Lungs News and Research

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3D structure of protein channel helps shed light on sensitive touch response of Venus fly traps

Scientists at Scripps Research have revealed the three-dimensional structure of Flycatcher1, an aptly named protein channel that may enable Venus fly trap plants to snap shut in response to prey.

18 Feb 2022

Mucus-rich droplets extend aerosolized range of enveloped respiratory viruses

A modeling study raises questions about how far respiratory droplets, like those that transmit the virus that causes COVID-19, can travel before becoming harmless.

16 Feb 2022

Mortality of newborns on ECMO linked with red blood cell transfusion volume

Newborns in respiratory failure who require the life-sustaining support of ECMO also require transfusion of red blood cells. But a new study indicates that the higher volume of these oxygen-carrying blood cells the babies receive, the higher their mortality rate.

15 Feb 2022

Cancer driving protein plays crucial role in the development of lung cancer, study reveals

Lung cancer is the second leading cancer in the United States and the No. 1 cause of cancer-associated deaths.

15 Feb 2022

Single-cell sequencing technique helps to examine early SARS-CoV-2 infection

In the early days of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the lungs, what happens at the single-cell level?

14 Feb 2022

Kras oncogenes use genetic reprogramming to drive tumorigenesis

Cancerous tumors are made up of rapidly growing, abnormally shaped, cells that can infiltrate and destroy healthy tissues, travel to other parts of the body, and form additional tumors.

8 Feb 2022

Groundbreaking discovery could lead to the design of novel therapeutics for wound-healing

An international team led by the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine has discovered novel properties of the protein Gasdermin B that promotes repair of cells lining the gastrointestinal tract in people with chronic inflammatory disorders like Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

8 Feb 2022

Study identifies new therapy to treat cystic fibrosis

The process of making proteins from genes is similar to that of a factory, where employees must follow a set of instructions that are both effective and precise.

31 Jan 2022

Researchers identify changes in gene expression and cellular interactions in COPD lung cells

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, Yale University and other institutions have identified previously unrecognized changes in gene expression and cellular interactions in distinct cell populations in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

28 Jan 2022

Omicron variant inefficient in causing diseases than other COVID-19 variants, study reveals

Scientists from the Department of Microbiology at the University of Hong Kong (HK) have found that the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 replicates less efficiently and causes fewer diseases than other variants of COVID19.

27 Jan 2022

Researchers identify new potential drug target that may block SARS-CoV-2 infection

In the quest for new treatments for COVID-19, a team led by researchers at UC San Francisco has identified a new potential drug target that may block infection by SARS-CoV-2. The protein, called BRD2, regulates the ACE2 receptor, which the novel coronavirus relies on to gain entry to its host's cells.

17 Jan 2022

Research sheds new insights into development of lung macrophages in humans

The lungs are exposed to microorganisms like viruses and bacteria from the moment of the first breath.

13 Jan 2022

Research explains how E4 peptide exerts antifibrotic effect and what makes it so effective

A research team at the Medical University of South Carolina led by Carol Feghali-Bostwick, Ph.D., reports in the Journal of Clinical Investigation Insight that the E4 peptide reverses fibrosis, or scarring, in human and mouse tissues by activating an antifibrotic pathway that is common to all organ systems.

11 Jan 2022

Severe lung injuries can trigger stem cells to undergo abnormal differentiation, study finds

Severe injuries to the lung from diseases such as COVID-19 trigger abnormal stem cell repair that alters the architecture of the lung. The aberrant stem cell differentiation in response to injury can prevent the restoration of normal lung function.

31 Dec 2021

Researchers grow intestinal organoids to study why bats infected with viruses do not succumb to diseases

Experiments attempting to explain why bats can be infected with many viruses at a time without succumbing to diseases such as COVID-19-;knowledge that could help us to reduce the threat to humans of infectious disease-;have struggled until now with the fact that live wild bats make poor research subjects.

30 Dec 2021

Driving up the immune response at tumor site may help boost immunotherapy

Driving up the immune response at the site of a cancer tumor with nanotechnology may help enhance immunotherapy treatments in advanced stages of the disease, new research in mice suggests.

15 Dec 2021

Experts investigate adaptations that confer antibiotic resistance to pathogens

Researchers anticipate that without intervention, the issue of multidrug-resistant bacterial infections could become catastrophic by 2050.

25 Nov 2021

Novel therapeutic approach forces cancer cells to dormancy, prevents metastasis

A novel therapeutic approach inhibits the growth of metastatic tumors in mice by coercing cancer cells into a dormant state—where they cannot proliferate.

25 Nov 2021

Researchers expand understanding of how T cells recognize infections or disease

T cells communicate with other cells in the body in search of infections or diseases. This crosstalk relies on specialized receptors known as T cell receptors that recognize foreign molecular fragments from an infection or cancer that are presented for detection by particular molecules called major histocompatibility complex (MHC) or MHC-like.

23 Nov 2021

Glial cells in the heart play critical role in cardiac development and function

Glial cells in the heart help regulate heart rate and rhythm, and drive its development in the embryo, according to a new study publishing November 18th in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Nina Kikel-Coury, Cody Smith and colleagues at the University of Notre Dame.

19 Nov 2021