Scientists have sequenced the genome of the ‘sacred lotus,” a finding that could reveal many secrets about aging and genetic defects. A team of 70 scientists from the U.S., China, Australia and Japan today reports having sequenced and annotated the genome of the “sacred lotus,” which is believed to have a powerful genetic system that [...]

Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University and the Oregon National Primate Research Center have successfully converted human skin cells into embryonic stem cells, marking the first time human stem cells have been produced via nuclear transfer. Scientists at Oregon Health & Science University and the Oregon National Primate Research Center (ONPRC) have successfully reprogrammed [...]

In a newly published study, scientists from UC San Francisco detail how they developed the first functioning human thymus tissue from embryonic stem cells in the laboratory, a significant step toward potential new treatments based on stem-cell and organ transplantation. Raising hopes for cell-based therapies, UC San Francisco researchers have created the first functioning human [...]

A new study shows that parts of the prefrontal cortex take over when the hippocampus is damaged, a finding that could potentially help scientists develop new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, stroke and other conditions involving damage to the brain. When the brain’s primary “learning center” is damaged, complex new neural circuits arise to compensate for [...]

A biomedical engineering design team from Michigan Tech has developed an inexpensive skin patch that warns the wearer when it’s time to get out of the sun to avoid getting sunburn. By the time most of us realize we’ve been out in the sun too long, it’s too late. It can take up to 24 [...]

By combining layers of flexible materials into pressure sensors, engineers have developed a wearable heart monitor that is thinner than a dollar bill. Most of us don’t ponder our pulses outside of the gym. But doctors use the human pulse as a diagnostic tool to monitor heart health. Zhenan Bao, a professor of chemical engineering [...]

A new study found that non-inherited mutations account for many heart defects, suggesting that common pathways may underlie a wide range of common congenital diseases. New mutations that are absent in parents but appear in their offspring account for at least 10% of severe congenital heart disease, reveals a massive genomics study led by researchers [...]

In a new study, researchers successfully engrafted insulin-producing cells into a diabetic mouse model, reversing diabetic symptoms in the animal in as little as 10 days. Researchers have made a significant first step with newly engineered biomaterials for cell transplantation that could help lead to a possible cure for Type 1 diabetes, which affects about [...]

Researchers have identified four new genetic variants associated with an increased risk of testicular cancer, supporting the notion that testicular cancer is a disorder of germ cell development and maturation. Philadelphia — A new study looking at the genomes of more than 13,000 men identified four new genetic variants associated with an increased risk of [...]

Researchers have identified a protein in the blood of mice and humans that may prove to be the first effective treatment for a form of age-related heart failure, finding in mice that hearts reduced in size and thickness and resembled healthy hearts of younger mice when the protein GDF-11 was injected. Two Harvard Stem Cell [...]

Scientists have identified a way to flip a genetic switch off to halt tumor growth, demonstrating a potential new therapy in mice that impacts tumor growth in a significant way. Approximately 90 percent of cancers start within tissues that form the inner linings of various organs. Decades of accumulated genetic mutations can, on occasion, induce [...]

In a new study, UCLA researchers increased parkin levels in the cells of fruit flies, discovering that this extended their life span by more than 25 percent as compared with a control group that did not receive additional parkin. UCLA life scientists have identified a gene previously implicated in Parkinson’s disease that can delay the [...]