News • Cancer treatment
Immunotherapy approach 'points' killer cells towards tumours
French researchers have found a way to facilitate access to tumours for killer lymphocytes, paving the way for more efficient immunotherapies against cancer.
Research
News • Sealing the deal
Surgical 'duct tape' could be an alternative to suture
Engineers at MIT have developed a kind of surgical duct tape — a strong, flexible, and biocompatible sticky patch that can be applied to biological tissues and organs to help seal tears and wounds.
News • Hard to break down
Hepatitis E: Most common hand infectants no match for HEV
Scientists have investigated the effectiveness of various common hand disinfectants against hepatitis E. They were able to show that most formulations do not completely inactivate the virus.
News • Heart failure and organ fibrosis
RNA therapeutics: potential far beyond Covid-19
RNA has already been making an impact in the context of the vaccine program, but the potential of RNA-based compounds is far from being fully tapped, as RNA allows for entirely new therapeutic approaches.
News • BRCA and prostate, pancreatic cancers
Faulty 'breast cancer gene' BRCA also dangerous for men
Faulty versions of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes are well known to increase the risk of breast and ovarian cancer. Now, they have been linked to several other cancers, including those that affect men.
News • Viral subtypes
Coronavirus evolution: 'Even Omicron has three variants'
Professor Richard Neher from the Biozentrum of the University of Basel is using his Nextstrain platform to investigate which variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus are currently circulating worldwide.
News • New insights into antibody response
How the immune system reacts to coronavirus variants
Researchers from Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen (DZNE) present new findings on the immune response against SARS-CoV-2.
News • Cardiology insights
Lab-grown heart cells 'mimic' disease in vitro
Heart cells from a patient with an inherited heart disease called arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy do not contract correctly when grown in the laboratory, researchers from Osaka University have found.
News • Coronavirus research
Why the Omicron variant causes less severe disease
A new study shows that the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant is less effective than Delta at blocking a cellular defence mechanism against viruses, the so-called 'interferon response'.
News • Sensitivity and response detection
How long do tests detect SARS-CoV-2 antibodies? New insights
How long can Covid-19 antigen tests reliably tell the antibody status? Researchers at the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut identified several factors that affect the detection duration.
News • Interventional neurology
Key criteria for the success of robotic surgery
A literature review fleshes out key issues currently preventing the proliferation of robotic procedures, specifically their use in image-guided interventional procedures in the brain.
News • Bone healing
"Microrobots”: material morphs into bone
Researchers have developed a combination of materials that can morph into various shapes before hardening. The material is initially soft, but later hardens through a bone development process that uses the same materials found in the skeleton.
News • Multiple sclerosis
Epstein-Barr virus may be leading cause of MS
A connection between the Epstein-Barr virus and multiple sclerosis has long been suspected. A new study provides ‘compelling evidence of causality’.
News • Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva
FOP: Origin of rare disease
A mutation in the gene that causes fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP) doesn’t just cause extra bone growth but is tied to a problem in generating new muscle tissue after injury.
News • Global warming
Climate Change will increase kidney stones
Rising temperatures due to climate change will lead to an increase in cases of kidney stones over the next seven decades, even if measures are put in place to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Article • Cancer mortality study
Does ethnicity affect brain tumour survival?
New research has pinpointed ethnicity as a potential factor in brain tumour survival. A UK study showed that white British people who have been diagnosed with a malignant primary brain tumour appear to have an increased one-year mortality than patients from at least four other ethnic groups.
News • In cardiac cells
Pop-up sensors measure electronic signals
A tiny ‘pop-up’ sensor monitors the electrical activity inside heart cells. The device could provide new insights into cardiac diseases, including myocardial infarction and arrhythmias.
News • Research
Quantum sensor to detect SARS-CoV-2 faster
Scientists at have designed a quantum sensor to detect SARS-CoV-2 faster, cheaper, and more accurate than the current gold-standard technique, PCR.
News • New study
Antibodies can neutralize omicron
An international team of scientists have identified antibodies that neutralize omicron and other SARS-CoV-2 variants.
Article • Precision medicine
Liquid biopsy: the ‘next frontier’ for cancer detection?
Mark Nicholls reports from the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) virtual Festival, with four expert speakers discussing the role of liquid biopsy in cancer detection.
News • Revealed via new x-ray technique
Covid-19 can cause vascular damage to the heart
Using a new x-ray imaging approach, an interdisciplinary research team has detected significant changes in the heart muscle tissue of people who died from Covid-19.
News • Energy efficiency improved
One step closer to bionic eyes
A new technology solution which will provide low-power systems for use in bionic eyes, has been jointly developed by academics from the Harbin Institute of Technology in China and Northumbria University.
News • Medication chemistry
Stabilising drugs with 'heavy' hydrogen
A new method involving deuterium can be used to stabilise compounds against degradation. This discovery could result in new drugs that can be taken in lower doses or less frequently.
News • Impaired proliferation and induced cell death
Newfound mechanism could stop cancer cells in their tracks
Researchers have identified a mechanism that impairs the proliferation of cancer cells and induces their death without affecting healthy cells. This could lead to improved cancer treatment.
News • Coronavirus research
Why Omicron may be more evasive, but less severe
The Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 may be significantly better at evading vaccine-induced antibodies – but preliminary evidence suggests it is less likely to cause severe illness in the lungs.
