By Michael Irving March 04, 2021 A compound called triptonide is showing promise as a male contraceptive pillnito103/Depositphotos For decades, women have largely carried the responsibility for contraception thanks to the pill, but a male equivalent has long eluded scientists. Now a new breakthrough could lead to a safe, effective and reversible male contraceptive pill, as a...
A University of Texas at Arlington bioengineer is designing a nanoparticle delivery system that will take needed plasmids to arteries in patients who are suffering from peripheral artery disease (PAD) in their arms and legs. A plasmid is a genetic structure in a cell that can replicate independently of chromosomes and often is used in...
Researchers have discovered that DNA from the mitochondria – the cell’s “powerhouses” – acts as a danger signal in the body and triggers inflammation in people with sickle cell disease. A better understanding of mitochondrial DNA, long known to circulate in human blood, may provide vital insight into how to stop the underlying chronic inflammation that...
MARCH 4TH, 2021 CONN HASTINGS OPHTHALMOLOGY Researchers in the United Arab Emirates have developed contact lenses that can help to correct color blindness. Containing gold nanoparticles, the lenses help to increase red-green contrast in wearers while also functioning as corrective lenses. The particles give the lenses a rose tint, which will hopefully result in wearers having a more...
AARHUS UNIVERSITY Parkinson’s disease has always been considered a brain disorder. However, new research reveals a close link between the disease and certain immune cells in the blood. Researchers from Aarhus University have taken the first step on a path which can lead to new ways of understanding and, in the long term, possibly treating this widespread disease...
SKOLKOVO INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (SKOLTECH) IMAGE: SCIENTISTS EXPLORE THE ACTION MECHANISM OF A NEW ANTIBIOTIC CREDIT: TIMUR SABIROV/SKOLTECH Scientists from Skoltech and MSU have investigated antibiotic nybomycin that could prove effective against bacteria resistant to other antibiotics. Their research was published in the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. All bacterial cells contain topoisomerases, an important group...
by University of North Carolina Health Care Spinal cord illustration of pro-inflammatory cells (red) and anti-inflammatory MRC1+ macrophages (blue). Credit: Zylka Lab, UNC School of Medicine One of the hallmarks of chronic pain is inflammation, and scientists at the UNC School of Medicine have discovered that anti-inflammatory cells called MRC1+ macrophages are dysfunctional in an animal...
by CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences Graphical representation of T cell recognizing and killing SARS-CoV-2 infected cell (top). Mutant SARS-CoV-2 is not presented and thus T cells cannot recognize and kill cells infected with mutant SARS-CoV-2 (bottom). Credit: Benedikt Agerer/CeMM The body’s immune response plays a crucial role in the...
by Mike Williams, Rice University A model produced by scientists at Rice University shows the conformational changes caused by a mutation in the cancer-fighting p53 protein. At top left, the red box highlights the aggregation-prone sequence protected by the N-terminus tail in wild-type p53 but exposed by the mutation of a single amino acid. The strongest...
by RCSI Dr Claire McCoy, Senior Lecturer in Immunology at RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences. Credit: Patrick Bolger RCSI researchers have discovered a new way to ‘put the brakes’ on excessive inflammation by regulating a type of white blood cell that is critical for our immune system. The discovery has the potential to protect the...
