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Over one-third of all FDA-approved drugs act on a specific family of proteins: G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). Drugs to treat high blood pressure, asthma, cancer, diabetes and myriad other conditions target GPCRs throughout the body—but a recent study shows what happens next. In results published in Cell, researchers outline the timeline of events, including precisely when and how different parts of a GPCR interacts with its G protein signaling partners. The findings provide new insights into the fundamental mechanisms of drug-induced signaling in cells, including ways to identify the most critical portions of GPCRs for targeting development of novel therapeutics.

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Why is music composed according to so many rules? Why do we organize sounds in this way to create music? To address that question, a Cleveland, Ohio, physics professor borrows methods from a related question: ‘How do atoms in a random gas or liquid come together to form a particular crystal?” Professor Jesse Berezovsky at Case Western Reserve University contends that “phase transitions” in physics--and music--come about because of a balance between order and disorder, or entropy.

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Case Comprehensive Cancer Center has been selected, once again, as a Lead Academic Participating Site by the National Cancer Institute. The renewal comes with a six-year, $8.9 million grant that will enable the center to provide patients with additional access to clinical trials through the National Clinical Trials Network. In this renewal, NCI is committed to improving the resources provided for each patient to cover research costs at levels linked to the complexity of the clinical trial.

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Case Western Reserve University researchers and partners, including a collaborator at Cleveland Clinic, are pushing the boundaries of how “smart” diagnostic-imaging machines identify cancers—and uncovering clues outside the tumor to tell whether a patient will respond well to chemotherapy.

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The brain is more resilient than previously thought. In a groundbreaking experiment published in this week’s issue of Nature, neuroscientists created an artificial circulation system that successfully restored some functions and structures in donated pig brains—up to four hours after the pigs were butchered at a USDA food processing facility. Though there was no evidence of restored consciousness, brains from the pigs were without oxygen for hours, yet could still support key functions provided by the artificial system. The result challenges the notion that mammalian brains are fully and irreversibly damaged by a lack of oxygen.

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The latest social robots can "read" our emotions in real-time, setting up applications in health care, particularly mental health.

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Probiotics typically aim to rebalance bacteria populations in the gut, but new research suggests they may also help break apart stubborn biofilms. Biofilms are living microbial communities—they provide a haven for microbes and are often resistant to antibiotics. A new study describes a specific probiotic mix that could help patients with gastrointestinal diseases avoid harmful biofilms that can worsen their symptoms.

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More than 125 million people worldwide wear contact lenses, and while many are exposed to relatively common bacteria through their contact lenses, not all contract an eye infection. Researchers at the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine and University Hospitals (UH) Cleveland Medical Center will study whether a contact-wearer’s genetics may play a role in who does or doesn’t contract infection—especially Microbial keratitis (MK), a bacteria-caused infection of the cornea, which, if left untreated, can cause blindness.

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While robots have been increasingly integrated into manufacturing since their introduction in the early 1960s, true human-robot workplace collaboration is still in the early stages and is only recently being earnestly studied by academics. Researchers anticipate humans taking on the more-nimble decision-making, while robots contribute by lifting heavy tools or putting the right tool at our side when needed.

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'Structural battery' drone wings developed by a team led by Case Western Reserve University in Ohio allowed for a total flight time-- nearly three hours--that nearly doubled the craft's previous air time. The Feb. 22 launch at Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport was funded by Ohio and federal funds.

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What does it take to stay in a good mood? In short: Once happy, steer clear of choices that could invite in negative feelings. According to new research from Case Western Reserve University, people become protective of their good moods—and avoid options and behaviors that could potentially sully their positive feelings.

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Former prisoners have a better chance of getting hired if a job application doesn’t include questions about criminal history, according to new employment research from Case Western Reserve University.

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The oldest distinguishing feature between humans and our ape cousins is our ability to walk on two legs – a trait known as bipedalism. Among mammals, only humans and our ancestors perform this atypical balancing act. New research led by a Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine professor of anatomy provides evidence for greater reliance on terrestrial bipedalism by a human ancestor than previously suggested in the ancient fossil record.

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LeVar Burton, a celebrated American actor, director, producer and writer for more than 40 years, is adding another accolade—this one for his tireless, decades-long dedication to children’s literacy and AIDS research and treatment.

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Blocking two molecular pathways that send signals inside cancer cells could stave off esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC), the most common esophageal malignancy in the United States, according to new research out of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

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Because of high out-of-pocket expenses, Ohioans who purchase subsidized health-exchange insurance often can't afford the care they need when they need it. That is a central finding of a new study from researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

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Children who depend on medical technology—feeding tubes, oxygen, or mechanical ventilators and other devices to stay alive--represent about 20 percent of all children discharged from hospitals nationally. But they account for about 60 percent of all health-care spending, Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing researcher Val Toly said.

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Bacteria in the gut do far more than help digest food in the stomachs of their hosts, they can also tell the genes in their mammalian hosts what to do. A study published today in Cell describes a form of “interspecies communication” in which bacteria secrete a specific molecule—nitric oxide—that allows them to communicate with and control their hosts’ DNA, and suggests that the conversation between the two may broadly influence human health.