Millions of operations should be scrapped SIX IN TEN Britons have surgery at some point. So do lots of Americans, at a cost of perhaps $500bn a year, a third of all spending on adults in the world’s biggest health-care market. Plenty of these procedures save lives, by removing tumours, transplanting new organs or [...]
Researchers have found that cocaine hijacks brain circuit, which to drive increasingly rigid and repetitive behavior. The brain circuit that normally participates in selecting natural mouth and face movements, but which becomes disproportionately engaged as behavior narrows under repeated cocaine exposure. The new study by researchers from Hebrew University of Jerusalem revealed that the [...]
The brain cancer glioblastoma is one of the most aggressive and treatment-resistant cancers known to medicine, carrying a median survival of just 12-15 months, even with the best available care. Now, researchers at the MIT Media Lab have developed injectable nanoantennas, each about one-hundredth the width of human hair, that can be magnetically activated [...]
A single infusion of an experimental CRISPR-Cas9 therapy was reported to safely lower LDL cholesterol by 52.5% and triglycerides by 47.8%, as measured 12 months after treatment. What if one infusion could keep cholesterol down for a year? An experimental gene-editing treatment called CTX310 has shown early promise in people whose cholesterol and other [...]
A virus may cripple a cell’s power supply simply by producing too much of a molecule the cell needs to survive. New research from the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (VMBS) suggests that an overload of RNA can directly impair mitochondria, the microscopic power generators that supply cells with usable [...]
LOME, Togo (AP) — West African laboratory scientists called on governments Friday to strengthen capacity to detect disease outbreaks to avoid another major outbreak, saying health systems across the region are becoming weaker. Participants listen during during a regional congress focused on strengthening laboratory capacity and preparedness following lessons from Ebola and COVID-19, in [...]
A study suggests that increasing SORLA protein levels could help treat Alzheimer’s disease and other disorders involving tau protein. Increasing SORLA, a protein with a protective role in the brain, helped mice withstand damage from tau tangles, the toxic protein clumps associated with Alzheimer’s disease. The findings suggest that boosting SORLA could offer a [...]
Blocking an antioxidant protein that tumors use to suppress immune attacks improved cancer immunotherapy responses in mice. Cancer cells can release antioxidants that interfere with the immune cells trying to kill them. Researchers have discovered how this chemical defense works, raising the possibility of switching it off to make cancer immunotherapy more effective. The [...]
Pterostilbene, a compound found naturally in some foods, affects how skeletal muscles process fats by stabilizing a protein called PPARδ and increasing its signaling activity. Pterostilbene, a natural compound found in blueberries, grapes, and other berries, may help muscle cells clear excess fat by protecting a protein that regulates how they use it. Researchers [...]
Scientists have uncovered two surprising forces that help guide how the human brain forms before birth. Before birth, the human brain is shaped in large part by an unusual class of stem cells known as radial glia. These cells help determine which brain cells are produced, when they appear, and how the cerebral cortex, [...]
