Transplants Without the Need for Lifelong Immunosupression
As a result of organ transplantation, patients need to take a lifelong regimen of immunosuppressors to fight off graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), which is common and…
Biology News
New Shark Species Bythaelurus Giddingsi Discovered in Galapagos Islands
Deep-sea dives around the Galapagos Islands have uncovered a new species of catshark, about 1.3 feet long. Bythaelurus giddingsi was discovered by scientists and specimens were…
Coronacollina Acula, Oldest Organism with Skeleton Discovered
Paleontologists found the remains of what appears to be the oldest animal with a Skeleton. Scientists believe the organism, Coronacollina acula, lived on the seafloor…
Examining the Mechanism Behind Melanoma Drug Resistance
Zelboraf, which targets the mutated BRAF gene, is used to treat melanoma, but it isn’t always successful due to melanoma’s ability to sometimes get around…
Hearing Loss Rapidly Changes Motor Areas that Control Song
It appears that deafness penetrates much more rapidly and deeply into the brain than previously thought. While studying songbirds, neurologists discovered that when their hearing…
Iceman Ötzi’s DNA Reveals Health Risks and Relations
Ötzi’s DNA has finally been sequenced. An international team published the almost complete DNA of the Iceman Ötzi from the Tyrolean Alps in the journal…
Endocannabinoids Could Reduce or Eliminate Obesity
New research published today in the journal Cell Metabolism indicates that endocannabinoids might enable organisms to stay thin without the need for exercise or diets….
Targeting Dkk1 for the Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease
Neurologists just took another step forward in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease. While studying mice, they discovered that the antibodies that block the function of…
Pikaia Gracilens Revealed as Possible Genetic Ancestors to All Vertebrates
The Middle Cambrian Pikaia gracilens, from 505 million years ago, was a fish-like worm, which has the possible dubious distinction of being one of humanity’s…
Central American Bats Harbor a New Subtype of Influenza
It’s been reported that fruit bats in Guatemala are hosting a new type of the influenza A virus, according to a new study published in…
“Area X” of Zebra Finch May Provide Insights to Human Speech Disorders
The male zebra finch has some 2,000 genes in a region of the brain known as “Area X” that are significantly linked to singing and…
Bottlenose Dolphins Use Signature Whistles to Greet Others
Bottlenose dolphins can understand the meaning and order of words, which can be conveyed through human hand gestures. It appears that now humans are also…
Tyrosine Phosphatase SHP2 and Breast Cancer
A new study identified the protein phosphatase SHP2 as an important player in the signaling cascades governing tumor-initiating cells. The scientists found that SHP2 plays…
Researchers Use Bioinformatics and Epigenetics to Aid Cancer Research
A computational epigenetics research group at the Max Planck Institute for Informatics in Saarbrücken is using software programs to rummage through the genomes of cancer…
Researchers Stop Parkinson’s Disease in Animal Model
Researchers at UCLA have found a way to prevent a protein called α-synuclein from forming “clumps,” which become toxic and kill the brain’s neurons in…
Researchers Use Microfluidic Device to Monitor Sickle Cell Disease
By measuring how well blood samples flow through a microfluidic device, researchers at Harvard University, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Brigham and Women’s Hospital have…
Inhibiting HDAC2 Can Reverse Alzheimer’s Symptoms in Mice
Researchers were able to reverse Alzheimer’s symptoms in mice by blocking the enzyme known as HDAC2. With the number of worldwide Alzheimer’s victims expected to…
Researchers Study the Link Between Hyperactivity in the Brain and Depression
Researchers at UCLA have shown that people with depression have increased connections among most brain areas. While studying the functional connections of the brain in…
