissues to measure patients' responses to an aortic valve replacement procedure, offering new insight into the ways that cardiac tissue re-shapes itself post-surgery.

12 Sep 2019

New approach enables the body to produce specific antibodies

Researchers at KU Leuven in Belgium have developed a technique to make sheep produce new antibodies simply by injecting the DNA building blocks.

12 Sep 2019

Researchers discover mechanism that enables skillful fingering of pianists

In Japan Science and Technology Agency's Strategic Basic Research Programs, Dr. Masato Hirano of Sony Computer Science Laboratories and his colleagues discovered a sensorimotor function integration mechanism that enables the skillful fingering of pianists.

12 Sep 2019

Cancer disease incidence and severity influenced by gene mutation, tissue location

The KRAS gene is one of the commonly mutated genes in cancer. More than 40 percent of colorectal cancers have a mutated KRAS gene, or oncogene, that is at least partially responsible for cancer development.

12 Sep 2019

Malarial treatment from Antarctic sea sponge

Malaria, which ravages hot tropical areas, could be treated effectively using a protein extracted from an Antarctic sponge.

12 Sep 2019

CAR T-cell therapy may be viable treatment option for heart disease

CAR T-cell therapy, a rapidly emerging form of immunotherapy using patients' own cells to treat certain types of cancers, may be a viable treatment option for another life-threatening condition: heart disease.

12 Sep 2019

Study identifies inhibitor that protects cells from toxic DUX4 effects

About one in 8,000 people have facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy, according to a 2014 study, which is relatively common in the world of genetic diseases.

11 Sep 2019

New liquid biopsy test may be more predictive of patient's immunotherapy response

A new liquid biopsy test could detect microsatellite instability (MSI) and tumor mutational burden (TMB), indicating that it could help determine which patients are likely to respond to immune checkpoint inhibitors.

11 Sep 2019

A gene that acts as master regulator of schizophrenia identified

Using computational tools to investigate gene transcription networks in large collections of brain tissues, a scientific team has identified a gene that acts as a master regulator of schizophrenia during early human brain development.

11 Sep 2019

LMRI scientists discover cause of debilitating eye disease

Scientists at the Lowy Medical Research Institute have discovered one cause of a progressive, debilitating eye disease called macular telangiectasia type 2 (MacTel).

11 Sep 2019

Study highlights link between fine motor skills and later language development in children with autism

Fine motor skills - used for eating, writing and buttoning clothing - may be a strong predictor for identifying whether children with autism are at risk for long-term language disabilities, according to a Rutgers-led study.

11 Sep 2019

First genetic cause for a rare eye disease discovered

John A. Moran Eye Center physician-researcher Paul S. Bernstein, MD, PhD, and his patients at the University of Utah played a key role in the recent discovery of the first genetic cause for a rare eye disease.

11 Sep 2019

Brain changes may help track people most likely to develop dementia

Even before dementia diagnosis, people with mild cognitive impairment may have different changes in the brain depending on what type of dementia they have, according to a study published in the September 11, 2019, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

11 Sep 2019