Tag: clues

Clues to tuberculosis progression found in gene expression

Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute working with collaborators at the University of Leicester have identified how gene expression changes during different stages of tuberculosis (TB), including early after infection before any symptoms are clinically detectable. These changes provided information about the host immune response which could help the development of therapies against TB. The

Could your smartphone hold clues to early Alzheimer’s disease?

The development of a wearable to detect early Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases years before symptoms show has taken a step closer to reality today, as UK charity Alzheimer’s Research UK announces a partnership with Boston University that will see the first digital data flowing into its global Early Detection of Neurodegenerative diseases (EDoN) initiative.

Brain tissue yields clues to causes of PTSD

A post-mortem analysis of brain tissue from people who had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may help explain enduring mysteries about the disorder, such as why women are more susceptible to it and whether a dampened immune system response plays a role in dealing with stress, a team headed by Yale University researchers

Tracking mobility of individuals offers clues to finding COVID

Harvard scientists are leading a global research network that is using data from mobile devices and social media to document people’s movements during the COVID-19 outbreak and translate that information to help government officials set pandemic policy worldwide. The effort, called the COVID-19 Mobility Data Network, involves about 60 academic research labs working with officials

Monkeys, ferrets offer needed clues in COVID-19 vaccine race

The global race for a COVID-19 vaccine boils down to some critical questions: How much must the shots rev up someone’s immune system to really work? And could revving it the wrong way cause harm? Even as companies recruit tens of thousands of people for larger vaccine studies this summer, behind the scenes scientists still

Looking for clues to improve the life of a transplanted organ

The Transplant Research Program (TxRP) at Boston Children’s Hospital is the only pediatric transplantation research program in the U.S committed to better understanding the molecular basis for organ rejection after transplantation in children. Within the last year, members of the TxRP have initiated a new initiative to extend the longevity of transplanted organs and to

Immune responses in Ebola survivors 2 years after infection provide clues for vaccine development

Scientists have discovered that 2 years after infection, West African Ebola survivors exhibit memory immune responses—including specific T cells against Ebola virus. They believe their discovery opens up the possibility of improving Ebola vaccines by boosting key immune cells needed for long-lasting protective immunity. The new research is being presented at this year’s European Congress

Muscle-building proteins hold clues to ALS, muscle degeneration

Toxic protein assemblies, or “amyloids,” long considered to be key drivers in many neuromuscular diseases, also play a beneficial role in the development of healthy muscle tissue, University of Colorado Boulder researchers have found. “Ours is the first study to show that amyloid-like structures not only exist in healthy skeletal muscle during regeneration, but are

New clues found to understanding relapse in breast cancer

A large genomic analysis has linked certain DNA mutations to a high risk of relapse in estrogen receptor positive breast cancer, while other mutations were associated with better outcomes, according to researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, the Baylor College of Medicine and the University of British Columbia. The knowledge could

Grip strength of children gives clues about their future health

While other studies have shown that muscle weakness as measured by grip strength is a predictor of unhealthy outcomes—including cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, disability and even early mortality—this is the first to do so for adolescent health over time, a Baylor University researcher said. “What we know about today’s kids is that because of the

Clues found to early lung transplant failure

Among organ transplant patients, those receiving new lungs face a higher rate of organ failure and death compared with people undergoing heart, kidney and liver transplants. One of the culprits is inflammation that damages the newly transplanted lung. Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Northwestern University Feinberg School of