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A team has developed a vaccine approach that works like a GPS, guiding the immune system through the specific steps to make broadly neutralizing antibodies against HIV.

Discrimination may speed up the biological processes of aging, according to a new study.

Most people with early-stage glaucoma don't know they have it, even though early treatment is key to reducing vision loss. While detecting a subtle increase in eye pressure helps doctors to diagnose glaucoma, it's challenging to monitor continuously, especially with the variety of temperatures eyes experience. Now, researchers report a prototype 'smart' contact lens that measures eye pressure accurately, regardless of temperature.

Researchers have created the largest synaptic-resolution, 3D reconstruction of a piece of human brain to date, showing in vivid detail each cell and its web of neural connections in a piece of human temporal cortex about half the size of a rice grain.

Researchers developed a potential new treatment for alopecia areata, an autoimmune disorder that causes hair loss. The microneedle patch delivers immune-regulating molecules that can teach T cells not to attack hair follicles, helping hair regrow.

An international collaboration recently uncovered a previously overlooked COVID-related syndrome: MDA5-autoimmunity and Interstitial Pneumonitis Contemporaneous with COVID-19, or MIP-C for short.

The Canadian wildfires of June 2023 exposed a large portion of the Northeastern United States to unprecedented levels of smoke. A new model that combines wildfire smoke forecasts and data from ground-based sensors may help public health officials plan targeted interventions in areas most at risk for the negative health effects of unexpected smoke events and air pollution, according to scientists.

A 'crazy idea' hatched during a walk in the woods and first tested by a high school student is now an innovative research tool used by scientists worldwide to predict neurotransmitters in fruit fly connectomes.

Just a few days on a night shift schedule throws off protein rhythms related to blood glucose regulation, energy metabolism and inflammation, processes that can influence the development of chronic metabolic conditions. The finding provides new clues as to why night shift workers are more prone to diabetes, obesity and other metabolic disorders. Though more research is needed, the researchers said the study shows that these disrupted rhythms can be seen in as little as three days, which suggests early intervention to prevent diabetes and obesity is possible. Such intervention could also help lower the risk of heart disease and stroke, which is elevated in night shift workers as well.

Researchers present Tripath: new, deep learning models that can use 3D pathology datasets to make clinical outcome predictions. The research team imaged curated prostate cancer specimens, using two 3D high-resolution imaging techniques. The models were then trained to predict prostate cancer recurrence risk on volumetric human tissue biopsies. By comprehensively capturing 3D morphologies from the entire tissue volume, Tripath performed better than pathologists and outperformed deep learning models that rely on 2D morphology and thin tissue slices.

Researchers have developed a robotic feeding system that uses computer vision, machine learning and multimodal sensing to safely feed people with severe mobility limitations, including those with spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy and multiple sclerosis.

Nature has consistently inspired engineering applications. Recently, a group of researchers drew new inspirations from the vascular network and developed a new type of fluidic system named VasFluidics.

A recent study led to the development of a powerful epigenetic editing technology. The system unlocks the ability to precisely program chromatin modifications at any specific position in the genome, to understand their causal role in transcription regulation. This innovative approach will help to investigate the role of chromatin modifications in many biological processes, and to program desired gene activity responses, which may prove useful in disease settings.

Aging clocks can measure the biological age of humans with high precision. Biological age can be influenced by environmental factors such as smoking or diet, thus deviating from the chronological age that is calculated using the date of birth. The precision of these aging clocks suggests that the aging process follows a program. Scientists have now discovered that aging clocks actually measure the increase in stochastic changes in cells.

Researchers lay out the need for design safety protocols that prevent the emerging 'digital afterlife industry' causing social and psychological harm.

Researcher found that exposed individuals with confirmed TB infection -- i.e. a positive skin or blood test -- should receive priority treatment in settings with a low prevalence of the disease, regardless of their age. However, in high-burden settings, all exposed individuals should be considered for preventative treatment, even without a confirmed infection. This strategy can help end the tuberculosis epidemic and support global public health efforts to reduce TB mortality by 95 percent by 2035 (from 2015 estimates).

Neuropathy, the nerve damage that causes pain and numbness in the feet and hands and can eventually lead to falls, infection and even amputation, is very common and underdiagnosed, according to a new study.

Spina bifida is the most common structural disorder of the human nervous system. The causes are largely unknown, but a new study points to a link involving a chromosomal microdeletion -- and also underscores the value of folic acid as a preventive measure.

A tiny, flexible electronic device that wraps around the spinal cord could represent a new approach to the treatment of spinal injuries, which can cause profound disability and paralysis. A team of engineers, neuroscientists and surgeons developed the devices and used them to record the nerve signals going back and forth between the brain and the spinal cord. Unlike current approaches, the new devices can record 360-degree information, giving a complete picture of spinal cord activity.

Researchers have shown that a breakthrough therapy for treating blood cancers can be adapted to treat solid tumors -- an advance that could transform cancer treatment. The promising findings involve CAR-T cell therapy, which supercharges the immune system to identify and attack cancer cells.

Experts released a new clinical guideline for effectively managing individuals diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). The guideline reiterates the importance of collaborative decision-making with patients who have HCM and provides updated recommendations for the most effective treatment pathways for adult and pediatric patients.

Adolescents who view their households as more unstructured, disorganized, or hectic than their siblings develop more mental health and behavioral problems in early adulthood, according to new research.

New research suggests a 'tailored vaccine' might hold the key to treating bacteria-driven flares of eczema in children. The team has taken several leaps forward in understanding how the immune response works in cases of eczema driven by the common, troublesome Staphylococcus aureus bacterium, and in doing so they have identified new cellular targets for a vaccine.

Conversational agents (CAs) such as Alexa and Siri are designed to answer questions, offer suggestions -- and even display empathy. However, new research finds they do poorly compared to humans when interpreting and exploring a user's experience.

Psychiatrists and mental health professionals have a new standard for managing major depression, thanks to refreshed clinical guidelines.

Children who experience chronic lack of sleep from infancy may be at increased risk of developing psychosis in early adulthood, new research shows.

Despite the high prevalence of substance abuse and its often devastating outcomes, especially among disadvantaged populations, few Americans receive treatment for substance use disorders. However, the rise of mobile health technologies can make treatments more accessible.

Researchers have found evidence of the molecular causes of the damaging impact heat stress causes on the gut, liver and brain in the elderly. These findings point to the potential of developing precise prognostic and therapeutic interventions.

Adjuvants make vaccines more effective, though one of the best is an expensive extract from the soap bark tree. To lower the cost and avoid the laborious extraction process from bark, synthetic biologists introduced 38 separate genes into yeast to recreate the synthesis of the active molecule, a complex chemical, QS-21, that has a terpene core and numerous sugars. This may be the longest biosynthetic pathway ever inserted into yeast.

Investigators discovered that a subset of myeloid and lymphoid leukemias depend on a molecular complex called PI3Kgamma for survival. The study provides both mechanistic and preclinical evidence supporting the rapid initiation of clinical trials for patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) to test an existing medicine that inhibits the complex, called eganelisib, both alone and in combination with the most used AML chemotherapy, cytarabine.

Starting people with opioid use disorder on extended-release, injectable naltrexone (XR-naltrexone) within five to seven days of seeking treatment is more effective than the standard treatment method of starting within 10-15 days, but requires closer medical supervision, according to results from a clinical trial. The findings suggest that this rapid treatment protocol could make XR-naltrexone more viable as a treatment option for opioid use disorder, which continues to take lives at an alarming rate.

An estimated 321,566 children in the United States lost a parent to drug overdose from 2011 to 2021, according to a new study. The rate of children who experienced this loss more than doubled during this period, from approximately 27 to 63 children per 100,000. The highest number of affected children were those with non-Hispanic white parents, but communities of color and tribal communities were disproportionately affected.

A study has found the widespread impact of child abuse and neglect, with analysis suggesting they cause nearly half of common mental conditions. Researchers say childhood maltreatment should be treated as a public health priority.

Researchers have shed valuable light on the complex mechanisms by which a class of psychedelic drugs binds to and activates serotonin receptors to produce potential therapeutic effects in patients with neuropsychiatric disorders such as depression and anxiety.

Is the status of 'perfect parent' attainable? Researchers leading a national dialogue about parental burnout say 'no,' and a new study finds that pressure to try to be 'perfect' leads to unhealthy impacts on both parents and their children.

A gene previously linked to intellectual disability has been found to regulate learning and memory in mice.

Researchers have discovered a mechanism that creates memories while reducing metabolic cost, even during sleep. This efficient memory occurs in a part of the brain that is crucial for learning and memory, and where Alzheimer's disease begins.

An international team has found a family of natural compounds with potential as new and more effective treatments for parasitic worms. The compounds stall the unique metabolic process that worms use to survive in the human gut.

When breastfeeding mothers in a recent study used cannabis, its psychoactive component THC showed up in the milk they produced. The research also found that, unlike alcohol, when THC was detected in milk there was no consistent time when its concentration peaked and started to decline. Importantly, the researchers discovered that the amount of THC they detected in milk was low -- they estimated that infants received an average of 0.07 mg of THC per day. For comparison, a common low-dose edible contains 2 mg of THC. The research team stressed that it is unknown whether this amount has any impact on the infant.

In people's early- to mid-20s, they reach what is called peak bone mineral density, which is higher for men than it is for women, according to researchers. This peak is one of the main determinants of fracture risk later in life. After reaching this peak, a person's bone density remains roughly stable for a couple of decades. Then, when women enter the menopausal transition, they experience accelerated bone loss. Men also experience bone density decline as they age. Sleep patterns also evolve over time.

Emergency departments nationwide are overcrowded and overtaxed, but a new study suggests artificial intelligence (AI) could one day help prioritize which patients need treatment most urgently.

Using artificial intelligence, scientists have developed a powerful predictive model for identifying the most potent cancer killing immune cells for use in cancer immunotherapies.

Researchers have discovered a protein marker to help identify cells able to repopulate in patients with damaged blood vessels. Their findings could lead to new therapies for people with endothelial dysfunction, a type of disorder that contributes to coronary artery disease that may occlude with plaque and lack ability to carry sufficient blood into the heart tissue causing a heart attack.

Chimpanzees continue to learn and hone their skills well into adulthood, a capacity that might be essential for the evolution of complex and varied tool use, according to a new study.

According to a recent study, high levels of sedentary behavior and physical inactivity from childhood strain the heart in adolescence. High cardiac workload predicts heart failure and other heart diseases. In light of the findings, increasing moderate and vigorous physical activity from childhood onwards is particularly important in preventing heart diseases.

Recent reproductive research has opened the door for new treatments for solid cancer tumors, including breast cancer, lung cancer and melanoma.

For people with HIV, the risk of anal cancer varies according to their geographic region.

Fatty liver disease often leads to chronic liver inflammation and can even result in liver cancer. Scientists have now shown in mice that intermittent fasting on a 5:2 schedule can halt this development. The fasting regime reduces the development of liver cancer in mice with pre-existing liver inflammation. The researchers identified two proteins in liver cells that are jointly responsible for the protective effect of fasting. An approved drug can partially mimic this effect.

Understanding how mucus changes, and what it changes in response to, can help diagnose illnesses and develop treatments. Researchers develop a system to grow mucus-producing intestinal cells and study the characteristics of the mucus in different conditions. The process involves growing a layer of intestinal cells on a laboratory plate exposed to air. These cells produce a layer of mucus that the researchers can easily access for testing. Using a magnetic wire, they can measure the consistency of the mucus without affecting its properties, and the platform can explore the effects of pathogens and help develop medications to combat them.

Researchers used a breast cancer cell line panel and primary tumor explants from breast and cervical cancer patients to examine two different cellular contractility modes: one that generates collective tissue surface tension that keeps cell clusters compact and another, more directional, contractility that enables cells to pull themselves into the extracellular matrix. They found that more aggressive cells pull more strongly on the ECM than on themselves while noninvasive cells pull more strongly on themselves than on the ECM -- and that the different pulling behaviors are attributed to different structures of actin cytoskeleton inside the cells.

A new computational model simulating fruit fly wing development has enabled researchers to identify previously hidden mechanisms behind organ generation. An research team developed a fruit fly model to reverse engineer the mechanisms that generate organ tissue.

In one of the first studies of its kind, UC Santa Barbara researchers have found that the immune status of postpartum mothers shifts with how she feeds her baby. Certain inflammatory proteins -- substances that are secreted as part of an immune response -- peak at different times of day, correlating with whether the mothers breastfeed, pump or formula-feed their babies.

The world's largest study of cerebral palsy (CP) genetics has discovered genetic defects are most likely responsible for more than a quarter of cases in Chinese children, rather than a lack of oxygen at birth as previously thought.

In an exploratory clinical trial, four male patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder underwent eight weeks of treatment with a device that generates a low-frequency ultralow magnetic field environment (ELF-ELME). An improvement in depressive symptoms was observed, with no adverse effects, among all patients. If the efficacy of the device can be confirmed in larger clinical trials with a control group, this therapy could serve as an alternative treatment for patients who do not want to take antidepressant medications.

Researchers have found that herpesvirus infection modifies the structure and normal function of the mitochondria in the host cell. The new information will help to understand the interaction between herpesvirus and host cells. Knowledge can be utilized in the development of viral treatments.

A research group have used whole-genome sequencing to unravel the complex ancestry of the Japanese population. The analysis supports an earlier study that proposed that the Japanese population originated from admixtures of three ancestral groups, challenging the long-held dual-structure model.

The earliest stages of mammalian embryo development are like an orchestra performance, where everyone must play at the exact right moment and in perfect harmony. New research identifies one of the conductors making sense of the chaos.

A feast cooked up has revealed singlet oxygen, an oxidant, indoors. Oxidants can be beneficial -- ozone in the stratosphere is one example -- but can also cause stress to our lungs, contributing to the development of cancer, diabetes, and heart disease in the long term.

A new type of surgically implanted pump that can support a child's failing heart has passed the first stage of human testing in a recent trial.

Scientists have discovered a new snakebite treatment to prevent the devastating tissue damage caused by African spitting cobra venom. Spitting cobra venom is incredibly potent and causes dermonecrosis, which presents as rapid destruction of skin, muscle and bone around the site of the snakebite, and can lead to permanent injuries and disfigurements, including limb loss and amputations in extreme cases. Using the repurposed small molecule drug varespladib to block one of the two major dermonecrosis-causing toxins in spitting cobra venom prevents skin and muscle damage. Each year, it is estimated that snakebite causes long term detrimental effects in around 400,000 people across the world, with a substantial proportion of those in Africa the result of spitting cobra bites.