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Researchers unravel key molecular mechanism of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases

An international team of researchers led by prof. Savvas Savvides has unraveled a crucial aspect of the molecular basis of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases such as psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's disease.

18 Jan 2018

Signaling molecules likely involved in concussions, rodent studies show

Traumatic brain injuries, whether suffered from a blow on the football field or the battle field, can be devastating, leading to disability and shortened lives.

18 Jan 2018

Findings reveal conventional cancer therapy as double-edged sword

Researchers have discovered that killing cancer cells can actually have the unintended effect of fueling the proliferation of residual, living cancer cells, ultimately leading to aggressive tumor progression.

18 Jan 2018

LJI study reveals key player that promotes skin inflammation in atopic dermatitis

Severe eczema, also known as atopic dermatitis, is a chronic inflammatory skin condition that is driven by an allergic reaction. In their latest study, researchers at La Jolla Institute reveal an important player that promotes skin inflammation in atopic dermatitis and the characteristic thickening of the skin.

18 Jan 2018

New vaccine approach offers effective protection against tuberculosis

A unique platform that resulted in a promising HIV vaccine has also led to a new, highly effective vaccine against tuberculosis that is moving toward testing in humans.

18 Jan 2018

Researchers find new way to halt growth of breast cancer cells

An international team of researchers led from Karolinska Institutet and Science for Life Laboratory in Sweden have found a new way of halting the growth of breast cancer cells.

18 Jan 2018

Study identifies new target for treatment of depression

According to the World Health Organization more than three hundred million people worldwide are affected by major depressive disorder. Unfortunately, the antidepressants commonly used to treat them only work for 50% of the population.

18 Jan 2018

Scientists discover possible cause of colonial-era epidemic in Mexico

An international team of scientists has identified the possible cause of a colonial-era epidemic in Mexico. Using new techniques in ancient DNA research, experts from the Max Plank Institute, Harvard University and the Mexican National Institute of Anthropology and History, identified Salmonella enterica Paratyphi C in skeletons left behind from the 1545-1550 cocoliztli epidemic.

17 Jan 2018

Three-dimensional organization of genome plays key role in gene expression, cell fate

Scientists have long been reading the code of life - the genome -, as a sequence of letters but now researchers have also started exploring its three-dimensional organization.

17 Jan 2018

Scientists identify six new gene regions that may help treat type 1 diabetes

Six novel chromosomal regions identified by scientists leading a large, prospective study of children at risk for type 1 diabetes will enable the discovery of more genes that cause the disease and more targets for treating or even preventing it.

17 Jan 2018

EXD2 enzyme facilitates protein production in mitochondria

Researchers from the Genomic Instability and Cancer Laboratory at Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) have identified a key role for EXD2 in protein production in the mitochondria, the cellular organelles responsible for the majority of energy generation.

17 Jan 2018

New brain imaging techniques show how infants' brains process ‘touch’

Touch is the first of the five senses to develop, yet scientists know far less about the baby's brain response to touch than to, say, the sight of mom's face, or the sound of her voice.

17 Jan 2018

A new strategy proposed for drug discovery

A joint industry/academia study of a cancer target protein reveals unusual relation between binding site flexibility and drug-target lifetime.

17 Jan 2018

Scientists develop unique technique to map elasticity of cell components

Scientists at Université de Montréal have developed a unique technique to map, on a scale of milliseconds, the elasticity of the components inside a cell.

17 Jan 2018

Bile acids: A new therapy against obesity

Obesity arises from an imbalance between energy intake and energy expenditure. As a result, current treatments try to decrease calorie intake and/or increase energy expenditure.

17 Jan 2018

Study shows high-salt diet causes dementia in mice

A high-salt diet reduces resting blood flow to the brain and causes dementia in mice, according to a new study by scientists from Weill Cornell Medicine.

17 Jan 2018

New high-sensitivity blood tests could aid faster diagnosis and treatment for heart attack

When diagnosing a heart attack, accuracy and timing are everything. A new test designed to better measure levels of troponin, a protein released when the heart muscle is damaged, could help emergency department physicians provide faster diagnosis and appropriate treatment.

16 Jan 2018

Study reveals negative long-term effects of heavy cannabis use on brain function and behavior

Young people with cannabis dependence have altered brain function that may be the source of emotional disturbances and increased psychosis risk that are associated with cannabis abuse, according to a new study published in Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging.

16 Jan 2018

Bile acids could directly burn away lipids in the fat depots

The EPFL scientists discovered that bile acids can turn fat-storing cells into fat-burning ones. This process is called thermogenesis (literally, "heat production") and it helps maintain body temperature in cold environments.

16 Jan 2018

Genes involved in spinal cord repair of lamprey also present in mammals, study reveals

Many of the genes involved in natural repair of the injured spinal cord of the lamprey are also active in the repair of the peripheral nervous system in mammals, according to a study by a collaborative group of scientists at the Marine Biological Laboratory and other institutions.

16 Jan 2018