A team of engineers has designed a new class of tiny, self-propelled robots that can zip through liquid at incredible speeds and may one day even deliver prescription drugs to hard-to-reach places inside the human body. The group’s microrobots used for the study are really small. Each one measures only 20 micrometers wide, several times […]
For many patients with hypertension — an elevated blood pressure that can lead to stroke or heart attack — medication keeps the condition at bay. But what happens when medication that physicians usually prescribe doesn’t work? Known as apparent resistant hypertension (aRH), this form of high blood pressure requires more medication and medical management. Novel […]
Cambridge scientists have created a stem cell-derived model of the human embryo in the lab by reprogramming human stem cells. The breakthrough could help research into genetic disorders and in understanding why and how pregnancies fail. Published today in the journal Nature, this embryo model is an organised three-dimensional structure derived from pluripotent stem cells […]
A decade after UC San Francisco scientists identified an over-the-counter antihistamine as a treatment for multiple sclerosis, researchers have developed an approach to measure the drug’s effectiveness in repairing the brain, making it possible to also assess future therapies for the devastating disorder. The researchers first identified clemastine as a potential MS therapy, and used […]
Back in the 1920s, researchers discovered that cancer patients had sweet-smelling urine. “This was one of the first things we learned about cancer patients,” says Associate Professor Lykke Sylow. Where previous studies have examined the connection between cancer and insulin, Lykke Sylow and colleagues’ new study is the first to compile the best research on […]
Ruxolitinib, a drug that is already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating certain cancers and skin conditions, is effective at inhibiting CaMKII, a protein kinase linked to cardiac arrhythmias. In a new study published June 21, 2023, in Science Translational Medicine, researchers from Johns Hopkins University and the University of […]
Scientists at Stanford Medicine conducted a study describing a new category of depression — labeled the cognitive biotype — which accounts for 27% of depressed patients and is not effectively treated by commonly prescribed antidepressants. Cognitive tasks showed that these patients have difficulty with the ability to plan ahead, display self-control, sustain focus despite distractions […]
People challenged with chronic back pain have been given hope with a new treatment that focuses on retraining how the back and the brain communicate. The study divided 276 participants into two groups: one undertook a 12-week course of sensorimotor retraining and the other received a 12-week course of sham treatments designed to control for […]
In the digestive system, there’s a delicate balance of bacterial populations. When this balance is disrupted, bad bacteria can take over the colon, causing it to swell, resulting in colitis. Certain diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease and Crohn’s disease, involve chronic colitis and currently require immunosuppressants to treat them. These drugs are expensive and non-specific, […]
A gel that combines both stiffness and toughness is a step forward in the bid to create biodegradable implants for joint injuries, according to new UBC research. Mimicking articular cartilage, found in our knee and hip joints, is challenging. This cartilage is key to smooth joint movement, and damage to it can cause pain, reduce […]