by Public Library of Science Common medical imaging procedures use low doses of radiation that are believed to be safe. A new study, however, finds that in human cell cultures, these doses create breaks that allow extra bits of DNA to integrate into the chromosome. Roland Kanaar and Alex Zelensky of Erasmus University Medical Center...
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Researchers investigate molecule, VISTA, which keeps immune system quiet against cancer
by Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center Researchers led by Dartmouth’s and Dartmouth-Hitchcock’s Norris Cotton Cancer Center are studying a valuable target in regulating the immune response in cancer and autoimmunity. VISTA is a tempering molecule that hinders T cells in the immune system from activating against self-antigens such as cancer cells. Their new publication describes how VISTA...
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Study unravels new insights into a Parkinson’s disease protein
by Charlotte Hsu, University at Buffalo Research by University at Buffalo biologists is providing new insights into alpha-synuclein, a small acidic protein associated with Parkinson’s disease. Alpha-synuclein is known to form abnormal clumps in the brains of patients with Parkinson’s, but scientists are still trying to understand how and why this happens. The new study...
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Progress in unraveling the mystery of the genomics of Parkinson’s disease
by IOS Press Overview of the currently included countries in the IPDGC and IPDGC-affiliated efforts. IPDGC = International Parkinson Disease Genomics Consortium, LARGE-PD = Latin American Research Consortium on the Genetics of Parkinson Disease, Lux GIANT = Luxembourg-German-Indian Alliance on Neurodegenerative diseases and Therapeutics. Credit: Laboratory of Neurogenetics, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of...
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How tiny silica particles can stop the body absorbing fat in food
By Rich Haridy In addition to seeking ways to enhance fat metabolism and increasing our understanding of the genetics of weight gain, one of the major avenues of current obesity research essentially involves trying to figure out ways to get people to eat less. But what if we tackled the problem from a different angle?...
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Pig study sheds new light on sugar’s addictive impacts on the brain
By Nick Lavars Much research has helped paint a picture of the relationship between sugar and our brain’s reward system, though there remains many blanks to be filled. Scientists in Denmark have now offered further insights into how the sweet stuff reshapes our brain chemistry, by performing experiments on pigs and taking note of how...
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Possible Missing Link in Alzheimer’s Pathology Identified
It may open the door to new treatments and explain why previous ones failed By Karen Weintraub on January 16, 2020 Alzheimer’s disease has long been characterized by the buildup of two distinct proteins in the brain: first beta-amyloid, which accumulates in clumps, or plaques, and then tau, which forms toxic tangles that lead to...
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New study could ‘drastically’ change how we understand Parkinson’s
The hallmark symptoms of Parkinson’s disease are motor symptoms that include shaking hands and slowness of movement, but specialists still do not entirely understand what causes this disease. Newly published research may now overturn prevailing notions about key Parkinson’s mechanisms. Motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease may be due to brain changes that take place earlier...
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Study finds tiny ‘nano’ capsules effective in treating type two diabetes
by Curtin University Curtin University researchers have developed tiny capsules that are able to effectively target the liver and pancreas reducing the inflammatory effects of type two diabetes. The research, published in the Nature journal, Scientific Reports, explored whether the tiny capsules, developed using bio-nanotechnologies and filled with a combination of human-based bile acids and...
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Evidence of previously unknown electrical property in human cortical dendrites
by Bob Yirka , Medical Xpress A team of researchers from Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Universitätsmedizin Berlin and the Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (IMBB-FORTH) has found evidence of previously unknown electrical properties in human cortical dendrites. In their paper published in the journal Science, the group describes their study of human cortical dendrites and what...