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Life Sciences - Health - 25.11.2022

New function of the CRISPR gene scissors discovered
Protein scissors activate defense function, a study shows For several years now, the CRISPR/Cas9 gene scissors have been causing a sensation in science and medicine. This new tool of molecular biology has its origins in an ancient bacterial immune system. It protects bacteria from attack by so-called phages, i. e.

Health - Pharmacology - 25.11.2022

Fighting depression with personalised medicine
MHH psychiatry coordinates largest German study to improve depression treatment Using biomarkers to find individual diagnostic and therapeutic paths - what already works in oncology is also to become possible in psychiatry. Under the leadership of Professor Dr Helge Frieling, Vice Head of the Department of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at the Hannover Medical School (MHH), a national research network is now being launched that aims to tailor the treatment of depression more closely to the individual patient than before.

Health - 24.11.2022

Tuberculosis: children hospitalized with severe pneumonia in high-incidence countries should be screened for TB
Tuberculosis affects 1 million children each year; less than half of them are diagnosed and treated for the disease, which leads to more than 200,000 deaths.

Health - Life Sciences - 24.11.2022

SARS-CoV-2 detection in 30 minutes using gene scissors
Researchers of the University of Freiburg introduce biosensor for the nucleic acid amplification-free detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA CRISPR-Cas is versatile: Besides the controversial genetically modified organisms (GMOs), created through gene editing, various new scientific studies use different orthologues of the effector protein 'Cas' to detect nucleic acids such as DNA or RNA.

Health - Pharmacology - 24.11.2022

Protein shapes indicate Parkinson’s disease
Researchers have found that a set of proteins have different shapes in the spinal fluid of healthy individuals and Parkinson's patients. These could be used in the future as a new type of biomarker for this disease. Many human diseases can be detected and diagnosed using biomarkers in blood or other body fluids.

Psychology - Health - 24.11.2022

Contact with others who suffer from depression is effective
People with depression benefit from contact with fellow sufferers. Such contacts can in fact contribute to recovering from depression. That was shown in the PhD research done by Dorien Smit, who will defend her thesis at Radboud University on 1 December. On the basis of Smit's research, an online platform for people with depression was set up.

Life Sciences - Health - 24.11.2022

New CRISPR-based tool inserts large DNA sequences at desired sites in cells
Known as PASTE, the technique holds potential for treating a variety of diseases caused by faulty genes. Building on the CRISPR gene-editing system, MIT researchers have designed a new tool that can snip out faulty genes and replace them with new ones, in a safer and more efficient way. Using this system, the researchers showed that they could deliver genes as long as 36,000 DNA base pairs to several types of human cells, as well as to liver cells in mice.

Life Sciences - Health - 23.11.2022

Protein Spheres Protect the Genome of Cancer Cells
Hollow spheres made of MYC proteins open new doors in cancer research. Würzburg scientists have discovered them and report about this breakthrough in the journal "Nature". MYC genes and their proteins play a central role in the emergence and development of almost all cancers. They drive the uncontrolled growth and altered metabolism of tumour cells.

Health - Social Sciences - 23.11.2022

A new understanding of pain disparities among racial groups in U.S. 
A new study co-authored by Western researcher Anna Zajacova shows that racial and ethnic disparities in pain prevalence in the U.S. are far larger than previously realized, with multiracial and Indigenous (Native American/Alaska Native) adults reporting the highest levels of pain. She says this finding is significant because pain can be used as a barometer of mental and physical health of a population.  "We aren't talking about one particular type of pain, we are looking at pain overall," said Zajacova, sociology professor at Western.

Health - 23.11.2022

Conceiving quickly after miscarriage not linked to adverse risks
New Curtin University-led research has found women who choose to conceive within three months after a miscarriage or induced abortion were no more likely to suffer pregnancy complications in their next pregnancy. Published in PLOS Medicine, the research team examined a total of 49,058 births following a miscarriage and 23,707 births following an induced abortion in Norway between 2008 and 2016 and investigated whether there was any increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes such as preterm birth, low and high birth weight, preeclampsia and gestational diabetes.

Health - Life Sciences - 22.11.2022

Unexpected cognitive deteriorations in epilepsy
Study by the University of Bonn: Surgical tissue indicates rare secondary disease In severe epilepsies, surgical intervention is often the only remedy - usually with great success. While neuropsychological performance can recover in the long term after successful surgery, on rare occasions, unexpected declines in cognitive performance occur.

Health - Life Sciences - 22.11.2022

Covid-19: the Spike protein is no longer the only target
A research team reveals a hidden cavity on a key SARS-CoV-2 protein to which drugs could bind. With the continuous emergence of new variants and the risk of new strains of the virus, the development of innovative therapies against SARS-CoV-2 remains a major public health challenge. Currently, the proteins that are on the surface of the virus and/or are involved in its replication are the preferred therapeutic targets, like the Spike protein targeted by vaccines.

Health - Life Sciences - 22.11.2022

Scientists unlock nature's secret to super-selective binding
Researchers have discovered that it is not just molecular density, but also pattern and structural rigidity, that control super-selective binding interactions between nanomaterials and protein surfaces. The breakthrough could help optimize existing approaches to virus prevention and cancer detection.

Life Sciences - Health - 22.11.2022

Zombie viruses on a hijacking trip
Ancient dormant sequences in the genome impact embryonic development in unexpected ways The mammalian genome contains retroviral sequences that are in an undead but mostly "harmless" state. An international research team recently discovered how some of these retroviral gene fragments affect embryonic cells if they are unleashed.

Health - Life Sciences - 22.11.2022

A New Gene Therapy Strategy for Sickle Cell Disease and Beta-Thalassemia
Both sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia are genetic disorders that affect hemoglobin, and as such are categorized as beta-hemoglobinopathies. A team of scientists from Inserm, Université Paris Cité and the Paris Public Hospitals Group AP-HP at the Imagine Institute has shown the efficacy of a gene therapy approach to treat these two disorders.

Pharmacology - Health - 22.11.2022

New study brings personalised immunotherapy prescriptions a step closer
Research validates an imaging platform co-developed at CTI-Bath which predicts if a cancer patient would respond well to immunotherapy. In a step likely to advance personalised cancer treatment, scientists have for the first time shown in patients that levels of biomarkers are not enough to tell which patients are likely to respond best to immunotherapy.

Life Sciences - Health - 21.11.2022

Alzheimer’s disease: newly identified rare gene variants significantly increase the risk of developing this pathology
An international consortium has identified rare variants in two new genes that markedly increase the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease (AD). The work was led by two research groups in France (headed respectively by Gaël Nicolas, Rouen and Jean-Charles Lambert, Lille) and a group in the Netherlands (headed by Henne Holstege, Amsterdam).

Health - Life Sciences - 21.11.2022

Poor diet harms blood vessels
Over the last few decades, the number of obesity sufferers has continued to increase and is now one of the leading causes of death worldwide - 650 million adults are classified as obese. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines obesity as the accumulation of excess fat in the body, which poses risks to healthy living.

Health - Computer Science - 21.11.2022

Steerable soft robots could enhance medical applications
Borrowing from methods used to produce optical fibers, researchers from EPFL and Imperial College have created fiber-based soft robots with advanced motion control that integrate other functionalities, such as electric and optical sensing and targeted delivery of fluids. Over the past decades, catheter-based surgery has transformed medicine, giving doctors a minimally invasive way to do anything from placing stents and targeting tumors to extracting tissue samples and delivering contrast agents for medical imaging.

Health - Chemistry - 21.11.2022

Liver cancer: How liver cells go astray
Liver cancer is one of the most deadly types of cancer. A team of University of Basel researchers has now uncovered how a healthy liver cell turns into a tumor cell. Comprehensive metabolic changes convert mature liver cells into immature progenitor cells. These cells proliferate rapidly and tumors develop.