Researchers create personalized organoid models for rare spinal cancer: Chordoma currently has few therapeutic options
A new study adds to a growing body of evidence that organoids — lab-grown collections of cells that mimic a patient’s tumor — are a promising avenue for drug discovery to improve outcomes in patients with cancer, particularly rare cancers for which clinical data on drug effectiveness is often lacking. Organoids are grown in a […]
New method for stimulating signaling to improve metabolic health and possibly treat obesity
Following up on a 2018 study that identified an epigenetic modifier known as histone deacetylase 11 (HDAC11) as a potential therapeutic target for treating obesity and diabetes, researchers from the University of Colorado School of Medicine have published new research that finds HDAC11 regulates G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) called beta-adrenergic receptors (β-ARs). The details of […]
Amygdala changes in individuals with autism linked to anxiety: Study supports existence of autism-specific types of anxiety
A long-term study involving hundreds of brain scans finds changes in the amygdala linked to the development of anxiety in autistic children. The study by UC Davis MIND Institute researchers also provides evidence of distinct types of anxiety specific to autism. The work was published in Biological Psychiatry. “I believe this is the first study […]
New research bites holes into theories about Megalodons: Extinct shark’s shape swims back out of focus
A new study leaves large tooth marks in previous conclusions about the body shape of the Megalodon, one of the largest sharks that ever lived. The study, which makes use of a pioneering technique for analyzing sharks, has now been published in the international journal Historical Biology. Megalodons swam the Earth roughly 15 to 3.6-million […]
New path to treat advanced triple-negative breast cancer
A new study by researchers at Yale Cancer Center shows inhibition of the CECR2 gene prevents triple-negative breast cancer from advancing or metastasizing. The discovery is an early step in finding new therapeutics for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), one of the most difficult disease sub-types to treat. The findings are published online today in the […]
New research links continents to key transitions in Earth’s oceans, atmosphere and climate
A new study led by University of Wisconsin Oshkosh geologist Timothy Paulsen and Michigan Tech geologist Chad Deering advances the understanding of the role that continents have played in the chemical evolution of Earth’s oceans, with implications for understanding atmospheric oxygenation and global climate oscillations. The team of researchers analyzed a global database of the […]
Picture warnings on sodas? A promising tool to fight childhood obesity: Study conducted in ‘mini mart’ laboratory setting shows parents less likely to choose sugary drinks with health warnings
A study published in the journal PLOS Medicine is the first to examine in a realistic setting whether pictorial health warnings on sugary drinks — like juice and soda — influence which beverages parents buy for their children. The findings are promising: The warnings reduced parental purchases of sugary drinks for their kids by 17%. […]
Early humans placed the hearth at the optimal location in their cave — for maximum benefit and minimum smoke exposure
A groundbreaking study in prehistoric archaeology at Tel Aviv University provides evidence for high cognitive abilities in early humans who lived 170,000 years ago. In a first-of-its kind study, the researchers developed a software-based smoke dispersal simulation model and applied it to a known prehistoric site. They discovered that the early humans who occupied the […]
Look who’s talking now: The fishes! Widespread sound communication among fish
There’s a whole lot of talking going on beneath the waves. A new study from Cornell University finds that fish are far more likely to communicate with sound than generally thought — and some fish have been doing this for at least 155 million years. These findings were just published in the journal Ichthyology & […]
Microbiome of mother’s vagina may affect infant mortality risk and baby’s development, study in mice shows
A new study in mice from University of Maryland School of Medicine researchers showed that an unhealthy vaginal microbiome in pregnant mothers in combination with an unhealthy diet contributed to increased pup deaths and altered development in the surviving babies. The researchers offset these deaths from the unhealthy vaginal microbiome by giving the mothers a […]