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Protective anti-prion antibodies found in humans

Antibodies targeting the normal PrP version of the prion protein have been found in humans selected at random with no history of any associated transmissible spongiform encephalopathies.

18 Aug 2020

Genome analysis helps identify 568 cancer driver genes

Analysis of the genomes of 28,000 tumors from 66 types of cancer has led to the identification of 568 cancer driver gene.

18 Aug 2020

Researchers show how two X chromosomes communicate during embryo development

Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have solved a mystery that has long puzzled scientists: How do the bodies of female humans and all other mammals decide which of the two X chromosomes it carries in each cell should be active and which one should be silent?

18 Aug 2020

SIDT1 in the mammalian stomach mediates absorption of dietary miRNAs

In a new study published in Cell Research, Chen-Yu Zhang's group at Nanjing University School of Life Sciences, China, reports that SIDT1 in the mammalian stomach mediates host uptake of dietary and orally administered microRNAs (miRNAs), thus exerting biological functions in the host.

18 Aug 2020

Study sheds light on genetic and molecular mechanisms involved in atopic dermatitis

The KIF3A gene contains common variants that raise the risk of a dysfunctional skin barrier and ultimately lead to a skin condition, called atopic dermatitis.

17 Aug 2020

NIH-supported research delineates how genetic variations cause atopic dermatitis

New research supported by the National Institutes of Health delineates how two relatively common variations in a gene called KIF3A are responsible for an impaired skin barrier that allows increased water loss from the skin, promoting the development of atopic dermatitis, commonly known as eczema.

17 Aug 2020

Antibodies from natural controllers appear to play crucial role in eliminating hepatitis B virus

Infections in humans caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV) represent a major public health problem. Despite the availability of effective protective vaccines, more than 250 million individuals worldwide are chronically infected according to WHO estimates.

From Institut Pasteur 14 Aug 2020

Detection of cancer using different kind of liquid biopsy

Because cancer is easier to successfully treat when it's caught early, a major goal in cancer research is to develop new ways to find tumors at early stages, before they start to spread. One approach that's being studied are liquid biopsies.

14 Aug 2020

Single-cell analysis uncovers new details concerning mitochondrial diseases

Investigators led by a team at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have made discoveries at the single cell level to uncover new details concerning mitochondrial diseases-- inherited disorders that interfere with energy production in the body and currently have no cure.

14 Aug 2020

Researchers develop new drugs to eradicate parasitic worms

In this breakthrough method, parasitic worms are prevented from using alternative metabolism routes offered by microbes living inside them.

12 Aug 2020

Aspirin may increase risk of disease progression in older adults with advanced cancer

Results from a recent clinical trial indicate that for older adults with advanced cancer, initiating aspirin may increase their risk of disease progression and early death.

11 Aug 2020

Children exposed to cannabis in pregnancy have greater risk of autism

In the largest study of its kind, Ottawa researchers found that children whose mothers reported using cannabis during pregnancy were at greater risk of autism.

11 Aug 2020

West Virginia University performs revolutionary Alzheimer's treatment

A hospital nurse for 33 years, Nanette Miller would call her husband Frank at the end of each shift to let him know she was coming home.

10 Aug 2020

Surgical delays did not impact overall survival in patients with early stage breast cancer

Beginning in March, as COVID-19 cases surged in various states in the U.S., the COVID-19 Pandemic Breast Cancer Consortium released recommendations that operations for ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) be deferred due to the pandemic.

10 Aug 2020

Researchers are developing therapeutic treatments for acute stroke

Every year in the United States, about 800,000 people experience a stroke. Many are left with neurological complications such as paralysis on one side of the body, speech and language problems, vision issues, behavioral changes, and memory loss.

10 Aug 2020

COVID-19 patients have higher incidence of abnormal liver tests

Researchers at the Yale Liver Center found that patients with COVID-19 presented with abnormal liver tests at much higher rates than suggested by earlier studies.

10 Aug 2020

New technology captures common biomarker of heart-disease

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have developed a method combining sticky nanoparticles with high-precision protein measurement to capture and analyze a common marker of heart disease to reveal details that were previously inaccessible.

7 Aug 2020

Study shows how neurons communicate when confronted with stroke

Research led by Nicolas Bazan, MD, PhD, Boyd Professor and Director of the Neuroscience Center of Excellence at LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine, and Ludmila Belayev, MD, LSU Health New Orleans Professor of Neuroscience, Neurology and Neurosurgery, has unlocked a key fundamental mechanism in the communication between brain cells when confronted with stroke.

7 Aug 2020

New device can help grow human gut bacteria that protect against inflammation

Several thousand strains of bacteria live in the human gut. Some of these are associated with disease, while others have beneficial effects on human health.

From Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) 7 Aug 2020

Study may point to new therapeutic options for COVID-19

Contrary to what has been generally assumed so far, a severe course of COVID-19 does not solely result in a strong immune reaction - rather, the immune response is caught in a continuous loop of activation and inhibition.

7 Aug 2020