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Boosting metabolic resources in the brain could be a way to slow neurodegeneration

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have shown for the first time that when one optic nerve in the eye is damaged, as in glaucoma, the opposite optic nerve comes to the rescue by sharing its metabolic energy.

From Vanderbilt University 22 Jul 2020

Using blood samples to detect positive COVID-19 cases in 20 minutes

World-first research by Monash University in Australia has been able to detect positive COVID-19 cases using blood samples in about 20 minutes, and identify whether someone has contracted the virus.

20 Jul 2020

A new approach to combat drug resistance in aggressive age-related macular degeneration

An international team of researchers led by Baylor College of Medicine and Houston Methodist has discovered a strategy that can potentially address a major challenge to the current treatment for choroidal neovascularization (CNV), an aggressive form of age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of irreversible blindness in the elderly.

17 Jul 2020

Nano-radiomics uses imaging data to assess changes in the tumor microenvironment

Research has shown that the tumor microenvironment (TME) can help cancers grow and evade the immune response.The TME has even been shown to inhibit cellular immunotherapy, a novel form of treatment in which the cells of a patient's immune system are re-engineered in the lab to attack cancer cells.

14 Jul 2020

Fully automated chip can quickly and reliably determine patients’ blood type

Blood transfusion, if performed promptly, is a potentially life-saving intervention for someone losing a lot of blood. However, blood comes in several types, some of which are incompatible with others.

14 Jul 2020

Bioinformaticians reveal previously unknown features of genes involved in brain functioning

In a recent study of genes involved in brain functioning, their previously unknown features have been uncovered by bioinformaticians from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and the Institute of Mathematical Problems of Biology, RAS. The findings are reported in PLOS One.

10 Jul 2020

Newly synthesized peptides show promise for treating gastrointestinal disorders

Thanks to the interesting group of trefoil factor peptides, both industry and research could usher in better treatments for chronic disorders.

8 Jul 2020

Whole genome sequencing can improve rare disease diagnosis

A research programme pioneering the use of whole genome sequencing in the NHS has diagnosed hundreds of patients and discovered new genetic causes of disease.

25 Jun 2020

Astrocytes may play a key role in neurodegenerative disorders

According to a new research performed in rodents, cells that usually nurture nerves may actually destroy them following a brain injury.

From New York University (NYU) 24 Jun 2020

Human stem cell models reveal neurodegeneration in glaucoma

Glaucoma, a serious eye condition responsible for causing vision loss, affects over three million Americans.

12 Jun 2020

New research pairs spectroscopy with classic plant pathology diagnostics

Kaitlin (Katie) Gold is an assistant professor within the Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology section of the School of Integrative Plant Science at Cornell University. At her lab, the Grape Sensing, Pathology, and Extension Lab at Cornell AgriTech, she studies the fundamental and applied science of plant disease sensing.

11 Jun 2020

Scientists aim to develop a gene-targeting, antiviral agent to combat COVID-19

A team of scientists from Stanford University is working with researchers at the Molecular Foundry, a nanoscience user facility located at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), to develop a gene-targeting, antiviral agent against COVID-19.

5 Jun 2020

Study identifies gene responsible for eye loss in cavefish

Mexican cavefish spend their entire lives in the dark. With no need for vision, many of them lost functional eyes.

3 Jun 2020

The eye launches an immune response in the lens following injury

The lens of the eye is an unusual organ. Unlike most of the body's organs, blood vessels don't reach the lens. If they did, they'd obscure our vision and we wouldn't be able to see. The lack of vasculature led scientists to believe immune cells, which travel via the bloodstream, couldn't get to this part of the body either.

27 May 2020

CRISPR A Tool For Conservation, Not Just Gene Editing

The gene-editing technology CRISPR has been used for a variety of agricultural and public health purposes, and, more recently, a diagnostic test for COVID-19.

From The University of California, Davis 22 May 2020

Innovative two-photon microscopy enables in vivo subcellular imaging of the retina

Retina is the only part of the central nervous system that can be visualized noninvasively with optical imaging approaches.

21 May 2020

Novel technique can produce pure therapeutic drugs without side effects

Scientists from Hong Kong Baptist University have developed a novel technique that can produce pure therapeutic drugs without the associated side effects.

20 May 2020

Eating one meal high in saturated fat may affect our ability to focus

Fatty food may feel like a friend during these troubled times, but new research suggests that eating just one meal high in saturated fat can hinder our ability to concentrate - not great news for people whose diets have gone south while they're working at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

19 May 2020

Using light to control the viability and mobility of individual cells

Photopharmacology is the study that examines the use of light to change the impact of drugs on and off. For the first time, researchers from Jena, Munich, and New York have successfully applied this technique to regulate a component of cells that was earlier believed to be inaccessible.

18 May 2020

The brain suppresses outside information during dreaming phase

Scientists from the CNRS and the ENS-PSL in France and Monash University in Australia have shown that the brain suppresses information from the outside world, such as the sound of a conversation, during the sleep phase linked to dreaming.

18 May 2020