Research News

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health and their colleagues have found that a toxic protein made by the body called DUX4 may be the cause of two very different rare genetic disorders. For patients who have facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD), or a rare facial malformation called arhinia, this research discovery may eventually lead to therapies that can help people with these rare diseases.

Infection with a bacterium that causes gum disease and bad breath may increase the risk of heart disease, shows a study published today in eLife.

The study suggests another potential risk factor that physicians might screen for to identify individuals at risk of heart disease. It may also indicate that treatments for colonisation or infection with the oral bacterium Fusobacterium nucleatum may help reduce heart disease risk.

Rice University scientists have enlisted widely used cancer therapy systems to control gene expression in mammalian cells, a feat of synthetic biology that could change how diseases are treated. lab shotRice University scientists have enlisted widely used cancer therapy systems to control gene expression in mammalian cells, a feat of synthetic biology that could change how diseases are treated.

Researchers at the University of East Anglia have helped develop a new blood test to detect prostate cancer with greater accuracy than current methods.

New research shows that the Prostate Screening EpiSwitch (PSE) blood test is 94 per cent accurate – beating the currently used prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test.

The research team say that the new test shows significant potential as an accurate and rapid cancer screening diagnostic.

A new Cedars-Sinai study suggests that some patients diagnosed with behavioral-variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD)—an incurable condition that robs patients of the ability to control their behavior and cope with daily living—may instead have a cerebrospinal fluid leak, which is often treatable.

Researchers say these findings, published in the peer-reviewed journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Translational Research and Clinical Interventions, may point the way to a cure.

An innovative temperature-compensation mechanism for oscillating chemical reactions based on temperature-responsive gels has been recently reported by researchers at Tokyo Tech. Their experimental findings, alongside a detailed mathematical analysis, hint at the possibility that circadian rhythms found in nature may all rely on a similar mechanism, allowing their period to remain independent of temperature.

Researchers have found that the drug rilmenidine can extend lifespan and slow ageing.

Published in Aging Cell, the findings show that animals treated with rilmenidine, currently used to treat hypertension, at young and older ages increases lifespan and improves health markers, mimicking the effects of caloric restriction.

Bacteria of the genus Enterobacter are among the most dangerous bacteria associated with hospital infections worldwide. Some of their representatives are highly resistant to commonly used antibiotics, so that the reserve antibiotic colistin is increasingly used as a last resort therapy option. To avoid unnecessary reliance on colistin and risk increasing resistance, bacteria are tested for sensitivity or resistance to colistin before recommending treatment. However, commonly used tests for Enterobacter are not reliable.

The precious chemistry of a plant used for 2,000 years in traditional Chinese medicine has been unlocked in a project that raises the prospect of rapid access to a wide array of therapeutic drugs.

Carried out by CEPAMS – a partnership between the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the John Innes Centre – the project has successfully delivered a high-quality reference genome of the mint-family member Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi.