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Taurine could boost effectiveness of existing multiple sclerosis therapies

New research suggests that administering taurine, a molecule naturally produced by human cells, could boost the effectiveness of current multiple sclerosis (MS) therapies.

8 Dec 2017

Scientists discover how axons in developing visual system stabilize their connections

Scientists at Tokyo Tech have made an important discovery concerning the development of layer-specific axonal connections in the developing visual system of Drosophila flies.

8 Dec 2017

Study shows how electrical stimulation in the brain instructs appropriate response

The brain's complex network of neurons enables us to interpret and effortlessly navigate and interact with the world around us.

8 Dec 2017

Researchers seek to understand role of novel protein in tumor metastasis

Metastasis, the process in which a tumor spreads to other parts of the body, is responsible for 90% of deaths from tumors. It is the greatest challenge to a cancer patient's survival. Metastatic spread occurs in several steps, these include that tumor cells become mobile and cross into and out of blood vessels.

8 Dec 2017

3D mini brains put researchers on a fast track to repair the nervous system

The Houston Methodist Research Institute is making mini brains from human stem cells that put researchers on a fast track to repair the nervous system after injury or disease of the brain and spinal cord.

8 Dec 2017

IUPUI researchers receive $1.8 million grant to develop potential treatments for hydrocephalus

No drug treatment exists for hydrocephalus, the buildup of fluid known as "water on the brain" that can occur at any age.

8 Dec 2017

Family members who do not carry inherited mutation have higher risk of melanoma

In families who carry certain inherited mutations that increase the risk for melanoma, members who do not carry the mutation also have an increased risk of melanoma, a study from Karolinska Institutet published in Genetics in Medicine reports.

8 Dec 2017

Research brings scientists one step closer to understanding development of ALS

University of Michigan-led research brings scientists one step closer to understanding the development of neurodegenerative disorders such as ALS.

8 Dec 2017

Childhood asthma linked to high maternal sugar intake during pregnancy

New research published today in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society reports that children born to mothers who drank a lot of sugary drinks during pregnancy may be at an increased risk of developing asthma during childhood.

8 Dec 2017

Gene therapy shows promising effect against blood clots, study states

A new study conducted in the Children's Hospital Of Philadelphia (CHOP) reported positive results in a phase 1/2 clinical trial for the inherited bleeding disorder hemophilia B.

8 Dec 2017

Optogenetics research sheds new light on social-spatial learning

Ilana Witten didn't set out to study spatial learning. She thought she was investigating how mice socialize--but she discovered that in mouse brains, the social and the spatial are inextricably linked.

8 Dec 2017

Study identifies mechanism that could explain early link between sound input and cognitive function

Some expectant parents play classical music for their unborn babies, hoping to boost their children's cognitive capacity. While some research supports a link between prenatal sound exposure and improved brain function, scientists had not identified any structures responsible for this link in the developing brain.

7 Dec 2017

Bacteria may be involved in progression of cancers in the mouth, study suggests

Scientists at the School of Dental Science in Trinity have made an important discovery involving bacteria and a pre-cancerous growth called oral leukoplakia which can precede oral cancer.

7 Dec 2017

Common fungus has significant impact on mosquitoes' ability to transmit dengue virus

A species of fungus that lives in the gut of some Aedes aegypti mosquitoes increases the ability of dengue virus to survive in the insects, according to a study from researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

7 Dec 2017

Malaria parasite employs active strategy to deceive the immune system

Global efforts to eradicate malaria are crucially dependent on scientists' ability to outsmart the malaria parasite. And Plasmodium falciparum is notoriously clever: It is quick to develop resistance against medications and has such a complex life cycle that blocking it effectively with a vaccine has thus far proved elusive.

7 Dec 2017

Research findings offer path for drug discovery to treat hyperaldosteronism

A new study led by researchers at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, in collaboration with researchers at Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, part of the National Institutes of Health, identifies a mechanism that explains the development of hyperaldosteronism.

7 Dec 2017

Study paves way for new therapeutic strategies to impede growth of virus-induced cancers

Researchers at the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore at the National University of Singapore have identified a novel molecular pathway by which a tumor suppressor, TIP60, inhibits the growth of cancer cells.

7 Dec 2017

Study reveals connection between restless sleep and Parkinson's disease

A study published in the neurological journal, The Lancet Neurology, has identified that patients with rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (RBD) have a dopamine deficiency in the brain and suffer from a form of brain inflammation. They are subjected to increased risks of developing dementia or Parkinson's disease as they grow older.

7 Dec 2017

Fusobacterium may play role in colon cancer growth, study finds

Like nomads who carry tokens of home on their travels, colorectal cancer cells that spread to other parts of the body appear to bring several of the species of bacteria that were their companions in the colon, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists report in a new study in the journal Science.

7 Dec 2017

UMSOM researchers find two-way link between TBI and intestinal changes

University of Maryland School of Medicine researchers have found a two-way link between traumatic brain injury (TBI) and intestinal changes. These interactions may contribute to increased infections in these patients, and may also worsen chronic brain damage.

7 Dec 2017