LONDON – T cells generated as a result of infection with common cold coronaviruses provide cross-protection against being infected with SARS-CoV-2, according to a new study.

Trisomy 21, the abnormal third copy of chromosome 21 causing developmental disorders in Down syndrome, has been shown to promote reorganization of the entire neural progenitor cell (NPC) genome, with the resulting gene transcription and cell function disruption being so similar to senescence that anti-senescence drugs could correct them in cell cultures.

Space travel has known effects on human health and biology. Some, such as loss of bone density, are well understood, while others, like inflammation, are not. Now, organ-on-a-chip maker Emulate Inc. is conducting experiments on the International Space Station U.S. National Laboratory (ISS-NL) aimed at revealing clues to how the brain functions in microgravity.

University of California San Diego engineers have developed tiny 2D sensors that pop up to become a 3D assemblage of microscopic sensors for directly measuring the movement and speed of electrical signals inside the heart. According to nanoengineering professor Sheng Xu, the nanotechnology has enormous implications for heart doctors anxious to better diagnose and treat arrhythmia, heart attack and other diseases.

The accepted wisdom that resistance to antibiotics is a modern phenomenon driven by their overuse is called into question by new research showing the genes that give methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) its superbug status existed in nature long before antibiotics were first deployed in the clinic.

In a recent study, investigators led by Tony Tiganis at Monash University, Australia have identified that upregulation of the enzyme NOX4 (NADPH oxidase 4) boosted levels of reactive oxygen species and protected development of insulin resistance in both aged as well as obese mice.

One of the most striking recent changes in the dissemination of biomedical science has been the rapid rise of the preprint.

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine have shown how nanoparticles could be used to reduce neutrophil clumping in inflamed lungs – making them a pathway for diagnosis and treatment of acute lung inflammation (ALI) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

It is acknowledged that the huge bias toward individuals of European ancestry means studies of the contribution of genetics to disease may not translate well to other ethnicities. That point is underlined in the first large-scale investigation of the population structure and demographic history of British Pakistanis, which shows an increased number and length of regions of homozygosity inherited from a common ancestor, and greatly elevated identity by descent, compared to the population at large.