News • The fatal signalling pathway
How liver fibrosis causes tissue scarring
An international research team has now found an approach to lower the activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) and reduce the associated development of liver fibrosis.
Research
News • Tumour plasticity
Why breast cancer metastases spread to the bone
A protein vital in determining the organs affected by metastasis has been identified by Swiss researchers. This could lead to the development of therapeutic approaches to suppress metastasis.
News • Global study finds increase in deaths
Why is Covid-19 more deadly on weekends?
A global analysis of nearly 6 million Covid-19 deaths finds an increase in mortality at weekends compared to weekdays. Bureaucratic and reporting delays alone do not explain this, researchers report.
News • Effective prevention
Covid-19 vaccination greatly reduces infectious viral load
By comparing the infectious viral load caused by ancestral SARS-CoV-2 as well as by the Delta and Omicron variants, scientists highlight the benefits of vaccination.
News • Covid-19 drug monitoring
Smart sensor to evaluate vaccine safety
A new study enables developers to determine vaccine safety via smart sensors that measure objective physiological parameters. This could end the reliance on subjective reports of study participants.
News • Workforce exodus
A third of GPs plan to jump ship within five years
Around 33% of GPs are likely to quit direct patient care within five years, according to a UK survey. The high percentage of young physicians is especially alarming.
News • Healing support
Bioprinting for bone repair improved with genes
An international team of engineers is bioprinting bone along with two growth factor encoding genes that help incorporate the cells and heal defects in the skulls of rats.
News • Cardiology research
Can't sleep? Why heart patients should take insomnia seriously
Sleep problems could hint at a heightened risk of heart disease, caution experts at the ESC Preventive Cardiology 2022 congress.
News • Connection between genes and disease severity
E. coli: How does an intestinal germ become a pathogen?
In the human intestine, Escherichia coli is mostly harmless, but in certain conditions causes bladder infections and even sepsis - but why? Researchers went to the bottom of this transformation.
News • miR-634 vs. OSCC
Anti-cancer "dream cream" to shrink oral tumors
Modern medicine offers “peel and stick” solutions like nicotine or contraceptive patches to put right on the skin without needing to visit a doctor for an injection or procedure. Now, researchers have found that applying a topical ointment containing anti-tumor factor can increase the effectiveness of cancer treatment.
News • 'Sweet' assistance
3D printed vascular models to help cancer therapy
3D-printed sugar models of dense and chaotic blood vessel networks near tumors could help future cancer treatments.
News • ATLL therapy approach
New gene targets for treating adult blood cancer
Scientists from Hokkaido University have identified new targets for treating Adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL), an aggressive form of blood cancer with existing drugs.
News • Metastasis research
How tumour cells ‘camouflage’ to avoid detection in the bloodstream
New insights in the metastasis process: tumour cells pass themselves off as platelets to go undetected in the bloodstream, researchers from Granada have discovered.
News • Sex and gender bias
Beyond "bikini medicine": Should we redefine women's health?
A new study has found that women’s health research remains disproportionately focused on the reproductive years, with few articles on the major causes of illness and death in women.
News • RYR1-associated disorder
New approach to treating severe congenital myopathy
The diagnosis is rare, but devastating – children with congenital muscle disorders often never learn to walk. Now, researchers from Basel present a possible therapeutic approach for the first time.
News • Haemorrhagic stroke
Reducing risk of brain damage, disability and death after haemmorhage
Scientists are developing a novel method for treating brain haemorrhages which it is hoped could reduce the risk of brain damage and disability and increase patients’ chances of survival.
News • Coronavirus complications
Covid-19 infection linked to higher risk of neuropathy
Researchers have found another long-term complication associated with Covid-19 infections: peripheral neuropathy during and following their bouts with the virus.
News • Deep learning approach
'Curvy' bacteria as telltale sign of drug resistance?
Researchers find that drug-resistant bacteria can be distinguished from non-resistant bacteria based on structural changes evident in electron microscope images with high accuracy using deep learning.
News • Cancer proliferation
3D tumour model to unveil metastasis mechanism
Model tumour systems could help explain whether pressure differences can push cancer cells into their surroundings – a basic mechanism behind metastasis.
News • Coronavirus after-effects
Severe Covid-19 linked to increased anxiety and depression risk
People who were bedridden for at least a week due to Covid-19 are more likely to experience anxiety and depression for up to 16 months after the infection, a new study shows.
News • Inflammatory response
Drug coat on implants reduces "foreign body" reaction
An anti-inflammatory drug incorporated into the coating around an implantable electronic medical device – such as a pacemaker – can reduce the body’s "foreign body" reaction.
News • Genetic dystrophy repair
Using mRNA to improve muscle strength
An ECRC research team has introduced CRISPR-Cas9 into human muscle stem cells for the first time using mRNA, thus discovering a method suitable for therapeutic applications.
News • In heart disease
Lab-grown pig heart tissue could replace animals research
A way to replicate what happens inside the heart after cardiac arrest could open new avenues for the study of heart regeneration whilst reducing the use of live animals in research.
News • Promising approach
‘Drug factory’ implants eliminate ovarian, colorectal cancer in mice
Bioengineers have shown they can eradicate advanced-stage ovarian and colorectal cancer in mice in as little as six days with a treatment that could be ready for human clinical trials later this year.
News • Evolution tactics in E.coli
Antibiotic resistance: (Population) size matters
An international team of scientists have shown that small and large bacterial populations follow qualitatively different evolutionary paths to develop antibiotic resistance.
