news 2023

Researchers develop an AI-driven, label-free method for studying protein aggregates, offering new perspectives in neurodegenerative disease research. Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Huntington's, are a growing challenge in healthcare, affecting millions globally. They are characterized by a progressive decline in neural function and manifest in a range of debilitating symptoms.

The risk of dying of cancer in England varies hugely depending on where people live, according to new research led by Imperial. In an analysis of mortality rates for 10 forms of cancer with the largest death toll for men and women, researchers found the risk of dying from cancer varies widely depending on which district in England patients live.

Optoacoustic imaging method RSOM shows severity of the disease Changes in small blood vessels are a common consequence of diabetes development. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and Helmholtz Munich have now developed a method that can be used to measure these microvascular changes in the skin - and thus assess the severity of the disease.

At least 75 per cent of type 2 diabetes cases could be avoided by adopting a healthy lifestyle. A plant-based diet has been shown to play a key role in this. With limitations - as demonstrated in a study led by Tilman Kühn from MedUni Vienna's Center for Public Health: A more plant-based diet only develops its protective effects if not only the consumption of animal-based foods, but also industrially processed and highly sugary foods is reduced.

Contrary to all expectations, GluD1 - a receptor considered to be excitatory - has been shown in the brain to play a major role in controlling neuron inhibition. Given that alterations in the GluD1 gene are encountered in a certain number of neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders, such as autism (ASD) and schizophrenia, this discovery opens up new therapeutic avenues to combat the imbalances between excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmissions associated with these disorders.

Most diseases are caused by proteins that have spun out of control. Unfortunately, so far, conventional drugs have been able to stop only a fraction of these troublemakers. A new class of drugs known as Protacs holds great promise in pharmaceutical research. They mark proteins for targeted degradation by the cell's own protein disposal system.

For the first time ever, wireless millirobots navigated a narrow blood vessel both along and against arterial flow. Researchers from the University of Twente and Radboudumc inserted the screw-shaped robots in a detached aorta with kidneys where they controlled them using a robotically controlled rotating magnet.

Science + Technology UCLA stem cell scientists ID surprise genetic instructions for boosting protein secretion, with big implications for biotech and cell therapy Key takeaways Mesenchymal stem cells, found in bone marrow, secrete therapeutic proteins that could potentially help regenerate damaged tissue.

A study looking at 15 years of HIV transmission and suppression in Uganda reveals how closing gender gaps in treatment could slash infection rates. Providing more heterosexual men with easy access to HIV treatment and care could help to suppress the virus and rapidly cut transmission to their female partners, shows a new study published in Nature Microbiology .

An international team of scientists led by geneticists and disease biologists from the University of Oxford and LMU Munich have used ancient DNA to trace the evolution of Marek's Disease Virus (MDV). This global pathogen causes fatal infections in unvaccinated chickens and costs the poultry industry over $1 billion per year.

UCLA researchers lay groundwork to study effects of maternal diabetes on fetal metabolism and development UCLA researchers lay groundwork to study effects of maternal diabetes on fetal metabolism and development FINDINGS UCLA scientists examined how exposure to higher levels of glucose alter fetal tissue metabolism, using a technique they pioneered to trace in utero carbon-13 in fetal tissues.

In order for immune cells to do their job, they need to know against whom they should direct their attack. Research teams at the University of Würzburg have identified new details in this process. As complicated as their name is, they are important for the human organism in the fight against pathogens and cancer: V'9V'2 T cells are part of the immune system and, as a subgroup of white blood cells, fight tumor cells and cells infected with pathogens.

Socially disadvantaged people are especially exposed to extreme heat. Dr Timothy English and co-authors explore a pilot project opening in Sydney will use the best available evidence to keep vulnerable people cool on the hottest of days. Heatwaves are a major public health hazard. Socially disadvantaged people are especially exposed to extreme heat and other impacts of climate change.

Numerous microorganisms, including Legionella, live in biofilms in shower hoses. A team from the aquatic research institute Eawag has now investigated and characterised such microbial communities and analysed their interaction with this pathogen. The results may contribute to a better understanding of the ecology of Legionella and support the possible development of a probiotic approach for the control of Legionella.

3D light-sheet microscope image of a lacrimal gland of a tissue-cleared 12-week-old human embryo. The different elements of the gland were coloured using virtual reality software.

Researchers at TU Delft designed novel 3D-engineered scaffolds inspired by the geometry of the brain microvasculature. The micro-structures were co-cultured with both glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer, and endothelial cells, the building blocks of blood vessels. This model enabled researchers to study the effect of proton therapy on glioblastoma and uncovered a possible protective role of endothelial cells on cancer cells.

Improving our knowledge of the development of the complex structures that make up the human head, and thus gaining a better understanding of the congenital anomalies that cause malformations: this is the challenge that a team of researchers from Inserm, CNRS and Sorbonne Université at the Institut de la vision, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 and Hospices civils de Lyon is well on the way to meeting.

There is an urgent need for mental health supports and interventions for youth in British Columbia, according to the results of a new report led by Simon Fraser University. The recently released report , which surveyed nearly 15,000 youth in the province, found half of 15- to 17-year-olds indicated that their mental health was fair or poor and nearly 40 per cent screened positive for depression (38 per cent) and generalized anxiety (39 per cent).

The realistic model could aid the development of better heart implants and shed light on understudied heart disorders. MIT engineers have developed a robotic replica of the heart's right ventricle, which mimics the beating and blood-pumping action of live hearts. The robo-ventricle combines real heart tissue with synthetic, balloon-like artificial muscles that enable scientists to control the ventricle's contractions while observing how its natural valves and other intricate structures function.

Participants who would like to find out more about their biorhythm are being sought for a comprehensive study. Our internal clock guides us through day and night and has far-reaching effects on our metabolism. If it gets out of balance, this can have health consequences. Mustafa Özcürümez from the Medical Clinic of the University Hospital Knappschaftskrankenhaus Bochum and the Eye Clinic there, under the direction of Burkhard Dick, are conducting a study to find out whether and how biorhythm disorders promote the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.