by Katherine Fenz, Rockefeller University Epidermal stem cells (green) form small bud-shaped structures that later become tumors. Credit: Laboratory of Cell Biology and Development at The Rockefeller University All cancers are the result of cells that have gone haywire, multiplying out of control and expanding beyond their normal constraints. But not all tumors are the...
by Vanessa McMains, Johns Hopkins University (Top) The nuclear pore protein Pom121 in healthy brain cells. (Bottom) Brain cells with an ALS/dementia genetic mutation have less of the nuclear pore protein Pom121 than healthy brain cells, which leads to disrupted transport routes and ultimately cell death. Credit: Alyssa Coyne Researchers have long sought to explain...
by Melissa Moody, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania An investigational drug that targets an instigator of the TDP-43 protein, a well-known hallmark of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD), may reduce the protein’s buildup and neurological decline associated with these disorders, suggests a pre-clinical study from researchers at Penn...
Disney lab collaboration reawakens heart cells’ silenced VEGF-A healing system by targeting non-coding RNA SCRIPPS RESEARCH INSTITUTE CHEMISTRY PROFESSOR MATTHEW DISNEY, PHD, IN HIS LAB AT SCRIPPS RESEARCH IN JUPITER, FLORIDA. DISNEY AND HIS GRADUATE STUDENT, HAFEEZ HANIFF, DEVELOPED A COMPOUND THAT ACTS ON NON-CODING RNA TO… view more CREDIT: MATTHEW STURGESS FOR SCRIPPS RESEARCH...
by Gillian Rutherford, University of Alberta Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry Biochemist Joanne Lemieux worked with three other University of Alberta researchers on a new study showing that a drug that cures deadly peritonitis in cats also works well enough against the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 to fast-track it into human clinical trials. Credit: University...
Collaborative Cancer Research UK-funded studies from University of Oxford researchers have uncovered a new mechanism by which cancer cells adapt to the stresses they encounter as they grow and respond to therapies. This mechanism involves cells releasing small vesicles, known as exosomes. These contain complex mixtures of proteins, RNAs and other molecules, which can re-programme...
Paratek Pharmaceuticals successfully brought a new antibiotic to the market. So why is the company’s long-term survival in question? A patient in South Africa battles a strain of tuberculosis that is resistant to multiple antibiotics. Drug resistance is a growing problem with many diseases. Credit: Joao Silva/NYT/Redux/eyevine PDF version As the COVID-19 pandemic caught hold...
Nearly three-quarters of older adults with dementia have filled prescriptions for medicines that act on their brain and nervous system, but aren’t designed for dementia, a new study shows. That’s despite the special risks that such drugs carry for older adults – and the lack of evidence that they actually ease dementia-related behavior problems that...
A new leading US-based COVID-19 vaccine is set to begin its 2nd phase of testing in South Africa. The NVX‑CoV2373, made by Novavax biotechnology company, has seen improving the immune system and stimulating antibodies inside the patient. One of the major benefactors of the drug is the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Here’s what it...
by Eric Hamilton, University of Wisconsin-Madison University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists have discovered that a majority of back-pain patients they tested who were taking opioid painkillers produced anti-opioid antibodies. These antibodies may contribute to some of the negative side effects of long-term opioid use. Existing antibodies may also limit the benefit a patient receives from an...
