Health & Medicine
- Health & Medicine
Why Huntington’s disease may take so long to develop
Repeated bits of the disease-causing gene pile up in some brain cells. New treatments could involve stopping the additions.
- Microbes
Evolutionary virologist Daniel Blanco-Melo seeks out ancient pathogens
Daniel Blanco-Melo has reconstructed two viral strains brought to the Americas with European colonizers in the 16th century.
- Health & Medicine
The CDC is expanding its disease surveillance of international travelers
Passengers at four major U.S. airports will now be tested for over 30 pathogens through a mix of wastewater testing and voluntary nasal swabs.
- Health & Medicine
Brain tissue may be fuel for marathon runners
Myelin, fatty tissue that insulates nerve cells in the brain, may be a renewable energy source for marathon runners and other endurance athletes.
- Genetics
Most of today’s gene therapies rely on viruses — and that’s a problem
The next big strides in gene therapy for rare diseases may come from CRISPR and new approaches to delivery.
- Health & Medicine
Blocking an aging-related enzyme may restore muscle strength
Treating old mice with a drug that inhibits a “gerozyme” restored muscle strength, which can diminish with aging.
- Health & Medicine
Newly identified stem cells can lure breast cancer to the spine
A new type of stem cell discovered in mice and humans might explain why cancer that spreads to other body parts preferentially targets the spine.
- Neuroscience
What a look at more than 3,000 kinds of cells in the human brain tells us
A wide-reaching look at the cells that build the brain, detailed in 21 studies, showcases the brain’s cellular diversity and clues about how it works.
- Health & Medicine
A monkey survived two years with a miniature pig’s kidney
A new study is the latest in a string of efforts seeking to use other animal species to solve the global organ shortage in people.
- Health & Medicine
‘Dormant’ HIV has ongoing skirmishes with the body’s immune system
In people on HIV drugs, defective viral bits may still exhaust T cells, possibly making it harder to fight back if people go off the drugs.
- Health & Medicine
Early mRNA research that led to COVID-19 vaccines wins 2023 medicine Nobel Prize
Biochemists Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman devised mRNA modifications to make vaccines that trigger good immune responses instead of harmful ones.
- Health & Medicine
How a deadly fungus is so good at sticking to skin and other surfaces
One of Candida auris’ scary superpowers is its stick-to-itiveness. Unlike other fungi, the pathogen uses electrical charges to glom onto things.
