Parkinson’s is a neurological disorder that progressively attacks motor functions, leading to lasting damage in movement and coordination. Researchers studying the primary causes of the disease have focused on mutations of the protein known as leucine-rich repeat kinase 2, or LRRK2.
A recent study by researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine suggests transmission of COVID-19 through breast milk is not likely. The infectious virus was not detected in 64 samples of breast milk tested.
August 19, 2020 (DALLAS, TEXAS) – For decades, physicians have known that many kinds of cancer cells often spread first to lymph nodes before traveling to distant organs through the bloodstream. New research from Children’s Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern (CRI) provides insight into why this occurs, opening up new targets for treatments that could inhibit the spread of cancer.
The release of massive amounts of proteins called cytokines can lead to some of the most severe symptoms of COVID-19.
Using a multimillion-dollar grant from the NIH, physician-scientists at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) will investigate whether convalescent plasma infusions can prevent the progression of COVID-19 in one of the first randomized clinical trials in the country.
Nearly three-quarters of older adults with dementia have filled prescriptions for medicines that act on their brain and nervous system, but aren’t designed for dementia, a new study shows. That’s despite the special risks that such drugs carry for older adults -- and the lack of evidence that they actually ease dementia-related behavior problems.
DALLAS – Aug. 18, 2020 – As soon as the foodborne pathogen Vibrio parahaemolyticus infects a human intestinal cell, the bacteria are already planning their escape. After all, once it is in and multiplies, the bacterium must find a way out to infect new cells.
Study identifies genetic link between cholesterol alterations and autism. Lipid abnormalities found in nearly 7 percent of individuals diagnosed with an autism-spectrum disorder. Results can inform the design of precision-targeted therapies for this form of autism. Findings set the stage for studies to determine the clinical value of lipid abnormalities as biomarkers for autism.
In a Phase II trial led by MD Anderson researchers, a combination targeted therapy acheived a 51% overall response rate in patients with cholangiocarcinoma and BRAF V600E mutations. This is the first prospective study for this group of patients.
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) announces its most recent awards and appointments for the institution’s physicians, scientists, nurses, and staff.
UC San Diego researchers discovered that tumor cells in younger and female patients accumulate cancer-causing mutations that are more poorly presented to the immune system, better enabling tumors to escape detection and clearance.
It can be hard to dispute the common adage ‘survival of the fittest’. After all, “most of the genes in the genome are there because they’re doing something good,” says Sarah Zanders, PhD, assistant investigator at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research. But, she says, “others are just there because they’ve figured out a way to be there.”
Scientists have used simulations to discover a special polymer liquid that, when elongated don’t just stretch out; they also tie themselves into knots. This forms massive molecular chains that can increase the fluid’s viscosity, or resistance to flow, by a factor of 20.
The enzyme serine palmitoyl-transferase can be used as a metabolically responsive “switch” that decreases tumor growth, according to a new study by a team of San Diego scientists, who published their findings Aug. 12 in the journal Nature. By restricting the dietary amino acids serine and glycine, or pharmacologically targeting the serine synthesis enzyme phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase, the team induced tumor cells to produce a toxic lipid that slows cancer progression in mice.
It is known that different regions of the brain help us prioritize information so we can efficiently process visual scenes. A new study by a team of neuroscientists has discovered that one specific region, the occipital cortex, plays a causal role in piloting our attention to manage the intake of images.
DALLAS – Aug. 12, 2020 – In an animal model of multiple sclerosis (MS), decreasing the amount of a protein made in the liver significantly protected against development of the disease’s characteristic symptoms and promoted recovery in symptomatic animals, UTSW scientists report.
A team of researchers led by neuroscientists at Harvard Medical School has successfully used acupuncture to tame cytokine storm in mice with systemic inflammation.
Rutgers researchers have been awarded a $20 million grant by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to evaluate new point of care tests that would diagnose Tuberculosis, the number one cause of deaths worldwide due to an infectious disease.
Children wearing multifocal contact lenses had slower progression of their myopia, according to results from a clinical trial funded by the National Eye Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health. The findings support an option for controlling the condition, also called nearsightedness, which increases the risk of cataracts, glaucoma and retinal detachment later in life. Investigators of the Bifocal Lenses In Nearsighted Kids (BLINK) Study published the results August 11 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Children wearing multifocal contact lenses had slower progression of their myopia, according to results from a clinical trial funded by the National Eye Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health. The findings support an option for controlling the condition, also called nearsightedness, which increases the risk of cataracts, glaucoma and retinal detachment later in life. Investigators of the Bifocal Lenses In Nearsighted Kids (BLINK) Study published the results August 11 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Obesity in expectant mothers may hinder the development of the babies’ brains as early as the second trimester, a new study finds.
Cervical cancer kills over 300,000 women a year, and 19 of the 20 nations with the highest death rates are sub-Saharan countries. Now an international team has published the first comprehensive genomic study of cervical cancers in sub-Saharan Africa, with a focus on tumors from 212 Ugandans.
A simple blood test that does not require overnight fasting has been found to be an accurate screening tool for identifying youth at risk for type 2 diabetes and heart disease risk later in life.
According to a Wistar study, breast cancer cells starved for oxygen send out messages that induce oncogenic changes in surrounding normal epithelial cells.
Each week a woman consumes alcohol during the first five to 10 weeks of pregnancy is associated with an incremental 8% increase in risk of miscarriage, according to a study published today by Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) researchers.
On Wednesday in Dallas, just one day after the initiative was launched by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Baylor Scott & White Research Institute enrolled the first patient in the world for the ACTIV-3 clinical trial. A second patient was enrolled the following day.
This research shows that both Pseudomonas and Burkholderia use toxic weaponry, called Type VI Secretion Systems (T6SS), to compete with and establish dominance over each other. It could be possible to target or mimic this weaponry to defeat the bacteria before they cause irreparable lung damage.
DALLAS – Aug. 7, 2020 – UT Southwestern scientists have developed a genetically engineered mouse and imaging system that lets them visualize fluctuations in the circadian clocks of cell types in mice. The method, described online in the journal Neuron, gives new insight into which brain cells are important in maintaining the body’s master circadian clock. But they say the approach will also be broadly useful for answering questions about the daily rhythms of cells throughout the body.
A new analysis of ancient genomes suggests that different branches of the human family tree interbred multiple times, and that some humans carry DNA from an archaic, unknown ancestor.
Brain tumors are typically diagnosed using MRI imaging, as taking a sample for a tissue biopsy is risky and may not be possible due to tumor location or a patient's health. Researchers are developing a method to diagnose brain tumors without any incisions.
A fast-acting antidote to mitigate the effects of organophosphate poisoning requires a reactivator that can effectively and efficiently cross the blood-brain barrier, bind loosely to the enzyme, chemically snatch the poison and then leave quickly. Oak Ridge National Laboratory is using neutron diffraction data towards improving a novel reactivator design.
Researchers at UC San Diego School of Medicine report successfully implanting specialized grafts of neural stem cells directly into spinal cord injuries in mice, then documenting how the grafts grew and filled the injury sites, mimicking the animals’ existing neuronal network.
The National Institutes of Health will soon launch a phase II clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of potential new therapeutics for COVID-19, including the use of investigational synthetic monoclonal antibodies. Davey Smith of UC San Diego is the protocol chair and answers questions.
NIH has launched an ambitious effort to use artificial intelligence, computation, and medical imaging to enable early disease detection, inform successful treatment strategies, and predict individual disease outcomes of COVID-19.
Berkeley Lab bioscientists are part of a nationwide research project, called ENCODE, that has generated a detailed atlas of the molecular elements that regulate our genes. This enormous resource will help all human biology research moving forward.
Scientists at Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah report today the development of new models to study molecular characteristics of tumors of the lung and pancreas that are driven by mutations in a gene named NTRK1. The findings were published today in the journal Cell Reports.
A new grant awarded to the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania will help identify methods to improve uptake of state-of-the-science care that can have a significant impact for patients.
Irvine, Calif., Aug. 3, 2020 — Environmental engineers at the University of California, Irvine have developed a new framework for characterizing snow droughts around the world. Using this tool to analyze conditions from 1980 to 2018, the researchers found a 28-percent increase in the length of intensified snow-water deficits in the Western United States during the second half of the study period.
Metastasis - the development of tumor growth at a secondary site - is responsible for the majority of cancer-related deaths.
The American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) was awarded a first-of-its-kind National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to enhance diversity in the academic biomedical workforce.
A Tulane University psychologist received a $2.24 million NIH grant to study the causes of panic disorder and PTSD.
The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology has won an almost $1.27 million five-year grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) to develop and execute a program that will support scientists from diverse backgrounds as they prepare for and launch their careers as independent faculty members.
Inherited mutations in a gene that keeps nerve cells intact was shown, for the first time, to be a driver of a neuropathy known as Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. This finding is detailed in a study led by researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, presenting a clearer picture of the disease’s genetic underpinnings that could inform the development of gene therapies to correct it.
The American College of Radiology® (ACR®) Center for Research and Innovation™ (CRI) will serve as the imaging coordination center for the multicenter COVID-19 Observational Study (CORAL) led by Dr. Catherine "Terri" L. Hough of the Oregon Health & Science University. The CORAL Study is part of the Prevention & Early Treatment of Acute Lung Injury (PETAL) Network, a consortium of academic and affiliated hospitals across the United States – funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health – to conduct clinical trials in patients with or at risk for critical illness, including acute respiratory distress syndrome.
The National Institutes of Health is investing $248.7 million in new technologies to address challenges associated with COVID-19 testing (which detects SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus).
Researchers from PNNL have helped colleagues at OHSU identify lipid molecules required for Zika infection in human cells. The specific lipids involved could also be a clue to why the virus primarily infects brain tissue.
Faculty from Wayne State University’s Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences are leading a team of researchers to understand the causal relationships between diabetes, obesity and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in hopes of developing a treatment.
Researchers at UC San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center report that an investigational drug candidate called tipifarnib showed promise in treating key recurring mutation in head and neck cancers.
Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) have for the first time identified stem cells in the region of the optic nerve, which transmits signals from the eye to the brain. The finding presents a new theory on why the most common form of glaucoma may develop and potential for new therapies.
The Cornell Veterinary Biobank has received a $2.5 million federal grant to process, store and distribute biological samples for the Dog Aging Project, a massive national effort to study aging in dogs – and humans.
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