Archive for October 21st, 2020
A team of scientists have developed a way to more accurately both detect and monitor a common type of pediatric brain cancer, setting the stage for giving clinicians a real-time view into how the cancer responds to treatment. Source: Highly effective tumor detection strategy for common childhood brain tumors
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People have different susceptibilities to SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind the COVID-19 pandemic, and develop varying degrees of fever, fatigue, and breathing problems — common symptoms of the illness. What might explain this variation? Scientists may have an answer to this mystery. Source: Observed COVID-19 variability may have underlying molecular sources
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Scientists detail the structure of dumbbell-like sequences in DNA during interphase that suggest several unseen aspects of chromosome configuration and function. Source: DNA: At our cores, we're all strengthened by 'dumbbells'
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Ancient embedded elements in our DNA from generations past can activate a powerful immune response to kill cancer cells like an infection. Source: Genome archeologists discover path to activate immune response against cancer
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Researchers have demonstrated that a new liquid biopsy approach overcomes traditional barriers to quickly and efficiently diagnose and monitor high-grade pediatric gliomas. Source: Tumor DNA in spinal fluid could help doctors better monitor childhood brain cancer
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According to the Mayo Clinic, about 15% of couples are infertile, and male infertility plays a role in over one-third of these cases. Often, problems with sperm development are to blame. Now, researchers have found a way to deliver a protein important for sperm cell production directly to mouse testicles, where it restored normal sperm […]
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Some people love spicy food — the hotter, the better. Others go out of their way to avoid the palate-singeing burn of capsaicin, the compound that gives chili peppers their kick. Now, researchers have developed a portable device (whimsically shaped like a chili pepper) that can reveal how much capsaicin a pepper contains, before biting […]
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Americans strongly reduced their visits to grocery stores, pharmacies, and transit stations following stay-at-home orders from mayors and governors earlier this year, but did not reduce their visits to parks and beaches. Source: Americans' responses to COVID-19 stay-home orders differed according to population density
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A team of researchers has found that transcription factors have a tendency to bind strongly to ‘mismatched’ sections of DNA, i.e. sections of the genome that were not copied correctly. The strong binding of transcription factors to these mismatched sections of regulatory DNA might be a way in which random mutations become a problem that […]
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Babies born with a faulty maternal copy of the UBE3A gene will develop Angelman syndrome, a severe neurodevelopmental disorder with no cure and limited treatments. Now, for the first time, scientists show that gene editing and gene therapy techniques can be used to restore UBE3A in human neuron cultures and treat deficits in an animal […]
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