by University of Pittsburgh Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have developed a nasal swab test for kids that diagnoses specific asthma subtype, or endotype. This non-invasive approach could help clinicians prescribe medications more precisely and pave the way for research toward better treatments for lesser-studied asthma types, which have been difficult...
Category: <span>Research Updates</span>
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Blood test can predict how long vaccine immunity will last, study shows
by Stanford University Medical Center Summary of proposed mechanism for involvement of megakaryocytes in promotion of durability of antibody responses to vaccination. Credit: Nature Immunology (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41590-024-02036-z, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41590-024-02036-z When children receive their second measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, around the time they start kindergarten, they gain protection against all three viruses for all or most of their lives. Yet the effectiveness...
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Microglia digest large Alzheimer’s plaques by spitting enzymes at them, preclinical study finds
by Katie Cottingham, Cornell University Graphical abstract. Credit: Cell Reports (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.115052 Immune cells in the brain called microglia can partially break down large amyloid plaques characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease by latching on to them, forming a sort of external stomach and releasing digestive enzymes into the space, according to a preclinical study by Weill Cornell Medicine...
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Cellular interactions help explain vascular complications due to COVID-19 virus infection
by Greta Friar, Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research Derivation of hPSC-derived vascular endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells, and pericytes. Credit: Nature Communications (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-54917-4 COVID-19 is a respiratory disease primarily affecting the lungs. However, the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 surprised doctors and scientists by causing an unusually large percentage of patients to experience vascular complications—issues related...
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Abnormal blood vessel growth in the brain may be an early diagnostic sign of cognitive impairment
by Delthia Ricks, National Institutes of Health , Medical Xpress Credit: Google DeepMind from Pexels Gender differences define how the human brain ages, and telltale biomarkers in the blood may be strongly suggestive of cognitive impairment and dementia, according to a comprehensive new study involving more than 500 people. Just as skin wrinkles and muscles sag, the...
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World’s largest chimeric gene database promises personalized cancer therapies
by Reichman University Graphical Abstract. Credit: Nucleic Acids Research (2024). DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkae1126 A new study conducted at the Scojen Institute for Synthetic Biology at Reichman University’s Dina Recanati School of Medicine announces the launch of the ChiTaRS 8.0 database, the world’s largest collection of chimeric genes (gene fusions) found in humans with cancer and other chronic diseases. The...
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AI models struggle in real-world medical conversations
Reviewed Harvard Medical SchoolJan 2 2025 Artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT have been touted for their promise to alleviate clinician workload by triaging patients, taking medical histories and even providing preliminary diagnoses. These tools, known as large-language models, are already being used by patients to make sense of their symptoms and medical tests results....
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Injectable hydrogel uses harmless visible light to achieve bone regeneration and adhesion
by Pohang University of Science and Technology Injectable adhesive hydrogel for bone regeneration that simultaneously induces cross-linking and mineralization with visible light. Credit: POSTECH A research team has developed an innovative injectable adhesive hydrogel for bone regeneration. This hydrogel utilizes harmless visible light to simultaneously achieve cross-linking and mineralization without the need for bone grafts. The...
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AI-based ultrasound evaluation can improve ovarian cancer diagnoses
by Karolinska Institutet AI model ROC curve and human examiner performance. Credit: Nature Medicine (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41591-024-03329-4 A new international study led by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden shows that AI-based models can outperform human experts at identifying ovarian cancer in ultrasound images. The study is published in Nature Medicine. “Ovarian tumors are common and are often detected by chance,”...
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Yale study identifies molecular mechanism behind some lissencephaly disorders
Reviewed Yale UniversityJan 2 2025 Lissencephaly is a spectrum of rare, genetic disorders in which the brain fails to develop its hallmark folds. The disorders are often associated with seizures and intellectual disability and currently there are no available treatments. A new Yale study, however, has identified a molecular mechanism that underlies some lissencephaly disorders...