by University of Melbourne This ingredient is an essential component of the malaria parasite, a protein known as RPL6, which makes the parasite “visible” to a type of immune cells, the T cells, in the liver. The researchers added the protein to their existing vaccine strategy, known as ‘prime and trap’, and tested their discovery...
Study confirms diabetes type 3c as early manifestation of pancreatic cancer
by The Spanish National Cancer Research Centre As biomedical sciences incorporate increasingly sophisticated methodologies and technologies, the understanding of diseases improves. Diabetes is a clear example, since new classifications are being added to the traditional classification into type 1 and type 2 diabetes; these new classifications are based on genetic and molecular characteristics that improve...
Male coronavirus patients with low testosterone levels are MORE likely to die from COVID-19, German hospital finds
By JOE PINKSTONE FOR MAILONLINE German hospital assessed the hormone levels of 45 COVID-19 patients in ICU Found that the vast majority of men admitted had low testosterone levels Testosterone may be able to stop the body’s immune system from going haywire Low levels of the sex hormone are unable to regulate the body’s immune...
New tool helps distinguish the cause of blood clots
by eLife A new tool using cutting-edge technology is able to distinguish different types of blood clots based on what caused them, according to a study published in eLife. The tool could help physicians diagnose what caused a blood clot and help them select a treatment that targets cause to break it up. For example,...
ONE PROTEIN EASES PROBLEMS WHEN CANCER CELLS DIVIDE
Two important functions of the protein RTEL1 during cancer cell division could help pinpoint new cancer treatments, researchers report. One of the body’s most important processes is cell division, which occurs throughout life. Normal cells only have a limited number of divisions, while in cancer cells the cell division goes awry and is uncontrollable. Therefore,...
Stem cells shown to delay their own death to aid healing
Already known for their shape-shifting abilities, stem cells can now add “death-defying” to their list of remarkable qualities. A new study shows how stem cells – which can contribute to creating many parts of the body, not just one organ or body part – are able to postpone their own death in order to respond...
Enzyme could hold key to improved allergy treatments
A class of immune cells push themselves into an inflammatory state by producing large quantities of a serotonin-making enzyme, according to a study in mice led by scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine. The study, published in Immunity, found that the inflammatory and infection-fighting abilities of the cells, called type 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s), are...
Brain-scan abnormalities found in children with PANS
MRI brain scans show subtle changes consistent with inflammation in a severe childhood disease in which the immune system is thought to attack the brain, Stanford researchers found. Subtle abnormalities occur in key brain structures of children diagnosed with the pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome, a disease characterized by abrupt, severe behavioral problems, according to a...
Lighting the path for cells
ETH researchers have developed a new method in which they use light to draw patterns of molecules that guide living cells. The approach allows for a closer look at the development of multicellular organisms – and in the future may even play a part in novel therapies. Highly complex organisms can arise from a single...
Nanopropellers to Deliver Gene Therapy Into Cells
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Germany have developed powerful nanopropellers that can be steered into the interior of cells to deliver gene therapy. The magnets that these devices, each about the size of a bacteria, are made of were created for the first time for this very task. Most powerful...