Andrew Griffin @_andrew_griffin A 50-year-old science problem has been solved and could allow for dramatic changes in the fight against diseases, researchers say. For years, scientists have been struggling with the problem of “protein folding” – mapping the three-dimensional shapes of the proteins that are responsible for diseases from cancer to Covid-19. Google’s Deepmind claims to have...
Researchers Solve Anti-aging Mystery – Identify Gene Responsible for Cellular Aging
By ALPHAMED PRESS; NOVEMBER 30, 2020 Cellular reprogramming can reverse the aging that leads to a decline in the activities and functions of mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs). This is something that scientists have known for a while. But what they had not figured out is which molecular mechanisms are responsible for this reversal. A study...
Molecule found to promote muscle health in response to magnetic fields
By Nick Lavars, November 29, 2020 Scientists have discovered a molecule that can mimic some of the effects of exercise on muscle health, with a little help from weak magnetic fields With an eye to improving quality of life for the elderly and frail, scientists at the National University of Singapore have discovered a molecule...
Mild electrical stimulation with heat shock ameliorates kidney disease
KUMAMOTO UNIVERSITY IMAGE: MES+HS AMELIORATES THE RENAL PATHOLOGY OF ADR-INDUCED NEPHROTIC SYNDROME BY REGULATING THE AKT-BAD PATHWAY, EXERTING ANTI-APOPTOTIC EFFECTS, AND INHIBITING INFLAMMATION AND FIBROSIS. CREDIT: PROFESSOR HIROFUMI KAI A research team from Kumamoto University in Japan has found that the combination of weak pulsed electrical current and heat exerts anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic effects in...
Deadly snake bites: Potential antivenom discovered
by University of Copenhagen Credit: Anton Willemann. Amputations, deformed bones and disfigured skin. At worst, death. These are the potential consequences of a venomous snake bite. For millions of people living in low-income countries deadly snake bites are an everyday occurrence, and the nearest health clinic or hospital can easily be hundreds of kilometers away. Add to this...
Researchers unlock the door to tumor microenvironment for CAR T cells
by Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Credit: CC0 Public Domain The labyrinth of jumbled blood vessels in the tumor microenvironment remains one of the toughest blockades for cellular therapies to penetrate and treat solid tumors. Now, in a new study published online today in Nature Cancer, Penn Medicine researchers found that combining chimeric antigen receptor...
A possible way to prevent Alzheimer’s disease: Editing a key gene in human nerve cells
by Bob Yirka , Medical Xpress Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain A team of researchers at Laval University has found evidence that it might be possible to the chances of developing Alzheimer’s disease by editing a key gene in nerve cells. In their paper uploaded to the bioRxiv preprint server, the group describes experiments they conducted that involved editing genes...
NHS to trial innovative cancer blood test
27th November 2020 by Selina McKee The NHS is trialling an innovative new blood test that may be able to detect more than 50 types of cancer. The Galleri blood test, developed by GRAIL, will be piloted with 165,000 patients in a ‘world-first deal’ struck by NHS England. Prior research on patients with signs of cancer has...
Female reproductive hormones may be protective against COVID-19
By Sally Robertson, B.Sc.,Nov 29 2020 In an article recently published in Trends in Endocrinology & Metabolism, Graziano Pinna from the University of Illinois in Chicago outlines some of the evidence suggesting that female reproductive hormones may play a role in the sex bias that has been observed in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Reports have shown...
TEAM MAKES TRASH INTO PARKINSON’S DRUG AND AMINO ACID
The shells of crustaceans and wood waste such as branches pruned from trees usually end up in landfills. These waste materials get a new lease of life to become nutritional supplements and medicine, with the help of this new process. Associate professor Yan Ning and assistant professor Zhou Kang from NUS Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering led the...