by Université libre de Bruxelles Repurposing Wnt7a ligands into BBB therapeutics.BBB dysfunction has been implicated in the etiology of a large set of CNS disorders. Wnt7a/b ligands, which dominate the neurovascular differentiation cascade during vertebrate development, are here repurposed as safe BBB therapeutics by engineering them into highly specific Gpr124/Reck agonists. [Illustration created with BioRender]....
Smriti Mallapaty Cases of coronavirus reinfection are increasing around the world. Credit: Carlo Allegri/Reuters Since the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 was first detected, the number of people reinfected with the coronavirus has been rising sharply — a trend that was not observed with previous variants. Researchers say that the new variant is probably driving the...
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system and the most common cause of neurological impairment in young adults. In MS, the patient’s own immune system attacks the brain and spinal cord, resulting in cumulative neurological deficits such as damaged sight, sensory disturbances, motor deficits (e.g. limiting the ability to...
In a small lab decorated with a poster of colorful MRI brain scans, Elizabeth Stegemoller hits a stopwatch to record how long a participant in her study can sustain the vowel sound “ah” before taking a breath. They run through this a few times before Stegemoller moves on to measure the participant’s range of pitch...
Metabolite technology developed in the College of Medicine – Tucson has been licensed to startup MetFora. Researchers at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson have developed a new way to provide earlier diagnosis of lung disease. The method involves analyzing metabolites, small molecules that are produced through cellular metabolic reactions. When normal...
While neurons and glial cells are by far the most numerous cells in the brain, many other types of cells play important roles. Among those are cerebrovascular cells, which form the blood vessels that deliver oxygen and other nutrients to the brain. Those cells, which comprise only 0.3 percent of the brain’s cells, also make...
Radars are usually associated with navigation. For example, air traffic controllers and airports use them extensively. As do military surveillance systems. And some robot vacuum cleaners. However, scientists at the University of Sydney believe that radar technology could become a life saver for burn victims and babies. Radars could soon find their application in hospitals....
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY IMAGE: MIT CHEMISTS HAVE DISCOVERED HOW THE STRUCTURE OF THE EMRE TRANSPORTER CHANGES AS A COMPOUND MOVES THROUGH IT. AT LEFT IS THE TRANSPORTER STRUCTURE AT HIGH PH. AS THE PH DROPS (RIGHT), THE HELICES BEGIN TO TILT SO THAT THE CHANNEL IS MORE OPEN TOWARD THE OUTSIDE OF THE CELL,...
by Stephanie Wong, Hannah Keage, The Conversation Credit: Eduardo Barrios/Unsplash, CC BY-SA Many of us will have experienced some unexpected honesty from the older people in our lives. Whether it’s grandma telling you your outfit is unflattering or grandpa saying he doesn’t like the meal you’ve prepared, we often explain it away by saying “Oh, don’t...
by Bob Yirka, Medical Xpress Graphical abstract. Credit: DOI: 10.1016/j.chom.2022.01.013 A team of researchers affiliated with a large number of institutions in Spain has found evidence of the presence of certain bacteriophages in the gut promoting better executive function and memory in flies, mice and humans. In their paper published in the journal Cell Host and...
