Scientists Discover New Causes of Cellular Decline in Prematurely Aging Kids
Saint Louis University Medical CenterSaint Louis University researchers have uncovered new answers about why cells rapidly age in children with a rare and fatal disease.
Saint Louis University researchers have uncovered new answers about why cells rapidly age in children with a rare and fatal disease.
Using artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques, researchers at Shiley Eye Institute at UC San Diego Health and University of California San Diego School of Medicine, with colleagues in China, Germany and Texas, have developed a new computational tool to screen patients with common but blinding retinal diseases, potentially speeding diagnoses and treatment.
New research from Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah illuminates aspects of how an early embryo, the product of fertilization of a female egg cell by a male sperm cell, can give rise to all the many cell types of the adult animal.
In this study, published in Cell Reports, two labs at UNC and a group at Princeton University reprogrammed ordinary cells called fibroblasts into new and healthy heart muscle cells, and recorded changes that appear to be necessary for this reprogramming.
Scientists have found that DNA executes an unexpected architectural role in shaping the cells of bacteria. Studying bacteria, the researchers used an array of experiments and technologies to reveal that DNA, beyond serving to encode genetic information, also “pumps up” bacterial cells.
Ever wonder why obese bodies burn less calories or why dieting often leads to a plateau in weight loss? In both cases the body is trying to defend its weight by regulating energy expenditure. In a paper publishing in Cell on February 8, University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers identify the enzyme TANK-binding kinase 1 (TBK1) as a key player in the control of energy expenditure during both obesity and fasting.
A new study shows the mechanism by which bacteria die at temperatures too low to rupture their cell walls.
A research team led by Stony Brook University scientists Mansa Munshi and Maurizio Del Poeta has discovered a novel gene that helps understand the mechanism of survival of Cryptococcus neorformans. Their finding, published in Cell Reports, may help pave the way for more effective treatments against cryptococcosis.
UCLA researchers, in collaboration with the University of Iowa, discovered the contribution of a specific gene in the proper development of blood cells that give rise to hematopoietic stem cells. The findings identify a potential target for the development of treatments for some types of leukemia, anemia and other blood disorders.
UCLA scientists found that boosting mice's cholesterol levels spurred intestinal stem cells to divide more quickly, enabling tumors to form faster. The study identifies a new drug target for colon cancer treatment.
Through the haze of a sonogram screen, an expectant mother catches a glimpse of the growing baby within her. The outline of a nose, chin and head, instantly recognizable as a tiny human, brings to life what parents, until then, could only imagine. Biologists, too, aim to bring their scientific discoveries to life by creating three-dimensional models—at the atomic level—of the inner workings of cells
Consumption of dietary fiber can prevent obesity, metabolic syndrome and adverse changes in the intestine by promoting growth of “good” bacteria in the colon, according to a study led by Georgia State University.
Scientists often struggle to predict how these cells will act in different environments in the body.
A multi-institutional research team led by Indiana University School of Medicine scientists has developed a new way to harvest blood stem cells for bone marrow donation that is faster and more effective than the current standard of care.
Researchers at UT Southwestern’s Simmons Cancer Center have shown that RAS molecules act in pairs, known as dimers, to cause cancer, findings that could help guide them to a treatment.
Scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have discovered that two estrogen-mimicking compounds found in many foods appear to potently reverse the effects of palbociclib/letrozole, a popular drug combination for treating breast cancer.
UCLA researchers have developed the first map of gene regulation in human neurogenesis, the process by which neural stem cells turn into brain cells and the cerebral cortex expands in size. The scientists identified factors that govern the growth of our brains and, in some cases, set the stage for several brain disorders that appear later in life
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have discovered the workings of the first promising treatment for Marburg virus, a pathogen with the same pandemic potential as Ebola virus.
Researchers at Indiana University School of Medicine have successfully developed a method to grow hairy skin from mouse pluripotent stem cells—a discovery that could lead to new approaches to model disease and new therapies for the treatment of skin disorders and cancers.
A new genetic-based model may explain how a common form of early-stage breast cancer known as ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) progresses to a more invasive form of cancer say researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Scientists at the National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health, report that tiny tube-like protrusions called primary cilia on cells of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE)—a layer of cells in the back of the eye—are essential for the survival of the retina’s light-sensing photoreceptors. The discovery has advanced efforts to make stem cell-derived RPE for transplantation into patients with geographic atrophy, otherwise known as dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of blindness in the U.S. The study appears in the January 2 Cell Reports.
Mount Sinai researchers have discovered a new drug combination that could provide the first targeted therapy for some of the deadliest cancers, as well as molecular predictors of tumor response to the therapy, according to a study published in Cell Reports in January.
Nobel laureate Kurt Wüthrich investigates the structure of an important drug target.
Research shows that missense mutations in a cluster of just five codons in the NF1 gene are an important risk factor for severe symptoms of the genetic disease neurofibromatosis type 1. Such information is vital to help guide clinical management and genetic counseling in this complex disease.
A method developed by HHMI investigators sifts through hundreds of millions of potential targets to find a precise cancer beacon. The results may lead to better immunotherapies, which harness the immune system to attack tumors.
In a pair of publications, researchers have shown how cells adapt to stressors—like water loss—by reprogramming their internal signaling networks. The studies describe previously unknown mechanisms that cells use to send signals between cellular machinery and avoid cell death. According to the authors, drugs that enhance the adaptation mechanisms could help cells stave off multiple diseases, including type 2 diabetes. The studies were published in Cell Reports and Molecular Cell.
Wistar researchers have found that combining PARP inhibitors, recently approved for the treatment of BRCA-mutant ovarian cancer, with another small molecule inhibitor was effective to treat ovarian cancers without BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations.
Researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center uncovered a novel gene they named THOR. It's a long non-coding RNA that plays a role in cancer development. Knocking it out can halt the growth of tumors.
Benefits of many cancer drug combinations are not due to drug synergy, but to “bet hedging.” Combinations give each patient multiple chances of responding to at least one drug, increasing survival within patient populations. Findings suggest new ways to improve the design of combination therapies.
A new study led by SBP describes the biology behind why muscle stem cells respond differently to aging or injury. The findings, published in Cell Stem Cell, have important implications for the normal wear and tear of aging.
Indiana University School of Medicine researchers have identified a way to block the ability of parasites that cause malaria to shield themselves against drug treatments in infected mice—a finding that could lead to the development of new approaches to combat this deadly disease in humans.
DNA sequences between mitochondria within a single cell are vastly different, found researchers. This knowledge will help to better illuminate the underlying mechanisms of many disorders that start with accumulated mutations in individual mitochondria and provide clues about how patients might respond to specific therapies.
Researchers report creating a biologically accurate mass-production platform that overcomes major barriers to bioengineering human liver tissues suitable for therapeutic transplant into people.
Researchers at Tufts are examining the behavior of stem cells within the context of aging and loss of smell. In Cell Stem Cell, they report mechanisms to regenerate adult stem cells in mice to restore smell cells: it mimics induced pluripotency, but is simpler, involving only two Yamanaka factors.
Head and neck tumors that contain cells undergoing a partial epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition — which transforms them from neatly organized blocks into irregular structures that extrude into the surrounding environment — are more likely to invade and spread to other parts of the body, according to a new study led by researchers from Mass. Eye and Ear, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.
UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have developed a method to map protein changes that occur in different subtypes of breast cancer cells in response to DNA damage from a new class of chemotherapy drugs.
Understanding how brains actively erase memories may open new understanding of memory loss and aging, and open the possibility of new treatments for neurodegenerative disease.
A new study from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) is the first to show precisely how a process in nerve cells called the S-nitrosylation (SNO) reaction—which can be caused by aging, pesticides and pollution—may contribute to Parkinson’s disease.
Scientists have identified a set of biomarkers that indicate which patients infected with the Ebola virus are most at risk of dying from the disease. The results come from one of the most in-depth studies ever of blood samples from patients with Ebola.
In a comprehensive and complex molecular study of blood samples from Ebola patients in Sierra Leone, published today (Nov. 16, 2017) in Cell Host and Microbe, a scientific team led by the University of Wisconsin–Madison has identified signatures of Ebola virus disease that may aid in future treatment efforts.
The research shows that a range of compounds can deliver pain-blocking potency without affecting respiration.
Primary liver cancer is now the second leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide, and its incidences and mortality are increasing rapidly in the United Stated. In late stages of the malignancy, there are no effective treatments or drugs. However, an unexpected finding made by a team of University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers sheds light on the development of a new strategy for prevention of liver cancer.
Cornell researchers have taken a major step toward answering a key question in cancer research: Why is testicular cancer so responsive to chemotherapy, even after it metastasizes?
Depletion of a fatty molecule in human blood propels malaria parasites to stop replicating and causing illness in people and instead to jump ship to mosquitoes to continue the transmission cycle, according to a new study by an international research team.
Publishing online this week in Cell Host & Microbe, researchers at Johns Hopkins report the discovery of a key underlying immune mechanism that explains why to how our skin becomes inflamed from conditions such as atopic dermatitis, more commonly known as eczema. Toxin-producing bacteria on the surface of our skin induces a protein that causes our own cells to react and cause inflammation.
Researchers at the University of Michigan Life Sciences Institute found that a previously dismissed genetic mechanism may contribute to nicotine dependence, and to the withdrawal effects that can make quitting smoking so difficult.
Northwestern University molecular bioscientists have discovered that a little stress can be good for cellular health. The findings will help researchers better understand the molecular mechanisms that drive aging and risk for age-associated degenerative diseases.
Many cancers depend on glucose consumption for energy, but good pharmacological targets to stop cancers’ ability to uptake and metabolize glucose are missing. CU Cancer Center study finally identifies a way to restrict the ability of cancer to use glucose for energy.
UNC School of Medicine neuroscientists discover a long-distance brain circuit that controls the production of new neurons in the hippocampus. Research could have implications for understanding and treating many brain disorders, including epilepsy, schizophrenia, depression, and Alzheimer’s disease
A microscope lens implanted deep inside a mouse’s brain shows different patterns of neural activity when the mouse interacts with males, females, or other stimuli. Now, researchers have discovered that sexual experience can trigger long-term changes in these brain patterns.