Going bald? Rubbing sandalwood oil on your scalp may stimulate hair growth When applied to scalp tissue in the lab, the oil stimulates hair growth in six days Hair follicles contain ‘smell receptors’ that respond to the aromatic odor This triggers the main protein found in hair, known as keratin, to multiply Smell receptors are throughout the body and respond to chemicals in scents Millions of men who are going bald may benefit from rubbing sandalwood oil onto their scalps. Laboratory...
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Small molecule plays big role in weaker bones as we age
MEDICAL COLLEGE OF GEORGIA AT AUGUSTA UNIVERSITY AUGUSTA, Ga. (Sept. 18, 2018) – With age, expression of a small molecule that can silence others goes way up while a key signaling molecule that helps stem cells make healthy bone goes down, scientists report. They have the first evidence in both mouse and human mesenchymal stem...
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Synthetic sandalwood found to prolong human hair growth
A team of researchers led by Ralf Paus of the University of Manchester has found that applying sandalwood to the scalp can prolong human hair growth. In their paper published in the journal Nature Communications, the group describes experiments they conducted with the synthetic material and human skin samples, and what they found. Credit: CC0...
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Scientists grow human esophagus in lab
Tiny organoids enable personalized disease diagnosis, regenerative therapies CINCINNATI CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL MEDICAL CENTER CINCINNATI – Scientists working to bioengineer the entire human gastrointestinal system in a laboratory now report using pluripotent stem cells to grow human esophageal organoids. Published in the journal Cell Stem Cell the study is the latest advancement from researchers at the...
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New drugs could reduce risk of heart disease when added to statins
New drugs that lower levels of triglycerides (a type of fat) in blood could further reduce the risk of heart attack when added to statins. These new drugs, which are in various stages of development, could also reduce blood glucose levels and the risk of diabetes, according to a new genetic study from the Medical...
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Discovery could explain failed clinical trials for Alzheimer’s, and provide a solution
Researchers at King’s College London have discovered a vicious feedback loop underlying brain degeneration in Alzheimer’s disease which may explain why so many drug trials have failed. The study also identifies a clinically approved drug which breaks the vicious cycle and protects against memory-loss in animal models of Alzheimer’s. PET scan of a human brain...
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Clearing out brain’s “zombie cells” offers new approach against dementia
Researchers from the Mayo Clinic have identified a new target in the battle against dementia and age-related cognitive decline – zombie cells. More formally known as senescent cells, these are cells that have stopped dividing but don’t die and tend to accumulate with age. The new research reveals that many pathological signs of neurodegenerative disease can be eliminated by removing these cells from the brain. Zombie cells, aka senescent cells, have...
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The Digital Pickwick Club: A Nursing Home of the Future
Social companion robots, chatbots, telemedicine, digital tattoos, gamification – the necessary accessories of a nursing home of the future. Do you shake your head in disagreement thinking that’s science fiction and not the natural habitat of your grandma? Our short story of Dickens’ 21st-century reconstruction, the digital Pickwick Club will convince you otherwise. In Santa...
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Zika vaccine shows promise for treating deadly brain cancer
September 18, 2018—An international team of researchers has successfully deployed a Zika virus vaccine to target and kill human glioblastoma brain cancer stem cells, which had been transplanted into mice. In a study published this week in mBio, an open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology, the team shows that a live, attenuated version of the Zika...
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Solving the gut inflammation puzzle
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), an umbrella term for a number of gut disorders—including ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease—remains a clinical challenge. Current treatments don’t work for all patients, and many stops working over time. But despite their different responses to treatment, all IBD patients share a commonality: intestinal inflammation. A better understanding of what drives...