When it comes to cell types, stem cells have unlimited potential. These self-renewing cells, which are capable of giving rise to any cell type in the body, reside in specialized microenvironments known as niches. Now, researchers in Japan have shed new insight into the dynamics of the neural stem cell niche, the home of stem […]
High doses of sucralose — a potent, calorie-free sugar substitute that is 600 times sweeter than sucrose — reduce immune responses in mice, a study has found. The researchers did not investigate the sweetener’s effects in humans, and say that it is unlikely that normal consumption of sucralose is harmful. But the results, published on […]
Researchers have uncovered one way that opioid use seems to result in withdrawal symptoms, identifying a previously unknown pathway in the immune system that results in unstable and dysfunctional connections among brain cells. Although the immune system has long been implicated in opioid withdrawal, the new findings, published January 19 in Cell, are the first […]
People who ate diets rich in green leafy vegetables as well as fruits, whole grains, olive oil, beans, nuts, and fish had less plaque and tau tangles in their brains than people who did not follow one of these eating patterns, according to a study published on March 8th in the online journal Neurology. Plaque […]
The nitrate ingested over the course of a person’s adult lifetime through the consumption of tap water and bottled water could be a risk factor for prostate cancer, particularly in the case of aggressive tumors and in younger men. This is the conclusion of a study conducted in Spain and led by the Barcelona Institute […]
An artificial intelligence (AI) tool can accurately identify normal and abnormal chest X-rays in a clinical setting, according to a study published in Radiology, a journal of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). Chest X-rays are used to diagnose a wide variety of conditions to do with the heart and lungs. An abnormal chest […]
Researchers at the University of Notre Dame are adding to their list of consumer products that contain PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), a toxic class of fluorine compounds known as “forever chemicals.” In a new study published in Environmental Science and Technology Letters, fluorinated high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic containers — used for household cleaners, pesticides, […]
A hormone called fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) protects mice against ethanol-induced loss of balance and righting reflex, according to a study publishing on March 7 in the journal Cell Metabolism. “We’ve discovered that the liver is not only involved in metabolizing alcohol but that it also sends a hormonal signal to the brain to […]
The key to the development of autoimmune diseases, and thus the way to inhibit this development, lies in our cells, but the underlying mechanism has always been unclear,” stated Prof. Hiroki Ishikawa, who leads the Immune Signal Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST). “Now, our recent research has shed light on […]
Essential microbes transferred from mother to infant are only slightly lower for babies born via cesarean section and that gap can be bridged with breastfeeding. That’s according to new research published on March 8 in the journal Cell Host & Microbe. To understand how the microbiome develops during the first month of life, the team […]