BioWorld looks at translational medicine, including: Healthspan, lifespan affected differently by caloric restriction; Stroke protection effects like night and day; Oncometabolites mask DNA repair signals; Antiviral vaccine protects against myocarditis, diabetes; C12orf49 is new lipid metabolism gene; Base editing gives temporary hearing fix; Simultaneous dual base editing; Nuclear quality control by chaperones; Stress-induced mutagenesis leads to cancer drug resistance.
Two major papers on repurposed drugs for COVID-19 by researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital face intense skepticism from the research community, prompting the editorial boards of TheNew England Journal of Medicine and The Lancet to publish Expressions of Concern on the validity of the underlying data. Such expressions are often the first step toward an outright retraction.
In emergency situations, broad-spectrum antibiotics have their place. But their indiscriminate use has led to a resistance crisis that already kills tens of thousands of people annually in the U.S. alone.
Investigators are working to develop electrogenetic devices that use remote-controlled electrical stimulation to elicit specific behaviors in engineered cells. They are following in the footsteps of optogenetics, which use specific wavelengths of light to control cell function remotely. A new study published in Science used such a device paired with encapsulated, engineered human pancreatic beta cells to express enough insulin to restore normal glycemic levels in mice models of diabetes.
Fidget spinners are hand-held toys based on a roller bearing and three weighted lobes, which can spin freely, creating centrifugal force when activated manually. Generating centrifugal force with a fidget spinner takes neither electricity nor trained staff. And that has suggested to several researchers that such spinners, under the right circumstances, could be used for centrifugation under circumstances where reliably operating a centrifuge, for whatever reason, is a challenge.
LONDON – A vast new body of genomics research has identified thousands of rare genetic variants that are predicted to cause loss of function in protein coding genes, providing novel in vivo models of human gene inactivation.
Variants in the APOE gene are the strongest genetic risk factor for developing Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Now, researchers at Rockefeller University have demonstrated that APOE variants also affected the risk of progression and metastasis as well as the response to immunotherapy, in melanoma.
BioWorld looks at translational medicine, including: SIRPa blockade wakes up macrophages post-infection; Lasting immunity to SARS-CoV-2 looks possible; Atherosclerosis, AD meet at the myelin; T cell aging induces broad senescence; P53 loss leads to immune evasion; Early roots of ALS visible in teeth; SLAPping down MDR gram-negatives; ALK is candidate thinness gene; Can N-BPs become MVP again?
Researchers at Duke University have identified a region in the central amygdala – more often thought of as a processing hub for emotions – that could suppress pain when activated.
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