A study in a mouse model of tau protein build-up in the brain, similar to that seen in later stage Alzheimer’s disease (AD), shows that changes to the microbiome in these animals can impact the degree and progression of neurodegeneration observed. As reported in the Jan. 12, 2023, study published in Science, the researchers found that mice that were germ free and those given antibiotics to change their gut microbiome early in life had significant reductions in brain atrophy compared with those with a standard microbiome.

Unlike amphibians, mammals do not regenerate appendages. Except when they do. “If you amputate one of the branches off of the antler [of a reindeer], it will also regenerate,” Jeff Biernaskie told BioWorld. Even without amputation, the antlers of both male and female reindeer regenerate annually, including their skin. That regeneration is “the only large mammal model of true skin regeneration,” he said.

Women’s health startup May Health SAS has completed treatment of the first five participants in a U.S. feasibility study of its investigational Ovarian Rebalancing technique, a one-time, ultrasound-guided, transvaginal ablation procedure for women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). The novel treatment is designed to jumpstart the ovaries into releasing mature eggs in normal monthly cycles in women with PCOS-associated infertility.

Repeat expansions of two or more base pairs cause dozens of neurological disorders – Huntington’s disease, which is caused by an expansion of the triplet CAG in the coding sequence for huntingtin, is perhaps the most famous one. Now, investigators at Stanford University have shown that cancer genomes, too, frequently feature repeat expansions.

Onward Medical NV reported clinical outcomes for the first 10 patients given therapy to regulate blood pressure using its implantable ARC technology. This pulse generator produced an immediate improvement in blood pressure regulation in all study participants.

Guardant Health Inc. reported positive results from the ECLIPSE trial demonstrating 83% sensitivity of its DNA blood test in detecting colorectal cancer (CRC) in average-risk adults. Specificity was 90% in people without advanced neoplasia, as well as in those who had a negative colonoscopy result.

Mainstay Medical Holdings plc released data from a one-year, real-world, study of patients implanted with a neurostimulation device to treat chronic lower back pain.

When a drug prevents bacteria from synthesizing their own folate, an essential compound for their survival, they take it directly from the host. This antibiotic resistance mechanism had not been detected until now because bacteria behave differently in the laboratory than they do in vivo during an infection.