Recent research, spearheaded by a UCLA Health investigator, reveals that expectant mothers whose homes had higher concentrations of lithium in their tap water were at a slightly elevated risk of their children being diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. The study, published in JAMA Pediatrics, suggests that naturally occurring lithium in drinking water could be a […]
New research study estimates associations of regional change in opioid prescribing with total suicide deaths and suicide overdose deaths involving opioids. The study, published this week in the American Journal of Psychiatry, comes as opioid-related overdoses have reached record highs. The author of the study, and professor of psychiatry and epidemiology at Columbia University, Dr. […]
Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine have conducted a study that has determined the role that a critical protein plays in the development of hair cells. Hearing relies on the proper functioning of specialized cells within the inner ear called hair cells. Researchers have been focusing on describing the developmental steps that […]
Hair follicles are mini-organs from which new hair constantly grows. The basis for new hair growth is the proper function of hair follicle stem cells (HFSCs). HFSCs undergo cyclic symmetric and asymmetric cell divisions (SCDs and ACDs). SCDs generate two identical cells that go on to have the same fate, while ACDs generate a differentiating […]
Having high blood pressure in your 30s is associated with worse brain health around age 75, especially for men, according to a new UC Davis study. The research, published this week in JAMA Network Open, compared magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain scans of older adults who had high blood pressure between the ages of 30 […]
Lower temperatures have been known to increase longevity for over half a century, but the mechanisms underpinning this increased longevity have remained unclear. Now, scientists have unraveled a mechanism that underpins increased longevity in worms, and shown it to have an effect on human cells. Published in Nature Aging, a study by researchers based in […]
Currently, immunotherapy does not work for everyone. In some patients, tumors shrink or even disappear, while other people do not respond to immunotherapy. Scientists are trying to figure out why different people have different responses to this form of cancer treatment. One factor that may be responsible for the varying immunotherapy responsiveness is the gut […]
A new drug, a monoclonal antibody known as enoblituzumab, is safe in men with aggressive prostate cancer and may induce clinical activity against cancer throughout the body, according to a phase 2 study led by investigators at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and its Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy. If confirmed in additional studies, […]
Inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD, describes Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, two chronic diseases that cause inflammation in the intestines. IBD, which affects about 3 million adults in the United States, is an autoimmune disorder — a condition in which the body’s immune system attacks healthy tissues. Its symptoms include diarrhea, rectal bleeding, fatigue, weight […]
Scientists have created balls of cells that resemble embryos and trigger signs of early pregnancy in macaques. The stem-cell-derived blastoids could help researchers understand human embryo development without the ethical dilemmas of using real embryonic cells, according to a study published today in Cell Stem Cell. “The work highlights the amazing potential of stem-cell- based […]