HOSPITAL FOR SPECIAL SURGERY Since doctors began treating cancer patients with immunotherapy drugs called checkpoint inhibitors nearly a decade ago, they have observed that a subset of these patients experience a side effect that clinically looks like inflammatory arthritis. These drugs, which take the natural brake off immune cells called T cells and allow them...
Month: <span>November 2020</span>
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New medication may treat underlying causes of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION DALLAS, Nov. 9, 2020 — The new, investigational heart medication mavacamten may improve key structural abnormalities of obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a condition characterized by thickened heart muscle that obstructs pumping of blood through the heart, according to research from the Phase 3 EXPLORER-HCM trial, to be presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions...
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People who eat chili pepper may live longer?
AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION DALLAS, Nov. 9, 2020 — Individuals who consume chili pepper may live longer and may have a significantly reduced risk of dying from cardiovascular disease or cancer, according to preliminary research to be presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2020. The meeting will be held virtually, Friday, November 13-Tuesday, November 17, 2020,...
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WFIRM scientists create hybrid tissue construct for cartilage regeneration
WAKE FOREST BAPTIST MEDICAL CENTER IMAGE: A HIGHLY ELASTIC HYBRID CONSTRUCT FOR FIBROCARTILAGINOUS REGENERATION IS PRODUCED BY COPRINTING A CELL-LADEN GELLAN GUM/FIBRINOGEN COMPOSITE BIOINK TOGETHER WITH A SILK FIBROIN METHACRYLATE BIOINK IN AN INTERLEAVED CROSSHATCH PATTERN. WINSTON-SALEM, NC, NOVEMBER, 2020 — Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine scientists (WFIRM) have developed a method to bioprint...
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An Amazonian tea stimulates the formation of new neurons
by Universidad Complutense de Madrid Preparation of ayahuasca in Ecuador. One of the main natural components of ayahuasca tea is dimethyltryptamine (DMT), which promotes neurogenesis —the formation of new neurons—according to research led by the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM). In addition to neurons, the infusion used for shamanic purposes also induces the formation of other neural cells...
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Researchers identify specific genes and cell pathways as key players in rare female lung disease
by Alex Gardner, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Deleting the TSC2 gene in specific lung cells of mice led to the activation of the mTORC1 signaling pathway and pulmonary disease characteristics consistent with human LAM disease, particularly in female breeder mice. These mice without TSC2 also exhibited a dysfunctional WNT cellular signaling...
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Researchers discover two key events that turn normal cells into cancer
by Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania More than 100 cancer types can arise all over the body, but two universal metabolic pathways may tie them all together, researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania report in a new study published today online in Cell Metabolism. Researchers have long believed all cancers are...
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Vital brain mechanism for maintaining pH balance identified
by Chris Lane, University College London An astrocyte cell grown from a rat brain, stained to reveal the structure. Brain cells called astrocytes play a vital role in preventing acidification of the brain, according to a new study in mice led by UCL researchers. The researchers hope their findings, published in Nature Communications, could help further understanding of several common...
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Nasal spray might prevent COVID-19 infections
It could make prevention far more accessible. Many hopes for a return to a semi-normal life after COVID-19 revolve around vaccines, but those injections have limits — they’re harder to deploy in low-income and rural areas where there’s no guarantee of easy distribution. Science may offer a more accessible alternative, though. Columbia University researchers have developed a nasal spray that...
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Researchers discover new protocol to detect lipid production in microalgae
Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.,Oct 16 2020 Dietary supplementation of fatty acids produced from microalgae have wide-reaching health benefits for humans, including the ability to reduce obesity, diabetes and fatty liver disease, preventing hair loss, and assisting wounds to heal. However, its widespread development has been hampered by the current limits of bioimaging tools needed...