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Health - Life Sciences - 19.09.2023

Neurons die in Alzheimer’s disease
A team of researchers led by Professor Bart De Strooper (UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, and VIB-KU Leuven) and Dr Sriram Balusu (VIB-KU Leuven) have discovered how neurons die in Alzheimer's disease. The breakthrough study, published in Science , illustrates how neurons initiate a programmed form of cell death, known as necroptosis, when they are exposed to amyloid plaques and tau tangles - the hallmark misfolded proteins implicated in Alzheimer's disease.

Health - Life Sciences - 19.09.2023

Researchers Zoom in on New Ways To View Biomolecules in Pathogens
A new set of protocols will allow researchers to expand the way they look at pathogens. The principle of physically expanding biological study samples for imaging is known as expansion microscopy. The technique uses a hydrogel to homogenously expand cells and decrowd biomolecules, providing researchers with a way to visualize fine details using standardized microscopes instead of expensive, specialized tools.

Pharmacology - Health - 19.09.2023

Drug Delivery Platform Uses Sound for Targeting
Chemotherapy as a treatment for cancer is one of the major medical success stories of the 20th century, but it's far from perfect. Anyone who has been through chemotherapy or who has had a friend or loved one go through it will be familiar with its many side effects: hair loss, nausea, weakened immune system, and even infertility and nerve damage.

Health - 19.09.2023

Placenta holds answers to many unexplained pregnancy losses
Yale researchers show that placental examination could help determine the cause of more than 90% of previously unexplained pregnancy losses. Yale researchers have shown that placental examination resulted in the accurate pathologic determination of more than 90% of previously unexplained pregnancy losses, a discovery that they say may inform pregnancy care going forward.

Health - Pharmacology - 19.09.2023

An implantable device could enable injection-free control of diabetes
The device contains encapsulated cells that produce insulin, plus a tiny oxygen-producing factory that keeps the cells healthy. One promising approach to treating Type 1 diabetes is implanting pancreatic islet cells that can produce insulin when needed, which can free patients from giving themselves frequent insulin injections.

Environment - Health - 18.09.2023

What is the carbon footprint of a hospital bed?
In a first-of-its-kind study, Waterloo researchers calculate the environmental footprint of hospitals Researchers from the University of Waterloo completed the first-ever assessment of a Canadian hospital to reveal its total environmental footprint and specific carbon emission hotspots. Studying a hospital in British Columbia during its 2019 fiscal year, the researchers identified energy and water use and purchasing of medical products as the hospital's primary hotspots, accounting for over half of the yearly footprint, totalling 3500-5000 tons of CO2 equivalent.

Health - 18.09.2023

New ways to predict outcomes of pregnancies with fetal growth problems
A team of scientists, led by researchers at UCL, have developed new methods to predict outcomes for pregnancies where there are issues with poor growth of the baby inside the womb. The research, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation , involved 142 women from the EVERREST Prospective Study* who had severe early-onset fetal growth restriction (FGR) - meaning their babies were very small on ultrasound scans early in the second half of pregnancy (between 20 and 27 weeks).

Health - Life Sciences - 18.09.2023

First identification of the causes of a rare facial malformation
The Translational Medicine and Targeted Therapies research team, headed by Prof. Guillaume Canaud at the Institut Necker-Enfants Malades (Université Paris Cité, AP-HP, Inserm), in collaboration with the maxillofacial surgery team from theHôpital Necker-Enfants Malades AP-HP (Prof. Roman Khonsari and Prof. Arnaud Picard) and the "Shape and Growth of the Skull" laboratory (Prof. Roman Khonsari), studied the PIK3CA pathway in patients suffering from a rare disease affecting facial muscles, hemifacial myohyperplasia.

Health - Life Sciences - 18.09.2023

New gut microbe produces smelly toxic gas but protects against pathogens
Taurine-degrading bacteria influence intestinal microbiome An international team of scientists led by microbiologist Alexander Loy from the University of Vienna has discovered a new intestinal microbe that feeds exclusively on taurine and produces the foul-smelling gas hydrogen sulfide. The researchers have thus provided another building block in the understanding of those microbial processes that have fascinating effects on health.

Life Sciences - Health - 18.09.2023

Larger brain area for language
Language is one aspect that makes us human. The ability to produce an infinite number of utterances based on the words in the mental lexicon and a small number of syntactic rules is unique to humans. Other animals can learn words or calls and communicate, but the language ability of humans is unique.

Health - Life Sciences - 18.09.2023

Autoimmune diseases: Protein discovered as potential new target for therapies
Autoimmune diseases are complex conditions whose causes are diverse and have not been fully elucidated to date. A research team at MedUni Vienna has now discovered an immunoregulatory protein that could be linked to the development of autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. -Rinl- is the name of the identified building block of the immune system, which may provide a new starting point for the development of immunomodulatory therapies.

Health - Pharmacology - 18.09.2023

Autoimmune diseases: Protein discovered as potential new target for therapies
Autoimmune diseases are complex illnesses, the causes of which are diverse and have not yet been fully explained. A research team at MedUni Vienna has now discovered an immunoregulatory protein that could be linked to the development of autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. The identified component of the immune system is called "Rinl", which could provide a new target for the development of immunomodulatory therapies.

Health - 18.09.2023

Covid-19 grief disorder rates ’higher than expected’
Cases of Prolonged Grief Disorder among people bereaved during the Covid-19 pandemic are likely to be significantly higher than pre-pandemic, indicates new research from Cardiff University and the University of Bristol. Prolonged Grief Disorder is a mental health condition which can develop caused by the death of someone close, such as a child or partner.

Health - Social Sciences - 16.09.2023

Cultural racism worsens health inequities between racial groups
Racism expressed through cultural norms can perpetuate negative health outcomes for nonwhite groups, according to a study by UC Berkeley School of Public Health. Researchers reviewed sociological and racism research to determine the effects of cultural racism on public health for the report, published in the Milbank Quarterly .

Health - Pharmacology - 15.09.2023

Understanding the ’’dance’’ of signalling proteins to stop inflammation
Inflammation is a normal response of our cells to fight stress, but too much of it can lead to a ''cytokine storm'' that can endanger life. A chain reaction of kinases activates the inflammatory response, like sequential switches. These enzymes have been heavily studied but little is known about their interactions, making it difficult to develop efficient drugs to target them.

Health - Life Sciences - 15.09.2023

Glow-in-the-dark at the general practitioner
Eva van Aalen defended her PhD thesis at the Department of Biomedical Engineering on September 15th. TU/e researcher Eva van Aalen has developed a glow-in-the-dark test that can make disease diagnosis by general practitioners or in hospitals faster. This test could potentially also be used by patients at home, for example to monitor the concentration of certain drugs in the body.

Veterinary - Health - 15.09.2023

Cars, chlamydia and canines are biggest koala killers
A database tracking hospital admissions and deaths reveals the devastating impact cars, disease and dogs are having on the South East Queensland koala population. Professor Joerg Henning and his colleagues at The University of Queensland School of Veterinary Science have analysed data from the UQ-developed KoalaBASE.

Health - 15.09.2023

Young women can ’bank’ exercise for better heart health
Researchers from The University of Queensland have found women can retain the benefits of exercise during their 20s, going on to have better heart health later in life. NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow Dr Gregore Iven Mielke Professor Gita Mishra from UQ's School of Public Health analysed longitudinal data from 479 women who reported their physical activity levels every three years from their early 20s to their mid-40s.

Life Sciences - Health - 15.09.2023

Study decodes surprising approach mice take in learning
In a simple game that humans typically ace, mice learn the winning strategy, too, but refuse to commit to it, new research shows. Neuroscience discoveries ranging from the nature of memory to treatments for disease have depended on reading the minds of mice, so researchers need to truly understand what the rodents' behavior is telling them during experiments.

Health - Pharmacology - 15.09.2023

Study explains why certain immunotherapies don’t always work as predicted
The findings could help doctors identify cancer patients who would benefit the most from drugs called checkpoint blockade inhibitors. Cancer drugs known as checkpoint blockade inhibitors have proven effective for some cancer patients. These drugs work by taking the brakes off the body's T cell response, stimulating those immune cells to destroy tumors.