Science

Chapel Hill, NC — We humans lose mental acuity, an unfortunate side effect of ageing. And for individuals with neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, the loss of cognitive function often accompanied by mood disorders such as anxiety is a harrowing experience. One way to push back against cognitive decline and anxiety would be […]

Princeton, NJ — Just as it’s hard to understand a conversation without knowing its context, it can be difficult for biologists to grasp the significance of gene expression without knowing a cell’s environment. To solve that problem, researchers at Princeton Engineering have developed a method to elucidate a cell’s surroundings so that biologists can make […]

Pohang, South Korea — A Korean research team led by Professor Ki Hean Kim, candidates Seonghan Kim and Jungbin Lee (Department of Mechanical Engineering) at POSTECH, in collaboration with Professor Chang Ho Yoon (Department of Ophthalmology) of Seoul National University Hospital and Professor Young-Ho Jung (Department of Ophthalmology) of Eulji Hospital, has successfully demonstrated the […]

Barcelona, Spain — The spinal column is the central supporting structure of the skeleton in all vertebrates. Not only does it provide a place for muscles to attach, it also protects the spinal cord and nerve roots. Defects in its development are known to cause rare hereditary diseases. Researchers from the Ebisuya Group at EMBL Barcelona have […]

Canberra, Australia — Researchers from The Australian National University (ANU) have identified a gene called TLR7 that, when over-activated, is responsible for causing lupus, an autoimmune disease that can be life-threatening in severe cases.   TLR7 is programmed to help the immune system guard against viral infections, but in its mutated form it can become aggressive and […]

Philadelphia, PA — The immune system remembers. Often this memory, primed by past encounters with threats like bacteria or viruses, is an asset. But when that memory is sparked by internal drivers, like chronic inflammation, it can prove detrimental, perpetuating a misguided immune response. In a new paper in Cell, researchers from the School of […]

Memphis, TN — Rhabdomyosarcoma is a type of soft tissue cancer. Scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital studied the population of cells that persists after therapy, causing rhabdomyosarcoma recurrence. They found that these cells mirror an early developmental state that responds to EGFR inhibitors. The work presents a strategy for targeting the whole tumour […]

Barcelona, Spain — Human Brain Project researchers have used whole-brain virtual models to simulate what happens when neurostimulation is applied to ageing human brains. These models provide new insight into how the dynamics of a healthy brain change as it grows old, and crucially, could help identify new targets and strategies for therapeutic neurostimulation. As […]

La Jolla, CA — Mammals can’t typically regenerate organs as efficiently as other vertebrates, such as fish and lizards. Now, Salk scientists have found a way to partially reset liver cells to more youthful states—allowing them to heal damaged tissue at a faster rate than previously observed. The results, published in Cell Reports on April […]

Durham, NC — The virus that causes COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, can directly infect a specialized type of kidney cell. The discovery helps explain why acute kidney injury is one of the main complications observed in patients with severe COVID-19, according to biomedical engineers and virologists at Duke University. The research appeared online April 20 in the […]

Niigata, Japan — The research group of Professor Kamimura in Niigata University have established a novel pancreatic carcinogenesis model in wild-type rats utilizing the pancreas-targeted selective hydrodynamic gene delivery method developed by their research group. “The gene human pancreatic cancer-related gene transfer of the KRASG12D efficiently developed the pancreatic cancer”, says Prof. Kamimura. KRASG12D-induced pancreatic […]

La Jolla, CA — Every day, your pancreas produces about one cup of digestive juices, a mixture of molecules that can break down the food you eat. But if these powerful molecules become activated before they make their way to the gut, they can damage the pancreas itself—digesting the very cells that created them, leading […]