A person infected with HIV who was treated for blood cancer with a stem-cell transplant has gone into viral remission, with no trace of the virus in their blood. A similar outcome in 2009 hadn’t been replicated until now. A person’s HIV infection became undetectable after a stem-cell transplant.
If there is one thing Twitter has taught us, it’s that the world loves a question that sounds stupid but actually has a profound and interesting answer. For instance, what would happen if the world suddenly turned into blueberries, as answered by physics recently. Or what color is that dress?
In a similar way, perception scientists have recently been fighting it out on Twitter to answer the seemingly trivial question of: “Which is the best sense and why?” The debate has opened up some surprisingly deep questions — like what actually makes a sense more or less valuable? And, are some senses fundamentally more important in making us human?
The question was also put to a poll. While most people would probably assume the obvious winner is vision, “somatosensation” — which we normally refer to as touch but technically incorporates all sensations from our body — took the day. But does this vote hold up when you take a closer look at the scientific evidence?
Continue reading “Which of the 5 Senses Is Best? Scientists Finally Settle a Heated Debate” »
Research out of the University of Colorado Boulder has dashed research into a potential link between certain genes and depression. The conclusion follows an analysis of both survey and genetic data from more than half a million people, which found that 18 candidate genes and random genes were equally associated with cases of depression.
The new study, which was recently published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, looked at 18 highly-studied ‘candidate genes,’ each of which had previously been studied in association with depression a minimum of 10 times. The results were called “a little bit stunning” by study senior author Matthew Keller.
According to the study, these 18 candidate genes weren’t associated with depression more than other randomly chosen genes. Past research into the genes that had indicated a link between the two were called false positives, though the researchers caution that this doesn’t mean depression isn’t heritable.
Continue reading “Depression genes debunked: analysis dashes highly studied link” »
Traditional surgery to reshape a nose or ear entails cutting and suturing, sometimes followed by long recovery times and scars. But now, researchers have developed a “molecular surgery” process that uses tiny needles, electric current and 3D-printed molds to quickly reshape living tissue with no incisions, scarring or recovery time. The technique even shows promise as a way to fix immobile joints or as a noninvasive alternative to laser eye surgery.
The researchers will present their results today at the American Chemical Society (ACS) Spring 2019 National Meeting & Exposition.
“We envision this new technique as a low-cost office procedure done under local anesthesia,” says Michael Hill, Ph.D., one of the project’s principal investigators, who will discuss the work at the meeting. “The whole process would take about five minutes.”
Continue reading “‘Molecular surgery’ reshapes living tissue with electricity but no incisions” »
The advent of immune checkpoint inhibitors—which “release the brakes” of the body’s immune system to launch an efficient tumor attack—are a major breakthrough in cancer immunotherapy. However, these treatments don’t work for everybody and are often associated with significant side effects. The ability to stratify patients based on potential response to immune checkpoint inhibitors could therefore personalize cancer treatment. Efforts to understand the regulation of anti-tumor immunity (when the immune system fights a tumor) point to the importance of the gut microbiome. However, the underlying molecular mechanism(s) remain largely elusive.
Now, a worldwide collaboration involving more than 40 scientists and three hospitals led by researchers at Sanford Burnham Prebys has demonstrated a causal link between the gut microbiome and the immune system’s ability to fight cancer. Together, the researchers identified a cocktail of 11 bacterial strains that activated the immune system and slowed the growth of melanoma in mice. The study also points to the role of unfolded protein response (UPR), a cellular signaling pathway that maintains protein health (homeostasis). Reduced UPR was seen in melanoma patients who are responsive to immune checkpoint therapy, revealing potential markers for patient stratification. The study was published in Nature Communications.
“Immunotherapies have extended the lives of many cancer patients. However, the incredible effects we are seeing today are only the tip of the iceberg. By studying mechanisms of treatment response versus resistance, we can eventually expand the number of people who benefit from immunotherapy,” says Thomas Gajewski, M.D., Ph.D., the AbbVie Foundation Professor of Cancer Immunotherapy at the University of Chicago Medicine. “This study provides an important step toward this goal. The investigators have pinpointed the UPR as an important link between the gut microbiota and anti-tumor immunity. Given previous work indicating a causal role for the host microbiota in the efficacy of checkpoint blockade immunotherapy, this additional mechanistic insight should help select patients who will respond to treatment and also help to guide new therapeutic development.”
Continue reading “Gut microbiome directs the immune system to fight cancer” »
Imagine we could decode how our brain “stores” visual content. Some Japanese researchers have been working on solving that task. Ready for deep image reconstruction from human brain activity?
Abstract: https://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article…
With its pudgy body, tired eyes and hair loss, the lower mouse could easily be the father of the sprightly and alert animal nestling alongside.
But they are actually the same age, the result of extraordinary trials of drugs which are slowing down or even reversing the ageing process.
Scientists now believe that ageing itself is responsible for many major conditions such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, arthritis, cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. And they think they have found a way to turn it off.
Common over-the-counter pain reliever acetaminophen, which is sold under brand names like Tylenol, may increase the risk of stroke in diabetics, according to a new study. This particular pain medication is available to purchase without a prescription in the majority of countries where it is sold, contributing to its popularity with consumers.
