Scientists from Trinity have discovered both how TB puts the brakes on our immune engines and how we can kick-start those engines back into gear—providing hope that improved treatment options could soon be on the horizon. Although ancient, TB is still the world’s deadliest infectious disease. While it is rampant in Africa, the growing problem […]
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Researchers discover coffee drinkers could halve their risk of liver cancer
A research team from Queen’s University has found that coffee drinkers have a lower risk of the most common type of liver cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The results have been presented at the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) conference in Glasgow this week and was published in British Journal of Cancer earlier this year. Coffee […]
Researchers discover a new defensive mechanism against bacterial wound infections
Wound inflammation that results in impaired wound healing can have serious consequences for patients. Researchers from Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin have discovered a new defensive mechanism that enables skin to actively kill bacteria. Central to this mechanism is a cellular messenger molecule known as interleukin 6, whose mode of action may be used in the […]
Scientists discover novel viruses carried by the Scottish midge
Scotland’s biting midge population carries previously unknown viruses, according to new research. The study—published in Viruses and carried out by scientists at the MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research (CVR) – used high throughput sequencing to study, for the first time, the total collection of viruses in the biting midge (Culicoides impunctatus). The scientists […]
Biochemists discover new insights into what may go awry in brains of Alzheimer’s patients
More than three decades of research on Alzheimer’s disease have not produced any major treatment advances for those with the disorder, according to a UCLA expert who has studied the biochemistry of the brain and Alzheimer’s for nearly 30 years. “Nothing has worked,” said Steven Clarke, a distinguished professor of chemistry and biochemistry. “We’re ready […]
Researchers discover previously unidentified mechanisms of obesity-induced insulin resistance
A research team at the LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong (HKUMed), has discovered the potentials of a SECISBP2 protein in adipose tissue macrophages (ATMs) as a therapeutic biomarker in the treatment of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, hyperlipidemia, cardiovascular diseases and cancers caused by obesity-induced insulin resistance. The findings, […]
Researchers discover how three-dimensional organization of the genome regulates cell differentiation
A new study from the University of Minnesota Medical School clarifies how the three-dimensional organization of the genome is regulated at the onset of skeletal muscle formation. Although the DNA sequence of the genome is a linear code, like a long sentence, the actual DNA molecule twists and folds in 3-D space, with some sequences […]
Researchers discover a common link among diverse cancer types
Cancer, in all its forms, seems to always involve uncontrolled cell growth; but there are thousands of ways in which cells can lose control of their proliferation in the first place. Among a huge variety of proteins known to be altered in tumors are histones, whose normal function is to package DNA and help regulate […]
Scientists discover Ebola virus in West African bat
The government of Liberia, in partnership with the Center for Infection and Immunity (CII) at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and EcoHealth Alliance, announced the discovery of Ebola virus in a bat in Liberia. This is the first finding of Zaire ebolavirus in a bat in West Africa, adding to other evidence […]
Researchers discover new biomarker for age-related macular degeneration
Researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, along with collaborators from the University of Iowa, have discovered a genetic biomarker that is associated with age-related macular degeneration and delayed rod-mediated dark adaptation—the first visual function for incident AMD in older adults with normal macular health and early AMD. […]