Bioresearch

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Geneva, Switzerland — The pancreas is a key metabolic regulator. When pancreatic beta cells cease producing enough insulin, blood sugar levels rise dangerously — a phenomenon known as hyperglycemia — thus triggering diabetes. After discovering that other mature pancreatic cells can adapt and partly compensate for the lack of insulin, a team from the University […]

Augusta, GA — A little-studied enzyme has been found in high levels in healthy neurons, levels that scientists say decline with age and more dramatically with Alzheimer’s, making adjusting the enzyme’s level a potential treatment for both. The enzyme is called HDAC9, a member of a class of enzymes involved in how tightly our DNA […]

Pittsburgh, PA — Fighting cancer and chronic disease is tiring work for the immune system. When T cells are engaged in this kind of lengthy battle, they can become exhausted, or unable to function properly. One immunotherapy that revitalizes these cells by blocking an immune checkpoint protein called LAG3 was recently approved by federal regulators. […]

Jena, Germany — A chip-based infection model developed by researchers in Jena, Germany, enables live microscopic observation of damage to lung tissue caused by the invasive fungal infection aspergillosis. The team developed algorithms to track the spread of fungal hyphae as well as the response of immune cells. The development is based on a “lung-on-chip” […]

Los Angeles, CA — UCLA scientists and colleagues have created a first-of-its-kind roadmap that traces each step in the development of blood stem cells in the human embryo, providing scientists with a blueprint for producing fully functional blood stem cells in the lab. The research, published today (Apr.13) in the journal Nature, could help expand treatment options for […]

Chicago, IL — Using a protein nanoparticle they designed, scientists at the University of Illinois Chicago have identified two distinct subtypes of neutrophils and found that one of the subtypes can be used as a drug target for inflammatory diseases.  Neutrophils are a type of white blood cell that help fight infection, clear dead cell […]