Poor-quality sleep during the third trimester of pregnancy can increase the odds of weight gain and metabolic abnormalities in offspring once they reach adulthood. The effects, caused by epigenetic modifications, impose lasting consequences on the next generation.
Heavy social drinkers who report greater stimulation and reward from alcohol are more likely to develop alcohol use disorder over time, report researchers from the University of Chicago, May 15 in the journal Biological Psychiatry. The findings run counter to existing hypotheses that innate tolerance to alcohol drives alcoholism.
A team from the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center has received a five-year, $3.9-million award from the National Cancer Institute to serve as a Lead Academic Participating Site for the newly created National Clinical Trials Network.
In the May issue of Health Affairs journal, David Meltzer, MD, PhD, and chief of the Section of Hospital Medicine and Gregory Ruhnke, MD, assistant professor of medicine in the Section of Hospital Medicine at the University of Chicago Medicine, propose a hybrid.
The University of Chicago Medicine Comer Children’s hospital has become the first in Illinois to offer MIBG therapy for neuroblastoma and other difficult-to-treat cancers.
Monica Vela, MD, associate dean for multicultural affairs at the University Of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, will receive the 2014 Herbert W. Nickens Minority Health and Representation in Medicine Award
Marshall Chin, MD, MPH, the Richard Parrillo Family Professor of Healthcare Ethics in the Department of Medicine, is the new president-elect of the Society of General Internal Medicine (SGIM) for the 2014-2015 year.
Genetic variants associated with enjoying the effects of d-amphetamine—the active ingredient in Adderall—are also associated with a reduced risk for developing schizophrenia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), report scientists from the University of Chicago .
A gene linked by genome-wide association studies to risk of cardiac arrhythmia is found to play only a minimal role in the heart. The mutations within the gene in actuality regulate a different gene, which appears to be the primary gene responsible for cardiac arrhythmia risk, according to a study published March 18 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
The shortage of oxygen created when kidney cancer cells outgrow their blood supply can accelerate tumor growth by causing a nuclear protein called SPOP—which normally suppresses tumor growth—to move from the nucleus to the cytoplasm, where it has the opposite effect, promoting rapid proliferation.
An analysis of 100 million US medical records reveals that autism and intellectual disability rates correlate with genital malformation incidence in newborn males, an indicator exposure to harmful environmental factors. The study also finds that Autism and ID incidence decreases dramatically in states with stronger regulations on diagnosis.
American Muslims who interpret negative events in life as punishment from God are less likely to believe that donating organs after death is ethical than those with a more positive outlook, according to a survey conducted by researchers from the University of Chicago’s Program on Medicine and Religion.
An international team of scientists has discovered that the obesity-associated elements within FTO interact with IRX3, a distant gene on the genome that appears to be the functional obesity gene. The FTO gene itself appears to have only a peripheral effect on obesity. The study appears online March 12 in Nature.
The 3rd Annual Conference on Medicine and Religion reflects on issues relating to medicine and the frailty of the human body.
A new study analyzing the origins of the adipose fin, thought by some to be vestigial, finds that these fins arose repeatedly and independently in multiple species—a striking example of convergent evolution. Adipose fins also appear to have repeatedly and independently evolved skeleton, offering a glimpse into the evolution of vertebrate appendages.
Activation of beta-catenin, the primary mediator of the ubiquitous Wnt signaling pathway, alters the immune system in lasting and harmful ways, causing chronic inflammation in the intestine and colon, eventually leading to cancer. Researchers unravel the mechanism of this transition.
Although the time and cost of sequencing the human genome has plummeted, analyzing the 3 billion base pairs of genetic information can take months. Researchers working with Beagle—one of the world’s fastest supercomputers devoted to life sciences—report they can analyze 240 full genomes in 50 hours.
The elusive progenitor cells that give rise to innate lymphoid cells—a recently discovered group of infection-fighting white blood cells—have been identified in fetal liver and adult bone marrow of mice.
Genetic adaptations for life at high elevations found in residents of the Tibetan plateau likely originated around 30,000 years ago in peoples related to contemporary Sherpa. These genes were passed on to more recent migrants from lower elevations via population mixing, and then amplified by natural selection in the modern Tibetan gene pool, according to a new study by scientists from the University of Chicago and Case Western Reserve University, published in Nature Communications on Feb. 10. The transfer of beneficial mutations between human populations and selective enrichment of these genes in descendent generations represents a novel mechanism for adaptation to new environments.
The University of Chicago Medicine named its first two deans for faculty affairs, appointments designed to support the needs of faculty within the Biological Sciences Division.
Poor-quality sleep with frequent awakenings can speed cancer growth, increase tumor aggressiveness and dampen the immune system’s ability to control cancer. This study demonstrates the effects of sleep loss on tumor growth and invasiveness and points to a mechanism for therapy.
Dogs and wolves evolved from a common ancestor between 9,000 and 34,000 years ago, before humans transitioned to agricultural societies, according to an analysis of modern dog and wolf genomes from areas of the world thought to be centers of dog domestication.
A study of marine life in the temperate coastal waters of the northeast Pacific Ocean shows a reversal of competitive dominance among species of algae, suggesting that increased ocean acidification caused by global climate change is altering biodiversity.
Empathy-driven behavior has been observed in rats who will free trapped companions from restrainers. This behavior also extends toward strangers, but requires prior, positive social interactions with the type (strain) of the unfamiliar individual, report scientists from the University of Chicago in the open access journal eLife, on Jan. 14. The findings suggest that social experiences, not genetics or kin selection, determine whether an individual will help strangers out of empathy. The importance of social experience extends even to rats of the same strain—a rat fostered and raised with a strain different than itself will not help strangers of its own kind.
Cancer researchers at the University of Chicago and five other leading institutions will share equally in a $540 million gift from Ludwig Cancer Research, on behalf of its founder Daniel K. Ludwig.
People with intermittent explosive disorder — a psychiatric illness characterized by impulsivity, hostility and recurrent aggressive outbursts — have elevated levels of two markers of systemic inflammation in their blood, signs of inflammation not seen in people in good mental health or with other psychiatric disorders.
A new test may help physicians identify patients with the most lethal forms of triple-negative breast cancer. It was able to distinguish between patients with a good or poor prognosis, even within groups of patients already stratified by existing tests.
Around 20 percent of all humans are persistently colonized with Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, a leading cause of skin infections and one of the major sources of hospital-acquired infections, including the antibiotic-resistant strain MRSA. University of Chicago scientists have recently discovered one of the keys to the immense success of S. aureus—the ability to hijack a primary human immune defense mechanism and use it to destroy white blood cells. The study was published Nov 15 in Science.
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has awarded the University of Chicago $4.4 million over five years to study genes of unknown function in bacteria that cause plague and brucellosis.
More than 50 researchers, physicians and fellows from the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics from various parts of the world will gather Nov. 15-16, to lead discussions debates around critical ethical issues facing patients, doctors, nurses, allied health workers and health care institutions.
Karen Stratton, PhD, RN, NE-BC, has been promoted to Vice President for Women’s and Children’s Services after distinguishing herself as a key leader since joining the University of Chicago Medicine in May 2012.
Only a few genetic changes are needed to spur the evolution of new species—even if the original populations are still in contact and exchanging genes. Once started, however, evolutionary divergence evolves rapidly, ultimately leading to fully genetically isolated species, report scientists from the University of Chicago in the Oct 31 Cell Reports.
More than 1 in 10 Americans take antidepressants, but these medications can take weeks—and for some patients, months—before they begin to alleviate symptoms. Now, scientists from the University of Chicago have discovered that selectively blocking a serotonin receptor subtype induces fast-acting antidepressant effects in mice, indicating a potential new class of therapeutics for depression. The work was published Oct. 29 in Molecular Psychiatry.
An international research consortium led by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the University of Chicago has answered several questions about the genetic background of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and Tourette syndrome (TS), providing the first direct confirmation that both are highly heritable and also revealing major differences between the underlying genetic makeup of the disorders. Their report is being published in the October issue of the open-access journal PLOS Genetics.
The University of Chicago Medicine Kovler Diabetes Center will dedicate a new diabetes education library to honor the legacy of the late James C. Tyree, former chairman and CEO of Mesirow Financial Holdings, chairman of Sun-Times Media Group and a board member at the University of Chicago Medical Center.
The University of Chicago Medicine contributed more than 21 percent, or $254.1 million, of its operating expenses in fiscal 2012 to improve the health of the South Side and the broader Chicago area, according to its recently published second annual Community Benefit Report.
New research at the University of Chicago is laying the groundwork for touch-sensitive prosthetic limbs that one day could convey real-time sensory information to amputees via a direct interface with the brain.
The Joint Commission and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association have recognized the University of Chicago Medicine as a Comprehensive Stroke Center, a new level of certification reserved for institutions with specific abilities to receive and treat the most complex stroke cases.
Advances in modern medicine and biotechnology have changed the way people die. Unfortunately, families of dying patients are often critical of and report dissatisfaction with what they view as highly medicalized deaths.
New research shows that humans distinguish the difference between fine textures, such as silk or satin, through vibrations, which are picked up by two separate sets of nerve receptors in the skin and relayed to the brain.
The Bucksbaum Institute for Clinical Excellence has chosen four second-year Pritzker School of Medicine students to become Bucksbaum Student Scholars, the third cohort of students chosen since the institute was founded in 2011.
University of Chicago scientists have created one of the most expansive analyses to date of the genetic factors at play in complex diseases such as autism and heart disease—by using diseases with known genetic causes to guide them. Identifying trends of co-occurrence among hundreds of diseases in 120 million patients, they created a unique genetic map that has the potential to help diagnose, identify risk factors for and someday develop therapies against complex diseases.
The University of Chicago Medicine's MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics has been awarded the prestigious Cornerstone Award from the American Society of Bioethics and Humanities for outstanding contributions that have helped shape the fields of bioethics and/or medical humanities.
Dana Suskind, MD, professor of surgery and pediatrics and director of the pediatric cochlear implant program at the University of Chicago Medicine, has been named to the Advisory Council for “Too Small to Fail,” a joint initiative of Next Generation and The Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation aimed at improving the health and well-being of American children from birth to 5 years old.
Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) has signed on as the title sponsor for the University of Chicago Medicine Comer Children’s Hospital’s premier fundraising event, lending its name and support to the hospital’s 5K run through 2016.
Researchers at the University of Chicago Medicine are conducting a six-month study to find out whether flaxseed, a natural food, has the potential to be a safe and effective alternative for preventing breast cancer in women like you.
Exposure to low to moderate amounts of arsenic in drinking water can impair lung function. Doses of about 120 parts per billion of arsenic in well water produced lung damage comparable to decades of smoking tobacco.
The Bucksbaum Institute for Clinical Excellence has named its latest round of Junior Faculty Scholars.
University of Chicago researchers have discovered the first human "bifunctional" gene--a single gene that creates a single mRNA transcript that codes for two different proteins, simultaneously. Their finding elucidates a previously unknown mechanism in our basic biology, and has potential to guide therapy for at least one neurological disease.
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