In the largest genetic sequencing study of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to date, researchers have identified 102 genes associated with risk for autism. The study also shows significant progress towards teasing apart the genes associated with ASD from those associated with intellectual disability and developmental delay, conditions which often overlap.
Two different UC San Diego research teams identified the same molecule — αvβ5 integrin — as Zika virus’ key to brain cell entry. They found ways to take advantage of the integrin to both block Zika virus from infecting cells and turn it into something good: a way to shrink brain cancer stem cells.
Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute have shown that cells from children with NGLY1 deficiency—a rare disorder first described in 2012—lack sufficient water channel proteins called aquaporins. The discovery was published in Cell Reports and may help explain the disorder’s wide-ranging symptoms—including the inability to produce tears, seizures and developmental delays—and opens new avenues to find therapies to treat the disorder.
In the first-ever genome-scale analysis of the puberty process in humans, researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah (U of U) outline distinct and critical changes to stem cells in males during adolescence.
A protein newly identified as important in type 1 diabetes can delay onset of the disease in diabetic mice, providing a new target for prevention and treatment in people, according to research led by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Indiana University School of Medicine.
According to recent research, the Asian fruit commonly eaten in India that also is known as bitter melon has properties that prevent cancer from growing and spreading. It also shows promise in slowing the progression of cancer, which is the world’s second deadliest disease.
– New technology employing single cell genome sequencing of the parasite that causes malaria has yielded some surprising results and helps pave the way for possible new intervention strategies for this deadly infectious disease, according to Texas Biomedical Research Institute Assistant Professor Ian Cheeseman, Ph.D.
Eric Prossnitz, PhD, and his team have recently completed studies on a compound that they think could be made to attack breast cancer cells differently than current drugs. Their work is reported in the November online issue of Cell Chemical Biology. This newly discovered behavior could turn the chemical into potent breast cancer drugs
Glioblastomas are the most aggressive form of brain cancer - they grow and spread rapidly through the brain and are virtually impossible to eradicate, typically leading to death within one or two years of diagnosis. Scientists are constantly seeking more powerful targeted therapies, but so far without success — in part because glioblastomas are challenging to study in a laboratory setting.
Lab-grown brain organoids developed from a patient’s own glioblastoma, the most aggressive and common form of brain cancer, may hold the answers on how to best treat it. A new study in Cell from researchers at Penn Medicine showed how glioblastoma organoids could serve as effective models to rapidly test personalized treatment strategies.
A team led by Dr. Brigitte Gomperts at UCLA has developed a “scar in a dish” model that uses multiple types of cells derived from human stem cells to closely mimic the progressive scarring that occurs in human organs. The researchers used this model to identify a drug candidate that stopped the progression of and even reversed fibrosis in animal models.
Study in mice shows the nervous system not only detects the presence of Salmonella in the gut but actively stops the organism from infecting the body
Nerves in the gut prevent Salmonella infection by shutting the cellular gates that allow bacteria to invade the intestine and spread beyond it
As a second line of defense, gut neurons help avert Salmonella invasion by maintaining the levels of key protective microbes in the gut
Findings reveal prominent role for nervous system in infection protection and regulation of immunity
Weizmann Institute scientists have converted bacteria to consume CO2 – basically, to live on air – instead of sugar. Such bacteria may contribute to new, carbon-efficient technologies, from food production to green fuels.
University of Utah Health scientists say they have detected new genetic clues about hibernation that could lead to better understanding and treatment of obesity and metabolic disorders that afflict millions of people worldwide.
Soft tissue sarcoma cells stop a key metabolic process which allows them to multiply and spread, and so restarting that process could leave these cancers vulnerable to a variety of treatments
According to a new Cell study, extra DNA scooped up and copied alongside cancer-causing genes helps keep tumors going — elements that could represent new drug targets for brain tumors and other cancers notoriously difficult to treat.
A new screening system developed by scientists at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center leverages redundancy in an important component of a cell – nucleotide metabolism – to help identify new drugs that specifically and potently block processes that are essential for cancer cell growth.
Natural genetic engineering allowed plants to move from water to land, according to a new study by an international group of scientists from Canada, China, France, Germany, and Russia.
Prostate cancer that spreads to the bone triggers the destruction of bone tissue that thwarts the effectiveness of immune checkpoint inhibitors. Research points to anti-CTLA-4 and anti-TGF-B combination to protect T cells.
Selecting the most effective molecules for drug delivery is often a trial-and-error process, but Cornell engineers are providing some precision thanks to a technique that reveals the performance of those molecules inside living cells.
In what is believed to be the most comprehensive molecular characterization to date of the most common — and often treatment-resistant — form of kidney cancer, researchers at Johns Hopkins’ departments of pathology and oncology, Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine report evidence for at least three distinct subtypes of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), along with new revelations about the proteins that define them. Their findings could inform overall patient survival and response to treatment.
Scientists discovered a new lineage of specialized brain cells, called Hoxb8-lineage microglia, and established a link between the lineage and OCD and anxiety in mice. Their experiments proved that Hoxb8-lineage microglia prevent mice from displaying OCD behaviors and sex hormones drove symptom severity and anxiety.
The molecules of life are twisted. But how those familiar strands in DNA’s double helix manage to replicate without being tangled up has been hard to decipher. A new perspective from Cornell physicists is helping unravel the mystery.
Genetic differences in the immune system shape the collections of bacteria that colonize the digestive system, according to new research by scientists at the University of Chicago.
As tumor cells multiply, they often spawn tens of thousands of genetic mutations. Figuring out which ones are the most promising to target with immunotherapy is like finding a few needles in a haystack. Now a new model hand-picks those needles so they can be leveraged in more effective, customized cancer vaccines.
BOSTON – (October 1, 2019) – Researchers at Joslin Diabetes Center have found that high levels of fructose in the diet inhibit the liver’s ability to properly metabolize fat. This effect is specific to fructose. Indeed, equally high levels of glucose in the diet actually improve the fat-burning function of the liver. This explains why high dietary fructose has more negative health impacts than glucose does, even though they have the same caloric content.
In experiments with mice, UCLA researchers have shown they can harness the power of iNKT cells to attack tumor cells and treat cancer. The new method, described in the journal Cell Stem Cell, suppressed the growth of multiple types of human tumors that had been transplanted into the animals.
Disrupting a metabolic pathway in the liver in a way that creates a more “cancer-like” metabolism actually reduces tumor formation in a mouse model of liver cancer. This surprising finding from a Univ. of Iowa study identifies the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier as a potential target for preventing liver cancer.
Certain human gut microbes with links to health thrive when fed specific types of ingredients in dietary fibers, according to a new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The work — conducted in mice colonized with human gut bacteria and using new technologies for measuring nutrient processing — is a step toward developing more nutritious foods based on a strategy of targeted enrichment of key members of gut microbial communities.
A study led by Indiana University is the first to reveal key similarities between chromosomes in humans and archaea. The work could advance use of the single-celled organism in research on cancer.
In experiments with mice and human tissue samples, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers report evidence that neuronal stem cells in the part of the nose responsible for the sense of smell transform themselves to perpetuate the long-term inflammation in chronic sinusitis.
A research team has identified a new circular RNA (ribonucleic acid) that increases tumor activity in soft tissue and connective tissue tumors. The discovery may help improve how cancer is identified and treated.
Adrenaline is considered crucial in triggering a “fight or flight” response, but new research shows the response can’t get started without a hormone made in bone.
Nine-month-old brains-in-a-dish and the brains of premature newborn babies generate similar electrical patterns, as captured by electroencephalogram (EEG) — the first time such brain activity has been achieved in a cell-based laboratory model.
Scientists at the Morgridge Institute for Research have created a new way to study early human developmental timing through a stem cell-based “clock in a dish."
Scientists from Basel have investigated the activity of stem cells in the brain of mice and discovered a key mechanism that controls cell proliferation.
A Ludwig Cancer Research study has uncovered a novel vulnerability in tumors that are driven by a common cancer gene known as MYC. Such cancers, it found, are highly dependent on the cell’s machinery for making fats and other lipids.