Conducting genetic screening in hundreds of autopsied brain samples, investigators identified shared molecular mechanisms in Alzheimer’s disease and LATE, a common brain disorder BRIGHAM AND WOMEN’S HOSPITAL Alzheimer’s disease is one of the most common causes of dementia, and while most people might know someone who is affected by it, the genetic factors behind the...
Tag: <span>Genetics</span>
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New approach to treating osteoarthritis advances
by NYU Langone Health The study results revolve around the long-established idea that machines within animal and human cells turn the sugars, fats, and proteins we eat into energy used by the body’s millions of cells. The molecule most used to store that energy is called adenosine triphosphate, or ATP. Along with this central role...
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New type of taste cell discovered in taste buds
by Public Library of Science Most taste cells selectively respond to a specific stimulus type while broadly responsive cells respond to multiple taste qualities. Credit: Jhanna Flora and Kathryn Medler Our mouths may be home to a newly discovered set of multi-tasking taste cells that—unlike most known taste cells, which detect individual tastes—are capable of...
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Singapore researchers discover genetic link to predict positive response to immunotherapy in patient
Singapore, 12 August 2020 – A Singapore team led by clinician-scientists and researchers from the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS) discovered a genetic link to better predict treatment response for relapsed/refractory patients with natural- killer T-cell lymphoma (NKTCL), a highly aggressive form of blood cancer. The team performed whole-genome sequencing, to identify mutation in PD-L1...
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A targeted treatment for emphysema? Small engineered peptide maintains lung tissue in animal models
by Children’s Hospital Boston Children’s Hospital tested PR1P in lung cells and mouse models of emphysema, they found that it protected VEGF from being degraded, prevented cell death, and protected the lung. Credit: Hao Wu, PhD, Boston Children’s Hospital Emphysema is a progressive, debilitating lung disease in which the lung’s breathing sacs, or alveoli, enlarge,...
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Researchers devise approach to treat rare, incurable form of blindness
by University of Wisconsin-Madison Best vitelliform macular degeneration, or Best disease, is an inherited eye condition that typically leads to blindness over the course of a few decades. The disease can be caused by more than two hundred mutations in the BEST1 gene. The researchers were able to correct the disease in stem cells from...
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Neurons are genetically programmed to have long lives
When our neurons — the principal cells of the brain — die, so do we. Most neurons are created during embryonic development and have no “backup” after birth. Researchers have generally believed that their survival is determined nearly extrinsically, or by outside forces, such as the tissues and cells that neurons supply with nerve cells....
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“Self-eating” Process of Stem Cells May be the Key to New Regenerative Therapies
The self-eating process in embryonic stem cells known as chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA) and a related metabolite may serve as promising new therapeutic targets to repair or regenerate damaged cells and organs, Penn Medicine researchers show in a new study published online in Science. Human bodies contain over 200 different types of specialized cells. All of...
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Study in mice finds potential therapy to reverse memory loss from Alzheimer’s
by Macquarie University Researchers from Macquarie University have discovered a world-first new treatment that reverses the effects of memory loss associated with Alzheimer’s disease in a study of mice with advanced dementia. The research, co-led by two brothers, Dr. Arne Ittner and Professor Lars Ittner, from Macquarie University Dementia Research Center, builds on their work...
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PANDEMIC FIGHT COSTS 500X MORE THAN PREVENTING ONE
The failure to protect tropical rainforests has cost trillions of dollars stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, according to new research. The pandemic has wreaked economic havoc and caused historic levels of unemployment in the United States and around the world. For decades, scientists and environmental activists have been trying to draw the world’s attention to...