Every year, more than 100 million people worldwide develop the sexually transmitted disease gonorrhea, with health consequences such as infertility, transmission of the disease to newborn babies, and increased risk of HIV infections. Gonorrhea is caused by bacteria which can rapidly develop resistance to all known antibiotics; the bacteria are commonly called superbugs. Gonorrhea superbugs… Continue reading Battling A Sexually Transmitted Superbug
Tag: cells
What Is Gene Therapy? How Does It Work?
The genes in your body’s cells play an important role in your health — indeed, a defective gene or genes can make you sick. Recognizing this, scientists have been working for decades on ways to modify genes or replace faulty genes with healthy ones to treat, cure or prevent a disease or medical condition. Now… Continue reading What Is Gene Therapy? How Does It Work?
A Search for Better Hearing-Loss Treatments
Researchers have made a discovery that paves the way for understanding the “genetics of hearing” and may eventually lead to better treatment for hearing loss. Almost 40 million Americans suffer from hearing loss. There is no way to reverse this condition, largely because auditory hair cells, which sense sound and relay that information to the… Continue reading A Search for Better Hearing-Loss Treatments
Stem Cells and Macular Degeneration
Stem cells could help in treating age-related macular degeneration (AMRD), according to new research. The finding was reported in the journalDevelopment by a team led by Professor Gilbert Bernier of the University of Montreal and its affiliated Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital. ARMD is a serious eye problem caused by the loss of cones. Bernier’s team has developed… Continue reading Stem Cells and Macular Degeneration
How Elephants May Help Treat Cancer
Researchers may have found the answer to a chronically puzzling question: why do elephants rarely get cancer? The scientists were led by researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah and Arizona State University, and included researchers from the Ringling Bros. Center for Elephant Conservation. According to the results, published in the… Continue reading How Elephants May Help Treat Cancer
How Some Brain Cells Escape Aging
Researchers have discovered a mechanism that allows neural stem cells to stay relatively free of aging-related damage: A diffusion barrier regulates the sorting of damaged proteins during cell division. A group of scientists led by Sebastian Jessberger of the Brain Research Institute of the University of Zurich showed that the stem cells of the adult… Continue reading How Some Brain Cells Escape Aging
A Better Understanding of Alcoholism
A cure for alcoholism and other addiction could be closer to realization thanks to researchers’ discovery of a neuron that determines whether one drink leads to two. A study, published in the Journal of Neuroscience by researchers at the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine, finds that alcohol consumption alters the structure and… Continue reading A Better Understanding of Alcoholism
Researchers Lengthen Lifespan of Aging Cells
Researchers, working with yeast and worms, have found that they can extend the lifespan of aging cells. The study was published in the journal Genes & Development. The investigators were led by senior author Shelley Berger, PhD, a Daniel S. Och University Professor in the departments of Cell & Developmental Biology, Biology & Genetics at… Continue reading Researchers Lengthen Lifespan of Aging Cells
Can Natural Aging Ever Be Reversed?
Researchers have discovered a link between DNA damage, cellular “senescence” and premature aging. The finding could lead to treatments that counteract some of the effects of progeria, conditions that cause premature aging. Eventually, even the effects of natural aging could be forestalled. The study, from researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, was published in the… Continue reading Can Natural Aging Ever Be Reversed?
New Life for Traditional Antibiotics
“First-line” antibiotics could be brought back to fight against the increasing number of drug-resistant pathogens, according to a new study. A computer simulation created by Hannah Meredith, a biomedical engineering graduate fellow at Duke University, revealed that a regimen based on a pathogen’s recovery time could eliminate an otherwise resistant strain of bacteria. In theory,… Continue reading New Life for Traditional Antibiotics
“Renovating” Cells
Understanding the molecular signals that guide early cells in the embryo to develop into different types of organs provides insight into how tissues regenerate and repair themselves. By knowing the principles that underlie this transformation, researchers will be able to make new cells at will for transplantation and tissue repair in such situations as liver… Continue reading “Renovating” Cells
Scientists Discover New Aging Pathway
Scientists have identified a new molecular pathway to aging, and they say that the process can be manipulated to revitalize old blood. According to a news release from the University of California Berkeley, the researchers found that blood stem cells’ ability to repair damage caused by inappropriate protein folding in the mitochondria, a cell’s energy… Continue reading Scientists Discover New Aging Pathway
A Tougher Defense Against Dangerous Inflammation
A compound that’s produced by the body when dieting or fasting can block a part of the immune system involved in several inflammatory disorders such as type 2 diabetes, atherosclerosis, and Alzheimer’s disease, according to a study from the Yale School of Medicine. The study, published in the journal Nature Medicine, focuses on how the… Continue reading A Tougher Defense Against Dangerous Inflammation
Progress in Fighting Diseases of Aging?
Scientists have found a new way to increase the length of human telomeres, protective caps on chromosomes that have been linked to aging and disease. The researchers, from the Stanford University School of Medicine, said the cells treated with the new method behave as if they are much younger than untreated cells. Thanks to the… Continue reading Progress in Fighting Diseases of Aging?
Nanobodies: A Smaller Weapon in Fighting Disease
A new system developed by researchers at Rockefeller University promises to make nanobodies, proteins that flag diseased cells for destruction, more accessible for various kinds of research. Nanobodies are “cousins” to antibodies and can perform similar tasks such as marking molecules for research or discovering diseased cells. They are much simpler to produce than antibodies,… Continue reading Nanobodies: A Smaller Weapon in Fighting Disease
Meditation Improves Cells in Breast-Cancer Survivors
Practicing meditation can have a positive physical impact on breast-cancer survivors at the cellular level, research has found for the first time. The investigators, who worked out of Alberta Health Services’ Tom Baker Cancer Centre and the University of Calgary Department of Oncology, showed that telomeres (protein complexes at the end of chromosomes) maintain their… Continue reading Meditation Improves Cells in Breast-Cancer Survivors