News
Fastest DNA Sequencing Technique Helps Undiagnosed Patients Find Answers
A new ultra-rapid genome sequencing approach developed by Stanford Medicine scientists and their collaborators was used to diagnose rare genetic diseases in an average of eight hours—a feat that’s nearly unheard of in standard clinical care.
Study Challenges Evolutionary Theory That DNA Mutations Are Random
The findings, published in the journal Nature, radically change our understanding of evolution and could one day help researchers breed better crops or even help humans fight cancer.
Mutations occur when DNA is damaged and left unrepaired, creating a new variation. The scientists wanted to know if mutation was purely random or something deeper.
Study reveals how the brain’s blue spot shapes selective attention
How can we shift from a state of inattentiveness to one of highest attention? The locus coeruleus, literally the "blue spot," is a tiny cluster of cells at the base of the brain. As the main source of the neurotransmitter noradrenaline, it helps us control our attentional focus. Synthesizing evidence from animal and human studies, scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development and the University of Southern California have now developed a novel framework describing the way the blue spot regulates our brain's sensitivity to relevant information in situations requiring attention.
Proteomics-based Clinical Laboratory Testing May Get a Major Boost
Google’s DeepMind Research Lab Is Making Public Its Entire AI Database of Human Protein Predictions.
Researchers Identify Biomarker for Depression, Antidepressant Response
Researchers are one step closer to developing a blood test that provides a simple biochemical hallmark for depression and reveals the efficacy of drug therapy in individual patients.
Engineering hairy cellulose nanocrystals to capture chemotherapy drugs
A method to remove unwanted chemotherapeutic drugs based on hairy cellulose nanocrystals has been developed. These nanoparticles are derived from the main component of plant cell walls and engineered to have immense numbers of polymer chain "hairs" extending from each end. These hairs increase the potential drug capture capacity of the nanocrystals significantly beyond that of conventional nanoparticles and other materials.
Markers of Brain Cell Damage Higher in Patients with COVID-19 than Alzheimer’s
Patients hospitalized for COVID-19 had higher levels over the short term of blood proteins known to rise with neurological damage than non-COVID-19 patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, a new study finds.
Prevalence of persistent Long COVID symptoms after SARS-CoV-2 infection
A team of researchers assessed the prevalence, risk factors, severity, and impact on quality of life (QoL) of persisting coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) symptoms in the first year after an individual is diagnosed with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection.
Researchers analyze the role of self-deception in everyday life
A philosophy team from Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) and the University of Antwerp analyzed the role self-deception plays in everyday life and the strategies people use to deceive themselves. According to their theory, self-deception helps people to stay motivated in difficult situations
Earliest Human Remains in Eastern Africa Dated to More than 230,000 Years Ago
The age of the oldest fossils in eastern Africa widely recognized as representing our species, Homo sapiens, has long been uncertain. Now, dating of a massive volcanic eruption in Ethiopia reveals they are much older than previously thought.