Research News

A tiny device built by scientists at MIT and the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology could be used to improve the safety and effectiveness of cell therapy treatments for patients suffering from spinal cord injuries.

Many neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, are difficult to diagnose before symptoms begin to appear. However, disease-related biomarkers such as aggregated proteins called amyloids could provide important insight much earlier, if they can be readily detected. Researchers publishing in ACS Sensors have developed one such method using an array of sensor molecules that can light up amyloids. The tool could help monitor disease progression or distinguish between different amyloid-related conditions.

Disrupted function of “cleaning cells” in the body may help to explain why some people with obesity develop type 2 diabetes, while others do not. A study from the University of Gothenburg describes this newly discovered mechanism.

In a groundbreaking study, a team led by Würzburg Professor José Pedro Friedmann Angeli has shown that the cholesterol precursor 7-dehydrocholesterol (7-DHC) plays a crucial role as an antioxidant: it integrates into the cell membranes and protects the cells by preventing a certain type of cell death, known as ferroptosis.

Restricting calories is known to improve health and increase lifespan, but much of how it does so remains a mystery, especially in regard to how it protects the brain. Buck scientists have uncovered a role for a gene called OXR1 that is necessary for the lifespan extension seen with dietary restriction and is essential for healthy brain aging.

Mutations, which occur continuously in every cell of our bodies, are a key contributor to cancer, ageing, and neurodegeneration. While exposure to mutagenic chemicals, or mistakes in cellular processes during DNA replication contribute to these mutations, the exact distribution and patterns of these changes across human chromosomes have remained a mystery until now.

Researchers at Tohoku University have discovered a new approach for treating lymph node metastasis. Anticancer drugs are administered directly into the LNs under ultrasound guidance (Lymphatic Drug Delivery System or LDDS) to target sentinel lymph nodes (LNs) and generate antitumor effects locally, preventing distant metastasis. This approach not only improves the anticancer effect but also reduces the nasty side effects commonly associated with systemic chemotherapy.

A new study suggests once developed, having a universal vaccine in advance of the next coronavirus epidemic/pandemic can save up to 7 million hospitalizations and 2 million deaths even when it is the only intervention being implemented and its efficacy is as low as 10%.

By exploiting the technology used in Covid-19 vaccines, a team led by UCL, King’s College London and Moderna scientists has created an effective therapy for a rare disease, in a study in mice, demonstrating the technology’s potential therapeutic use in people.