From the cab driver heading for Times Square to the commuter returning home on the freeway, we all carry maps in our head labeled with important locations. And a new Columbia study in mice shows that, by directing the delicate ebb-and-flow of brain activity, a small cluster of cells helps the brain’s internal GPS remember...
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Study identifies two proteins that suppress tumor growth in fruit flies, suggests similar effect on human cancers
The concept sounds simple, but understanding the process has been elusive: Cut off the nutrient supply to suppress the growth of tumors. The protein “Headcase,” or Hdc, functions together with the protein “Unkempt,” or Unk, to regulate tissue growth in fruit flies. Credit: Kansas State University Now researchers in the College of Veterinary Medicine at...
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Discovery could improve cystic fibrosis treatment
Researchers exploring the effects of a long-standing treatment for cystic fibrosis have discovered a potential new target for drugs to treat the disease, which has no cure and typically cuts decades off the lives of patients. Cystic fibrosis affects the lungs and other organs, primarily by making the mucus that lines the lungs viscous, clogging...
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Machine learning finds multiple factors underlie cancer immunotherapy success
A University of Maryland-led research team is using a branch of artificial intelligence known as machine learning to better target immunotherapy treatment to those who will benefit. A pair of cytoxic T cells (in red), part of the body’s immune system, attack an oral cancer cell. Credit: NCI/Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center at Baylor College of...
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New treatment target emerging for retinal damage
Scientists at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University are looking at new treatment targets for the retinal damage that often accompanies diseases like diabetes, glaucoma and hypertension. Dr. Abdelrahman Y. Fouda. Credit: Phil Jones, Senior Photographer, Augusta University Characterized by damage to the blood vessels, those diseases often lead to ischemia—or a disruption of...
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Eating breakfast may not be a good strategy for weight loss
In fact, the findings show that daily calorie intakewas higher in people eating breakfast and that skipping breakfast does not cause greater appetite later in the day. Credit: CC0 Public Domain There is no good evidence to support the idea that eating breakfast promotes weight loss or that skipping breakfast leads to weight gain, finds...
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South Asians at risk for tuberculosis often are not tested
Many South Asian immigrants from countries where tuberculosis (TB) is common do not get tested even though they are at high risk for developing the disease, according to a recent study by Rutgers University and St. Peter’s University Hospital. canning electron micrograph of Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria, which cause TB. Credit: NIAID Tuberculosis, which mainly affects...
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Why screen time for babies, children and adolescents needs to be limited
There is increasing concern about the amount of time children and adolescents are spending in recreational screen time. There’s also increasing controversy over whether or not screen time is actually harmful. Less recreational screen time is better for children. Credit: Shutterstock Since 2016, we (researchers who’ve contributed to the development of the 24-hour movement guidelines...
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Exercise may fight depression in older adults, study suggests
Rockville, Md. (January 31, 2019)–New research suggests that exercise-induced muscle changes could help boost mood in older adults. The study is published ahead of print in the American Journal of Physiology–Cell Physiology. Exercise increases the expression of certain proteins (transcription factors) that help regulate gene expression and the processing (metabolism) of tryptophan in the body. Tryptophan is a...
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Researchers find antidepressants significantly raise risk of GI, intracranial bleeding
Patients taking anti-depressant medications classified as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are 40 percent more likely to develop severe gastrointestinal bleeding, particularly when they also use common over-the-counter pain relievers, according to a research review in the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association. Nearly 13 percent of Americans 12 years and older take an antidepressant,...